| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US08275478B2 |
Method and apparatus for routing wafer pods to allow parallel processing
A method includes designating a plurality of wafers as members of a group. A first subset of the wafers is housed in a first wafer pod and a second subset of the wafers is housed in a second wafer pod. The first wafer pod is routed to a first tool, and at least a first operation is performed on the wafers in the first subset using the first tool. The second wafer pod is routed to a second tool, and the first operation is performed on the wafers in the second subset using the second tool. The wafers in the first and second subsets are consolidated following the performing of the first operation. |
| US08275472B2 |
Variable field device for process automation
In a field device for process automation, a reprogammable logic device is used, in order to achieve a high flexibility as regards hardware components. |
| US08275468B2 |
Helical fixation member with chemical elution capabilities
The lead includes a helical fixation member coupled to the distal end of the lead body. The helical fixation member has at least one internal reservoir and a plurality of elution ports in fluid communication with the internal reservoir. A therapeutic agent composition is disposed within the internal reservoir. Additionally, the helical fixation member includes a sealed distal end to prevent coring of the cardiac tissue. |
| US08275463B1 |
Recording a context for sensed biological data
Exemplary techniques for recording a context for sensed biological data are described. One technique senses biological data from a patient and records supporting data with the sensed biological data. |
| US08275461B2 |
Pain relieving waveform system and method
A system and method for treating pain are disclosed. A voltage source provides an electric current, and a switching waveform controller receives the electric current and provides a first signal having a first waveform of a first frequency. A switching high frequency generator receives the electric current and provides a second signal having a waveform of a second frequency that is higher than the first frequency. A microprocessor controls the switching waveform controller and the switching high frequency generator. The second signal is superimposed on the first signal, providing a modified first signal. Alternatively, the switching waveform controller and the switching high frequency generator use one or more passive components and the second signal is superimposed on the first signal. At least one electrode receives the modified first signal, and the at least one electrode transmits a third signal associated with the modified first signal to a patient's skin. |
| US08275460B2 |
Device for electrically and mechanically stimulating a compartment in a body
A device is provided for stimulating select body tissues and organs from within a compartment in a body. The device includes a tube having a distal end, a proximal end and a plurality of lumens. At least one distendable element is located along and coupled to the tube in closer proximity to the distal end than to the proximal end. Each distendable element is configured to expand against the compartment into a first position and contract within the compartment into a second position. At least one electrical component is in association with each of the distendable elements and configured to activate and deactivate electrical stimulation to the select body tissues and organs. The expansion and contraction of each distendable element and the activation and deactivation of each electrical component in the compartment is repeated over a period of time. |
| US08275454B2 |
Iontophoresis device activated in use
An iontophoresis device activated in use, which is capable of supplying a dissolution liquid in an amount that depends on the amount of a drug when it is used, is provided.This iontophoresis device activated in use comprises: an absorber 11 formed of a material containing a dry drug 10 and capable of absorbing a liquid; a wall material 13 disposed around the absorber 11, having an adhesive layer 12 on the undersurface thereof; a support 15 disposed on the absorber 11 and the wall material 13, having an opening 14 in the central portion thereof; an electrode 25 disposed on the undersurface of the support 15; a diaphragm 20 disposed on the support 15; and a dissolution liquid reservoir 18 disposed on the diaphragm 20, retaining a dissolution liquid for dissolving the drug between the diaphragm 20 and itself, and having a protruding portion 17 for destroying the diaphragm 20 by pressing force. The protruding portion 17 has a linear apical portion, for example, and it is disposed so that it is allowed to come into contact with or is close to the diaphragm 20. A liner 19 is removably attached on the undersurface of both the absorber 11 and the adhesive layer 12. |
| US08275450B2 |
Multiple images, multiple exposure times, optical imaging of blood circulation velocities
A method of measuring blood velocity includes obtaining a first velocity image by illuminating a tissue surface with a light source for a first exposure time, obtaining a second velocity image by illuminating the tissue surface with the light source for a second exposure time, computing a first average intensity of a first pixel block at a first predetermined location of the first velocity image and a second average intensity of a second pixel block at a second predetermined location of the second velocity image, identifying mid-range velocities of the first and second pixel blocks, computing an optimal optical coherence parameter based on the mid-range velocity of the first pixel block and the mid-range velocity of the second pixel block, and iteratively re-computing the first velocity image and the second velocity image using the optimal optical coherence parameter. |
| US08275442B2 |
Treatment planning systems and methods for body contouring applications
Methods and system for treatment planning for non- and minimally-invasive alteration of body adipose tissue for reduction and contouring of body fat are described herein. Treatment plans can be generated by capturing current body part data (e.g., positioning, contour/shape, thickness of adipose tissue, etc.), determining desired outcome of treatment (e.g., percent reduction of adipose tissue thickness, degree of contour change, etc.), and determining treatment parameters to achieve desired results. Algorithms can be used to determine best-fit treatment parameters to use in treatment sessions. In some embodiments, the system can provide a predictive end-result image for communication to patient and/or for determining alteration of desired outcome. In various embodiments, real-time monitoring of feedback data can be used to determine treatment plan efficacy. Additional algorithms can provide real-time comparison of feedback data to anticipated feedback data, and can be used to change treatment parameters in real-time to achieve desired effects. |
| US08275432B2 |
Implantable optical sensor and method for manufacture
An implantable optical sensor and associated manufacturing method include a sensor housing having an inner surface and an outer surface and a window formed in the housing extending between the housing inner surface and the housing outer surface. An opto-electronic device enclosed within the housing and having a photonic surface is operatively positioned proximate the window for emitting light through the window or detecting light through the window. An optical coupling member is positioned between the opto-electronic device and the window for reducing light reflection at a surface within the implantable optical sensor. |
| US08275431B2 |
Tape-type superconductor with anisotropy of critical currents
A tape-type superconductor (1), comprising an elongated substrate (2), in particular a metal tape, and a continuous superconducting layer (3), in particular of a HTS type material, deposited on the substrate (2), is characterized in that Ic∥/Ic⊥≧1.5, with Ic∥ being the width density of critical current of the continuous superconducting layer (3) in parallel to the substrate (2) and in parallel to the elongated direction of the substrate (2), and with Ic⊥ being the width density of critical current of the continuous superconducting layer (3) in parallel to the substrate (2) and perpendicular to the elongated direction of the substrate (2). The tape-type superconductor has reduced ac losses. |
| US08275427B2 |
Magnetoelectric susceptibility measurement method and the system thereof
Disclosed herein is a method and system for measuring magnetoelectric susceptibility. The system includes a magnet supplying a DC magnetic bias to a magnetoelectric sample, an AC drive coil applying an AC magnetic field to the magnetoelectric sample, a charge amplifier amplifying an electric charge signal of the magnetoelectric sample oscillating by the AC magnetic field, and a phase sensitive detector detecting the voltage signal produced by the charge amplifier while supplying induction current to the AC drive coil. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a highly sensitive system for measuring magnetoelectric susceptibility, which is essential for research on multiferroic and magnetoelectric bulk and thin film materials at room temperature, and can also operate in the physical property measurement system (PPMS, manufactured by Quantum Design Co., Ltd.) for measurements under low temperature and high magnetic field environments. |
| US08275426B2 |
Button control structure for electronic device
A button control structure is used for an electronic device including a barrel defining a groove. The button control structure includes a button, a support element and a split ring gasket. The support element defines a slot. The button is slidably attached to the support element. One portion of the split ring gasket is received in the slot, the other portion projected from the slot and received in the groove. |
| US08275422B2 |
System and method for controlling the use of a handset communication device
The invention provides a system and method for controlling use of handset communication device for communication by driver. A system in accordance with an embodiment includes: an obtaining component for obtaining driving state information of the vehicle; a directional antenna for capturing a wireless communication signal of the handset communication device around the driver; a judging component for judging whether a driving state of the vehicle is in an unstable state based on predefined criteria and the driving state information of the vehicle; and a control component for transmitting a remote control signal, based on a judging result of the judging component, to intervene in a communication of the handset communication device during a call. |
| US08275419B2 |
Advertisements on mobile devices using integrations with mobile applications
A method for delivering advertisements to mobile devices includes integrating an ad position within an application executable from a mobile device, wherein the ad position remains substantially constant in a location on a screen of the mobile device as viewed by a user throughout use of the application; including an ad call associated with the ad position; in response to executing the application, causing the ad call to retrieve an advertisement from an ad server; and receiving the advertisement into the ad position by the mobile device for display to the user. |
| US08275414B1 |
User augmented reality for camera-enabled mobile devices
Apparatus and methods are described for providing a user augmented reality (UAR) service for a camera-enabled mobile device, so that a user of such mobile device can use the mobile device to obtain meta data regarding one or more images/video that are captured with such device. The meta data is interactive and allows the user to obtain additional information or specific types of information, such as information that will aid the user in making a decision regarding the identified objects or selectable action options that can be used to initiate actions with respect to the identified objects. |
| US08275412B2 |
Portable electronic device having directional proximity sensors based on device orientation
A portable electronic device having one or more proximity sensors. The portable electronic device comprises a housing, one or more signal emitters to direct source signal(s) based on the orientation of the housing, and one or more signal receivers to receive return signals corresponding to the source signal(s). For one embodiment, the device may include multiple signal emitters and a sensor to identify an orientation of the housing. The appropriate signal emitter may be selected based on the orientation of the housing as identified by the sensor. For another embodiment, the device may include a mechanism to redirect a source signal from a signal emitter in an appropriate direction based on the orientation of the housing. |
| US08275411B2 |
Method and apparatus for always-on voice client service on mobile computing devices
A telecommunications device including a laptop computer having a telephony soft client. According to embodiments of the present invention, calls may be received even when the laptop computer is turned off. The laptop computer wakes up responsive to detecting an incoming call. In some embodiments, the system checks on a user presence status before waking up the laptop. In some embodiments, the telephony soft client may be quick booted to allow a user to make an emergency telephone call, without fully booting the laptop computer. |
| US08275410B2 |
Radio communication terminal
A radio communication terminal 100 includes: a first storage unit, 1171 configured to store a PRL list L1 used for connection to a communication provider—provided WLAN provided by a communication provider, a content of the first storage unit 1171 being rewritable by the communication provider; and a second storage unit 1172 configured to store a user registration list L2 used for connection to a user-registered WLAN registered by a user of the radio communication terminal, the second storage unit 1172 being rewritable by the user. The radio communication terminal 100 selects any one of the communication provider-provided WLAN and the user-registered WLAN, based on the PRL list L1 and the user registration list L2. |
| US08275409B2 |
Mobile device, management apparatus, phone number modifying system, and control circuit
When a mobile device falls within a range in which the mobile device can communicate with an IC tag, the mobile device transmits a phone number acquisition request including an IC tag ID and a device number to a management apparatus. The management apparatus receives the phone number acquisition request, acquires a phone number corresponding to the IC tag ID and the device number included in the phone number acquisition request from a phone number management table, and informs the mobile device of the acquired phone number. The mobile device receives the phone number and modifies its own phone number to the received phone number. |
| US08275407B2 |
Methods and apparatus for communicating using multiple transmission power levels
Methods and apparatus for communicating information using different transmission power levels during different time periods are described. Various described methods and apparatus are well suited for use in a peer to peer wireless communication system. A device uses a high transmission power level for transmitting during a first predetermined period, so that information can be transmitted to at least some devices which are not reachable using lower transmission power levels. The high transmission power level used during the first predetermined period of time exceeds a maximum average permitted power level permitted for a second predetermined period of time. In some embodiments a device refrains from transmitting for a period of time after transmitting at the high transmission power level. In some embodiments the device transmits at a lower transmission power level during a third period of time following the first period of time. |
| US08275405B2 |
Mobile communication system, base station apparatus, mobile station apparatus, transmission power control method and information recording medium
In a mobile communication system performing the space division multiplex, the wireless resources are saved as much as possible and the reception powers of communication signals, which are received by a base station apparatus from mobile station apparatuses, are evened. A mobile communication system wherein each of mobile station apparatuses (10) includes a maximum power transmission information transmitting part (13) that transmits, to a base station apparatus (20), maximum power transmission information indicating that a communication signal is transmitted at the maximum transmission power of that mobile station apparatus (10), while the base station apparatus (20) includes a reception power acquiring part (22) that acquires the reception powers of the communication signals transmitted from the respective mobile station apparatuses (10), a maximum power transmission. |
| US08275403B2 |
Security in a mobile communication system
When a mobile terminal (10), having a basic identity module (12) operative according to a first security standard, initiates a service access, the home network (30) determines whether the mobile terminal has an executable program (14) configured to interact with the basic identity module for emulating an identity module according to the second security standard. If it is concluded that the mobile terminal has such an executable program, a security algorithm is executed at the home network (30) to provide security data according to the second security standard. At least part of these security data are then transferred, transparently to a visited network (20), to the mobile terminal (10). On the mobile terminal side, the executable program (14) is executed for emulating an identity module according to the second security standard using at least part of the transferred security data as input. Preferably, the first security standard corresponds to a 2G standard, basically the GSM standard and the second security standard at least in part corresponds to a 3G standard such as the UMTS standard, and/or the IP Multimedia Sub-system (IMS) standard. |
| US08275401B2 |
Data-capable network prioritization with reduced delays in data service
A mobile device sends to a wireless network a request for establishing a service. In response to a rejection of the request, the device reattempts the request so long as the total number of requests is less than a predetermined value. When the total number of rejected requests is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the device selects a different wireless network with which to establish the communication service if the wireless network is a non-home network. Otherwise, if the wireless network is the home network, the mobile device runs a timer which is initialized with an internal timer value instead of a network timer value when the internal timer value is less than the network timer value. In response to an expiration of the timer, the mobile device sends to the wireless network another one or more requests for establishing the service. |
| US08275400B2 |
Method and system for SMS based ticket number service over femtocell access point
A Femtocell Access Point (FAP) is used to provision a ticket number service. Customers approach the FAP and are given a ticket number indicating their place in the queue through an SMS message. Follow up SMS messages are sent updating the customer of their current position in line, as well as when it is their turn. Statistics may be generated from information gathered at the FAP and sent to an external client module. |
| US08275397B2 |
GPS based friend location and identification system and method
A system and method for observing a personal networking event which shares the position of a number of friendly participants with other participants within a group. In one form, the position of unknown participants meeting certain criteria is also displayed to a user or one or more friendly participants. The views are selectable by friendly participants on, for example, a GPS equipped cell phone, to include a view from the participant's position, zoom, pan, and tilt views, or views from another friendly location or from another geographic location, giving increased situational awareness and identification of participants. Other information can be shared among friendly participants, including social information, status and directions. |
| US08275395B2 |
Wireless handset vehicle safety interlock
A method and device for controlling the operability of a transmitter on a mobile communications device by determining if the mobile communications device is located proximate to an operator's seat of a vehicle. A condition parameter of the mobile communications device may be determined. The transmitter on the mobile communications device may be disabled in response to the mobile communications device being located proximate to an operator's seat of a vehicle and further in response to the determined condition parameter. The transmitter on the mobile communications device may be enabled, in response to determining that the mobile communications device is not located in a restricted location. |
| US08275389B2 |
Apparatus and method for determining operation of location update in a broadband wireless communication system
An apparatus and method for determining operation of location update in a broadband wireless communication system are provided. The apparatus includes a receiver, an interpreter, and a determiner. In an idle mode, the receiver receives a paging advertisement message from a Base Station (BS). The interpreter identifies paging group identification information included in the paging advertisement message. The determiner determines one of execution and non-execution of a location update process due to a change of a paging group if the paging group identification information is different from paging group identification information included in a previously received paging advertisement message. |
| US08275388B2 |
Method and apparatus for performing dynamic shared spectrum allocation between two overlapping wireless communication systems
Controlling spectrum use in a first wireless communications system which takes part in a spectrum assignment process, in which one of the first wireless communications system and a second wireless communications system assigns a portion of spectrum to the other of the first and second wireless communications system. The first wireless communications system includes a plurality of network elements some or all located within a cell associated with a particular network element of the second wireless communications system. The controlling includes coordinating network elements of the first wireless communications system to identify a portion of spectrum which is either available for assignment from the network elements of the first wireless communications system to the particular network element of the second wireless communications system, or required to be assigned from the particular network element of the second wireless communications system to the network elements of the first wireless communications system. |
| US08275386B2 |
Apparatus and method for adaptive channel quality feedback in a multicarrier wireless network
A subscriber station for use in a wireless network capable of communicating according to a multicarrier protocol. The subscriber station determines a total average signal level across N subbands, where each of subband comprises a plurality of subcarriers. The subscriber station also determines a first average signal level within a first subband. The subscriber station then transmits a channel quality indicator (CQI) feedback message to the wireless network. The CQI feedback message comprises a first data field indicating the total average signal level and a second data field indicating the first average signal level. The first data field may indicate the total average signal level as an absolute value and the second data field may indicate the first average signal level relative to the total average signal level. |
| US08275385B2 |
Method and arrangement for allocating radio resources in a communication system
The present invention relates to a method and an arrangement of facilitating the allocation of radio resources in a communication network, comprising a communication network node (15) communicating with said user equipment (18) by means of data streams over a radio interface on radio channels. A channel quality message having a length of a predefined number of bits is provided comprising information which is used for comparing an obtained channel quality if a single data stream transmission is selected or if a multi data stream transmission is selected for said communication. The available radio resources are then allocated based on said channel quality message. |
| US08275382B2 |
Multimedia communicator utilized to offer open services
A multimedia communicator is disclosed. The multimedia communicator comprises a processing unit; and a storage device coupled to the processing unit. The multimedia communicator further includes a plurality of interfaces to allow the multimedia communicator to offer a user a plurality of services. The MMC which includes a microprocessor computing system may be located in a car, for example, or within a handset similar to handsets presently utilized for cell phones. The MMC may be connected to a WiFi Internet connection, a cellular network, a satellite radio or equivalent satellite network, or to other available wireless networks. Additionally, the MMC has the potential to interface with GPS signals as desired. |
| US08275377B2 |
Wireless handoffs between multiple networks
The disclosure is directed to an access terminal, and method for selecting an access point for handing off the access terminal. The access terminal may include a processor. The processor may be configured to access a list access points and select one of the access points on the list based on the current traffic state of the access terminal. |
| US08275376B2 |
Handover between a cellular network and an unlicensed-radio access network using a single identifier for all the access points
In cellular mobile networks handover between base stations of adjacent cells requires the identity, address and frequency of all adjacent cells to be known to other elements of the network. Conventional networks can be extended by the addition of unlicensed-radio access networks. These include an access network controller (303) preferably connected via a broadband network (302) to a plurality of low-power local base stations (301), which communicate with mobile stations (1) over an unlicensed radio interface. The number and changing location of the local base station renders the operation and maintenance required to enable handover from the conventional network to these access networks prohibitively complex. This difficulty is alleviated by assigning the whole access network a single identifier. With this arrangement regardless of which base station mini-cell (304) an active call is being handed-over to, the conventional network will be able to route the request to the access network controller. |
| US08275375B2 |
Data integration for wireless network systems
Techniques relating to an apparatus in communications with a wireless terminal through a wireless network system are provided. The apparatus may include a wireless terminal communication unit in communication with the wireless terminal through the wireless network system and configured to receive a list of one or more data sources from the wireless terminal, a data source communication unit configured to receive source data from the one or more data sources in the list, and a source data integration unit configured to use the source data to generate integrated data for transmission to the wireless terminal. |
| US08275371B2 |
Apparatus and method for providing communications and connection-oriented services to devices
An apparatus and method for providing communications and connection-oriented services to devices are provided. According to one aspect, an interface device for providing communications between a first device and a second comprises an input, logic, and an output. The input of the interface device receives data in a first format from the first device. The logic performs a connection-oriented service on the data. The connection oriented service may include overriding caller identification information associated with the data, sending the data to a voicemail system, and storing a detail record associated with the data. The logic also identifies the second device for receiving the data. The logic then identifies a second format compatible with the second device and translates the data to the second format compatible with the second device. The translated data is then transmitted to the second device via the one or more outputs. |
| US08275365B1 |
Method and system for providing presence information
A system and method for a user to send presence information to authorized contacts in her phone's address book and to receive the presence information of those contacts in her phone's address book that have authorized her. A user can authorize any contact in her address book. Optionally, a user can only authorize a contact and be authorized by a contact if she is in that contact's address book. A local application on the phone interacts with and displays the phone's address book, manages the authorization of contacts, updates the client's presence, and receives and displays the presence of contacts. The local application updates the client's presence manually, semi-automatically, or automatically. Semi-automatic updates involve synchronizing with the phone's calendar. Automatic updates may involve the use of location data, the phone's built-in sensors, and augmented reality. |
| US08275362B2 |
Disambiguating ambiguous characters
In one general sense, information may be presented to a user by receiving one or more ambiguous characters that may be resolved to one of at least two disambiguated characters, exchanging at least one of the ambiguous characters with a host, receiving, from the host, results that reflect disambiguated terms related to the ambiguous characters exchanged with the host, rendering the results in a manner enabling the user to perceive which of the disambiguated terms will be used upon user selection of an aspect of the results, and enabling the user to select an aspect of the results to effect use of a corresponding one of the disambiguated terms. |
| US08275361B2 |
Place-specific buddy list services
An information service provides search and notifications to inform when certain people (e.g., friends, family, business contacts, etc.) are nearby so as to facilitate communications with those people. Users may define lists of people whose locations may be tracked by positioning equipment based on personal communications/computing devices carried by the people. The information service processes this people and place data to identify those of the listed people that are in the user's vicinity, and provide notifications and user-initiated search results informing the user such as via the user's personal communications/computing device. |
| US08275360B2 |
Mobile video dating service
A method includes sending media clips provided by date candidates to a device of a seeker for viewing by the seeker, receiving a selection of a candidate from the seeker device, sending a media clip provided by the seeker to a device of the selected candidate for playing and facilitating a call between the seeker and the candidate if the candidate agrees. |
| US08275359B2 |
Wireless user based notification system
A group of wireless device users are notified of an event. A location data determination algorithm is provided to a wireless device, where the algorithm determines a frequency at which the device interacts with network elements to determine its location. The location data is stored in a notification server and used to identify a user at a specific location. When a governmental or commercial entity wishes to issue a notification, a message is provided to those users whose location is identified as being in an area defined by the entity. |
| US08275358B1 |
Providing notice and receiving consent to obtain location information of a mobile device
A system for receiving user consent to obtaining location information of a mobile device includes a communications interface configured for communication with a mobile device, a validation logic configured to identify the mobile device at least in part by obtaining an identifier associated with the mobile device, and a notification logic configured to communicate a signal including data representing an automated voice message. The automated voice message provides a notice or the location of a notice including information indicating to the user of the mobile device that consenting to the obtaining of the location information of the mobile device would result in the location information of the mobile device being disclosed. The communications interface is configured to transmit the automated voice message to the mobile device, and to receive from the mobile device data indicating the user consent for obtaining the location information of the mobile device. |
| US08275356B2 |
System and method for secure management of mobile user access to enterprise network resources
A system and method are provided for managing mobile user access to enterprise network resources from a wireless mobile device, such as a smart phone or mobile computer, with improved security and access control. Access rules determining accessible resources and associated permitted operations are determined based on membership of an authenticated user to each of one or more groups, each group being associated with a set of permitted accessible resources and operations. For each user, based on membership of a group, or a Boolean evaluation of memberships of two or more groups, a list of accessible resources and permitted operations is generated, and the list is made available for subsequent processes, e.g. presentation to the user on an interface of the mobile device. Access rules may also be defined dependent on other information received from the system, or from the mobile device, such as time or location. Requests for an operation such as read access or write access to a network resource, such as a file, lists, shared calendars et al., may thus be readily controlled by an IT manager for multiple users of an enterprise network. Since the application resides in an application layer between the mobile device and existing security infrastructure, mobile access may be set without overriding internal access policies. |
| US08275349B2 |
Method and system for providing tiered priority access to communication network resources
Methods and systems automatically allocate cellular communication network resources to emergency response personnel during emergency situations which are detected by call volumes exceeding a predetermined maximum. Access to cellular communication network resources is provided by dedicating a portion of communication channels to emergency response personnel use. By reserving whole communication channels for emergency communication purposes, emergency personnel are able to both initiate and receive calls from both other mobile devices as well as conventional landline telephone stations. Qualified emergency response personnel can preregistered their phones and be assigned personal identification numbers to enable access to allocated network resources. Users can also be registered “on the fly.” |
| US08275347B2 |
Emergency alert initiation via a mobile device
Systems, methods and computer readable media are disclosed for initiating an emergency alert system alert from a mobile device. In addition to the general system, methods and computer readable medium for such initiating of an emergency alert system alert from a mobile device the process may further implement receiving multiple such emergency alert system alert initiation messages and combining them to determine a more accurate location area of the emergency. |
| US08275346B2 |
Wireless, centralized emergency services system
Plural voice pendants 100 communicate with a remote monitoring station using a wireless communications protocol and without requiring a connection to a circuit switched telephone network. Such a configuration may be used in any group environment, such as a retirement home or an assisted living facility. The voice pendants can be carried or worn by the residents/patients/members of the home or the facility to assist in calling for help in an emergency situation, e.g., if someone has fallen and cannot get up. By activating an actuator (e.g., a button or switch) on the pendant, the person wearing the pendant is put into voice communication with the monitoring station without the need to dial any phone numbers or hit a “send” style button which indicates the end of a dialed number sequence. |
| US08275342B2 |
Downconversion mixer
At very high frequencies, generally above 100 GHz, the performance of traditional radio frequency (RF) circuitry begins to significantly limit performance. An example is the hybrid coupler, which can have a relatively narrow 90° bandwidth in these frequency ranges. Here, however, a branch-line hybrid coupler (which has been integrated into a quadrature downconversion mixer) has been modified. Namely, an adjustable impedance network has been coupled to isolation port (which has traditionally been terminated) to substantially increase the tuning range and expand the bandwidth of the quadrature mixer within these very high frequency ranges. |
| US08275341B2 |
Fixed point FIR filter with adaptive truncation and clipping and wireless mobile station using same
A fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filter comprising: 1) an input stage for receiving an input signal as a sequence of input samples comprising: i) delay elements connected in series for receiving and shifting N sequential input samples; ii) multipliers, each multiplier receiving a selected one of the N sequential input samples from the delay elements and multiplying the selected input sample by a corresponding coefficient to produce an intermediate product; and iii) a summer for receiving and adding N intermediate products from the multipliers to produce an output sum signal comprising a sequence of output sum samples; and 2) an output stage for truncating k least significant bits (LSBs) from each of the output sum samples, wherein k is a variable number. |
| US08275340B2 |
Fixed point FIR filter with adaptive truncation and clipping and wireless mobile station using same
A fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filter comprising: 1) an input stage for receiving an input signal as a sequence of input samples comprising: i) delay elements connected in series for receiving and shifting N sequential input samples; ii) multipliers, each multiplier receiving a selected one of the N sequential input samples from the delay elements and multiplying the selected input sample by a corresponding coefficient to produce an intermediate product; and iii) a summer for receiving and adding N intermediate products from the multipliers to produce an output sum signal comprising a sequence of output sum samples; and 2) an output stage for truncating k least significant bits (LSBs) from each of the output sum samples, wherein k is a variable number. |
| US08275339B2 |
Fixed point FIR filter with adaptive truncation and clipping and wireless mobile station using same
A fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filter comprising: 1) an input stage for receiving an input signal as a sequence of input samples comprising: i) delay elements connected in series for receiving and shifting N sequential input samples; ii) multipliers, each multiplier receiving a selected one of the N sequential input samples from the delay elements and multiplying the selected input sample by a corresponding coefficient to produce an intermediate product; and iii) a summer for receiving and adding N intermediate products from the multipliers to produce an output sum signal comprising a sequence of output sum samples; and 2) an output stage for truncating k least significant bits (LSBs) from each of the output sum samples, wherein k is a variable number. |
| US08275337B2 |
Adaptive array wireless communication apparatus and method of same
An adaptive array wireless communication apparatus able to suitably select antenna elements, small in amount of processing, fast in convergence speed, and suitable for transmission/reception, and a method of the same, which controls the directionalities of array antenna elements based on array weights, controls an antenna element selecting unit 23 so that the antenna elements are intermittently determined, and adjusts a period of determination of the antenna elements based on information of the antenna elements determined at a controlling unit 26. |
| US08275336B2 |
Apparatus and method for digitally controlling capacitance
An oscillator circuit having a source of an oscillating signal, a tank circuit including an inductor and a capacitor, and a discretely switchable capacitance module configured to control an amount of capacitance in the oscillator circuit. The discretely switchable capacitance module includes, in one embodiment, a capacitor coupled between a first node and a second node, a switch, having a control node, coupled between the second node and a third node; and a DC feed circuit, having a first end coupled to the second node and a second end configured to receive a first or second control signal. The control node of the switch is tied to a predetermined bias voltage. When the first control signal is applied, the capacitor is coupled between the first node and the third node via the switch such that the capacitor is coupled in parallel with the capacitor of the tank circuit, and when the second control signal is applied the capacitor is decoupled from the tank circuit. |
| US08275330B1 |
Radio frequency transmitter energy shifting during ramp-down
The present disclosure relates to IQ modulation circuitry that during a data burst mode, modulates an RF carrier signal to provide a modulated RF signal, which is used for transmission of a transmit slot. During the data burst mode, a maximum energy spectrum peak of the modulated RF signal is about coincident with an RF carrier frequency of the RF carrier signal to comply with communications protocols. Further, during an energy-shifted ramp-down mode, which is coincident with ramp-down of the modulated RF signal, the IQ modulation circuitry modulates the RF carrier signal to provide the modulated RF signal. During the energy-shifted ramp-down mode, the maximum energy spectrum peak of the modulated RF signal is shifted away from the RF carrier frequency of the RF carrier signal to mitigate the effects of preparing for receiving an RF receive signal. |
| US08275326B2 |
System and method for low noise output divider and buffer having low current consumption
A low noise divider includes a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) having a first frequency output, a frequency divider configured to receive the first frequency output and configured to provide a second frequency output; and a buffer circuit configured to receive the first frequency output and the second frequency output, the buffer circuit configured to provide the second frequency output as an output of the low noise divider, where a phase noise of the second frequency output is dependent only on a phase noise of the first frequency output. |
| US08275324B2 |
Method and apparatus for predicting received signal strength in a communication system
A method, apparatus and computer program product for predicting received signal strength in a wireless mobile receiver. The invention bounds the range of allowed values for a next predicted signal. The bounded prediction compensates for erroneous values from multipath fading. The predicted signal strength is used to set the mobile receiver amplifier gain to the desired level. |
| US08275319B2 |
Processing of multi-carrier signals before power amplifier amplification
Embodiments for methods and apparatuses for processing a multi-carrier signal are disclosed. One method includes shaping a frequency spectrum of a multi-carrier transmit signal wherein an amplitude of a plurality of subcarriers of the multi-carrier transmit signal is increased relative to at least one other subcarrier of the multi-carrier transmit signal. The shaped frequency spectrum multi-carrier transmit signal is amplified with a power amplifier, wherein a power level of an output of the power amplifier is greater than a rated power level of the power amplifier. |
| US08275317B2 |
Radio controller system and method for remote devices
A system and method for remote device control are disclosed. A system incorporating teachings of the present disclosure may include a radio controlled toy and a controller for controlling the toy. In some embodiments, the controller may have an input mechanism and a housing component that defines a cavity, within which may be located a wireless wide area transceiver and a wireless local area transceiver. Some controllers may also have an operating system for the controller and an application resident on the controller and operable to convert inputs received via the input mechanism into commands for the toy. The controller may have a microprocessor operable to execute the application and to cause the commands to be communicated to the toy using the wireless local area transceiver. |
| US08275311B2 |
Method in connection with a wrist diving computer and a wrist diving computer system
The invention relates to a method and system in connection with a wristop diving computer (1). According to the method, at least the pressure of a gas bottle (2) is measured and the pressure data is transmitted under water using a low first frequency f1 to a wristop computer (1). According to the invention, on the surface of the water a second frequency f2, higher than the first frequency f1, is used for two-way telecommunications between the gas bottle (2) and the wristop computer (1). |
| US08275310B2 |
Wireless system for transmitting data between a base station and a relay antenna of a mobile telephony network
The invention relates to a wireless system for transmitting data between a base station and a relay antenna of a mobile telephony network. A link comprises, for the separating of the channels, two filters having a lower isolation than a total predetermined isolation and the antennas are dual-polarization antennas, each polarization being allocated to one of the two channels. The isolation provided by the filters and the antenna are added together to obtain the total predetermined isolation. |
| US08275309B2 |
Data relay for a controller
An irrigation system includes an irrigation controller, at least one environmental sensor and a vandal resistant data relay. The irrigation controller includes a two conductor hard wired communications link for accepting an actual value of at least one parameter of interest from an environmental sensor in the form of data encoded on the conductors via current modulation. The environmental sensor is mounted in a location remote from the irrigation controller. A circuit is connected to the environmental sensor for transmitting an RF signal representing an actual value of a parameter of interest detected by the environmental sensor. The vandal resistant data relay is connected to the two conductor hard wired communication link of the irrigation controller. The vandal resistant data relay includes a receiver that receives the RF signal, and circuitry configured to extract the actual value of the parameter of interest and emulate a predetermined set of physical and protocol properties of the two conductor hard wired communication link of the irrigation controller. |
| US08275308B2 |
Method for relaying between a base station and a mobile station
Disclosed is a cooperative relay station that relays between a base station and a mobile station when retransmitting a signal. Also, disclosed is a base station that receives a signal from a mobile station in mutual cooperation with the cooperative relay station. After the cooperative relay station receives and decodes a signal that the mobile station transmits to the base station or a service relay station, if an error of the decoded signal does not exist, it stores the received signal. If an error occurs when the base station decodes the signal that the mobile station transmits, the base station requests retransmission for the signal with the error to the cooperative relay station. If the cooperative relay station gets a request of retransmission, it transmits the signal that the base station requests to the base station. In this was, since an error rate may be reduced when the base station requests retransmission of the signal, resource reuse efficiency may become improved, interference may be reduced, and it is easy to adapt to a service being sensitive to time delay. |
| US08275307B2 |
Vehicle audio integrator
An audio integrator monitors the outputs of a plurality of audio sources, and a controller prioritizes the audio sources. An active audio detection circuit determines when one or more of the audio sources become active. When the two or more audio sources are active simultaneously, the controller directs the highest priority audio source to one or more speakers. If a lower priority audio signal is currently playing, newly active voice communication audio, such as communications or directional information, is delayed to preserve the beginning of the message during an audio switch-over. A currently-playing, lower-priority audio signal may be decreased in volume, and a tone unique to the new audio source sounded, prior to the switching the audio to the higher-priority source. During audio input (e.g., while actuating a push-to-talk button on a microphone), all active audio sources are quieted. |
| US08275305B2 |
Programmed classroom instruction
A computer-implemented method of overseeing and adjusting the instruction and evaluation of a student with respect to one or more topics of study within a classroom. The subject matter of an academic course is studied and broken down into a plurality of discretely defined behavioral performances designed to be readily and objectively recognized as being mastered or not by a student. One or more of the discretely defined behavioral performances are then selected, with the aid of a first computerized database system, as learning objectives for the week. At the end of the week, a student is subsequently evaluated on these objectives. Results of the evaluation are then transferred to a second computerized database system, which organizes the collected data into an interactive learning management report that can be configured by a reviewer in real time to display a variety of levels of detail. |
| US08275299B2 |
Transfer unit and image forming apparatus employing the same
A transfer unit, which transfers a toner image formed on at least one image support to a printing medium, and an image forming apparatus employing the same. The transfer unit includes: an intermediate transfer body to the toner image from the image support, which has a curved transfer surface and an ASKER-A hardness of from about 25° to 40°; a transfer member, which has an ASKER-C hardness of from about 45° to 70°, and which contacts the intermediate transfer body, with a printing medium being interposed therebetween, and transfers the toner image from the intermediate transfer body to the printing medium. The transfer unit may further include: a de-electrifying member having a DC power and an AC power concurrently applied thereto, to de-electrify the printing. |
| US08275298B2 |
Developer supply device
A developer supply device, comprising: a developer holding body having a circumferential surface and a rotation axis extending in a main scanning direction and being placed to face a supply target at a developer supply position; a carrying substrate that has a plurality of electrodes arranged along a direction intersecting with the main scanning direction and that carries a developer in a developer transport direction through a traveling electric field generated by application of a multiphase alternating voltage to the plurality of electrodes, the carrying substrate being located such that an end of the carrying substrate in the developer transport direction is positioned to face the developer holding body; and a voltage application unit configured to apply, to the plurality of electrodes and the developer holding body, the multiphase alternating voltage having alternating components synchronizing with each other. |
| US08275296B2 |
Image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus includes first and second image supporting members; first and second developer supporting members for forming a first developer image in a first color and a second developer image in a second color, respectively; first and second transfer members for transferring the first developer image and the second developer image to a medium, respectively; a voltage applying unit for applying a first voltage to one of the first image supporting member and the first transfer member and a second voltage to one of the second image supporting member and the second transfer member. The voltage applying unit is arranged to apply the second voltage greater than the first voltage to one of the second image supporting member and the second transfer member when a printing operation is performed to form an image only in the first color. |
| US08275294B2 |
Developing device and image forming apparatus
A developing device includes: a container that contains a developer including toner; a partition that forms a plurality of chambers by partitioning an interior space of the container; an agitation mechanism that agitates the developer in the interior space and moves the developer between the plurality of chambers; a transport section that is supplied with the developer from the container, and transports the developer to a surface of an image carrier that carries an electrostatic latent image such that the transported developer is close to or contacts the surface of the image carrier, thereby developing the electrostatic latent image; and a driving mechanism that moves at least the partition. |
| US08275286B2 |
Process cartridge, electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and electrophotographic photosensitive drum unit
A process cartridge for use in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The process cartridge includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum having a photosensitive layer at a peripheral surface thereof, with the electrophotographic photosensitive drum being rotatable about an axis thereof. The process cartridge also includes a coupling member to receive a rotational force for rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, with the coupling member capable of taking a rotational force transmitting angular position for transmitting the rotational force to the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. The coupling member is also capable of taking a disengaging angular position in which the coupling member is inclined away from the rotational force transmitting angular position. |
| US08275285B2 |
Process cartridge and image forming apparatus
A process cartridge includes a photosensitive drum, a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit, arranged opposite to each other along a rotating direction of the photosensitive drum in an enclosure that has an opening opposite to a developing roller of the developing unit. An extended line connecting a tangent line to an outer circumference of the developing roller and a wall of a first end of the enclosure in an axial direction of the developing roller does not intersect with a wall of a second end of the enclosure. |
| US08275283B2 |
Cartridge with developer layer thickness regulating member and image forming apparatus including the same
A cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a developer carrying member for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing member, and an electroconductive developer layer thickness regulating member for regulating a layer thickness of a developer deposited on the developer carrying member. A part of the developer layer thickness regulating member is directly contactable to the main assembly electrical contact. |
| US08275281B2 |
Image forming apparatus and image forming system
An image forming apparatus comprises a connection unit, a display unit, a detector unit detecting the connection of the vendor to the connection unit and detecting the receipt of at least either one of card insertion and coin insertion by the vendor, a fixing unit, a power supply unit distributing power to the display unit and the fixing unit, and a control unit causing the power supply unit to distribute power to the fixing unit so that the fixing unit maintains a second standby temperature lower than a first standby temperature being lower than a toner image heating temperature while causing the power supply unit to maintain the power distribution to the display unit when the detector unit does not detect the receipt of at least either one of the card insertion and the coin insertion by the vendor while detecting the connection of the vendor to the connection unit. |
| US08275273B2 |
Apparatus and method for evaluating printing apparatus cleaner performance
An apparatus (100) and method (200) that evaluates printing apparatus cleaner performance. The method can be performed in a printing apparatus that can include an intermediate transfer belt (150), an intermediate transfer belt sensor (155), a developer (115), a photoreceptor (110), and a photoreceptor cleaner (120). The method can include placing (220) marking material on the photoreceptor using the developer. The method can include cleaning (230) the marking material on the photoreceptor using the photoreceptor cleaner. The method can include transferring (240) the marking material to the intermediate transfer belt. The method can include sensing (250) marking material on the intermediate transfer belt using the intermediate transfer belt sensor. |
| US08275272B2 |
Method and apparatus for printing
Aspects of the disclosure can provide a method for replacing a customer replaceable unit (CRU) in a printing system. The method can include determining a historic usage pattern for a CRU during a usage of the CRU, calculating a remaining time for the CRU based on the historic usage pattern, and signaling a user for ordering a new CRC when the remaining time for the CRU is substantially equivalent to a pre-determined value. |
| US08275269B2 |
Distributed Raman amplifier and optical communication system
The distributed Raman amplifier monitors an OSNR of each channel in a WDM light which has been propagated through a transmission path to be Raman amplified, and thereafter, is amplified by an optical amplifier in an optical repeating node; judges whether a monitor value of the OSNR is larger or smaller than a previously set target value thereof; and feedback controls a driving state of a pumping light source which supplies a Raman pumping light to the transmission path, based on the judgment result. The optical communication system comprises the above distributed Raman amplifier in each repeating span thereof, and performs a pumping light control of the distributed Raman amplifier corresponding to the repeating span selected based on the OSNR in each distributed Raman amplifier and the monitor result of span loss. As a result, it becomes possible to effectively improve the OSNR of each channel in the WDM light, and also, to reduce the power consumption. |
| US08275266B2 |
Free-space optical interconnect with asymmetric light pipes
An optical interconnect system includes components such as circuit boards, server blades, or a backplane with respective light pipes for an optical signal. The light pipe in a component transmitting the optical signal receives a collimated beam and directs the collimated beam for transmission. The light pipe in a receiving component is nominally aligned with the light pipe pf the transmitting component and separated from the first light pipe by free space. The light pipe on the receiving side is larger than the light pipe on the transmitting side and can therefore accommodate an expected alignment error. |
| US08275263B1 |
Multiplication of phase deviations
Technologies are described herein for a phase deviation multiplication apparatus that implements an in-place multiplication approach for multiplying the phase deviation of an input signal while maintaining the frequency of the carrier signal within a frequency band of operation. According to an embodiment, a multi-stage phase deviation multiplication apparatus includes a plurality of sequentially arranged phase deviation multipliers, including at least a first phase deviation multiplier and a last phase deviation multiplier. The phase deviation multipliers have respective predetermined phase deviation multiplication factors. The first phase deviation multiplier receives an input signal and the last phase deviation multiplier generates a last phase deviated signal. The last phase deviated signal has a phase deviation multiplication factor that is the product of the respective predetermined phase deviation multiplication factors of the plurality of phase deviation multipliers. |
| US08275262B2 |
Methods and apparatus to deploy fiber optic based access networks
Methods and apparatus to deploy fiber optic based access networks are disclosed. An example access network comprises a first fiber optic cable segment to couple an optical access head-end to a first pedestal and to transport user data, a second fiber optic cable segment to couple the first pedestal to a second pedestal and to transport a first portion of the user data to the second pedestal, a drop cable segment to couple the first pedestal to a customer premises and to transport a second portion of the user data to the customer premises, and a switch at the first pedestal to route the first portion of the user data between the first and second fiber optic cable segments and to route the second portion of the user data between the first fiber optic cable segment and the drop cable segment. |
| US08275258B2 |
Optical communication base station, optical signal conversion apparatus, and optical signal conversion method
An optical communication base station which receives an upstream optical signal having an upstream bit rate specific to each one of a plurality of lower order communication units from a corresponding one of the plurality of lower order communication units, and which transmits a downstream optical signal having a downstream bit rate specific to each one of the plurality of lower order communication units to a designated one of the plurality of lower order communication units, includes; a first optical signal conversion unit which changes the bit rate of the upstream optical signal and thereby converts the upstream optical signal into a fixed bit-rate inter-station optical signal; and a second optical signal conversion unit which converts the inter-station optical signal into the downstream optical signal by changing the bit rate of the inter-station optical signal according to the designated one of the plurality of lower order communication units. |
| US08275248B2 |
Repeated evaporation garment steamer
This invention discloses a kind of garment steamer technology, which overcomes the defects of obvious condensation and return flow inside the steam duct and the low purity and temperature of steam. It comprises a main body, a steam duct and a brush head, being equipped with a water tank and a heating and vaporizing device inside, said heating and vaporizing device inside said main body comprising the first vaporizing device and the second vaporizing device, said brush head being equipped with the third vaporizing device; said first vaporizing device comprising a spiral vaporizing tube, an electric heating tube and a metal die cast; is provided with a water outlet pipe on the bottom, said water outlet pipe is connected with the water inlet of said spiral vaporizing tube via the pump. This product is featured by that the steam from said second vaporizing steam outlet has been provided with high purity and low humidity; after passing the third vaporizing device, the steam can be provided with guaranteed purity and temperature when being sprayed from the brush head, which greatly improves the ironing efficiency and effect of mites elimination and can be widely used in fashion stores, small clothing factories and some families with high requirements for dressing. |
| US08275246B2 |
Digital content reproducing and storing apparatus, digital content reproducing and storing method, digital content storing apparatus, digital content reproducing apparatus, and computer readable medium storing digital content reproducing and storing program
A digital content reproducing and storing apparatus according to one aspect of the invention is configured to perform a storing operation while receiving TS packet constituting digital content and configured to perform a reproducing operation through a PES (Packetized Elementary Stream) obtained by demultiplexing the received TS packet or a read-out TS packet stored therein. The digital content reproducing and storing apparatus includes: a storing unit operable to: demultiplex the received TS packet to obtain the PES; add time information contained in the obtained PES to the received TS packet; and store the received TS packet with the time information added thereto; and a reproducing unit configured to specify a TS packet based on the time information corresponding to a designated prior time and perform the reproducing operation based on the specified TS packet. |
| US08275242B2 |
Recording/reproducing apparatus and display control method
If a program is reproduced on a thumbnail image screen in thumbnail image display, it is effective for judging whether the program is a desired program. A program desired by a user is viewed at a timing not intended by the user because important scenes are viewed beforehand on the thumbnail image display screen in some cases. The recording/reproducing apparatus is structured in such a manner that a thumbnail image display method can be automatically changed for each program in accordance with whether it is highly recognized that the program is viewed by a user. |
| US08275241B2 |
Data management device and method for managing recording medium
A data management device manages a recording medium, on which a partition table having information regarding a partition is recorded and on which a plurality of drives are assigned using partition description, by referring to the partition table. The plurality of drives include a recording drive on which a basic playback unit included in a file is recorded and a management drive on which a property file having access information for the basic playback unit is recorded. The data management device includes an accessing section for accessing the basic playback unit included in the file recorded on the recording drive by referring to the property file recorded on the management drive. |
| US08275236B2 |
Information-processing device, content-reproduction-propriety-determination-notification method, and content-reproduction-propriety-determination-notification program
An information-processing device including a recording unit configured to record a plurality of types of content-data items to be recorded onto at least one predetermined recording medium, a determination unit configured to determine whether or not the plurality of types of content-data items recorded onto the recording medium by the recording unit includes at least one content-data item of which reproduction is difficult for a purpose-built reproduction device to perform, the purpose-built reproduction device supporting a predetermined format, and a notification unit configured to make a notification according to a predetermined method when the determination unit determines that the content-data item of which reproduction is difficult to perform is included, the notification indicating details on the determination is provided. |
| US08275229B2 |
Sealing gland system
A sealing gland system having an upper half, a lower half, and a sealing material positioned between the upper and lower halves. Each of the upper and lower halves and the sealing material has at least one opening extending therethrough, and wherein the sealing material forms a seal around at least one cable extending through the sealing material upon compression thereof. |
| US08275228B2 |
Network interface unit for modular furniture
A network interface unit (NIU) for a modular workstation includes a housing. One or more input network adapters on the housing receive input connectors of a first multi-network cable that is connected to a distribution network. One or more output network adapters on the housing receive output connectors of a second multi-network cable that is connected to another NIU of another modular workstation to provide for a daisy chain connection. One or more workstation adapters are provided on the housing for providing connections to one or more networks of various security levels. Cables that are connected to one or more CPUs or telephones of the workstation are connected to respective ones of the workstation adapters. The workstation adapters of the NIU may provide one or more of visual, physical, and geographical verification and segregation of the network connections to enhance the integrity of the security of the various networks available at the NIU. |
| US08275227B2 |
Cable installation
A method for use in connection with installing a fiber unit into a conduit having a first end and a second end, the method being suitable to detect when the fiber unit introduced into the first end arrives at the second end. The fiber unit is introduced into the conduit from the first end and installed towards the second end; introducing a light with a light source into the fiber unit at the first end; detecting reflected light in the fiber unit with a light detector at the first end, and detecting changes in the reflected light, whereby an operator may determine that the fiber unit has arrived at the second end. |
| US08275225B2 |
Multi-jacketed fiber optic cable
A method for installing a fiber optic cable assembly includes providing a fiber optic cable assembly. The fiber optic cable assembly includes a first jacket, a strength layer, and a second jacket. The strength layer surrounds the first jacket and includes a first set of strength members helically wrapped around the first jacket and a second set of strength members reverse helically wrapped around the first jacket. The first and second sets of strength members are unbraided. The method further includes routing the fiber optic cable assembly from a fiber optic enclosure to an end location. A portion of the second jacket at an end of the fiber optic cable assembly is split. The portion of the second jacket is removed. |
| US08275222B2 |
Handwriting detection sheet and handwriting system
A handwriting detection sheet includes a handwriting layer, a code layer and an optical layer. The handwriting layer can display handwriting. The code layer is placed on a rear-face side of the handwriting layer. The code layer includes plural code images arranged in a matrix manner. In the code images, position codes are encoded with a light absorption material that absorbs infrared light. The optical layer is placed on a rear-face side of the code layer. The optical layer reflects infrared light and allows visible light to pass through. |
| US08275218B2 |
Forward and backward image resizing method
A forward and backward image resizing method is used for resizing a low-resolution image into a high-resolution image. In the method, the low-resolution image is obtained first, and then a forward and backward image resizing process is performed, so as to resize the low-resolution image into the high-resolution image with an integral multiple resolution. The forward and backward image resizing process includes: resizing the low-resolution image by the integral multiple, so as to generate a first-resizing image with the integral multiple resolution; further increasing the resolution of the first-resizing image by 2-fold, so as to generate a second-resizing image; and reducing the resolution of the second-resizing image by 2-fold, thereby obtaining the high-resolution image. |
| US08275217B2 |
Apparatus and method for combining several sub-images for any imaging surface areas
An apparatus provides an image on the basis of a plurality of input images. The apparatus includes a first stage having at least a first and a second combiner, each of the combiners including a first storer for storing image data of the input images, a first processor for processing the image data of the input images into an intermediate image, and a second storer for storing image data of the intermediate image. The apparatus further includes a second stage having at least one further combiner, the further combiner including a third storer for storing image data of those intermediate images which are stored in the second storer of the first stage, a second processor for processing the image data from the third storer, so as to combine the image data of the intermediate images into the image, and a fourth storer for storing image data of the image. |
| US08275210B2 |
Lossless compressor for image data values
Disclosed is method of encoding a set of data values (205-245). Each data value corresponds to a pixel position (205,210, 220,225) within an image (100). The method operates on a current (230) said data value at a current pixel position. The method creates (605) a context set (215,225) for the data value (230), the context set including a data value at a pixel position (225) in the set immediately preceding the current pixel position in an encoding order, wherein the immediately preceding pixel position is not adjacent said current pixel position within said image. The method then encodes (500) the data value (230) using the created context set (215,225). A corresponding decoding method is also provided. |
| US08275207B2 |
Digital signal encoding and decoding device and method
An encoding device includes: a difference generation unit for obtaining a first pixel difference value as a difference value between a first pixel value and a pixel value of a pixel having the same color as the first pixel positioned in the vicinity of the first pixel; a quantization width decision unit for deciding a quantization width in data generation by quantizing the first and the second pixel value according to the number of digits of an unsigned integer binary value of the first pixel difference value and the number of digits of an unsigned integer binary value of the second pixel difference value generated in the difference generation unit for the second pixel value of the second pixel; a quantization width information generation unit for generating quantization width information having a quantization width used for quantization/decoding of the first and the second pixel value; and a quantization unit for generating a first and a second compressed encoded pixel value of n-bit length. |
| US08275201B2 |
Image enhancement and application functionality for medical and other uses
The disclosure herein provides beneficial systems, methods, devices, and apparatuses that enhance and/or analyze images, and that can be configured to provide users an assessment and/or recommendation based on the enhanced and/or analyzed images. In an embodiment related to medicine, the assessment and/or recommendation is based on a patient situation, dimensions of patient organs/lumens, or the like in order to achieve personalized medicine. |
| US08275197B2 |
Techniques to manage a whiteboard for multimedia conference events
Techniques to manage a whiteboard for multimedia conference events are described. An apparatus may comprise a whiteboard manager component operative to manage whiteboard recording, image processing and reproduction operations for a multimedia conference event. The whiteboard manager component may comprise an image quantizer module operative to receive an image of a writing surface with pen strokes, and quantize each pixel of the image into a predetermined number of colors, an attribute extractor module communicatively coupled to the image quantizer module, the attribute extractor module operative to extract stroke attribute information for the pen strokes from the quantized pixels, and a whiteboard interface module communicatively coupled to the attribute extractor module, the whiteboard interface module operative to send the stroke attribute information to a meeting console for rendering as digital pen strokes on a digital writing surface. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US08275194B2 |
Site modeling using image data fusion
Site modeling using image data fusion. Geometric shapes are generated to represent portions of one or more structures based on digital height data and a two-dimensional segmentation of portions of the one or more structures is generated based on three-dimensional line segments and digital height data. A labeled segmentation of the one or more structures is generated based on the geometric shapes and the two-dimensional segmentation. A three-dimensional model of the one or more structures is generated based on the labeled segmentation. |
| US08275184B2 |
Measuring body for an implant and method for providing A 3D measurement drawing
A measuring body for an implant, having a measuring geometry that can be captured by a measuring camera and a connection geometry on the implant. Said measuring geometry is arranged on a test part and the connection geometry is arranged on a bearing part, both parts being embodied as separate components. Said bearing part comprises a bearing for the test part and the test part comprises a counter bearing to the bearing and the measuring geometry is provided on a free end of the test part. Also provided is a method for capturing a 3D-measurement drawing of a measuring body that is arranged on an implant. |
| US08275182B2 |
Method for automated delineation of contours of tissue in medical images
The present invention relates to a method for delineating the contour of an object in captured medical images by first transforming the shape of the object into a simple geometric shape that is more computationally tractable than the shape of the object. After the contour of the transformed shape is detected, the inverse of the transformation is applied to the contour such that it represents the contour of the object in the captured medical image. |
| US08275177B2 |
System and method for media fingerprint indexing
A fingerprint and indexing service is implemented to receive a media object and generate a fingerprint corresponding to the media object. The fingerprint and indexing service may segment the fingerprint into frames and generate a confidence value for each bit within each frame. The confidence values may be added together and totaled, such that each frame has a corresponding confidence score. The frames may be ranked, according to their confidence scores. N of the top ranked frames may be selected as the index. Subsequently, a search component may determine the index values for a query media object. The database of media objects may be searched for matching index values for fingerprints with fingerprint lengths matching the query media object's length. Once a match is declared, the fingerprints of the query media object and the matching media objects within the database may be compared to determine if a match exists. |
| US08275176B2 |
Method and apparatus for user authentication using face image
A user authentication method and apparatus using a face image are provided. The method includes transforming a face image in a normalized spatial domain into frequency-domain data, extracting valid transform coefficients from the frequency-domain data based on energy-concentrated region information, extracting a feature vector from the extracted valid transform coefficients, and performing user authentication by comparing the extracted feature vector with a previously registered feature vector. Accordingly, it is possible to perform user authentication using a face image while using a minimum data dimension, thereby improving the speed and precision thereof. |
| US08275175B2 |
Automatic biometric identification based on face recognition and support vector machines
An automatic biometric identification method based on face recognition and support vector machines, includes enrolling a user to generate a user's reference template; and identifying the user based on the user's reference template, wherein generating a user's reference template includes acquiring a number of user's face images, and training a one-class support vector machine based on the user's face images only. |
| US08275173B2 |
Parking assistance system and method
A parking assistance system (PAS) comprising an image capture device, a display device and an image analysis device is provided, wherein the image capture device captures a rear parking image of a car and the image analysis device analyses the parking image to determine an initial line, two side lines and an auxiliary line in the parking image. The image analysis device determines a first reference point according to a specific position on the car, a second reference point according to an interval of the initial line between the two side lines, a third reference point according to an interval of the auxiliary line between the two side lines and a recommended parking path according to these reference points, and transmits the parking image and the recommended parking path to the display device, such that the parking image and the recommended parking path are superimposed to be displayed on the display. |
| US08275165B2 |
Communication device with combined electrical socket and microphone opening
A communication device comprises a housing with a housing wall encapsulating a housing interior. A microphone is arranged in the housing interior and communicates via an audio passage with the outside of the housing. An electrical socket is adapted to receive an electrical plug through a socket opening, which is accessible from the outside of the housing. The audio passage comprises the socket opening and the electrical socket includes a socket casing which surrounds the socket opening and extends in the insertion direction of the electrical plug. The socket casing includes through-going holes which form a part of the audio passage. The electrical plug is adapted to be removably inserted in the electrical socket and is provided with latching protrusions, which are adapted to be received in the through-going holes in the socket casing, when the electrical plug is inserted in the electrical socket. |
| US08275164B1 |
Speaker enclosures
A transmission line speaker enclosure featuring a main enclosure, a speaker driver and an exit port in the main enclosure, exit port walls extend from the exit port into the main enclosure; and an inner sub enclosure in the main enclosure having a curved vertex facing the speaker driver and walls extending from ends of the vertex, the vertex has an angle between about 40 to 80 degrees, the vertex is either attached or separated from the magnet of the speaker driver by a gap, the vertex functions to divert sounds exiting the speaker driver between walls of the inner sub enclosure wall the main enclosure, then between the walls of the inner sub enclosure and the exit port and further out of the exit port, wherein back waves generated by the speaker driver can have total travelling distance of about ¼ wavelength of a tuned frequency. |
| US08275158B2 |
Piezoelectric micro speaker
Provided is a piezoelectric micro speaker. The piezoelectric micro speaker includes a device plate having a front cavity, a front plate having a radiation hole which communicates with the front cavity in front of the device plate, and a rear plate having a rear cavity and a vent portion. A rear portion of the device plate forms a wall of the vent portion. The device plate includes at least one first vent hole which communicates with the vent portion, and the front plate includes at least one second vent hole which communicates with the first vent hole. |
| US08275157B2 |
Ribbon microphone and ribbon microphone unit
A ribbon microphone unit includes: an electrode lead portion for conducting an electric signal which a ribbon diaphragm generates cooperating with a magnet; a tightening member for securing the ribbon diaphragm; and a screw for crimping the tightening member, wherein the tightening member is crimped via the ribbon diaphragm and the electrode lead portion by the screw, and wherein the ribbon diaphragm includes a portion sandwiched by the tightening member, and the portion is formed in an irregular shape in the thickness direction. |
| US08275155B2 |
Method for fabricating micro speaker and micro speaker fabricated by the same
A method for fabricating a micro speaker is provided, including forming a package wafer and a device wafer by batch processing, bonding the package wafer and the device wafer to each other, and forming a diaphragm by isotropic-etching a back surface of the device wafer using a xenon difluoride (XeF2). As a result, a micro-electronic-mechanic system (MEMS) technology-based piezoelectric micro speaker having a wide frequency response range is realized, by batch processing, thereby providing simplified structure and processing and reducing fabricating cost. |
| US08275150B2 |
Apparatus for processing an audio signal and method thereof
An apparatus for processing an audio signal and method thereof are disclosed, by which a local dynamic range of an audio signal can be adaptively normalized as well as a maximum dynamic range of the audio signal. The present invention includes receiving a signal, by an audio processing apparatus; computing a long-term power and a short-term power by estimating power of the signal; generating a slow gain based on the long-term power; generating a fast gain based on the short-term power; obtaining a final gain by combining the slow gain and the fast gain; and, modifying the signal using the final gain. |
| US08275146B2 |
Trim panel assembly for retaining an acoustical device
A trim panel assembly for retaining an acoustical device, the trim panel assembly comprising a trim panel, and a voice coil, wherein at least a portion of the voice coil is partially embedded within a surface of the trim panel. |
| US08275139B2 |
Linear full duplex system and method for acoustic echo cancellation
A linear full duplex system and method for acoustic echo cancellation is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes calculating a residual echo after subtraction of an echo estimate from a near end signal associated with a communication, refining a far end and a residual signal associated with the communication, updating, based on the far end signal, the echo estimate of an echo associated with the communication, subtracting the echo from the near end signal based on the echo estimate to cancel the echo associated with the communication, updating, based on the refined far end and refined residual signal, the adaptive filter module used for echo estimation, and detecting a steady state and, during the steady state, dynamically detecting internal substates and switching between the internal substates and detecting and managing double talk associated with the communication. |
| US08275132B2 |
System and method for dynamically allocating stream identifiers in a multi-encryption transport system
The present invention is suitable for use in a multi-encrypted system that dynamically allocates stream identifiers in a second stream depending upon the identifiers in a first stream. The first stream is monitored and counters are incremented with the presence of an identifier. The count for each of the counters is then received. Using the count, a control processor then assigns or revises identifiers in the second stream. |
| US08275130B2 |
System and method for registering secret key
A secret key registration system which registers a secret key in a portable key device and vehicle. A first transformation equation is stored in a writer and the vehicle. A second transformation equation is stored in the portable key device and the vehicle. The writer transmits a registration code to the portable key device and generates intermediate data with the first transformation equation of the writer. The intermediate data is transmitted to the portable key device, which generates the secret key from the intermediate data with the second transformation equation. The portable key device transmits the registration code to the vehicle. The vehicle generates intermediate data from the registration code with the first transformation equation of the vehicle, and then generates the secret key from the intermediate data with the second transformation equation. |
| US08275128B2 |
Arithmetic logical unit, computation method and computer system
This arithmetic logical unit outputs data to be used in checking the final result of an AES unit that encrypts a plain text block into an encrypted text block based on AES operation, and includes an arithmetic unit for computing parity data created based on XOR operation from an encryption key to be used as a key during AES encryption, parity data created based on XOR operation from a plain text block, and an AES operation halfway result output from the AES unit, and outputting a value that is equivalent to parity data created based on XOR operation from the final result of the AES unit. |
| US08275126B2 |
Apparatus and method for hash cryptography
An apparatus for hash cryptography has a hardware structure that is capable of providing both secure hash algorithm (SHA)-1 hash calculation and SHA-256 hash calculation. The apparatus for hash cryptography generates a plurality of first message data corresponding to a plurality of first rounds when the SHA-1 hash calculation is performed and generates a plurality of second message data corresponding to a plurality of second rounds when the SHA-256 hash calculation is performed by using one memory, one first register, one XOR calculator, and one OR calculator, calculates a message digest by the SHA-1 hash calculation by using the plurality of first message data when the SHA-1 hash calculation is performed, and calculates a message digest by the SHA-256 by using the plurality of second message data when the SHA-256 hash calculation is performed. |
| US08275124B2 |
Threshold secret sharing apparatus, threshold secret sharing scheme, secret information decryption method, and program for the same
A threshold secret sharing apparatus, a threshold secret sharing scheme, a secret information recovery apparatus a secret information recovery method, and a program thereof are provided using XOR computation, thereby offering a general (k,n) threshold secret sharing scheme with high computation speed. Secret information K is divided into (np−1) divided pieces of secret information Kq (np is a prime number which is equal to or greater than a secret distribution number n). Furthermore, dummy secret information K0 is generated. Moreover, random numbers R, which are mutually independent are generated. Then, pieces of shares are created using exclusive-OR (XOR) operations based upon the dummy secret information K0, the divided piece of secret information Kq, and the random numbers R. The pieces of shares thus generated are concatenated so as to generate n shares Si, thereby providing a (k,n) threshold secret sharing scheme. |
| US08275122B2 |
Adaptive ringtone detector
A communications system and a method of detecting and learning new ringtones in an automatic manner, comprising a desk phone (1), a hook switch, a ringtone detector (3), and a communications device (2). In a first embodiment a mechanical hook switch device is connected to the desk phone (1), and in a second embodiment an electronic hook switch unit (9) is connected to the desk phone (1). The ringtone detector (3) adaptively sets the filter and amplifier parameters according to the sensor position and pick-up sensitivity. The ringtone detector (3) automatically detects and learns the characteristics of new ringtones. The communications device (2) may comprise a base station (6) and a headset (7). |
| US08275121B2 |
Portable communication device having a combined slider and flip hinge assembly
A portable communication device includes a base, an intermediate portion and a top portion that are operatively coupled by a combination hinge assembly. The combination hinge assembly is configured to facilitate sliding motion between the base and the intermediate portion and rotation between the base and the top portion. The base, intermediate portion and top portion may be configured to include respective displays and/or touch input devices to provide a portable communication device with increased display area and/or control area with a smaller footprint often associated with conventional clamshell or slider portable communication devices. |
| US08275120B2 |
Adaptive acoustic echo cancellation
An acoustic echo cancellation technique. The present adaptive acoustic echo cancellation technique employs a plurality of acoustic echo cancellation filters which use different adaptation techniques which may employ different parameters such as step size, to improve both the adaptation algorithm convergence time and misadjustment over previously known acoustic echo cancellation techniques. |
| US08275119B2 |
Services and transactions in a telephony network
A method of operating a telephony service on a telephony network is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of establishing and/or requesting a telephonic connection and/or a call between a caller and a call recipient, receiving a command signal initiated by the caller and/or the call recipient and/or the telephony network during any phase in the call process, the command signal comprising a data signal and/or tone, and initiating a service to the caller and/or the call recipient, or initiating a transaction between the caller and the call recipient in response to receiving the command signal other than a standard call connect and/or disconnect command. Preferably, the data signal and/or tone relates to one of the “*”, “0” or “#” keys of the telephone equipment of the caller, wherein each of the “*”, “0” or “#” keys is associated with a different category of service or transaction. |
| US08275116B2 |
Networked contact center
This document discusses, among other things, a networked contact center that includes multiple platforms to host multiple tenants. Example embodiments include receiving a message associated with one of the tenants and identifying one or more of the platforms associated with the message. For some example embodiments, the networked contact center may allow the platform to access a data location that is both associated with the tenant and shared by two or more of the multiple tenants. |
| US08275112B1 |
Systems and methods of providing multi-homed tandem access
Systems and methods for providing multi-homed tandem access in a communication system are disclosed. The disclosure may include a private packet network backbone exchange (PPNBE) in connection with a set of access tandems and with a call destination such as an end-user or a communications service. A set of LRNs may be homed across the set of access tandems, with each of the set of LRNs mapped to one or more TNs corresponding to the call destination. An originating party may use any of the TNs to reach the call destination. A plurality of originating calls each including one of the TNs may be received at the PPNBE from any of the access tandems and routed to the call destination. Thus, the present disclosure provides greater call capacity than available access tandem architectures as well as optimizes a maximum number of call paths to a particular call destination. |
| US08275110B2 |
Active call filtering, screening and dispatching
An examples of active call filtering, screening and dispatching is described, including receiving data representing a call from a first communication endpoint; presenting at a second communication endpoint, prior to connecting to the call, a subset of prompts that specify dispatching actions for the call, at least one of the dispatching actions including transmitting a response via a communications network, detecting selection of a prompt that specifies a dispatching action for the call, and transmitting an instruction from the second communication endpoint to a call messaging system to perform the dispatching action. In some embodiments, a determination is made as to whether a bypass condition exists, the bypass condition specifying that one or more customized screening rules are to be bypassed. If the bypass condition exists, then a call messaging system can bypass the use of a subset of prompts. |
| US08275108B2 |
Hierarchal control of teleconferences
A teleconference between at least two participants is evaluated by monitoring the teleconference and detecting a triggering event if more than one participant desires to speak at the same time. Upon detecting a triggering event, e.g., detecting an attempt of one or more participants to interrupt another participant, or detecting a request initiated by one or more participants to interrupt another participant, a dominant source is selected from among the ones of the participants attempting/requesting to speak based at least in part upon a determined hierarchal order of those participants attempting/requesting to speak. A participant is then selected from the participants to have the role of the dominant participant based upon the selected dominant source and only the speech of the dominant participant is conveyed to each participant through the teleconference system. |
| US08275106B1 |
Method and apparatus for seamless subconference management
A method and apparatus manage conference calls by receiving for each of participants a participant access code to identify a subconference call to which each of participants is assigned; forming a conference call of all participants; initiating subconference calls by a host of the conference call; transferring each of the participants into a subconference call identified by the participant access code of each of the participants; re-initiating the conference call by the host; and re-forming all of the participants back into the conference call. |
| US08275105B2 |
IP telephone terminal
In an IP telephone terminal, a function implementation controlling unit is configured so as to be capable of controlling implementation of a function instructed by a file received via IP telephone communications when the communicating unit receives the file. The configuration data storing unit stores configuration data that is used by the function implementation controlling unit to implement the function. The configuration data acquisition controlling unit performs control to acquire configuration data from the configuration data storing unit when a communicating unit receives a read file that is transmitted from an external IP telephone terminal. The response file generation controlling unit performs control to generate a response file including the configuration data. The response file transmission controlling unit controls a communicating unit to transmit the response file to the external IP telephone terminal that has transmitted the read file. The update controlling unit performs, when the communicating unit receives a write file, control to update the configuration data based on the write file that is transmitted from the external IP telephone terminal that has received the response file. |
| US08275104B2 |
Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for providing dynamic replacement communication identification service
Methods, apparatus, and computer program products provide dynamic replacement communication identification (ID) service. A request is received from a user for dynamic replacement communication ID from a current location of the user. The user requesting dynamic replacement communication ID is authenticated. A user profile of the user requesting dynamic replacement communication ID is retrieved. A current profile of the current location is replaced with the user profile of the user. |
| US08275099B2 |
World wide telecom web voice applications
A framework for creating a voice application in a world wide telecom web (WWTW) is provided. The techniques include using a pre-defined schema to create one or more voice application templates, using the one or more voice application templates to generate a first version of the voice application, using the first version of the voice application and a library of one or more components to generate a deployable version of the voice application and deploying the deployable version of the voice application onto a run-time execution engine. |
| US08275095B2 |
System and method for providing telephone assignment information to telephone service technicians
A system and method for telephone service technicians to retrieve telephone line assignment information, including receiving a telephone call from a telephone service technician. A telephone number assigned to a customer of a communications carrier may be received, where the telephone number is associated with a telephone operating on a wired communications network, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Telephone line assignment information may be requested, where the telephone line assignment information includes cable and line pair information. The telephone line assignment information may be converted into speech synthesized audible signals and communicated to the telephone service technician during the telephone call. The conversion of the telephone line assignment information may be performed by an interactive voice response system. |
| US08275094B2 |
Method and devices for providing wetting current
A device, a method and a line testing device connected to a line-capturing matrix for providing wetting current in the communications field are disclosed. Connecting the line-capturing matrix to a wetting current circuit in a network device makes it possible to acquire a wetting current from the wetting current circuit via the line-capturing matrix in the network device. In accordance with embodiments of the invention, one wetting current circuit may provide wetting currents for lines of multiple ports by connecting to a line-capturing matrix in the network device. The wetting current circuit may be a built-in or an independent wetting current circuit. By using the solution provided in the embodiments of the invention, the cost of system hardware may be reduced while the power consumption of the system may be lowered. |
| US08275087B2 |
Frequency synchronization using first and second frequency error estimators
An endpoint or other communication device of a communication system includes a clock recovery module. The communication device is operative as a slave device relative to another communication device that is operative as a master device. The clock recovery module comprises a clock recovery loop configured to control a slave clock frequency of the slave device so as to synchronize the slave clock frequency with a master clock frequency of the master device. The clock recovery loop comprises a primary loop having a first frequency error estimator for generating a first estimate of error between the master and slave clock frequencies, a second frequency error estimator outside of the primary loop for generating a second estimate of error between the master and slave clock frequencies, and an accumulator coupled between the second frequency error estimator and the primary loop. The second estimate is controllably injected into the primary loop via the accumulator. |
| US08275085B2 |
Apparatus and method for recovering data
An apparatus for recovering data and a method thereof are provided. The apparatus includes a reference clock generator which generates a reference clock, and a data recovering unit which detects an edge of received data and recovers the data using a time difference between a reference point of the reference clock and the detected edge. |
| US08275084B2 |
Mobile station apparatus, base station apparatus, communication method and communication system
In the case that periodical transmission of transmission signal number-of-sequence quality indicative signal cannot be performed, the number of transmission signal sequences is clarified in association with reception quality information that is generated immediately after the case, and the base station apparatus performs appropriate communication resource allocation. A mobile station apparatus has a feedback information control section 65 that generates feedback information including reception quality information, transmission signal preprocessing information and transmission signal number-of-sequence information, and a radio transmission section 51 that periodically transmits the generated feedback information to the base station apparatus, where when the radio transmission section 51 does not transmit the transmission signal number-of-sequence information with communication resources periodically allocated from the base station apparatus so as to transmit the transmission signal number-of-sequence information, the radio transmission section 51 transmits the transmission signal number-of-sequence information to the base station apparatus with communication resources enabling transmission of the feedback information allocated from the base station apparatus subsequently to the communication resources. |
| US08275081B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing carrier synchronization in digital broadcast and interactive systems
An approach is provided for supporting carrier synchronization in a digital broadcast and interactive system. A carrier synchronization module receives one or more signals representing a frame that includes one or more overhead fields (e.g., preamble and optional pilot blocks and one or multiple segments separated by pilot blocks). The module estimates carrier frequency and phase on a segment by segment basis and tracks frequency between segments. Carrier phase of the signal is estimated based upon the overhead field. Estimates carrier phase of random data field are determined based upon the estimated phase values from the overhead fields, and upon both the past and future data signals. Further, the frequency of the signal is estimated based upon the overhead fields and/or the random data field. The above arrangement is particularly suited to a digital satellite broadcast and interactive system. |
| US08275075B2 |
Low complexity maximum likelihood sequence detection system and methods
A system and method implement low complexity maximum likelihood sequence detection. A decision feedback algorithm computes x(M+D+L−1). Optimality examination is performed for x(M), and state values and values of Markov states along paths from states in x(M) to xl(M+L) are computed. |
| US08275073B2 |
Methods and systems to discriminate between PSK and FSK signals
Methods and systems are disclosed herein for discriminating phase-shift-key (PSK) modulated signals from frequency-shift-key (FSK) modulated signals in received signal streams. First, a bit frequency analysis is applied to a digital signal stream representing the received signal stream. The bit frequency analysis computes bit frequencies for bit segments within the digital signal stream. These bit frequencies are then summed in an array to form a bit frequency histogram. Second, a bit phase analysis is applied to the digital signal stream. The bit phase analysis computes bit phases for bit segments within the digital signal stream. These bit phases are then summed in an array to form a bit phase histogram. Spikes within the bit frequency and bit phase histograms can be used to determine whether the received signal stream includes FSK or PSK signals. An enhanced bit phase analysis can also used, if needed. |
| US08275072B2 |
Cognitive radio communication device for performing spectrum sensing and data communication
A cognitive radio communication device including at least two radio frequency (RF) chains is provided. In order to perform a feature detection, the cognitive radio frequency device may reduce or eliminate a quiet time where a data communication is suspended using the at least two RF chains. While one RF chain performs the feature detection, another RF chain may perform the data communication. |
| US08275068B2 |
Method and system for minimizing power consumption in a communication system
A method for processing signals in a communication system includes delaying a baseband signal based on at least one calibration signal, and amplifying the delayed baseband signal. The at least one calibration signal may be generated based on an amount of intermodulation distortion associated with the amplified delayed baseband signal. A bias voltage of an amplifier used for the amplifying may be adjusted, where the adjusting is in proportion to an envelope of the baseband signal. A number of samples used for the delaying may be calculated, by minimizing the amount of the intermodulation distortion at an output of the amplifier. The envelope may be measured by evaluating a plurality of I and Q samples of the baseband signal. A supply and/or bias voltage for the amplifier may be generated by using a switching regulator. The bias voltage may control a gain of the amplifier. |
| US08275067B2 |
Adaptive turbo peak mitigation for peak-to-average ratio (PAR) reduction using reserved tones
Systems and methods for reducing the peak-to-average ratio (PAR) at the transmitter can reduce the dynamic range required in various analog components. PAR can be reduced by applying a time-domain compensation signal which reduces the magnitude of peaks in the time-domain signal prior to transmission where the time-domain compensation signals use tones that are reserved for the purpose of reducing the PAR. The reservation of these reserved tones for PAR can be implemented by altering the typical startup procedures in a digital subscriber line (xDSL) system. The use of the reserved tones to reduce the PAR can be implemented using a low complexity algorithm or using an adaptive technique. |
| US08275061B2 |
Spectrum coding apparatus, spectrum decoding apparatus, acoustic signal transmission apparatus, acoustic signal reception apparatus and methods thereof
A spectrum coding apparatus capable of performing coding at a low bit rate and with high quality is disclosed. This apparatus is provided with a section that performs the frequency transformation of a first signal and calculates a first spectrum, a section that converts the frequency of a second signal and calculates a second spectrum, a section that estimates the shape of the second spectrum in a band of FL≦k |
| US08275058B2 |
Wireless communications apparatus
Allocation of subcarriers of a wireless communications channel to antennas for transmission of said subcarriers from a multi-antenna transmitter, comprises selecting, for each subcarrier, the antenna with the most effective transmission performance against a predetermined performance criterion; and determining if subcarriers are evenly distributed amongst said antennas. If even distribution does not arise, then a reallocation sequence is performed. This comprises identifying, for an antenna having excessive subcarriers allocated thereto, the subcarriers allocated thereto and reallocating one of said subcarriers as required, said reallocated subcarrier being selected for reallocation on the basis of its impact on transmission performance. |
| US08275057B2 |
Methods and systems to estimate channel frequency response in multi-carrier signals
Methods and systems to determine channel frequency responses corresponding to multi-carrier signals, such as OFDM signals, including to filter or mask noise from channel frequency response estimates in a time domain. |
| US08275056B2 |
Receiver, integrated circuit, and reception method
A channel characteristic calculation unit 23 estimates channel characteristics based on SP signals included in received signals, and a symbol interpolation filter 24 frequency-shifts frequency transfer characteristics and filters output signals of the channel characteristic calculation unit 23. A filter control unit 27 estimates channel characteristics based on CP signals included in the received signals and observes the estimated channel characteristics to determine a shift amount by which the symbol interpolation filter 24 frequency-shifts the frequency transfer characteristics. The symbol interpolation filter 24 frequency-shifts the frequency transfer characteristics based on the shift amount determined by the filter control unit 27. |
| US08275048B2 |
Video encoding method and apparatus, video decoding method and apparatus, programs therefor, and storage media for storing the programs
A video encoding method for assigning a plurality of images to a plurality of GOPs and encoding images belonging to the GOPs as a video image. The method includes determining whether each image belonging to each GOP is to be encoded; encoding GOP encoding/non-encoding data for indicating whether encoded data of the image belonging to the relevant GOP is output; and encoding the image belonging to the relevant GOP when the encoded data of the image is output. Typically, it is determined whether an image generated by using one or more other GOPs without decoding the encoded data of the relevant GOP is closer to an original image of the relevant image in comparison with an image obtained by decoding the encoded data, so as to determine whether the image belonging to the relevant GOP is to be encoded. |
| US08275047B2 |
Method and device for block-based conditional motion compensation
Methods and devices for encoding and decoding video data are provided, wherein an image data structure can be represented as a group of macroblocks and each macroblock contains a plurality of blocks. One inventive aspect includes a method of decoding image data comprises decoding a current block of data, comprising retrieving a related reference block, decoding texture information of the current block, and reconstructing the current block, prior to the decoding of another block of data. |
| US08275037B2 |
Simplified inter-layer motion prediction for scalable video coding
Methods for determining for high layer macroblocks that use inter-layer prediction, a partitioning of the macroblock. The methods include dividing the high layer macroblock in non-overlapping high layer blocks of a predefined size; determining a corresponding base layer pixel for one pixel, called reference pixel, of each high layer block; identifying, for each reference pixel, a base layer macroblock to which the corresponding base layer pixel belongs, a base layer partition to which the corresponding base layer pixel belongs in the identified base layer macroblock, a base layer sub-partition to which the corresponding base layer pixel belongs in the identified base layer partition if the sub-partition exists; deriving, for each of the high layer block, a single value, called Partlnfo value; and determining a partitioning of the high layer macroblock in macroblock partitions by comparing between them the Partlnfo values associated with each of the high layer blocks. |
| US08275036B2 |
Moving picture encoding device, moving picture decoding device, moving picture encoding method, moving picture decoding method, program, and computer readable recording medium storing program
An object of the present invention is to express a predicted picture signal with light overheads, and to provide motion compensation of different pixel accuracy. A moving picture encoding device 20 according to the present invention includes a motion vector detection means 32 for detecting a motion vector of a predetermined area to be encoded in a frame picture, a prediction means 33c for predicting the motion vector of the predetermined area to be encoded by using an encoded motion vector of a predetermined area in the frame picture, a determination means 33d for determining whether or not the motion vector detected by the motion vector detection means 32 is a predetermined motion vector set in accordance with the motion vector predicted by the prediction means 33c, and a switching means 33e for switching a method of calculating a motion compensation value of the predetermined area to be encoded depending on whether or not the motion vector detected by the motion vector detection means 32 is the predetermined motion vector. |
| US08275034B2 |
Moving image encoding apparatus and control method, and computer program
A moving image encoding apparatus, comprising, a first image transformation unit adapted to transform image data into first image information, with reference to reference image data, a second image transformation unit adapted to inverse transform the first image information into reconstructed image data and a determination unit adapted to determine, based on the image data and the reconstructed image data, whether or not to use the reconstructed image data as the reference image data, wherein the determination unit calculates a peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) from the reconstructed image data and the image data, and, if the PSNR is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, determines to use the reconstructed image data as the reference image data. |
| US08275029B2 |
Continuous time—decision feedback equalizer
An apparatus comprises a summer suitable for subtracting a filtered feedback signal from an input; a symbol decision device suitable for receiving an output from the summer; a feedback filter suitable for filtering an output from the symbol decision device and for sending the filtered feedback signal to the summer, the feedback filter comprising an adjustable swing amplifier and an adjustable pole filter; and an adaptation algorithm suitable for simultaneously adapting both a pole setting and a swing setting based upon a least mean squared error criteria. The summer, the symbol decision device, and the feedback filter form a feedback circuit utilized to reconstruct an electrical signal distorted during transmission. |
| US08275027B2 |
Multi-mode transmitter
A multi-mode transmitter within an integrated circuit device. The multi-mode transmitter transmits a first data sequence in a baseband signal when a first transmission mode is enabled, and transmits the first data sequence in a multi-band signal when a second transmission mode is enabled. |
| US08275025B2 |
Methods and apparatus for pseudo asynchronous testing of receive path in serializer/deserializer devices
Methods and apparatus are provided for pseudo asynchronous testing of receive paths in serializer/deserializer (SerDes) devices. A SerDes device is tested by applying a source of serial data to a receive path of the SerDes device during a test mode. The receive path substantially aligns to incoming data using a bit clock. A phase is adjusted during the test mode of the bit clock relative to the source of serial data to evaluate the SerDes device. The source of serial data may be, for example, a reference clock used by a phase locked loop to generate the bit clock. The phase of the bit clock can be directly controlled during the test mode, for example, by a test phase control signal, such as a plurality of interpolation codes that are applied to an interpolator that alters a phase of the bit clock. |
| US08275023B2 |
Method and apparatus for shared parameter estimation in a generalized rake receiver
Signal impairment correlations for multiple signals in a received multipath signal are constructed by fitting parametric models associated with each high-data-rate signal in the multipath against measured impairment correlations. The estimated model fitting parameters are applied to form impairment correlation estimates for all signals. The models comprise a separate impairment covariance matrix scaled by a model fitting parameter for each high-data-rate signal and a noise covariance matrix scaled by a noise element model fitting parameter. The model fitting parameters may be estimated by a least-squares formulation and applied to form impairment correlation estimates for all signals of interest. The resulting impairment correlation estimates may be provided to G-RAKE receivers or joint scaling demodulators to demodulate the signals while suppressing interference from the high-data-rate signals. |
| US08275022B2 |
CDMA receivers and CDMA communications systems
A CDMA communications system includes a primary station and at least one secondary station. The secondary station includes a receiver for receiving CDMA signals transmitted on the downlink. The receiver includes a plurality of Rake finger receivers having inputs for receiving signals and outputs coupled to a combining stage for combining their output signals constructively, a finger assignment stage for assigning the finger receivers to respective received signals, a processing stage for estimating the speed of the CDMA receiver from the signals received and for varying the time required to make a finger replacement decision in response to the estimated speed so that the time required decreases as the speed of the receiver increases and vice versa. |
| US08275017B2 |
Method of packet transmission and reception of quadrature amplitude modulated signals in a frequency hopping radio system
The invention achieves carrier and clock frequency synchronization in QAD packet communications systems. The invention involves using frequency-hopping radio systems that use pseudo-noise data sequences to mark the beginning of data transmissions and carrier frequency switches. The invention involves transmitting in each of the quadrature channels at an initial carrier frequency a first signal over consecutive time intervals and after transmitting the first signal, transmitting in each of the quadrature channels at a second carrier frequency a second signal over consecutive time intervals. |
| US08275011B2 |
Optical transmission module, wavelength monitor, and wavelength drift detection method
To detect a wavelength drift of laser light with no error, an optical transmission module (10) includes: a laser diode (20); a laser temperature calculation section (52) for detecting the temperature of the laser diode (20) that monotonously increases with respect to a wavelength of the laser light; a wavelength calculation section (44) for detecting a transmittance of the laser light incident on an etalon filter (36) whose transmittance periodically varies with respect to the wavelength of the incident light, and a laser wavelength corresponding to the transmittance; and a wavelength error obtaining section (54) for detecting a wavelength error (wavelength drift), from a target wavelength, of the laser light output from the laser diode (20), based on the temperature detected by the laser temperature calculation section (52) and the laser wavelength detected by the wavelength calculation section (44). |
| US08275010B2 |
Optical pulse amplifier and optical pulse source
The pulse light source according to the present invention comprises: a seed pulse generator 1 for outputting an input pulse 10 as a seed pulse; a pulse amplifier 2; and a dispersion compensator 3 for dispersion compensating a light pulse output from the pulse amplifier 2. Moreover, the pulse amplifier 2 comprises a normal dispersion medium (DCF 4) and an amplification medium (EDF 5) that are multistage-connected alternately, for changing the input pulse 10 to a light pulse having a linear chirp and outputting the light pulse. Furthermore, an absolute value of the dispersion of the DCF 4 becomes to be larger than the absolute value of the dispersion of the EDF 5. |
| US08275007B2 |
Pulsed laser system with optimally configured saturable absorber
A high power pulsed laser system is configured with at least two gain blocks and with at least one saturable absorber (SA) coupled to the output and input of the respective gain blocks. The SA is configured so that Qsat_sa |
| US08275005B2 |
Method and apparatus for employing stored content at receivers to improve efficiency of broadcast system bandwidth use
The invention relates generally to a receiver unit in a digital broadcast system for receiving a broadcast signal comprising content segments and control data, and generating an output signal using the content segments and previously stored content segments. The previously stored content segments are retrieved from a local memory device using the control data and inserted among the received content segments. |
| US08274996B1 |
Adaptive data unit transmission and acknowledgment
In general, the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for adaptive data unit transmission. A sliding window is filled with data units and designates a sliding window start position and a sliding window end position. A value for each of the data units in the sliding window is stored, the value representing a maximum number of times that each data unit is to be transmitted. The stored value is different among at least two of the data units. Data units are selected from the sliding window to be assembled into a packet. An assembled packet is transmitted to a receiving computerized device. A determination that the data unit positioned at the sliding window start position has been transmitted a maximum number of time is performed, and in response a different data unit is positioned at the sliding window start position. |
| US08274995B2 |
Cyclic prefix for non-contiguous signal transmission
Transmitted signals are modified to facilitate the emulation of circular convolution in non-contiguous transmission environments. These modified signals may be derived from well-known signature sequences. In an exemplary method, a tail portion of a final segment of a base signal is prefixed to an initial segment of the base signal, to form a first transmit segment. One or more additional transmit segments are formed by prefixing, to each of the one or more segments of the base signal other than the initial segment, a tail portion of the immediately preceding segment of the base signal. The transmit segments so formed are transmitted in respective ones of the plurality of non-contiguous transmit-time intervals. Corresponding methods for receiving the transmitted segments and reconstructing the base signal are also described, as are corresponding transmitting and receiving apparatuses. |
| US08274991B2 |
Protocol for allocating upstream slots over a link in a point-to-multipoint communication system
A system for controlling a contention state for a communication link between a base station controller and customer premises equipment in point-to-multipoint communication. The contention state is controlled using a state machine, which includes a grant pending absent state in which a unicast request slot is maintained open for use by the customer premises equipment. During the grant pending absent state, the customer premises equipment sends no upstream data to the base station controller but can use the unicast request slot to request a data slot for sending upstream data to the base station controller. In the grant pending state, the customer premises equipment preferably uses piggybacking to request grant of a next data slot while sending upstream data to the base station controller. |
| US08274989B1 |
Point-to-multipoint (P2MP) resilience for GMPLS control of ethernet
In an Ethernet network multiple point-to-multipoint (P2MP) trees are constructed to provide a P2MP service. Each tree provides service from a common root node to common leaves via different paths through the network. GMPLS signaling is utilized for configuring and maintaining the P2MP trees at each of the nodes in the network forming the respective tree. Each tree is constructed using a unique VID/MAC combination wherein the VID is unique to the tree and the MAC is associated with the multicast group identifying the P2MP membership. Traffic is forwarded through the network by the designated tree(s) by the VID/MAC DA combination by the common root node. The varying paths of each tree improves fault tolerance and enables redundancy and protection switching to be provided. Each tree of the service can be modified or repaired while traffic is still being routed through the remaining working tree(s), thus service impact is minimized. |
| US08274987B2 |
Contention free pipelined broadcasting within a constant bisection bandwidth network topology
In an interconnection network, multiple nodes are connected to one of a first layer of switches. The first layer of switches is connected to one another through a second layer of switches. Each of the nodes is connected through one of multiple shared links connecting the first layer switches and the second layer of switches. A pipelined broadcast manager schedules a hierarchical pipelined broadcast through at least one switch of the first layer switches comprising non-root nodes by selecting two nodes among the non-root nodes connected to the at least one switch and scheduling each of multiple broadcast steps for the pipelined broadcast with at least one of an inter-switch broadcast phase and an intra-switch broadcast phase using the selected two nodes. |
| US08274984B2 |
Radio network controller
A communications system having an ATM transmission line and an IP transmission line is disclosed that includes a base station capable of communicating with a mobile terminal through a radio link; and a radio network controller capable of communicating with the base station through the ATM or IP transmission line. The radio network controller includes a division part dividing transmission data into signals of a predetermined data size; a transmission part transmitting the divided signals to the base station at predetermined time intervals; a retransmission part retransmitting the signals transmitted to the base station when a response signal from the mobile terminal is not received within a predetermined period; a measuring part measuring a signal response period in a communications channel between the radio network controller and the mobile terminal through the base station; and a determination part determining the predetermined data size based on the measured response period. |
| US08274977B2 |
Distributing packets to line cards of a packet switching device based on bridge indication values received therewith
A packet switching device maintains mappings of bridge identification values to line cards for each of multiple virtual bridges. When a packet is received that includes a bridge identification value, corresponding line card(s) are identified, with each being forwarded the packet. Each of these identified line cards, in response to receipt of the packet from the line card, determines whether to forward or drop the packet based on its maintained bridge table. In this manner, the original receiving line card does not need to maintain forwarding information based on destination addresses of received packets (e.g., does not need to maintain a bridge table for each virtual bridge), but rather forwards a packet to other line cards associated with the virtual bridge corresponding to the bridge identification value received in a packet. |
| US08274975B2 |
System and method for automatically managing a network port based on a calendar function
Embodiments of the invention provide a system and method for automatically managing a network port based on a calendar function. In one embodiment, a discovery protocol is provided for automatically discovering at least one port of at least one switch in a network. Furthermore, a management protocol is provided. The management protocol is configured to automatically manage the at least one port of the at least one switch in the network based on a programmable calendar function. In addition, a reconfiguration protocol is also provided. The reconfiguration protocol is configured to reconfigure the calendar function of the automatic management of the at least one port of the at least one switch in the network. |
| US08274974B1 |
Method and apparatus for providing quality of service across a switched backplane for multicast packets
A method and system is provided to enable quality of service across a backplane switch for multicast packets. For multicast traffic, an egress queue manager manages congestion control in accordance with multicast scheduling flags. A multicast scheduling flag is associated with each egress queue capable of receiving a packet from a multicast ingress queue. When the multicast scheduling flag is set and the congested egress queue is an outer queue, the egress queue manager refrains from dequeueing any marked multicast packets to the destination ports associated with the congested outer queue until the congestion subsides. When the congested egress queue is a backplane queue, the egress queue manager refrains from dequeuing any marked multicast packets to the destination ports on the destination blade associated with the congested backplane queue until the congestion subsides. |
| US08274970B2 |
Voice communication device with PSTN and internet pathway analysis, selection and handoff
A voice communication device that supports both Internet telephony and public switched telephone network telephony, and maintains the quality of communication. The voice communication device consists of a user interface, a plurality of communication interfaces and a processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the user interface and to the plurality of communication interfaces. The voice communication device maintains quality of service by analyzing the service characteristics of a plurality of communication pathways and determining one communication pathway that compares best in terms of quality of service and cost and transferring to that communication pathway prior to or during the call. Alternatively, a user set service characteristic configurations may also determine the choice of a communication pathway that meets the user requirements of quality of service and cost. |
| US08274969B2 |
Method for improving random access procedure in wireless communications system and related communication device
A method for improving a random access procedure for a mobile device of a wireless communication system is disclosed. The method includes initiating the random access procedure, starting a time alignment timer of the mobile device when receiving a time alignment message transmitted by a base station of the wireless communication system, and controlling the random access procedure according to expiry of the time alignment timer, wherein the time alignment timer of the mobile device is used for determining a synchronization state between the mobile device and the base station and the time alignment message is utilized by the base station to update a timing advance for the mobile device. |
| US08274965B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing a network based call processing manager
A method and apparatus for providing a network based call processing manager are disclosed. For example, the method receives a call by a call processing manager deployed in a communication network, wherein the call is for a customer that subscribes to a network based call processing service. The method obtains one or more routing instructions for handling the call from an automatic call distribution system, wherein the automatic call distribution system is deployed external to the communication network. The method then forwards the one or more routing instructions to an application server that routes the call in accordance with the one or more routing instructions. |
| US08274964B2 |
Adaptive routing for packet-based calls using a circuit-based call routing infrastructure
A method in one example has: implementing an incoming voice call routing preference in a telecommunication system, routing bias settings for incoming packet calls and incoming circuit calls being set for any candidate trunk group lists as per desired call routing preferences; and selecting one of packet routing and a non-packet routing for call routing, the candidate trunk group lists for individual routing destinations being updated to indicate if packet voice technology is to be used for call delivery, wherein if packet voice technology is preferred, then a packet core access trunk group is added to a front of a respective trunk group list, and wherein if packet voice technology is to be used only if no circuit trunks are available, then packet core access trunk groups are added at an end of the list. |
| US08274962B2 |
Radio communication system mobile station which can communicate directly with another mobile station
A mobile station of a mobile radiocommunication system for receiving synchronization channels transmitted on at least one carrier so as to be able to synchronize with a base station and transmit data in a traffic channel defined with respect to the synchronization channels.The mobile station may transmit synchronization channels on a carrier normally transmitted by a base station. The mobile station may transmit a traffic channel on the carrier. The synchronization and traffic channels are transmitted to at least one other mobile station so the first mobile station can synchronize with the other mobile station and read the traffic channel. |
| US08274958B2 |
Intra-premises content and equipment management in a femtocell network
System(s) and method(s) are provided to route traffic and signaling between a set of networked femto access points (APs) and devices served there from, and enable management of content and equipment that is part of a network functionally coupled to the set of networked femto APs. Networked equipment spans a network deployed within the coverage area spanned by the set of femto APs. A routing platform functionally couples the networked equipment and the femto AP to enable content manipulation amongst a mobile device and the equipment. Routing platform also affords remote control of the networked equipment. Delivery of advertisement and monetary incentive(s) can be provided through the routing platform to the equipment. Routing platform further provides security features related to operation of specific equipment and wireless services supplied via the routing platform. |
| US08274947B1 |
Providing timing reference for femto cell in wireless communication networks
Apparatus, techniques and systems are described for providing timing reference from acquired wireless communication signals of adjacent cells and synchronizing a base station to a network based on such a timing reference without directly relying on a satellite-based timing reference. |
| US08274946B2 |
Switching multiple link layer resources for media independent handover
A method for controlling behavior of lower layer links related to media independent handover (MIH) of a mobile user comprises sending a MIH link actions request primitive from a MIH User entity to a MIH function (MIHF) for requesting actions to be executed on a set of lower layer links to heterogeneous radio access technology (RAT) networks. The primitive includes parameters that indicate the requested actions and an execution time delay. Confirmation primitives are sent back the MIH User entity to convey the results of the execution attempts on the requested actions. |
| US08274945B2 |
Method and apparatus for time-warping packets at the sender side
The disclosure is directed to a mobile communication device that is capable of accessing different types of networks such as a circuit-switched network, or any cellular network, and a packet-switched network. During hand-over from the first network to the second network, the sender of packets/frames expands or compresses the packet-switched packets using well-known time-warping techniques. At the receiver end, the received time-warped packets and frames from the second network are appropriately selected so that no unwanted artifacts are introduced during playback. |
| US08274944B2 |
Method and apparatus for allocating communication resources using virtual circuit switching in a wireless communication system and method for transmitting and receiving data in a mobile station using the same
A method and apparatus using Virtual Circuit Switching (VCS) in a new scheme are provided for allocating and employing resources by combining Circuit Switching (CS) and Packet Switching (PS), in which a base station allocates resources of a dedicated channel using the CS to a user and then transmits data on the dedicated channel. When data is not transmitted to the user, the base station allocates the allocated dedicated channel resources for resources of a shared channel and transmits data of a different user. Therefore, system capacity can be increased and a waste of communication resources can be minimized in a wireless communication system for frequently transmitting a small amount of traffic that is sensitive to a delay time. |
| US08274940B2 |
Base station apparatus and communication control method
A base station apparatus is disclosed that includes a selection unit selecting user equipment terminals to which radio resources are allocated based on priority levels indicating a priority order of allocating the radio resources for a shared channel and a resource determination unit determining a transmission power level of a control channel and resources for the control channel, the control channel indicating communications of the shared channel to the selected user equipment terminals. In the base station apparatus, when the sum of the transmission power of the control channel related to the selected user equipment terminals exceeds a predetermined first threshold value or when a sum of control resources for the control channel related to the selected user equipment terminals exceeds a predetermined second threshold value, the resource determination unit transmits the control channel to some user equipment terminals among the selected user equipment terminals. |
| US08274937B2 |
Method and apparatus for beamforming in OFDM wireless system
Systems and methods are disclosed for use in a wireless network that promotes simultaneous beamforming. These systems and methods include determining the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) and Best Beam Index (BBI) for communications between a plurality of mobile stations and a base station, ranking the plurality of mobile stations in a list according to the determined CQI and BBI, and selecting a subset of the plurality of mobile stations for simultaneous beamformed communications. These systems and methods may also include verifying that the selected subset of the plurality of mobile stations does not have a conflict and initiating beamformed communications. Certain embodiments of the BBI may be determined based on a predetermined codebook, which is a function of an antenna configuration, such as a uniform linear array (ULA) and a uniform circular array (UCA). |
| US08274936B2 |
Apparatus and method for uplink transmission in wireless communication system
An apparatus and method for uplink transmission in a wireless communication system are provided. The method comprises detecting an expiry of a time alignment timer in a MAC (Medium Access Control) layer, the time alignment timer being used to control how long the UE is considered uplink time aligned, notifying a release of PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) resources from the MAC layer to a RRC (Radio Resource Control) layer when the expiry of the time alignment timer is detected and keeping a part of the PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) resources in the RRC layer. |
| US08274934B2 |
Method and system for transmitting/receiving data in communication system
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for allocating a bandwidth in a communication system. The method includes the steps of checking the number of mobile stations that fall within a cell under the control of an relay station and have data to be transmitted to a base station, determining a bandwidth allocation period for data transmission corresponding to the checked number of mobile stations, and transmitting a bandwidth allocation message at intervals of the determined bandwidth allocation period. |
| US08274930B2 |
Analog beamforming to reduce interference in WiMAX networks
A base station transmits a set of sounding requests to a set of mobile station (MS) in a cell, using a set of beams, wherein there is one beam for each sounding request. Qualities of sounding signals transmitted by the set of MSs in response to receiving the sounding request are measured, and the set of MSs are grouped into subsets according to the qualities, wherein there is one subset of MSs associated with each beam. |
| US08274929B2 |
Enterprise mobile network for providing cellular wireless service using licensed radio frequency spectrum and the session initiation protocol
Support for Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) devices is provided in an enterprise mobile network that provides wireless service within a coverage area associated with an enterprise using licensed radio frequency spectrum. In various embodiments, support SIP devices is provided by, for example, incorporating SIP user agent in a mobile switching subsystem or in a base station subsystem or by incorporating SIP server functionality into a mobile switching subsystem. |
| US08274926B2 |
Control device, communication terminal, control method, and communication method
In a wireless communication system according to the present invention: a control device and a communication terminal communicate in an active period. The control device: generates a first beacon packet including one or more candidate channels; transmits the first beacon packet at the beginning of the active period; determines whether or not a use channel is to be changed based on a communication state, and generates a second beacon packet including information of a determination result; transmits the second beacon packet at the end of the active period; and, when it is determined that the use channel is to be changed, changes the use channel after the active period ends and before a next active period starts. The communication terminal: receives the first and second beacon packets; and, based on the second beacon packet, changes the use channel after the active period ends and before a next active period starts. |
| US08274924B2 |
Intra-donor cell coordinated multi-point transmission with type 1 relay
A method is provided for communication in a wireless telecommunications system. The method comprises an access node acting as a master control but not acting as a serving node in a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission with a relay node toward a user equipment. The method further comprises the access node retaining a copy of data packets that the access node sends to the relay node for the CoMP transmission. |
| US08274916B2 |
Device and method for measuring location of terminal
A terminal location measuring device includes a database for storing registration information of a plurality of access points (AP's) forming a first infrastructure system for wireless LAN-based indoor location determination. The terminal location measuring device sets a search range of a database by using location information of the terminal acquired through a second infrastructure system that is different from the first infrastructure system, an identifier of at least one of a plurality of AP's, and a signal measurement value. The terminal location measuring device extracts registration information of an AP having the same identifier as at least one AP within the search range of the database, and measures a location of the terminal by using registration information of the AP. |
| US08274914B2 |
Switch and/or router node advertising
A first of a plurality of intermediate routing devices is operable to advertise to and/or receive status information from remaining one(s) of the intermediate routing devices. The intermediate routing devices may store and/or analyze the advertised and/or received status information and may make routing decisions based on it. The first routing device may advertise status information for itself and/or for one or more other intermediate routing devices. Data may be routed based on type of data, service level and/or priority associated with the data. The advertised and/or received status information comprises current status information, predicted status information and/or past status information which may be based on one or more of port status, CPU utilization, memory utilization, quality of service (QoS), bandwidth utilization, bandwidth availability, traffic load, congestion, number of connections handled and capability to provide a particular level of service. |
| US08274913B2 |
Method and system for configuring wireless communication of survey sensors and controllers
A method and system for configuring wireless communication of survey sensors and controllers is recited. In one embodiment, a survey device controller is configured to receive a first wireless communication comprising a sequence indicating that a survey device is configured to participate in an automatic configuration process with the survey device controller. The system further comprises the survey device which is configured to generate a second wireless communication indicating the reception of a selection event to communicatively couple the survey device with the survey device controller. The survey device controller is further configured to automatically initiate a wireless communication connection comprising the survey device controller and the survey device in response to receiving the second wireless signal contemporaneous with receiving a signal which is generated by the survey device controller to communicatively couple the survey device controller with the survey device. |
| US08274906B2 |
Transient analysis of packet queuing loss in a broadcast network
A receiver monitoring the transmissions of a packet processing device such as a wireless access point analyzes the monitored transmissions to estimate the probability of packet loss due to buffer overflow in the processing device. The loss probability can be estimated for individual packets to follow rapid changes in communication conditions. An indication of the estimated loss probability can be used to adapt the forward error correction (FEC) parameters that are used to generate the packets, thereby improving the reliability of data delivery to a receiver while optimizing the use of communication channel bandwidth. |
| US08274905B2 |
System and method for displaying a graph representative of network performance over a time period
A system and method for monitoring performance of a packet network may include storing network performance information collected from a packet network, where the network performance information may distinguish network performance information associated with communications of data packets including real-time content and data packets including non-real-time content. A graphic user interface including a graphical representation of the network performance information distinguishing the network performance information associated with communications of data packets including real-time content and network performance information including non-real-time content with a node segment over a time duration may be generated. |
| US08274901B1 |
System and method for assisting in troubleshooting a network handling voice over internet protocol traffic
A system and method allocates dropped packets from a call detail record in a voice over Internet Protocol to links or nodes the call traversed, and to events that occurred during the call and prefixes corresponding to the phones used in the call, along with a report in decreasing order of the dropped packets for the nodes, links, events and prefixes, to allow a system administrator to help identify the source of the dropped packets. |
| US08274897B1 |
Location based services in a situational network
A method of providing location based service information in a situational network includes establishing the situational network linking a plurality of individuals in response to an indication of an occurrence of a situation. Information related to availability of a service at a plurality of service locations affected by the situation is received, where the service is provided by one or more of a plurality of service providers An individual location associated with each of the plurality of individuals is determined. The available service locations that are in closest proximity to the individual location of the respective individuals is transmitting to each of the individuals based on the availability of the service. |
| US08274894B2 |
Quality of service and power aware forwarding rules for mesh points in wireless mesh networks
Apparatus, methods and computer program products provide quality of service and power aware forwarding rules for mesh points in wireless mesh networks by monitoring frame flow to and from a first mesh point in the wireless mesh network; and in dependence on the monitored frame flow, setting a power management mode of the first mesh point. The first mesh point monitors, for example, the power save mode and mesh deterministic access status of peer modes and selects power save and frame transmission modes in dependence on the monitored information. |
| US08274888B2 |
Wireless LAN device
The wireless LAN device 10 includes a packet transmission controller 102 having the function of transmitting a DHCPDISCOVER packet from a LAN switch 130 to wired devices and the function of causing an RF device to transmit a Probe Request packet to other wireless LAN devices through an antenna 150; a first operation controller 104 that can set the wireless LAN device 10 in the operating mode where the wireless LAN device 10 can operate as an access point, when the wireless LAN device 10 receives DCHPOFFER packet; and a second operation controller 106 that can set the wireless LAN device 10 in the operating mode where the wireless LAN device 10 can operate as a client, when the wireless LAN device 10 receives a Probe Response packet. |
| US08274882B2 |
Bulk data transport in a network
A network is configured to utilize available bandwidth to conduct bulk data transfers without substantially affecting the successful transmission of time-sensitive traffic in the network. In order to avoid this interference, the packets carrying data for bulk data transfers are associated with a low priority class such that the routers of the network will preferentially drop these packets over packets associated with the normal traffic of the network. As such, when the normal traffic peaks or there are link failures or equipment failures, the normal traffic is preferentially transmitted over the bulk-transfer traffic and thus the bulk-transfer traffic dynamically adapts to changes in the available bandwidth of the network. Further, to reduce the impact of dropped packets for the bulk-transfer traffic, the packets of the bulk-transfer traffic are encoded at or near the source component using a loss-resistant transport protocol so that the dropped packets can be reproduced at a downstream link. |
| US08274881B2 |
Altering access to a fibre channel fabric
A mechanism is provided for altering access to a network. A virtual I/O server controller in a virtual I/O server operating system receives an indication that an identified communications adapter requires attention. The virtual I/O server controller issues a set of calls to a set of N_port identification virtualization server adapters coupled to the identified communications adapter. Each of the set of calls indicates to each of the set of N_port identification virtualization server adapters a request to move a set of clients from their assigned port on the identified communications adapter to an available port on a failover communications adapter. The set of N_port identification virtualization server adapters moves the set of clients from the identified communications adapter to the failover communications adapter. |
| US08274880B2 |
Systems and methods for OFDM channelization
Systems and methods for OFDM channelization are provided that allow for the co-existence of sub-band channels and diversity channels. Methods of defining diversity sub-channels and sub-band sub-channels are provided, and systematic channel definition and labeling schemes are provided. |
| US08274876B2 |
Optical pickup lens
An optical pickup lens for focusing a light beam from a laser light source on an optical information recording medium is a single lens. The optical pickup lens has two surfaces, and a surface R2 opposite to a surface R1 closer to the laser light source has a continuous shape. When the surface R2 has radii h1, h2 and h3 (h1 |
| US08274875B2 |
Optical disc device and focus control method
Disclosed is an optical disc device that is able to increase accuracy in reproducing information from an optical disc. The optical disc device 10 calculates a focus error signal SFE2 and a sum signal SS1 while reciprocating an objective lens 21 in a focus direction until a distance between a focal point FS and a focal point FM1 becomes close to the depth d of a target position PG at the time of a pull-in operation, and when a trigger signal ST1 generated on the basis of the sum signal SS1 is at low level, starts focus control on the basis of the focus error signal SFE2. Therefore, focus control can start in a state where the focus error signal SFE2 curves in an S shape with sufficient amplitude. |
| US08274870B2 |
Optical disk, optical disk device, optical disk defect registering method, optical disk recording method, and optical disk reproducing method
An optical disc according to the present invention has a first defect management area to which first defect management information corresponding to non-permanent defects is added, and a second defect management area to which second defect management information corresponding to permanent defects is added. The second defect management information added to the second defect management area is non-rewritable. |
| US08274865B2 |
Master disk for magnetic recording medium
A master disk for batch transferring of predetermined information recorded therein to a magnetic recording medium includes a substrate transmitting laser light, and convex portions provided on the substrate and formed of material reflecting or blocking the laser light. The convex portions have a pattern corresponding to the predetermined information. |
| US08274864B2 |
Slip gear structure and timepiece equipped with the same
Disclosed is a slip gear structure which is easy to handle at the time of dismantling/assembly and which does not easily suffer breakage even if dismantling/assembly is repeated, and a timepiece equipped with the same. A slip gear structure for a timepiece includes: a gear main body portion in the form of an annular plate having in the outer periphery thereof tooth portions, there being provided spring portions extending across an inner opening; and a positioning member equipped with a small diameter plate-like portion having a central hole with which a shaft is rotatably fit-engaged and a pair of support wall portions arranged on both sides of the central hole and protruding from one surface. When the slip gear structure is in a non-fit-engaged state with respect to the shaft, the spring portions of the gear main body are elastically pressed against side edge portions of the support wall portions, with central spring portions thereof situated between the side edge portions protruding into the central hole; and when the slip gear structure is in a fit-engaged state with respect to the shaft at the central hole, the central spring portions of the spring portions of the gear main body portion are elastically pressed against the shaft for slip engagement with the shaft. |
| US08274863B2 |
Chronograph timepiece
Disclosed is a chronograph timepiece in which it is possible to prevent the battery reliability service life time from being exceeded even when the period of time that the chronograph function is used is short, making it possible to prevent failure generation in the chronograph timepiece due to liquid leakage. A 24-hour counter down-counts a period of time that has elapsed starting from 24 hours, and a chronograph counter down-counts the period of time that chronograph measurement operation is performed from a predetermined time; when the count values of the 24-hour counter and the chronograph counter become equal to each other, a processing unit consumes a battery for the residual period of time of the two counters by a battery power consuming unit. |
| US08274861B1 |
Underwater network having buoyancy compensation and anchoring systems
An underwater wireless network can include plurality of nodes, each node having a cylindrical housing, a repeater, a transducer and a buoy. The housing defines a void and encloses the repeater. The transducer can be tethered to the housing and a buoy can be tethered to said transducer. Each node also includes at least two hemi-cylindrical flukes that can be pivotably attached to the housing. The housing can further be formed with at least two flood ports, and corresponding plugs are inserted into a respective fill port. Lanyards interconnect each flukes with a respective plug. During transport, the flukes can surround the transducer and the void is empty, which renders the node neutrally buoyant for ease of transport. For deployment, the flukes are pivoted away from each other to tighten the lanyards, which pull the plugs out of the flood ports, to further flood the void and deploy the node. |
| US08274860B2 |
Distance measurement apparatus and related methods
A distance measurement apparatus arranged to measure the distance to an object (106) comprising a first sonic transmitter (100) arranged at a first distance (h1) from that object and a second sonic transmitter (102) arranged at a second distance (h2) from that object (100), wherein the first and second distances are different, the first (100) and second (102) transmitters being controlled by processing circuitry (108) and the first and second transmitters being arranged such that sonic pulses emitted, in use, thereby are incident upon that object (106) and the apparatus further comprising at least one sonic receiver (100) arranged to receive a plurality of reflected sonic pulses and generate an output therefrom and the processing circuitry (108) being arranged to receive the output, determine the times since the first and second pulses were emitted and generate a distance to that object from the determined times. |
| US08274858B2 |
Method for full-bandwidth deghosting of marine seismic streamer data
Seismic data recorded in a marine streamer are obtained, with the seismic data being representative of characteristics of subsurface earth formations and acquired by deployment of a plurality of seismic receivers overlying an area of the subsurface earth formations to be evaluated, the seismic receivers generating at least one of an electrical and optical signal in response to seismic energy. A complex Laplace frequency parameter is used to transform the seismic data from a space-time domain to a spectral domain. An iterative conjugate gradient scheme, using a physically-based preconditioner, is applied to the transformed seismic data, to provide a least squares solution to a normal set of equations for a deghosting system of equations. The solution is inverse-transformed back to a space-time domain to provide deghosted seismic data, which is useful for imaging the earth's subsurface. |
| US08274857B2 |
Semiconductor memory device to reduce off-current in standby mode
A semiconductor memory device capable of reducing off-current in a standby mode is provided. The semiconductor memory device includes an enable signal generating unit configured to receive a plurality of address decoding signals and generate a first enable signal to select a first cell block and a second enable signal to select a second cell block, and an internal voltage generating unit for generating an internal voltage by controlling a supply of a first voltage in accordance with the first or second enable signals. |
| US08274856B2 |
Internal voltage generator and semiconductor memory device including the same
A semiconductor device including an internal voltage generator circuit that provides an internal voltage having a different level depending on the operation speed is provided. The semiconductor device includes an internal voltage generator circuit configured to receive operation speed information to generate an internal voltage having a different level depending on the operation speed; and an internal circuit operated using the internal voltage. |
| US08274854B2 |
Semiconductor storage device and method for producing semiconductor storage device
A semiconductor storage device comprises a timing control circuit that generates a signal for controlling at least one of a read operation and a write operation; an input-signal pad; a plurality of control-signal pads; and a switch circuit coupled to at least one of the plurality of control-signal pads. The switch circuit generates a first control signal to be supplied to the timing control circuit based on a signal from the input-signal pad in a first mode. |
| US08274853B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for testing the same
A semiconductor device and a method for testing the same are disclosed, relating to a technology for simultaneously screening an off-leakage-current fail caused by a passing gate effect and a neighbor gate effect. The semiconductor device includes a memory cell configured to read and write data; a sense amplifier configured to sense and amplify cell data received from the memory cell through a pair of bit lines; a bit line precharge unit configured to equalize the pair of bit lines to a level of a ground voltage in response to a bit line equalization signal; a precharge voltage generator configured to provide the ground voltage to the bit line precharge unit during a test mode; and a test controller configured to, during the test mode, maintain an activation state of the bit line equalization signal during a test mode period, and control the sense amplifier to be deactivated. |
| US08274847B2 |
Semiconductor system
To provide a semiconductor system including a plurality of core chips and an interface chip that controls the core chips. Each of the core chips includes an internal voltage generating circuit. The interface chip includes an unused chip information holding circuit that stores therein unused chip information of the core chips. The core chips respectively receive the unused chip information from the unused chip information holding circuit. When the unused chip information indicates an unused state, the internal voltage generating circuits are inactivated, and when the unused chip information indicates a used state, the internal voltage generating circuits are activated. With this configuration, unnecessary power consumption by the unused chips is reduced. |
| US08274846B2 |
Reference voltage generation circuit and semiconductor memory
A reference voltage generation circuit includes a first node settable at a reference voltage to be any one of a plurality of voltage levels, a second node set at a pre-charge voltage, first and second switches connected in series between the first and second nodes, a plurality of capacitors, each capacitor comprising a first end connected to a connection node between the first and second switches and a second end settable at an independent voltage level, a switch controller configured to turn off the first switch and turn on the second switch in an initial state, and then to turn off the second switch, and then to turn on the first switch, and a voltage controller configured to individually set a voltage at the second end of each capacitor after the first switch is turned on. |
| US08274842B1 |
Variable impedance memory device having simultaneous program and erase, and corresponding methods and circuits
An integrated circuit may include: access circuits that couple first electrodes of a plurality of programmable metallization cells (PMC) to access paths in parallel, each PMC comprising a solid ion conducting material formed between the first electrode and a second electrode; a plurality of write circuits, each coupled to a different access path, and each coupling the corresponding access path to a first voltage in response to input write data having a first value and to a second voltage in response to the input write data having a second value; and a node setting circuit that maintains second electrodes of the PMCs at a substantially constant third voltage while write circuits couple the access paths to the first or second voltages. |
| US08274836B2 |
Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and nonvolatile semiconductor memory system
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and a nonvolatile memory system having a unit which suppresses erroneous reading of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device of a multi-level memory system are provided. In the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and the nonvolatile memory system of the multi-level memory system, a first verify voltage is used when data is written before a packaging process, and the verify voltage is switched to a second verify voltage lower than the first verify voltage when data is written after the packaging process. |
| US08274833B2 |
Mitigation of data corruption from back pattern and program disturb in a non-volatile memory device
A write algorithm is used to remove errors due to back pattern effects, cell-to-cell capacitive coupling, and program disturb in memory cells. Original data to be programmed is adjusted prior to an initial programming operation of the memory cells. The original data is then programmed into the memory cells in another programming operation. A read adjustment weight data value is associated with each series string of memory cells. The weight data value is used to compensate data read during an initial word line read. The weight data value is updated after each read and read adjustment such that the adjusted weight data value is used on the subsequent read operations. |
| US08274832B2 |
Dynamic polarization for reducing stress induced leakage current
Subject matter disclosed herein relates to non-volatile flash memory, and more particularly to a method of reducing stress induced leakage current. |
| US08274830B2 |
Constant current read mode or constant current data retention mode nonvolatile memory device
A non-volatile semiconductor memory circuit capable of improving data retention characteristics and decreasing an area thereof comprises a constant current circuit and a non-volatile memory cell connected in series. A connection point between the constant current source and the non-volatile memory cell is selected to be an output to thereby enable writing, in a reading mode or a retention mode, in the non-volatile memory cell which is in a write state. The non-volatile semiconductor memory circuit includes a power supply for data reading and retaining and a power supply for data rewriting which are provided independently, and a transistor connected between the output and the power supply for data rewriting, in which the transistor is brought into conduction state when data is rewritten. |
| US08274825B2 |
Multi-level cell access buffer with dual function
An access buffer, such as page buffer, for writing to non-volatile memory, such as Flash, using a two-stage MLC (multi-level cell) operation is provided. The access buffer has a first latch for temporarily storing the data to be written. A second latch is provided for reading data from the memory as part of the two-stage write operation. The second latch has an inverter that participates in the latching function when reading from the memory. The same inverter is used to produce a complement of an input signal being written to the first latch with the result that a double ended input is used to write to the first latch. |
| US08274824B1 |
High-performance CMOS-compatible non-volatile memory cell and related method
A memory cell includes a control gate and a transistor having a gate, a source junction, and a drain junction. The gate is coupled to the control gate, and the source junction and the drain junction are asymmetrical. For example, a channel doping associated with the source junction may be different than a channel doping associated with the drain junction. The memory cell also includes a write line coupled to the control gate, a source line coupled to the source junction of the transistor, and a bit line coupled to the drain junction of the transistor. The control gate could represent a second transistor, where the gates of the transistors are coupled together to form a floating gate. The memory cell could be programmed to store a single-bit value or a multiple-bit value, such as by storing the appropriate charge on the floating gate. |
| US08274823B2 |
Methods and apparatus utilizing expected coupling effect in the programming of memory cells
Methods and memory devices configured to utilize predicted coupling effects of neighboring memory cells in the programming of target memory cells can be utilized to tighten the distribution of threshold voltages for a given bit pattern by compensating for anticipated threshold voltage shift due to capacitive coupling, which can facilitate more discernable Vt ranges, and thus a higher number of bits of data per memory cell. Tightening the distribution of threshold voltages can further facilitate wider margins between Vt ranges, and thus an increased reliability in reading the correct data value of a memory cell. |
| US08274811B2 |
Assisting FGL oscillations with perpendicular anisotropy for MAMR
A spin transfer oscillator (STO) structure is disclosed that includes two assist layers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) to enable a field generation layer (FGL) to achieve an oscillation state at lower current density for MAMR applications. In one embodiment, the STO is formed between a main pole and write shield and the FGL has a synthetic anti-ferromagnetic structure. The STO configuration may be represented by seed layer/spin injection layer (SIL)/spacer/PMA layer 1/FGL/spacer/PMA layer 2/capping layer. The spacer may be Cu for giant magnetoresistive (GMR) devices or a metal oxide for tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) devices. Alternatively, the FGL is a single ferromagnetic layer and the second PMA assist layer has a synthetic structure including two PMA layers with magnetic moment in opposite directions in a seed layer/SIL/spacer/PMA assist 1/FGL/spacer/PMA assist 2/capping layer configuration. SIL and PMA assist layers are laminates of (CoFe/Ni)x or the like. |
| US08274810B2 |
Semiconductor memory device comprising transistor having vertical channel structure
A semiconductor memory device including a transistor having a vertical channel structure is provided. The device includes a first sub memory cell array including a first memory cell connected to a first bit lines and including a transistor having a vertical channel structure, a second sub memory cell array including a second memory cell connected to a first inverted bit lines and including a transistor having a vertical channel structure, and a plurality of precharge blocks. In addition, first and second precharge blocks are disposed at first and second sides of the first bit line and precharge the first bit line, and third and fourth precharge blocks are disposed at first and second sides of the first inverted bit line and precharge the first inverted bit line. |
| US08274807B2 |
Power conversion device
A boost power module and an inverter form a semiconductor module. A smoothing capacitor is arranged outside the semiconductor module. A bus bar forming a power supply line is divided into bus bars, between which a lead member extending outward from the semiconductor module is coupled. The lead member has an electric contact with one of terminals of the capacitor arranged outside the semiconductor module. A bus bar forming an earth line is divided into bus bars, between which a lead member extending outward from the semiconductor module is coupled. The lead member has an electric contact with the other terminal of capacitor. |
| US08274804B2 |
Voltage transforming apparatus
A voltage transforming apparatus includes a first high voltage side coil, a first low voltage side coil magnetically coupled to the first high voltage side coil, a second low voltage side coil magnetically coupled to the first high voltage side coil, and a first switch switching an externally supplied voltage between being supplied to the first low voltage side coil and the second low voltage side coil and being supplied to the first high voltage side coil. The first low voltage side coil and the second low voltage side coil are provided such that a magnetic flux that is generated by current flowing through the first low voltage side coil and a magnetic flux that is generated by current flowing through the second low voltage side coil cancel each other out when a voltage is supplied via the first switch. |
| US08274801B2 |
Switching mode power supply with burst mode and associated methods of control
Switching mode power supplies (SMPS) that can operate in a control mode for a normal load condition and operate with a burst-mode controller for a light load condition are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method for controlling the switching mode power supply includes when the load is in a light load condition, the switching mode power supply is controlled by a burst-mode controller. |
| US08274798B2 |
Carrier substrate and method for making the same
A carrier substrate includes a substrate having a chip side and a PCB side, a plurality of bond pads disposed on the chip side for bonding a chip, a plurality of land grid array (LGA) pads disposed on the PCB side, and a plurality of resilient flanges installed on the PCB side in an array manner. The plurality of resilient flanges electrically connects with the LGA pads correspondingly. |
| US08274796B2 |
Mobile data storage device with enhanced capacity
The invention relates to a mobile data storage device (1) with high storage density, comprising a flat support layer (3) with a first (10) and second (5) flat side, a communication connection (2) with a contact section (9) and at least one semiconductor storage device (4), which is designed as a non-volatile read-write memory. The support layer (3) is arranged with a section of the first flat side (10) on a mounting surface (11) of the contact section (9) and the mounting surface (11) is offset relative to the middle plane (22) of the communication connection (2) in a direction perpendicular to the middle plane (22). Furthermore, the invention relates to a pocket-size tool or tool card with a data storage device. |
| US08274795B2 |
Portable electronic device with hollow support
A portable electronic device includes a main body, a circuit board in the main body, a rear cover, at least one first conductive member exposed through the rear cover and electrically connected to the circuit board, and a support assembly. The support assembly includes a hollow support detachably connected to the rear cover, at least one second conductive member connected to the hollow support and staying in contact with the at least one second conductive member, and at least one cable extending through the hollow support and comprising a first end electrically connected to the at least one second conductive member, and a second end extending out of the hollow support for connecting with a peripheral. |
| US08274793B2 |
Heatsink mounting system
A heatsink mounting system (10) is provided for containing and engaging a heatsink (16) against a heat generating component, typically an IC chip (18). The system (10) is includes a rectangular integrally formed resilient frame (12) defining a cavity (26) in which the heatsink (16) is contained. The frame (12) includes a pair of opposed lateral sides (30) and a pair of opposing gripping sides (28) with L-shaped corner blocks (32) depending from the intersections thereof. The gripping sides (28) include centrally positioned grip handles (38) with curved handle posts (39) extending upward and grip blocks (34) depending therefrom, each grip block (34) having a grip tongue (36) at the lower extent thereof extending inward into the cavity (26). Inward pressure on the grip handles (38) forces the grip tongues (36) outward to release objects captured thereby. |
| US08274792B2 |
3-dimensional multi-layered modular computer architecture
A 3-Dimensional multi-layered modular computer (3DMC) is disclosed that comprises removable layers of at least one CPU layer, at least one volatile memory layer, and at least one Input/Output (I/O) interface layers. The layers are stacked in parallel and are electrically connected to create a computing apparatus. Each of the layers is formed from encapsulating material having one or more internal cavities for chip dice, passive components, active components, and conductor's traces. A plurality of Thermal Conducting Rods (TCRs) is capable of conducting and removing heat generated by the components in the layers from the 3DMC apparatus to an external medium. Each TCR perpendicularly passes through the layers. |
| US08274791B2 |
Resin-sealed electronic control device and method of fabricating the same
Provided is a resin-sealed electronic control device reduced in size, which includes a double-sided mounting board as at least one of a plurality of electronic boards obtained by division so that a large mounting surface with a small plane area is ensured. Each of a first electronic board (30A) and a second electronic board (40A) bonded onto an upper surface and a lower surface of each of a pair of separate beam members (20A) includes two surfaces on which outer circuit components (31, 32, 41, 42) and an inner circuit component (33, 43) are respectively mounted. A height of each of the inner circuit components is equal to or less than a thickness of each of the separate beam members (20A). Heat-generating components (32, 42) in the outer circuit components are provided to be adjacent to and opposed to the separate beam members (20A). |
| US08274790B2 |
Automatically reconfigurable liquid-cooling apparatus for an electronics rack
An apparatus is provided for cooling an electronics rack, which includes an electronic subsystem across which air passing through the rack flows. A cooling unit provides, via system coolant supply and return manifolds, system coolant in parallel to the electronic subsystem and an air-to-liquid heat exchanger disposed to cool, in normal-mode, air passing through the rack. A controller monitors coolant associated with the cooling unit and automatically transitions the cooling apparatus from normal-mode to failure-mode responsive to detecting a failure of the coolant. In transitioning to failure-mode, multiple isolation valves are employed in switching to a serial flow of system coolant from the electronic subsystem to the heat exchanger for rejecting, via the system coolant, heat from the electronic subsystem to air passing across the heat exchanger. |
| US08274789B2 |
Display device
A display device according to the present invention comprises a housing having a waterproof structure and provided with an accommodation room formed therein, a ventilation part defined outside the accommodation room and leading to outside of the housing, a display panel arranged inside the accommodation room and including a display screen viewable from a front surface side of the housing, and one or a plurality of heat pipes arranged on a rear surface side of the display panel. The heat pipe passes through a side surface wall forming the accommodation room and extends from inside of the accommodation room to inside of the ventilation part. |
| US08274787B2 |
Thermal interposer liquid cooling system
A thermal interposer for a heat-generating electronic component includes a thermally conducting body that is configured to be thermally coupled to the electronic component. The thermally conducting body may include a first region that is located on a first face of the thermally conducting body. The first region may be adapted to be in thermal contact with a surface of the electronic component. The thermally conducting body may also include a second region located on a second face that is opposite the first face of the thermally conducting body. The thermal interposer may also include a cold plate assembly that is removably coupled to the thermally conducting body. The cold plate assembly may be in thermal contact with the second region of the thermally conducting body. The cold plate assembly may include an inlet adapted to receive a cooling liquid into the cold plate assembly and an outlet adapted to discharge the cooling liquid from the cold plate assembly. |
| US08274785B2 |
Electronic apparatus with drive bracket
An electronic apparatus includes a first drive bracket and a second drive bracket. The first drive bracket includes a bottom plate. The bottom plate defines a receiving groove and an arc-shaped sliding groove. The second drive bracket includes a top wall. The top wall includes a knob and at least one sliding member formed thereon. The knob is received in the receiving groove to work as an axis. The at least one sliding member is received in the sliding groove, and capable of sliding in the sliding groove to a mounted position. In the mounted position, the top wall of the second drive bracket is aligned with the bottom plate of the first drive bracket. |
| US08274784B2 |
Adjustable multi-orientation display support system
A display support system includes a chassis housing an electronic display and defining a support member channel. A support member is moveably coupled to the chassis. The support member is operable to move between a stored position in which the support member is positioned in the support member channel and a support position in which the support member extends from the chassis. An adjustment member is moveably coupled to the support member. With the chassis engaging a support surface, the adjustment member is operable to engage the support surface and move relative to the support member such that an angle between the electronic display and the support surface may be adjusted. The system allows the electronic display to be supported in either a landscape orientation and a portrait orientation, while allowing the angle between the support surface and the electronic display to be adjusted in either orientation. |
| US08274781B2 |
Form factored and flexible ultracapacitors
Advanced ultracapacitor construction of irregular shape is provided, having higher utilization of the available energy storage shape in various electronic and electromechanical products over the prior art ultracapacitors. Said irregular shape of ultracapacitor is achieved by using flexible and pliable cell materials in layers, blanked into any desired shape, and stacked. The layers may be also bent to follow any contour. More capacity in given irregular volume is thus accomplished. |
| US08274780B2 |
Polarizable electrode for electric double layer capacitor and electric double layer capacitor using the same
The present invention provides a polarizable electrode for an electrical double layer capacitor which has good high-temperature storage characteristics and can prevent a decrease in electrostatic capacity and increase in internal resistance, and also provides an electrical double layer capacitor using the electrode. A polarizable electrode is formed by mixing Ketjen black, active charcoal and a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) aqueous solution. An etched aluminum foil is used for the collector, and this etched aluminum foil is dipped in a phosphoric acid aqueous solution or an ammonium phosphate or other phosphate aqueous solution to thereby retain 15 to 115 mg/m2 of phosphorus on the surface of the etched aluminum foil. The electrostatic capacity per unit area on the surface of this etched aluminum foil is 50 to 350 μF/cm2. |
| US08274775B2 |
Electrical protection component with a short-circuiting device
An electrical protection component with a short-circuiting device includes a surge arrester including at least two electrodes. The electrical protection component has at least one fusible element having a geometrical form including at least one cavity. A short-circuiting link is arranged at the surge arrester, wherein the short-circuiting link presses onto the fusible element. The short-circuiting link is spaced apart from the electrodes by means of the fusible element. |
| US08274769B2 |
Apparatus and method for cooling power transformers
The cooling system for a power transformer is activated by sensing and processing the frequency characteristic including the harmonic contents, of the inrush current into the transformer, when the transformer is first energized. The cooling system may include motors operating devices such as oil circulating pumps and fans causing a coolant to flow about the power transformer. The cooling system is deactivated by sensing when the transformer is de-energized and when its temperature is below a predetermined level. |
| US08274768B2 |
Inverter device
The inverter device includes an IGBT bridge circuit, a drive block which has an upper arm photocoupler and a lower arm photocoupler, and a control block including a CPU which generates gate signals and supplies them to the photocouplers. The control block includes an upper arm shutdown circuit and lower arm shutdown circuit which individually shutdown the gate signals of the upper arm and lower arm IGBTs in accordance with shutdown signals input from the exterior, and the shutdown circuits carry out a shutdown operation in accordance with the shutdown signals, which have mutually inverted logics. |
| US08274764B2 |
Magneto-resistive effect element provided with GaN spacer layer
A magneto-resistive effect (MR) element includes a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer in which a relative angle of magnetization directions of the first and second magnetic layers changes according to an external magnetic field; and a spacer layer that is provided between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer. The spacer layer contains gallium nitride (GaN) as a main component. A thin film magnetic head according to one embodiment of the present invention is provided with the following structures: an MR element mentioned above that has a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer, as free layers, in which the magnetization direction in the two layers changes according to the external magnetic field; a bias magnetic field application layer that applies a bias magnetic field to the first and second magnetic layers in an orthogonal direction to an air bearing surface (ABS); the bias magnetic field application layer is formed in a rear side of the MR element seen from the ABS; and a sense current flows in an orthogonal direction to a layer surface of the MR element. |
| US08274763B2 |
Magnetoresistive sensor having a quantum well structure and a P-doped trapping layer to prevent surface charge carriers from migrating to the quantum well structure
A Lorentz Magnetoresistive sensor having an ultrathin trapping layer disposed between a quantum well structure and a surface of the sensor. The trapping layer prevents charge carriers from the surface of the sensor from affecting the quantum well structure. This allows the quantum well structure to be formed much closer to the surface of the sensor, and therefore, much closer to the magnetic field source, greatly improving sensor performance. A Lorentz Magnetoresistive sensor having a top gate electrode to hinder surface charge carriers diffusing into the quantum well, said top gate electrode being either a highly conductive ultrathin patterned metal layer or a patterned monoatomic layer of graphene. |
| US08274757B2 |
Recording head and disk drive with the same
According to one embodiment, a recording head includes a main pole, a trailing core, a first coil wound around the trailing core, a leading core, and a second coil wound around the leading core. The trailing core includes a return pole opposed to a trailing side of the main pole with a write gap therebetween, and side shields arranged individually on opposite sides of the main pole transversely relative to tracks and magnetically separated from the main pole at a distance not more than double a track pitch of the recording medium. The leading core includes a junction opposed to a leading side of the main pole with a gap therebetween and joined to the side shields with a width of 20 μm or less transversely relative to the tracks and a connecting portion joined to the main pole in a position off the recording medium. |
| US08274755B2 |
Magnetic disk unit
Embodiments of the present invention provide a magnetic disk unit capable of attaining miniaturization, lower cost, lighter weight, lower profile, and higher density. According to one embodiment, only a carriage and a spindle motor among respective constituent components of a hard disk drive (HDD) are securely attached to a support plate made of a hard metal material higher in rigidity than a shroud. All the constituent components of the HDD, except the carriage, and the spindle motor, (a voice coil motor, a ramp, a latch lever, an HDD connector and so forth), that is, the respective constituent components of the HDD, of which assembling precision, rigidity, and so forth are not required, are attached to the shroud small in wall-thickness, and lighter in weight, formed of a resin material such as plastics and so forth. |
| US08274754B2 |
System, method and apparatus for integrated bypass channel and diverter for hard disk drives
An integrated bypass channel and diverter assembly for hard disk drives having small form factors is disclosed. A bypass channel is formed directly in the base plate to allow a partial bypass to exist with or without a diverter feature. The design addresses the issue of proper disk shrouding at the same time as providing the desired features for small form factor drives. The invention includes three datum planes for aligning the machined features of the bypass channel with the drive during assembly. The machined bypass channel and the upstream diverter may be combined to form the integrated assembly. The primary air flow direction from the disk stack is through the integrated partial bypass in the enclosure body and around the diverter into the main bypass channel. The invention provides a drop-in position for the diverter that has minimal encroachment into the VCM area of the drive. |
| US08274751B2 |
Electrical current as probe for modulation at head-disk interface
A system and method for measuring the modulation between a magnetic head and a magnetic storage medium, such as a disk, is disclosed. A magnetic read/write head is positioned above a magnetic storage medium at a given flying height. The magnetic read/write head reads a signal from the magnetic storage medium. A tester measures an alternating electric current between the magnetic read/write head through the slider and the magnetic storage medium. A computer may then calculate the modulation by the magnetic read/write head based on the alternating electric current. A DC voltage to the head may be applied to lower the flying height of the magnetic head. |
| US08274750B1 |
Predictive methods and systems for sampling data read from a rotating storage medium
A read and write system comprising a mark detection module, an offset estimation module, and a frequency adjustment module. The mark detection module is configured to generate (i) a first mark indicator when first servo data is read from a storage medium, and (ii) a second mark indicator when second servo data is read from the storage medium. The offset estimation module is configured to estimate at least one of a first distance or an offset angle based on (i) a first location of the storage medium, and (ii) a period between times when the first mark indicator and the second mark indicator are generated. The frequency adjustment module is configured to adjust a sampling frequency at which user data is read from the storage medium based on the at least one of the first distance or the offset angle. |
| US08274749B1 |
Data wedge format table synchronization
A control module for a rotating storage medium. The control module includes: a memory, a buffer control module, and a disk formatter module. The memory is configured to store a data wedge format table including a plurality of entries. The buffer control module is configured to maintain a queue, wherein each of a plurality of entries of the queue is based on a corresponding one of the plurality of entries of the data wedge format table, and wherein each of the plurality of entries of the queue includes a servo number. The disk formatter module is configured to compare the servo numbers of the plurality of entries of the queue to present servo information, wherein the present servo information is based on a present position of a read/write device in relation to the rotating storage medium. |
| US08274745B2 |
Image pickup lens, image pickup device, and mobile terminal device
An image pickup lens, comprises sequentially from an object side: an aperture stop, a first lens being a positive meniscus lens which has a convex surface at the object side and a concave surface at an image side opposite to the object side, and a second lens having a concave surface at the object side and an image side surface whose radius of curvature on an paraxial region is infinite or a negative value, wherein the first lens is the second lens and the image side surface of the second lens includes an aspheric surface to make a positive power strong toward a lens peripheral region, and wherein the image pickup lens is made to satisfy the following conditional formulas. 1.55 |
| US08274743B2 |
Thermally compensating lens for high power lasers
A method for thermally compensating lenses in an optical system for high power lasers includes the steps of providing a fused silica lens to collimate a high power laser beam and positioning that lens in collimating relation to the laser beam. A focusing lens assembly is provided to focus the collimated laser beam and is positioned in focusing relation to the collimated laser beam. At least one lens having a negative dn/dT to offset a heat-induced change in index of refraction of the fused silica lens is included as a part of the collimating lens assembly and as a part of the focusing lens assembly. The lens having a negative dn/dT is selected from a group of glasses having a negative dn/dT. The power of the lenses is balanced with an offsetting negative dn/dT so that the optical system maintains its focus over a wide temperature range. |
| US08274734B2 |
Anamorphic relayed imager having multiple rotationally symmetric powered mirrors
Various embodiments provide an optical system including a plurality of mirrors, each mirror having a rotational axis of symmetry; and a detector configured to detect an image formed by the plurality of mirrors. The plurality of mirrors are configured to scan an object space along a first direction. The plurality of mirrors are configured and arranged so that a focal length of the plurality of mirrors along the first direction is greater than a focal length of the plurality of mirrors in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction so as to obtain a ratio of anamorphism greater than approximately 1.5. |
| US08274732B2 |
Optical module
The present invention relates to an optical module having a structure for reducing adverse contingencies such as increased number of fusion splicing points, drops in output, and higher costs associated with a greater number of optical components. The optical module comprises an amplification optical fiber, a transmission optical fiber, and a fusion splicing structure that fusion-splices the amplification optical fiber to the transmission optical fiber, in a state where a cover layer is removed at the tip portions, including the end faces, of these optical fibers. The fusion splicing structure includes a pumping light removing resin that covers directly the tip portions of the amplification optical fiber and the transmission optical fiber from which the cover layer is removed. The pumping light removing resin has a higher refractive index than a first cladding of the amplification optical fiber. The above configuration allows transmitted pumping light, for which the confinement effect by the first cladding of the amplification optical fiber is cancelled, to escape more efficiently out of the fusion splicing portion. |
| US08274729B2 |
Thin-film coatings, electro-optic elements and assemblies incorporating these elements
Electro-optic elements are becoming commonplace in a number of vehicular and architectural applications. Various electro-optic element configurations provide variable transmittance and or variable reflectance for windows and mirrors. The present invention relates to various thin-film coatings, electro-optic elements and assemblies incorporating these elements. |
| US08274727B1 |
Programmable optical label
The present invention is a programmable and latching retro-reflective construct suitable for use as an optical label in an optical labeling system. The invention contains retro-reflective structures such as lens beads, corner cubes or other retro-reflecting type structures. The retro-reflective construct further comprises a wavelength selective, programmable and latching reflecting structure located at the reflecting surfaces of the retro-reflective structures. The optical construct can optionally contain additional optical filtering structures. Methods for fabricating the invention are also described. |
| US08274726B2 |
Method for utilizing properties of the sinc(x) function for phase retrieval on nyquist-under-sampled data
Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for simulating propagation of an electromagnetic field, performing phase retrieval, or sampling a band-limited function. A system practicing the method generates transformed data using a discrete Fourier transform which samples a band-limited function f(x) without interpolating or modifying received data associated with the function f(x), wherein an interval between repeated copies in a periodic extension of the function f(x) obtained from the discrete Fourier transform is associated with a sampling ratio Q, defined as a ratio of a sampling frequency to a band-limited frequency, and wherein Q is assigned a value between 1 and 2 such that substantially no aliasing occurs in the transformed data, and retrieves a phase in the received data based on the transformed data, wherein the phase is used as feedback to an optical system. |
| US08274723B2 |
Piezoelectric transducer element, actuator, sensor, optical scanning device, and optical scanning display device
In a piezoelectric transducer element, on a base body having a fixing part and a movable part which are connected with each other, a piezoelectric body which is sandwiched between a lower electrode and an upper electrode is formed in a state where the piezoelectric body extends between and over the fixing part and the movable part of the base body. The piezoelectric body converts a change in potential between the lower electrode and the upper electrode into mechanical displacement of the movable part relative to the fixing part or the mechanical displacement into the change in potential. The upper electrode includes a pad electrode for connection which is formed above the fixing part, and the lower electrode is not formed in a region above the fixing part and below the pad electrode. |
| US08274722B2 |
Counter-balanced MEMS mirror with hidden hinge
A multi-layer hidden hinge and actuator design for high fill factor biaxial MEMS mirror array for wavelength selective switches (WSS) based on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process with wafer bonding and coarsely aligned orthogonal vertical comb and/or parallel plate actuator. The present invention relates to a micro-mirror in a MEMS linear piano micro-mirror array comprising a micro-mirror layer, a hinge layer and an electrode/substrate layer. The structure is formed by fabricating the layers separately in SOI structure and then bonding them together. |
| US08274719B2 |
Printing system, print preview method, and preview method using a printer driver
A printing system is capable of displaying a preview of an image with a low resolution without causing degradation in performance and affinity for an operating system. When previewing is performed, preview printer information corresponding to the low resolution is set as printer information in a printer graphics driver by a print processor. The printer graphics driver produces a preview file by converting (rasterizing) an EMF spool file into low-resolution data. The resultant preview file is displayed as a print image on a display by a previewer. |
| US08274712B2 |
Scanning apparatus for bound document
A scanning apparatus for scanning a bound document includes a scanning flatbed, a lighting device, and a scanning head assembly. The scanning flatbed includes a platen and an inclined plane, wherein the platen is adjoined with the inclined plane, and the platen supports a document to be scanned. The lighting device, facing the scanning flatbed, projects light onto the document, wherein the lighting device includes a first portion and a second portion, and the first portion and the second portion respectively comprise a plurality of LEDs arranged in an array. The scanning head assembly, coupled to the lighting device, scans the document. The first portion is located closer to the inclined plane than the second portion, and intervals between the LEDs of the first portion are smaller than intervals between the LEDs of the second portion. |
| US08274710B2 |
Image processing using count variation
Input image data is converted into a brightness component to obtain a difference between the brightness component and a threshold. A count variation is determined based on the obtained difference, and the counter is used to follow up and change the threshold. The threshold obtained by the follow-up and change is used to execute a background color removal process in each pixel by executing a signal conversion process. |
| US08274708B2 |
Image processing apparatus and method for preventing removal of an encoded image
An image processing apparatus includes a color removing unit, a determining unit, and a preventing unit. The color removing unit is configured to remove a specified color from an input image. The determining unit is configured to determine whether information is embedded in the input image. The preventing unit is configured to prevent an image in an area where the information is embedded in the input image from being removed by the color removing unit when the determining unit determines that the information is embedded in the input image. |
| US08274704B2 |
Image processing apparatus and method for selecting a processing mode based on attributes of original multivalued image data
An information processing apparatus processes, for each pixel, multivalued image data for a unit area of a recording medium, so as to form an image on the unit area with a plurality of relative movements between a recording head and the recording medium. The apparatus has a selector that selects a first processing mode for dividing the multivalued image data into a plurality of pieces of multivalued image data corresponding to the plurality of relative movements, and then quantizing each of the plurality of pieces of multivalued image data, or a second processing mode for quantizing the multivalued image data into quantized image data, and then dividing the quantized image data into a plurality of pieces of quantized image data corresponding to the plurality of relative movements. The selector selects the processing mode based on a content (attribute, grayscale, color, etc.) of the multivalued image data. |
| US08274700B2 |
Constructing spectral gamut boundary descriptors
Color management in which a spectrally-based ICS color value is spectrally gamut mapped onto a spectral gamut of a destination device using a simplified Gamut Boundary Descriptor (GBD) that represents the spectral gamut of the destination device, and the gamut-mapped ICS value is converted into a destination-side color. The simplified GBD is constructed by generating sample points that span the spectral gamut of the destination device, forming a full spectral GBD by applying a hulling algorithm to the sample points, identifying sample points that are vertices of the full GBD of the spectral gamut, partitioning the vertices of the full GBD into clusters, such that the clusters are at least at a certain threshold distance apart, choosing a representative sample point from each cluster, and forming the simplified GBD by applying the hulling algorithm to the representative sample points from each cluster. |
| US08274697B2 |
Multifunction system and multifunction apparatus
A multifunction system is provided that is capable of preventing unauthorized copying and the like of an image printed on a print material against the will of a user who has created the print material. The multifunction system includes: a printing apparatus having a printing unit printing on a prescribed recording medium a combined image formed by combining an image based on image information with an output-restriction image relating to restriction on output of the print material; and a reading apparatus having an image reading unit reading, responsive to a reading instruction, the combined image printed on the prescribed recording medium, an image analyzer unit analyzing the output-restriction image included in the combined image read out by the image reading unit, and an output determination unit determining, on the basis of an analyzed result generated by the image analyzer unit, as to whether the image based on the image information can be output. |
| US08274688B2 |
Capacity planning incorporating job size distribution
Methods and systems for determining print capacity are disclosed. A maximum job speed for a document processing device and information pertaining to a plurality of jobs performed by the document processing device may be received. The information may include a job speed and a job size for each job. Sets of first and second jobs may be identified from the plurality of jobs. Each first job may have a job speed greater than a percentage of the maximum job speed. Each second job may have a job speed less than the percentage of the maximum job speed. A job size threshold may be determined based on the job sizes for the first and second jobs. In response to such determination, a linear function based on the one or more second jobs may be obtained. The linear function may be a function of job speed based on job size. |
| US08274687B2 |
Image forming apparatus, access control method, and computer-readable recording medium recording access control program
An image forming apparatus includes: a communication interface accessing Web addresses; a memory for storing predetermined addresses; a first determination unit for determining whether the image forming apparatus is in a first state that access of the image forming apparatus is limited to the predetermined addresses or a second state that the image forming apparatus is permitted to access any addresses; a second determination unit for determining whether a designated address is included in the predetermined addresses, when the image forming apparatus is in the first state; and a permission unit for giving to the communication interface permission to access the designated address, when the designated address is included in the predetermined addresses. |
| US08274683B2 |
Printing apparatus, content-recorded disk making apparatus, kiosk terminal, method of controlling printing apparatus and program therefor
Provided herein is a printing apparatus having a frame image take-in means which takes in a plurality of frame images at a predetermined interval from a content file as recorded target including image information on an optical disk medium, a frame image discriminating means which discriminates whether each of the taken-in frame images is appropriate for printing on a label face by comparing each of the frame images taken in by the frame image take-in means with prior and following frame images thereof and using a discriminating result whether differences between the taken-in frame images and the prior and following frame images thereof are small, a label print data generating means which generates label print data to be printed on the label face of the optical disk medium based on frame images discriminated as appropriate for printing on the label face by the frame image discriminating means, and a label print means which prints the label print data generated on the label face of the optical disk medium. |
| US08274675B2 |
Printing apparatus and control method thereof, and printing system
This invention has as its object to allow an authentication process that avoids unnecessary information from being stored in a digital camera irrespective of whether or not a digital camera connected to the printer has a direct print function. To this end, in this invention, in an early stage of connection between a digital camera DSC and PD printer, the PD printer side requests an object which contains a keyword as authentication information of those which are stored and held by the DSC (S29). As a result, after it is determined the returned information contains authentication information, the printer notifies the DSC of its own authentication information (S33). |
| US08274666B2 |
Projector/printer for displaying or printing of documents
A combined projector/printer that can receive data in a printer format or a projector format, and then either generate a displayable image, a printed document or both. In the case that the input data is not in a video format but rather in a print format, the projector system is further capable of converting the print format data to image data and to render the image data on a digital display. The print format to image data conversion is provided by a coder/decoder. The combined projector/printer system is capable of displaying an image, printing an image, or recording a presentation according to the needs of the user. The present invention also includes a variety of methods for performing the functionality of the present invention including a “print-to-display” method. |
| US08274662B2 |
Optical triangulation sensor
An optical, such as a laser, triangulation sensor is disclosed in which a configuration of an output light beam is controlled using a mask in front of a light source. The configuration may include a plurality of coplanar spatially separated planar light beams. The mask may be movable to provide different light beam configurations. Masking parts of the light beam enables unwanted features on the measurement surface to be omitted. Also disclosed is a guide element for an optical sensor for facilitating hole diameter measurement. The guide element has contact surfaces lying on a virtual conical surface which abut the hole edge to enable consistent placement of the light beam with respect to the hole centre. Also disclosed is a guide element for an optical sensor having an aperture for framing surface features, such as a rivert to permit accurate location of the light beam therewith. |
| US08274661B2 |
Shape calculation method
A method for calculating a shape includes dividing an aspherical test surface into a plurality of measurement regions configured to overlap with one another, receiving, at a light receiving unit, interference fringes which occur due to interference light generated by light reflected on a reference surface serving as a reference for calculating a shape of the test surface and light reflected by each of the measurement regions, and calculating surface shapes of the measurement regions, and calculating a shape of the test surface by joining the calculated surface shapes, wherein the calculation of surface shapes includes adjusting relative positions of the test surface and the reference surface and adjusting a position of the light receiving unit so that the test surface and the light receiving unit have a conjugate relationship with each other in a state in which the position of the test surface is adjusted. |
| US08274660B2 |
Optical tomographic imaging apparatus
Provided is an optical tomographic imaging apparatus that is capable of shortening a period of time of focusing at multiple focus positions when images split in a depth direction are obtained by zone focusing. The optical tomographic imaging apparatus includes: a focus position setting device for splitting a zone within a predetermined imaging depth range into multiple focus zones so as to set multiple focus positions; a reference position setting device for setting at least two reference positions in an imaging depth direction within the predetermined imaging depth range; and a focus controlling device for performing focusing at the multiple focus positions sequentially based on focus position information generated by the focus position setting device and a focus condition of an in-focus state for the at least two reference positions set in advance by the reference position setting device. |
| US08274655B2 |
Method and system for in situ aerosol thermo-radiometric analysis
Particle detection systems configured to identify a particle in a bulk sample volume are less efficient than those configured to measure a single particle. A particle detection system according to an inventive embodiment can identify a particle in a fluid stream. The detection system may employ one or more heating stations. Each heating station may be set to a distinct temperature. The heating stations may include a light source and a light detector, such that once a particle traverses a beam provided by the light source, the light detector may measure resultant optical scattering. Based on the optical scattering with respect to temperature or temperature variation, an identification of the single particle may be obtained, thereby eliminating measurement inaccuracies associated with bulk sample volumes. The particle detection system may detect organic particles among inorganic particles in various fluid flow environments, such as for safety or quality purposes. |
| US08274654B2 |
Apparatus for measuring nanoparticles
A dielectric sheet 3 is arranged between a pair of electrodes 2a and 2b for forming an electric field in a cell 1 that stores therein a sample having particles dispersed movably in a medium, the dielectric sheet 3 being formed to include multiple mutually parallel slits 3a to form a diffraction grating, and a parallel light flux is applied to the diffraction grating to generate diffracted light. A gradient electric field in the vicinity of the slits 3a generated by applying a voltage between the electrodes 2a and 2b causes the particles P to migrate in such a manner as to cover the slits 3a or away from the slits 3a and thereby the contrast of the diffraction grating to vary, and whereby the diffusion coefficient and/or size of the particles P can be calculated from the temporal change of the diffracted light when the particles diffuse freely after stopping the application of the voltage. In this measurement apparatus, the particles P might not migrate toward the electrodes 2a and 2b and are not absorbed there, which can prevent damage of the electrodes 2a and 2b and also the occurrence of an electrode reaction. |
| US08274652B2 |
Defect inspection system and method of the same
In an inspection subject substrate, there is a problem that a defect signal is overlooked due to scattered light from a pattern and sensitivity decreases in an irregular circuit pattern part. The inventors propose a defect inspection method, characterized by comprising: an illumination step of guiding light emitted from a light source to a predetermined area on an inspection subject substrate under a plurality of predetermined optical conditions; a detection step of obtaining an electric signal by guiding scattered light components propagating in a predetermined range of azimuthal angle and in a predetermined range of elevation angle to a detector for each of a plurality of scattered light distributions occurred correspondingly to the plurality of optical conditions in the predetermined area; and a defect determination step of determining a defect based on the plurality of electric signals obtained in the detection step. |
| US08274649B2 |
Failure detection in lighting systems
A method and apparatus for continuous monitoring of a light bulb or group of light bulbs. The light emission of a light bulb is compared with known emission failure values for similar types of light bulbs, and a determination of a near failure status for the bulb is made. |
| US08274647B2 |
Method of classifying a graded-index multimode optical fiber
A method of classifying a graded-index multimode optical fiber includes taking a series of individual measurements at a single wavelength, and using the measurements to characterize the departure of the multimode optical fiber's actual index profile from the corresponding nominal index profile. The measurements, coupled with intermodal dispersion or EMB measurement, may be used to predict the approximate transmission properties of the optical fiber at wavelengths other than the measurement wavelength. |
| US08274638B2 |
Reflective, refractive and projecting optical system; reflective, refractive and projecting device; scanning exposure device; and method of manufacturing micro device
A scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention is one for transferring a pattern of a first object onto a second object while projecting an image of the first object placed on a first plane, onto the second object placed on a second plane and changing a positional relation between the image of the first object and the second object in a scanning direction. The scanning exposure apparatus has a first projection optical system having a first field of view on the first plane and adapted to project an enlargement image of a portion of the first object in a first projection region on the second plane, based on light from the first field of view, and a second projection optical system having a second field of view on the first plane and adapted to project an enlargement image of a portion of the first object in a second projection region on the second plane, based on light from the second field of view. The scanning exposure apparatus satisfies the relation of Dp=β×Dm, where Dm is a first interval being an interval along the scanning direction on the first plane between the first field of view and the second field of view, Dp is a second interval being an interval along the scanning direction on the second plane between the first projection region and the second projection region, and β is a magnification of the first and second projection optical systems. |
| US08274636B2 |
Method for forming spacers on substrate
A method of forming a spacer for a liquid crystal display (LCD) device is disclosed. To form the spacer, an ink jet injection nozzle is aligned over a substrate on which unit pixels are arranged in a matrix. After aligning the nozzle, first dispensing spacers are dispensed from the injection nozzle with a certain gap so that at least one unit pixels is interposed between the spacers. Subsequently, the nozzle is moved and second dispensing spacers are dispensed by the nozzle at each of the unit pixels formed between the first spacers. This is repeated until the spacer is formed at all unit pixels. The spacer contains a ball spacer and a volatile liquid, which is vaporized during dispensing. The ink jet injection method prevents adjacent spacers from interfering with each other during formation. |
| US08274634B2 |
Flexible printed circuit, touch panel, display panel and display
A flexible printed circuit includes: a first wiring layer and a second wiring layer being in contact with one surface of a flexible substrate, a third wiring layer and a fourth wiring layer on the other surface of the flexible substrate, a first conductive member being formed on surfaces in proximity to a through hole of the second wiring layer and the fourth wiring layer; a second conductive member being formed on surfaces in proximity to the first end section of the first wiring layer and the third wiring layer; and an insulating layer being formed in a space between the first wiring layer and the second conductive member, and the second wiring layer and the first conductive member and a space between the third wiring layer and the second conductive member, and the fourth wiring layer and the first conductive member. |
| US08274633B2 |
Display device comprising a protective fixing member disposed only about a periphery of a semiconductor chip wherein a top side and a bottom side are co-planar with a respective top side and a bottom side of the semiconductor chip
Disclosed herein is a display device including: a first substrate with a pixel switch and drivers mounted thereon; a second substrate disposed in facing relation to the first substrate; a material layer held between the first substrate and the second substrate and having peripheral edges sealed by a seal member, the material layer having an electrooptical effect; and a semiconductor chip mounted as a COG component on the first substrate, the semiconductor chip having a control system configured to control the drivers; wherein the semiconductor chip having a thickness equal to the total thickness of the seal member and the second substrate or larger than the thickness of the seal member and smaller than the total thickness. |
| US08274631B2 |
Controlling polarization for liquid crystal displays
Certain embodiments of liquid crystal displays and liquid crystal display functional parts have low reflection for outdoor applications. Various embodiments also have the advantage of being able to provide increased contrast and brightness for certain convenient viewing directions for outdoor viewers wearing polarized sunglasses. |
| US08274630B2 |
Liquid crystal display device and manufacturing method for same
Liquid crystal is sandwiched between a first substrate in rectangular form and a second substrate in rectangular form, pixel electrodes and a first alignment film are formed on the first substrate, a counter electrode and a second alignment film are formed on the second substrate, the second alignment film is rubbed in a direction at an angle in a range of 45°+/−3° relative to one side of the second substrate, the counter electrode is provided with a protruding pad portion, and the direction in which the pad portion extends is to an angle of 15° or more and 35° or less with the side of the second substrate. |
| US08274629B2 |
Liquid crystal display device and method of fabricating the same
A liquid crystal display device has first and second substrates. A first electrode on the first substrate is alignment-treated and a second electrode on the second substrate is alignment-treated. A liquid crystal layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. Alignment-treating includes forming an alignment direction. The alignment direction of the first and second substrates is formed by irradiating an ion beam onto the first and second electrodes using an ion beam irradiation apparatus. |
| US08274628B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
In the present invention, it is an object to improve display quality by improving response speed of a liquid crystal element in a liquid crystal display device, in particular, response speed in the case of falling. In the present invention, it is characterized that a liquid crystal layer is divided into plural regions (domains) substantially by mixing a chemical compound including a liquid crystal skeleton in a liquid crystal layer having existing liquid crystal molecules as a technique to improve response speed of a liquid crystal element in a liquid crystal display device for solving the above problem. |
| US08274627B2 |
Liquid crystal panel and liquid crystal display
The invention provides a liquid crystal panel and a liquid crystal display device, which has suppressed light leakage at an angle of 45 degrees to an absorption axis of a polarizing plate, a low black-state brightness in an oblique direction and an improved contrast. The liquid crystal panel comprises a liquid crystal cell including a liquid crystal layer containing liquid crystal molecules that is oriented in homogeneous alignment when no electric field is applied thereto, a first polarizer placed on one side of the liquid crystal cell, a second polarizer placed on another side of the liquid crystal cell, a first anisotropic optical element placed between the liquid crystal cell and the first polarizer and satisfying nx1>ny1>nz1, and a second anisotropic optical element placed between the first anisotropic optical element and the liquid crystal cell and satisfying nz2>nx2>ny2, wherein the slow axis of the first anisotropic optical element is parallel to the slow axis of the second anisotropic optical element. |
| US08274626B2 |
Diffuser prism sheet with light diffusing element on valley region, LCD back light unit including the same, and LCD device including the same
A diffuser prism sheet, an LCD back light unit including the same, and an LCD device including the same, the diffuser prism sheet including a base film made of a transparent material, and a light refracting part on a surface of the base film, the light refracting part including a plurality of unit prisms arranged in one direction, having a predetermined cross-sectional shape and valley regions between adjacent unit prisms, and light diffusing elements in the valley regions between the adjacent unit prisms. |
| US08274624B2 |
Liquid crystal panel and liquid crystal display
The present invention provides a liquid crystal panel that can provide a neutral display that is free from coloring in every direction. The liquid crystal panel includes a first polarizer 14a, a second polarizer 14b, and a liquid crystal cell 13. The first polarizer 14a is arranged on the visible side of the liquid crystal cell 13 and the second polarizer 14b is arranged on the backlight side of the liquid crystal cell 13. The liquid crystal panel further includes a first retardation layer 11 and a second retardation layer 12. A refractive index ellipsoid of the first retardation layer 11 has a relationship of nx=ny>nz, and a refractive index ellipsoid of the second retardation layer 12 has a relationship of nx>ny≧nz. The first retardation layer 11 and the second retardation layer 12 are arranged between the liquid crystal cell 13 and the second polarizer 14b. |
| US08274623B2 |
Liquid crystal display and method for assembling the same
An LCD and a method for assembling the LCD are provided. The LCD includes a display assembly and a tape. The display assembly has a top surface, a bottom surface which is opposite the top surface, and a lateral edge connected the edge of the top surface with the edge of the bottom surface. The tape comprises a peripheral portion and a bending portion extending from the peripheral portion. The peripheral portion is utilized to attach to the peripheral area of the top surface, and the bending portion is bended to attach to the lateral edge and the peripheral area of the bottom surface. |
| US08274620B2 |
Liquid crystal display panel and active device array substrate thereof
An active device array substrate including a substrate, a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of data lines, and a plurality of pixel units, each of the pixel units formed between every neighboring two of the scan lines and data lines is provided. Each of the pixel units includes a first active device, a first pixel electrode electrically connected to a corresponding scan line and a corresponding data line through the first active device, a second active device, a second pixel electrode electrically connected to a corresponding scan line and a corresponding data line through the first active device, a second active device and a second pixel electrode electrically connected to a corresponding scan line and a corresponding data line through the second active device. The first pixel electrode has a surface area different from that of the second pixel electrode. |
| US08274619B2 |
Display device wherein a value of a channel width divided by a channel length of one TFT is greater than another TFT, and a gap between a pixel electrode and a counter electrode is wider for the one TFT than the another TFT
A display device which can reduce easily the brightness unevenness produced by the insufficient writing of TFT, wherein, the display device having: a display panel which, over a surface of an insulating substrate, includes plural scanning signal lines; plural picture signal lines; plural TFTs; plural pixel electrodes coupled to sources of the TFTs; and a counter electrode, wherein the pixel and counter electrodes are arranged over the same surface of an insulating layer overlying the surface of the insulating substrate, and when a gate insulating film provided at one TFT among the TFTs is thinner than a gate insulating film provided at another TFT among the TFTs, a gap between a pixel electrode coupled to the source of the one TFT and the counter electrode is set to be wider than a gap between a pixel electrode coupled to the source of the another TFT and the counter electrode. |
| US08274615B2 |
Mobile video system
A mobile video system includes a housing having a front surface and a rear surface. The housing is shaped and dimensioned for attachment to a rear surface of a back support portion of an vehicle seat, wherein the housing includes a rear surface that is provided with coupling members shaped and dimensioned for attachment to the back support portion of the vehicle seat. A video monitor and a video source are supported within the housing. The video monitor is mounted within the housing for movement between an exposed orientation in which it is positioned above the housing and a storage position in which it is positioned within the housing for protection from the external environment. |
| US08274612B2 |
LCD television
An LCD television includes an LCD panel including a plurality of LCD units with concave structure, three sides of the LCD unit also include liquid crystal molecule (LCM), all of the first side of the LCD unit constitutes a first LCM array and forms a first display interface, all of the second side of the LCD unit constitutes a second LCM array and forms a second display interface, all of the third side of the LCD unit constitutes a third LCM array and forms a third display interface. The LCD television also includes three signal conversion modules configured to convert three TV program signals into three control signals respectively, three driving modules are configured to drive the three LCM arrays according to the control signals and cause the first display interface, the second display interface, and the third display interface to display corresponding TV programs. |
| US08274610B2 |
RFID-based wireless remote control using variable ID field
A TV remote control is powered using RFID principles from an electric field generated by the TV and so the RC requires no batteries. The RC changes the ID field of the data packet it transmits based on what button was pushed so that a first button is associated with a first ID, a second button is associated with a second ID, and so on. In this way, only a single RFID tag need be provided in the RC. |
| US08274608B2 |
Image processing apparatus, and method for controlling an image processor
In an image processing apparatus, an image processor includes: a matrix switcher, wherein intersecting input and output lines are connected by crosspoint switches; a signal processing block connected to output lines on the upstream side, and input lines on the downstream side by reentry paths; and an output block connected to output lines on the upstream side. An external reentry settings unit sets a first and second port of the matrix switcher as external reentry output ports, the first port being a matrix switcher output port, and the second port being a matrix switcher input port. A reentry stage information generator generates reentry stage information, which indicates the stage of the internal signal processing path where a special function unit is logically positioned, and wherein the special function unit corresponds to the external reentry output ports of the signal processing block and the output block. |
| US08274604B2 |
Image display unit
A image display unit is allowed to reproduce display characteristics substantially equivalent to that obtained with use of a cinema projector, when performing a image display based on a film image signal or an equivalent. The image display unit including: an image insertion section inserting an interpolation frame image into an input video signal as the film image signal or the equivalent; and a display section performing image display based on a video signal where the interpolation frame image is inserted. The image insertion section generates an optimized image as the interpolation frame image in which the insertion time period and the signal level are optimized based on display characteristics to be achieved in a projected image projected with the cinema film by a cinema projector, thereby to insert the optimized image into the input video signal at a position corresponding to a gap between frames of the cinema film. |
| US08274603B2 |
Choosing video deinterlacing interpolant based on cost
Deinterlacing of video involves converting interlaced video to progressive video by interpolating a missing pixel in the interlaced video from other pixels in the video. A plurality of interpolants are provided, each of which interpolates a pixel value from other pixels that are nearby in space and/or time. The data costs of using the various interpolants is calculated. A particular one of the interpolants is chosen based on the data costs associated with the various interpolants. The chosen interpolant is used to interpolate the value of the missing pixel. The interpolated pixel value may be refined based on exemplars. The exemplars may be taken from the video that is being deinterlaced. |
| US08274602B2 |
Image processing apparatus and image processing method with redundant frame detection
According to one embodiment, an image processing apparatus includes a motion estimation module, a redundant frame determination module and an interpolation frame generation module. The motion estimation module calculates motion vectors for respective pixel blocks in each frame in moving image data by estimating motion between frames in the moving image data. The redundant frame determination module determines whether a target frame is a redundant frame based on the motion vectors corresponding to the target frame and the motion vectors corresponding to a frame preceding the target frame. The interpolation frame generation module discards the target frame if the target frame is a redundant frame, and generates an interpolation frame between the target frame and the preceding frame by motion compensation using the motion vectors corresponding to the target frame and outputs the interpolation frame and the target frame, if the target frame is a non-redundant frame. |
| US08274601B2 |
Digital camera
A digital camera includes a bezel and an extending ring. The bezel includes a convex ring and at least one fixing portion. The convex ring is positioned on a center of the bezel. The fixing portion is defined on an outer sidewall of the convex ring. The extending ring includes a sleeve, a flange, and at least one fastening portion. The sleeve is placed around the outer sidewall of the convex ring. The flange extends from an end of the sleeve and abuts the convex ring. The fastening portion cooperates with the fixing portion. |
| US08274592B2 |
Variable rate browsing of an image collection
A method for browsing a collection of digital images on a display screen with a touch screen user interface, comprising: forming an ordered sequence of digital images; entering an image review mode and displaying a first digital image from the ordered sequence of digital images on the display screen; initiating a sequential image display process in response to a user touching the touch screen, wherein the sequential image display process sequentially displays digital images in the ordered sequence of digital images on the touch screen until such time that the user stops touching the touch screen, wherein a time interval between the display of sequential images is specified by a scroll rate which is controlled responsive to the position that the user is touching the touch screen. |
| US08274588B2 |
Solid-state imaging device, method for driving the same, and imaging device
In a CMOS image sensor (10) including a pixel array unit (12) having pixels separately arranged in even-numbered pixel rows and odd-numbered pixel rows, a reading operation performed on odd pixels having a short accumulation time is performed in an exposure start portion of even pixels having a long accumulation time. By this, even when the even pixels are saturated and signal charges overflow from the even pixels, and therefore, part of the signal charges intrude into the odd pixels adjacent to the even pixels, an adverse effect of blooming due to the saturation of the even pixels to signals of the odd pixels is eliminated since the reading operation performed on the odd pixels has already been completed. The adverse effect due to the blooming to the low-sensitive signals is eliminated when a method for attaining a dynamic range by differentiating accumulation times between adjacent pixels is employed. |
| US08274587B2 |
Image sensor pixels with vertical charge transfer
Image sensors having image sensor pixels with stacked photodiodes are provided. An image sensor pixel may include a shallow potential well located in a shallow implant region and a deep potential well located in a deep implant region. The shallow implant region and the deep implant region may be separated by a potential barrier. The image sensor pixel may have a given transfer gate to transfer charge from the shallow well to a floating diffusion node. The image sensor pixel may have an additional transfer gate to transfer charge from the deep well to the shallow well via a vertical transfer region located under the additional transfer gate. Image sensor pixels formed using this structure may exhibit higher pixel densities, higher image resolution, and higher sensitivity. |
| US08274586B2 |
Solid-state imaging device and method of manufacturing the same
A solid-state imaging device according to an implementation of the present invention is a solid-state imaging device including a plurality of unit pixels arranged in a matrix, and each of the unit pixels includes a photodiode which performs photoelectric conversion on light so as to convert the light into an electric signal, a top lens which collects incident light, and an intralayer lens which collects, to the photodiode, the incident light collected by the top lens, and a centroid of the photodiode is displaced from a center of the unit pixel into a first direction, the top lens is formed into an asymmetric shape so as to have a centroid displaced from the center of the unit pixel into the first direction, and the intralayer lens is formed to have a centroid displaced from the center of the unit pixel into the first direction. |
| US08274585B2 |
Imaging device with brightness correction
An imaging device comprises: an imaging element that comprises (i) at least three types of color detection photoelectric conversion elements that detect different color components of light and (ii) brightness detection photoelectric conversion elements that detect brightness components of light; a level adjustment section that adjust levels of color signals acquired respectively from at least said three types of color detection photoelectric conversion elements and levels of brightness signals acquired from the brightness detection photoelectric conversion elements; a composite signal generation section that generates, from ones of the color signals undergone level adjustment, at least three different color signals in correspondence with each of the color detection photoelectric conversion elements and subjects at least said three color signals to weighting and addition, so as to generate composite signals respectively corresponding to the color detection photoelectric conversion elements; and a brightness signal correction section that corrects one of the brightness signals having undergone level adjustment, through use of corresponding one(s) of the composite signals. |
| US08274584B2 |
Imaging apparatus and method
An imaging apparatus includes an imaging device, a light guide mechanism, and a signal processing unit. The imaging device converts light incident on a photoelectric conversion portion of the imaging device into electric signals. The light guide mechanism, arranged adjacent to the photoelectric conversion portion of the imaging device, includes a plurality of apertures that guide light from a subject to the photoelectric conversion portion of the imaging device. The signal processing unit performs desired signal processing on the electric signals output from the imaging device on the basis of subject information units derived from the light guided onto the photoelectric conversion portion of the imaging device through the apertures. |
| US08274583B2 |
Radially-based chroma noise reduction for cameras
A system, apparatus, computer readable medium, and method for radially-dependent noise reduction in image capturing devices involving an edge-preserving blur window are disclosed. In one embodiment, the edge-preserving blur includes only those pixels in the blur window that are within a threshold value of the blur window's current center pixel in its blurring calculation. By creating a threshold function that varies radially from the center of the image sensor's light intensity falloff function, a more appropriate threshold value can be chosen for each pixel, allowing for more noise farther from the center of the image, and allowing for less noise closer to the center of the image. Light-product information taken from the image's metadata may be used to scale the threshold value parameters dynamically. This allows the method to perform the appropriate amount of processing depending on the lighting situation of the image that is currently being processed. |
| US08274582B2 |
Image capturing apparatus, control method therefor, image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program
An image capturing apparatus includes an image sensor which photo-electrically converts an object image, a memory which stores foreign substance area information associated with a foreign substance adhering to an optical member disposed in front of the image sensor, a positional shift detection unit which detects the mutual positional shifts between a plurality of images generated by sensing almost the same object by the image sensor, an image composition unit which positions and composites the plurality of images on the basis of the detection result obtained by the positional shift detection unit, and an image correction unit which corrects at least parts of the plurality of images on the basis of the detection result obtained by the positional shift detection unit and the foreign substance area information stored in the memory. |
| US08274580B2 |
Signal processing device, signal processing program and electronic camera
The present invention includes a color converting section carrying out color conversion processing and a coefficient correcting section setting a correcting coefficient group to a coefficient group of the color conversion. The coefficient correcting section sets a local area containing a pixel to be processed, and calculates “feature information of the local area” containing at least one of averaged color information, averaged luminance information, and flatness on the basis of the pixel signals of the local area. The coefficient correcting section determines a correcting coefficient group to be used for the pixel to be processed on the basis of the feature information of the local area. With this construction, the present invention suppresses influence of noise when changing the color conversion processing for each pixel. |
| US08274578B2 |
Gaze tracking apparatus and method using difference image entropy
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gaze tracking apparatus using difference image entropy, comprising: image detection module for detecting user's eye region image from image of the user taken by picture-taking apparatus which is connected to the gaze tracking apparatus; image selection module for computing entropy value of difference image between the eye region image and a plurality of reference images respectively indicating each gazing direction and selecting reference image with least difference image entropy value among the plurality of reference images; and gaze tracking module for recognizing user's gazing direction by regarding gazing direction that the selected reference image indicates as user's gazing direction. |
| US08274577B2 |
Methods of processing digital image and/or video data including luminance filtering based on chrominance data and related systems and computer program products
Digital image and/or video data is processed wherein a frame of the data comprises a plurality of rows and columns of pixels with data for each pixel including a luminance value and a chrominance value. Chrominance values and luminance values may be received for a current pixel and at least one adjacent pixel, and the chrominance values of the current pixel and the at least one adjacent pixel may be compared. The luminance value of the current pixel may be filtered wherein a strength of filtering the luminance value is based on the comparison of the chrominance values of the current and at least one adjacent pixels. |
| US08274568B2 |
Method for image data print control, electronic camera and camera system
An electronic camera includes a zoom changing unit that changes a focal length of a zoom lens, an image-capturing unit that executes photoelectric conversion for a subject image projected by the zoom lens onto an image-capturing area, a range finding unit that detects a distance to a subject, a photographic range setting unit that sets a size of a photographic range at a subject position, and a zoom control unit that controls the zoom changing unit based upon the photographic range that has been set and the subject distance so that the subject within the photographic range is projected almost over the entirety of the image-capturing area. |
| US08274565B2 |
Systems and methods for concealed object detection
In the method disclosed, three or more infrared images of a body having concealed objects are acquired, each image resulting in a response of a detector having a spectral sensitivity in the infrared that is analogous to one of the spectral sensitivities of the color response of the human eye, and each image corresponding to a different spectral sensitivity. At least the center of the spectral sensitivity corresponding to the Green response at the human eye is selected to allow increasing the detected radiation difference between the concealed object and the body. The responses of the detector to each of the three or more images are utilized to provide RGB signals to a display device. The color image displayed in the display device allows identifying the concealed object. |
| US08274562B2 |
Method for identifying soiling on a transparent screen
A camera for identifying soiling on a protective screen, such as a vehicle windscreen, is focused on a scene through the protective screen and can be used to identify soiling and for other applications, e.g. to identify driving lanes and/or objects in the scene. Soiling is identified merely by evaluating successively recorded image frames, and artificial reference frames or reference objects are not required. A prerequisite is that the relative speed vrel between the camera and at least one recorded object in the scene is not equal to zero and its trajectory in the image is predicted. By comparing the relevant image frame sections, possible soiling on subregions of the protective screen is identified. |
| US08274558B2 |
Electronic endoscope signal-processing device and electronic endoscope system
An electronic endoscope system is provided that includes an RGB transformer, an R-signal amplifier, and a GB-signal amplifier. The RGB transformer transforms image signals to RGB signals. The R-signal amplifier changes the amplitude of the R signals of the RGB signals to a predetermined gain value. The GB-signal amplifier nonlinearly changes the amplitude of the G signals and B signals of the RGB signals. |
| US08274556B2 |
Backlight unit and 2D/3D switchable image display device employing the backlight unit
A 2D/3D switchable image display device is provided. The device includes an image panel, a backlight unit arranged at the rear side of the image panel, and a lenticular lens sheet arranged between the image panel and the backlight unit. The backlight unit includes a plurality of segment light sources for a left eye vision range which emit a light for a left eye vision range, and a plurality of segment light sources for a right eye vision range which emit a light for a right eye vision range. The segment light sources for the left eye vision range and the segment light sources for the right eye vision range are alternately arranged to form a surface light source. The lenticular lens sheet includes a plurality of semi-cylindrical lenses arranged in a direction perpendicular to a viewing direction of both eyes of a viewer. |
| US08274555B2 |
Image synthesizing apparatus and image synthesizing method
A stereoscopic image supplier acquires stereoscopic image data in a side-by-side layout format. Visual information supplier acquires visual information to be added to a stereoscopic image. Based on a 3D display for displaying a stereoscopic image, a 3D display information supplier acquires the coordinates of portions that are not used for 3D display representation as the coordinates of the pixels with which visual information is combined. An image synthesizer combines visual information obtained at Step S2 with the pixel at the coordinates set at Step S3. Visual information is combined with all the portions at the coordinates to be processed, and the image with visual information synthesized is stored in a stereo image storage. In this way, if additional information is added to the stereoscopic image, no uncomfortable feeling will occur when the image is viewed in stereoscopic vision. |
| US08274550B2 |
Digital 3D/360 degree camera system
The digital 3D/360° camera system is an omnidirectional stereoscopic device for capturing image data that may be used to create a 3-dimensional model for presenting a 3D image, a 3D movie, or 3D animation. The device uses multiple digital cameras, arranged with overlapping fields of view, to capture image data covering an entire 360° scene. The data collected by one, or several, digital 3D/360° camera systems can be used, to create a 3D model of a 360° scene by using triangulation of the image data within the overlapping fields of view. |
| US08274548B2 |
Network camera system
A network camera system which is capable of generating a panoramic image by smooth or seamless connection of images, even when a network camera having a wide-angle lens is used. A network camera system includes a network camera that has a wide-angle lens which can be controlled for zooming, and a PC that is connected to the image pickup device via a network, for controlling the network camera. The PC comprises a panoramic image generation unit for generating a panoramic image by connecting a plurality of images picked up by the network camera and a remote zoom unit for causing the wide-angle lens of the image pickup device to move to a predetermined position when the network camera system is in a panoramic shooting mode. |
| US08274542B2 |
Exposure device and image forming apparatus
The exposure device is provided with: an exposure unit that has one end and a different end, that includes plural light-emitting elements arranged in a first direction along a direction of a rotational axis of a rotating image carrier, and that exposes the image carrier; a one-end-side holding portion that holds a one end part, on the one end side, of the exposure unit; a first reference part that is formed in the one-end-side holding portion, and that serves as a reference for aligning the exposure unit in the first direction by bringing the one end part of the exposure unit into contact with the first reference part; and an application portion that applies, to the one end part of the exposure unit, force with which the one end part of the exposure unit is pressed against the first reference part. |
| US08274539B2 |
Light-emitting element array drive device, print head, image forming apparatus and signal supplying method
A light-emitting element array drive device includes: plural light-emitting elements; plural switch elements electrically connected mutually in an array and respectively to the light-emitting elements, and setting the respective light-emitting elements ready to emit light when turned on, and unready to emit light when turned off; a transfer signal supply unit supplying transfer signals for getting the switch elements turned-on by sequentially switching each switch element from being turned-off to turned-on, and to turned-off, where periods during which the respective switch elements are turned on are displaced so that each two periods for two of the switch elements adjacently-connected overlap; and a light-emission signal supply unit supplying a light-emission signal having light-emitting periods for the light-emitting elements, where an end point of each light-emitting period is set based on a start point of the above overlap, while a start point thereof is set before each end point. |
| US08274537B2 |
Thermal transfer printing
Apparatus for thermal transfer printing of an image from a thermal retransfer sheet onto an article, includes heating means (40, 42, 44, 46) adapted to supply heated gas at a variable flow rate. Also disclosed is a method of printing an image, and the resulting printed article. |
| US08274536B2 |
Smart keyboard management for a multifunction device with a touch screen display
A method is performed at a multifunction device with a touch screen display. The method includes displaying a text entry interface with a soft keyboard in a first area and a viewing area with a first size to display scrollable information. The method detects a finger gesture on the viewing area, and responds to the gesture. When the viewing area displays only a portion of the information, the response includes: (1) ceasing to display the soft keyboard, (2) expanding the viewing area to a second size, including at least some of the first area, and (3) scrolling the information in the expanded viewing area. When the viewing area with the first size displays all of the information, the response includes: (1) maintaining display of the soft keyboard, (2) keeping the viewing area at the first size, and (3) moving the information in the viewing area based on the finger gesture. |
| US08274529B1 |
Systems and methods for providing content for use in multiple environments
Systems and methods for using design and/or constraint information in selecting, editing, creating, and managing content for multiple operating environments. For example, an image editor feature of a content management system can receive constraints and/or design requirements identifying specific image sizes that are needed for offering a piece of content on one or more operating environments. This information may be used to guide or restrict a user to select appropriate image portions. A selection marquee, sized based on the constraint information, may be positioned on a displayed image to select an image portion to use for that particular image requirement. The marquee size enforces the image constraint. Design and constraint information may also be used to inform selection, editing, and creation of other constraints and other types of assets, including, but not limited to, text and video assets. |
| US08274528B2 |
Support system, method and program
A design support system includes an input unit for receiving shape data indicative of mutually different first and second shapes, finite element model data indicative of a finite element model for each shape, and attribute data indicative of an attribute at each node of the finite element model, a shape display unit for displaying the shapes on a screen, a superimposing unit for superimposing the shapes displayed on the screen, on each other, based on a reference site, an attribute calculating unit for calculating the attributes at attribute calculation points set at predetermined positions on the screen, based on the attributes of the nodes, with respect to each of the superimposed shapes, and an attribute difference calculating unit for calculating differences in the attributes of the nodes and the attribute calculation points of the respective shapes. |
| US08274526B2 |
Method, apparatus and system for visual gamma correction of displays
A method, apparatus and system for visual gamma correction of a display system includes retrieving input gamma information from input content, determining at least one pattern representing luminance of the received content based upon at least the retrieved gamma information, displaying the at least one determined pattern representing the luminance of the received image content and at least one corresponding reference image on the display system, and adjusting the brightness and contrast of the least one reference image on the display system to approach the luminance of a corresponding determined pattern to determine a corrected gamma for the display system. |
| US08274524B1 |
Map rendering using interpolation of style parameters across zoom levels
A graphics or image rendering system, such as a map image rendering system, may receive map data associated with a set of zoom levels, where the map data includes style attribute data corresponding to various features of a map surface at corresponding zoom levels. The system may interpolate at least some of the style parameter values from the received map data to provide style parameter values over a range of zoom levels. |
| US08274521B2 |
System available cache color map
A method involving receiving an indication of a requirement to allocate at least one page for a process, where pages are associated with cache colors; generating a selection bitmap by performing a logical operation of a system available colors bitmap and a process bitmap, where the system available colors bitmap and the process bitmap each include one bit corresponding to each cache color, where each bit of the system available colors bitmap indicates whether a number of pages associated with a corresponding cache color that are available to be allocated is above a minimum threshold, and where each bit of the process bitmap indicates whether any pages associated with the corresponding cache color have been recently allocated for the process. The method also includes selecting, using the selection bitmap, a cache color; and allocating a page for the process, wherein the allocated page is associated with the selected cache color. |
| US08274515B2 |
Vector image generation method, image processing apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for computer program
A method for converting an image includes the steps of: obtaining an inclination of a character in the image; obtaining apex pixels forming contours of the character; obtaining an identical line segment candidate pixel group from a portion supposed to be expressed by a single line segment; extracting, based on the inclination, the identical line segment candidate pixel group as an identical line segment pixel group; obtaining both-end pixels which are apex pixels located on both sides of the identical line segment pixel group thus extracted; approximating, by a line segment connecting between the both-end pixels thus obtained, a contour of the character in a portion corresponding to the both-end pixels; and approximating a portion, excluding the portion that has been approximated, by a straight line or a curved line by performing an outlining process using apex pixels other than the apex pixels of the identical line segment pixel group. |
| US08274511B2 |
Apparatus for displaying wiring
The present invention provides an apparatus which displays a plan wiring diagram and three-dimensional layout diagram by associating them with each other so that they can be viewed easily. A apparatus for displaying wiring includes a first storage for storing an image of a plan wiring diagram which shows parts and wirings and a second storage for storing a three-dimensional layout of an apparatus which incorporates the parts and the wirings, and a third storage for storing intermediate images transitional between a starting image in the plan wiring diagram and an ending image of a shape of the corresponding wiring in the three-dimensional layout. A processor displays the plan wiring diagram on the display device by retrieving the plan wiring diagram from the first storage based on a user's selection, and retrieves the intermediate images of a wiring from the third storage when the wiring is selected from the plan wiring diagram and displays transitions to the shape shown in the three-dimensional layout. |
| US08274508B2 |
Method for representing objects with concentric ring signature descriptors for detecting 3D objects in range images
A 3D object is represented by a descriptor, wherein a model of the 3D object is a 3D point cloud. A local support for each point p in the 3D point cloud is located, and reference x, y, and z axes are generated for the local support. A polar grid is applied according to the references x, y, and z axes a along an azimuth and a radial directions on an xy plane centered on the point p such that each patch on the grid is a bin for a 2D histogram, wherein the 2D histogram is a 2D matrix F on the grid and each coefficient of the 2D matrix F corresponds to the patch on the grid. For each grid location (k, l), an elevation value F(k, l) is estimated by interpolating the elevation values of the 3D points within the patches to produce the descriptor for the point p. |
| US08274507B2 |
Method and apparatus for obtaining 3-dimensional data with a portable device
In one embodiment, a three dimensional imaging system includes a portable housing configured to be carried by a user, microelectrical mechanical system (MEMS) projector supported by the housing sensor supported by the housing and configured to detect signals emitted by the MEMS projector, a memory including program instructions for generating an encoded signal with the MEMS projector, emitting the encoded signal, detecting the emitted signal after the emitted signal is reflected by a body, associating the detected signal with the emitted signal, comparing the detected signal with the associated emitted signal, determining an x-axis dimension, a y-axis dimension, and a z-axis dimension of the body based upon the comparison, and storing the determined x-axis dimension, y-axis dimension, and z-axis dimension of the body, and a processor operably connected to the memory, to the sensor, and to the MEMS projector for executing the program instructions. |
| US08274505B2 |
Driving method and device for a display
The present invention relates to a driving device for a display and the method thereof for driving a pixel matrix containing N×M pixel units. The driving device for a display comprises: a first vertical driver generating N first vertical driving signals in sequence, each of N first vertical driving signals being used to drive the first through the K-th pixel units on each row of the pixel matrix; and a second vertical driver generating N second vertical driving signals in sequence, each of N second vertical driving signals being used to drive the (K+1)-th through the M-th pixel units on each row of the pixel matrix. |
| US08274504B2 |
Output amplifier circuit and data driver of display device using the same
Disclosed is an output amplifier circuit including a differential stage, a first output stage that receives outputs of the differential stage, and a second output stage having an output thereof electrically connected to a load. The differential stage receives an input signal at a non-inverting input thereof. In the first connection configuration, an output of the first output stage is electrically disconnected from the output of the second output stage, outputs of the differential stage are electrically disconnected from inputs of the second output stage, and a second input of the differential stage is electrically connected to the output of the first output stage. In the second connection configuration, the output of the first output stage is electrically connected to the output of the second output stage, and the outputs of the differential stage is electrically connected to the inputs of the second output stage. |
| US08274492B2 |
Integrated in-plane switching
This relates to adding multi-touch functionality to a display without the need of a separate multi-touch panel or layer overlaying the display. Instead, embodiments of the invention can advantageously utilize existing display circuitry to provide multi-touch functionality while adding relatively little circuitry that is specific to the multi-touch functionality. Thus, by sharing circuitry for the display and the multi-touch functionalities, embodiments of the invention can be implemented at a lower cost than the alternative of superimposing additional multi-touch related layers onto an existing display panel. Furthermore, since the display and multi-touch functionality can be implemented on the same circuit, they can be synchronized so that noise resulting from the display functionality does not detrimentally affect the multi-touch functionality and vice versa. |
| US08274489B2 |
Readout apparatus and multi-channel readout apparatus for touch panel
A readout apparatus and a multi-channel readout apparatus for a touch panel are provided to integrate different types of readout circuit. The readout apparatus set to a first mode reads the touch panel with a small amount of charges through an integrator. The readout apparatus set to a second mode reads a sensing current of a current type touch panel through a current to voltage converting unit and an inverting amplifier, so as to save a chip area. The multi-channel readout apparatus set to a third mode applies multiple channels to alternatively share an integrator to read the touch panel with a large amount of charges, so that an amount of feedback capacitors (integral capacitors) having a great area can be greatly reduced. Therefore, readout apparatus of the present invention can not only reduce a chip area, but can also be applied to various types of the touch panel. |
| US08274486B2 |
Diamond pattern on a single layer
A touch screen assembly and method of manufacturing thereof that includes a single layer of conductive material is provided. The conductive material is configured to include a horizontal pattern and a vertical pattern of electrodes, with one of the patterns having gaps between the electrodes, such that the electrodes in the horizontal pattern do not come into direct contact with electrodes in the vertical pattern. To provide a connection between the electrodes separated by gaps in the interrupted pattern, an insulating material is placed onto the gaps over the uninterrupted pattern, and a printable and electrically conductive connector is positioned over the insulating material and functions to couple at least two electrodes together. In one embodiment, the conductive connector includes carbon nanotubes. |
| US08274477B2 |
Computer mouse
A wireless computer mouse includes a first operating portion, a second operating portion, a circuit board, and a switch. A pair of LEDs is mounted on the circuit board. One of the LEDs corresponds to the first operating portion, and another LED corresponds to the second operating portion. An optic member is mounted on the circuit board. The optic member includes two opposite reflecting portions. Each of the reflecting portions corresponds to one LED, and each of the reflecting portions is configured to reflect the light of the corresponding LED to highlight a surface underneath the mouse. The switch is configured for selectively enabling the first operating portion and the second operating portion. When the first operating portion is enabled, the LED corresponding to the first operating portion lights. When the second operating portion is enabled, the LED corresponding to the second operating portion lights. |
| US08274474B2 |
Character input device, character input device control method, and information storage medium
To provide a character input device allowing a user to smoothly carry out a “character input operation which is carried out by initially selecting any character group from a plurality of character groups each corresponding to a plurality of characters, then selecting any character from among those corresponding to that group, and determining the selected character as an input character”. The display control unit (140) causes display means to display a character input screen which contains character group correspondence images corresponding to the plurality of character groups, and an input candidate presentation image for presenting characters corresponding to the focused character group, in which the character group correspondence image corresponding to the focus character group is distinctively displayed, and the character specified as a currently selected input candidate among the characters set corresponding to the focused character group is distinctively displayed in the input candidate presentation image. The input character determination unit (138) determines the character specified as the currently selected input candidate as the input character according to an input character determination operation. |
| US08274473B2 |
Electro-optic display
An electro-optic display includes a first substrate provided thereon with a first electrode, a second substrate provided thereon with a second electrode forming an electric field in cooperation with the first electrode, and an electro-optic material interposed between the first and second substrates. The electro-optic material includes a non-polar solvent and a polar solvent dispersed in the non-polar solvent and controlled by the electric field. The first electrode is disposed on a non-display region of the first substrate including a plurality of pixels each of which having a display region, in which an image is displayed, and the non-display region adjacent to the display region. At least one of a reflective layer and a light sourcing layer defines an amount of light passed through the display area. |
| US08274467B2 |
Liquid crystal display having control circuit for delay gradation voltages and driving method thereof
An exemplary liquid crystal display (LCD) (200) includes an LCD panel having a plurality of display regions (240) arranged sequentially; a plurality of gate driving circuit (250) respectively connected to the display regions for providing scan signal to scanning the display region; at least a data driving circuit (230) for generating gradation voltages and providing the gradation voltages to the corresponding scanned display region; and a delay control circuit connected between the data driving circuit and the display regions for delaying the gradation voltages provided to each display region. The sum of the first delay value generated by the delay control circuit when the gradation voltages are applied to one of the display regions and the second delay value of the same gradation voltages being generated when the gradation voltages are transmitted from the gate driving circuit to the same one of the display regions is approximately constant for all of the display regions. |
| US08274464B2 |
Active matrix substrate and liquid crystal display device
A plurality of source lines extending parallel to each other while alternately turning between a plurality of pixel electrodes provided in a delta arrangement, each have a plurality of first linear portions each extending along a side of the corresponding pixel electrode, a plurality of second linear portions each linked to the corresponding first linear portion and extending along a side of the corresponding pixel electrode to a middle portion of the side, and a plurality of protruding portions each extending from one end of the corresponding second linear portion along a side of the corresponding pixel electrode. |
| US08274461B2 |
Apparatus and method for driving liquid crystal display
An apparatus and method for driving a liquid crystal display to improve the quality of moving pictures are provided. The apparatus includes a transition check unit that determines whether an input image signal between a first frame and a second frame has changed and whether an input image signal between the second frame and a third frame has changed; an overdrive control unit that overdrives the input image signal in the second frame in an overdrive direction if the transition check unit determines that the input image signal between the first and second frames has changed, wherein the overdrive direction is one of an upper direction and lower direction; and an overdrive compensation unit that changes the input image signal in the third frame in an opposite direction to the overdrive direction if the transition check unit determines that the input image signal between the second and third frames has not changed. |
| US08274459B2 |
Vehicle display apparatus
A display apparatus for use in a vehicle has a liquid crystal display panel, and the panel includes a first pixel area for displaying a meter image that represents vehicle condition values, and a second pixel area for displaying an outside image that calls attention of occupants as a warning image. Further, an input unit of the apparatus receives inputs of adjustment value from occupants of the vehicle for adjusting brightness of the meter image and the outside image. A main control unit and a drawing unit of the apparatus cooperatively serve as a controller of the apparatus by changing gradation ratio of the first and second pixel areas so that the gradation ratio of the second pixel area becomes greater than the gradation ratio of the first pixel area according to the input of the adjustment value. |
| US08274458B2 |
Method of driving light-emitting device
Degradations in light emitting elements occur with the passage of time. A method of driving a light-emitting device is characterized by including the steps of: supplying a light-emitting element with the current in response to an analog video signal during a sustaining period; and turning switch off thereby to make the light-emitting element nonluminous or making first and the second electrodes identical in potential thereby to make the light-emitting element nonluminous during an off time period. |
| US08274451B2 |
Electroluminescent device and method of driving the same
The present invention relates to an electroluminescent device, particularly to an organic electroluminescent device reliably receiving driving voltage from a voltage source, and a method of driving the same. A driving circuit of the electroluminescent device includes first to third sub-pixels formed on crossing areas of data lines and scan lines, a pre-charge driving circuit which applies pre-charge current to the data lines of the first to third sub-pixels and a data driving circuit which applies data current to the pre-charged data lines. The pre-charge current is applied to the first to third sub-pixels in different time. The organic electroluminescent device of the present invention and the method of driving the same can reliably receive the driving voltage from the voltage source, and prevent quick flames of the device. |
| US08274446B2 |
Lightweight antenna attachment structure
The present invention relates to lightweight antenna arrays and more particularly to an attachment mechanism for attaching a lightweight antenna array to a structure. In one embodiment, an antenna structure includes a platform having a first coefficient of thermal expansion; an antenna panel having a second coefficient of thermal expansion different from the first coefficient, and having first and second opposite ends; and a support structure mounting the panel to the platform. The support structure includes a first spacer element with a first height at the first end of the panel, and a second spacer element with a second height less than the first height between the first and second ends of the panel; a first adhesive layer adhering each spacer element to the platform; and a second adhesive layer adhering each spacer element to the antenna panel. A yield strength of the adhesive layers is less than a yield strength of the spacer elements. |
| US08274445B2 |
Planar array antenna having radome over protruding antenna elements
A subarray of a planar array antenna has a ground plane having a rear face and a front face, radiating elements, each of the radiating elements protruding forward of the front face and physically mounted to the ground plane; circuit elements electrically coupled to the radiating elements, and physically mounted to the ground plane and positioned rearward of the rear face of the ground plane; and a dielectric radome supported on the ground plane defining a continuous surface sealed to the ground plane. The continuous surface includes a forward wall positioned forward of each of the radiating elements to form an environmental seal around the radiating elements. The radome has an intermediate wall intermediate at least one pair of adjacent ones of the antenna elements. |
| US08274443B2 |
Light weight stowable phased array lens antenna assembly
A light weight stowable antenna lens array assembly is provided. In one embodiment, the invention relates to a stowable lens antenna array including at least one antenna pair including a transmit antenna on a first layered composite, a receive antenna on a second layered composite, a ground plane on a third layered composite, the ground plane being between and spaced apart from the transmit antenna and the receive antenna, and a balanced transmission line coupling the transmit antenna to the receive antenna, and an articulating structure attached to at least one of the first layered composite, the second layered composite and the third layered composite, the articulating structure having a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration, wherein at least one of the first layered composite, the second layered composite and the third layered composite includes a polymeric film. |
| US08274442B2 |
Slot antenna
A slot antenna located on a substrate with a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface includes a feeding portion and a radiating portion. The feeding portion is located on the first surface of the substrate to feed electromagnetic signals. The radiating portion is located on the second surface of the substrate and defines a sector-shaped slot, a first rectangle-shaped slot, a second rectangle-shaped slot, and a third rectangle-shaped slot, wherein the sector-shaped slot is defined by a first semidiameter, a second semidiameter, and an arc connected one by one. |
| US08274439B2 |
High power, low profile, broadband antenna
An antenna may include an enclosure formed by a front wall and a back wall opposite to the front wall, and a front face and a back face opposite to the front face. Both the front face and the back face extend between the front wall and the back wall to form a cavity within the enclosure. The enclosure further includes a slot formed in the front face to form a cavity backed slot. A radio frequency (RF) connector is mounted in the front wall. A shaped feed line is mounted within the cavity and is electrically connected to the RF connector to transmit and receive RF energy. The shaped feed line extends across the slot to couple the RF energy between the slot and the shaped feed line. The shaped feed line has a predetermined structure to substantially reduce an electric field strength to improve power handing of the antenna. |
| US08274434B2 |
Electronic apparatus with a positioning structure for cable orientation
According to one embodiment, an antenna unit provided on the inner surface of the upper peripheral portion of the display housing of a notebook PC includes a projection that positions a power feeder connected to an electronic component adjacent to the antenna unit such that the power feeder extends at a constant distance from the core member of the antenna unit. The projection projects from the core member at a position at which it does not interfere with an antenna wire, and includes a recess that receives the power feeder. |
| US08274432B2 |
Method and system for detecting signal sources in a surveillance space
A respective electromagnetic parameter and spatial disposition of an unknown number of signal sources in a surveillance space simultaneously bombarded by multiple signals are determined by receiving multiple signals at each of a plurality of widebeam, wideband antennas equally spaced apart in a linear array. Respective antenna signals are simultaneously sampled to generate a two-dimensional array of values. A two-dimensional Fourier transform is computed whose peaks satisfy one or more predetermined criteria, each peak being indicative of a signal source in the surveillance space, whereby the location of the peak in the Fourier transform Fjk indicates the frequency and the azimuth of the respective signal source and the amplitude of the peak indicates the amplitude of the signal source. When implemented using two mutually perpendicular arrays of receiving antennas, an additional Fourier transform of the two-dimensional Fourier transform generates, for each identified emitter, independent azimuth and elevation angles. |
| US08274423B2 |
Sensitivity enhancement system
Sensitivity is a critical aspect of weather radar systems. Such systems not only detect atmospheric patterns but often need to precisely measure weak precipitation echoes. Embodiments of the invention use pulse compression techniques to increase the sensitivity of weather radar systems. These techniques can include sending two waveforms into a region of interest, where the second waveform is designed based on knowledge about the first waveform. Such systems can enhance the sensitivity of weather radars about 10 dB. |
| US08274420B2 |
Successive approximation analog-to-digital converter
There is provided a successive approximation analog-to-digital converter including only minimal capacitors to perform an analog-to-digital conversion operation, thereby making it possible to have very strong process change resistance characteristics while having reduced capacitance and circuit area. The successive approximation analog-to-digital converter may include a reference current supplying unit that supplies a reference current; a signal storage unit that stores a reference signal generated by charging the reference current and an input signal input from the outside; a comparing unit that compares the reference signal and the input signal; and a controller that controls the reference current supplying unit while generating the digital output signal based on the comparison result of the comparing unit to change the supply amount of the reference current supplied to the signal storage unit in proportion to the binary code. |
| US08274418B2 |
Analogue-to-digital converter
An analogue to digital converter uses charge sampling in combination with a successive approximation conversion technique in order to combine anti-alias filtering and quadrature downconversion functions into the data converter. The conversion method is an energy-efficient realization for wide-band radio systems with moderate resolution specifications such as 4G or ultra-wideband radio (UWB). The converter uses two capacitor matrices, one to perform charge sampling, and one to be used simultaneously in the successive approximation technique, so that full use of an input signal is made and efficiency is maximized. |
| US08274412B1 |
Serializer with odd gearing ratio
In certain embodiments of the invention, a serializer has (a) an initial, transfer stage that transfers incoming parallel data from a relatively slow timing domain to a relatively fast timing domain and (b) a final, serializing stage that converts the parallel data into serialized data. Between the transfer stage and the serializing stage is an update stage that (i) buffers data between the initial and final stages and (ii) can be used to toggle the serializer between an N−1 operating mode (that serializes (N−1) bits of parallel data) and an N+1 operating mode (that serializes (N+1) bits of parallel data) to achieve a net N:1 gearing ratio where N is an odd integer. The serializer can be configurable to support other gearing ratios as well. |
| US08274411B2 |
Circuit arrangement and method for the operation of a circuit arrangement
A circuit arrangement (1) comprises a current source (10), a comparator (50) and a control device (90). The current source (10) serves for supplying a light-emitting diode (41). The comparator (50) may be coupled to the light-emitting diode (41) at a first input (51) via a push-button (101). The comparator (50) may be fed with a reference voltage (VREF) at a second terminal (52). The control device (90) selectively puts the current source (10) into a first operational state (A) for polling a push-button position of the push-button (101) or into a second operational state (B) for emitting radiation by means of the light-emitting diode (41). |
| US08274410B2 |
Data input interface and method for inputting data
The invention relates to a data input interface arranged to input data comprising a first set of keys, wherein all or a majority of the keys is adapted to indicate an input of a first set of symbols, arranged in a first structure, and a second set of keys, wherein all or a majority of the keys is adapted to indicate an input of a second set of symbols, arranged in a second structure, wherein the first set of keys and the second set of keys are integrated with each other. |
| US08274405B2 |
System and method for device management on a dedicated short-range communication network
A method of managing a Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) network in a vehicle having a primary DSRC system is provided. The method comprises detecting a secondary DSRC system operating in proximity to the vehicle and transmitting a suppression notice in response to detecting the secondary DSRC system, where the suppression notice conveys an instruction to the secondary DSRC system to suspend DSRC transmissions. |
| US08274401B2 |
Secure data transfer in a communication system including portable meters
The invention relates to a method of performing measurements with a portable meter and reporting measurement data from the portable meter to a central office over a secure channel. The method includes synchronizing the portable meter and the central office though a trusted interface prior to taking measurements at a customer location. |
| US08274398B2 |
USB flash drive and method for determining available storage capacity of the USB flash drive
A Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive includes an USB interface, a control unit, a storage unit, a timer, a logic circuit, and a quartz meter that includes a scale dial and a dial pointer. The control unit calculates a storage capacity difference between a current storage capacity and a previous storage capacity, and calculates a runtime of the dial pointer according to a time calculation algorithm. The control unit generates an enabling signal if the storage capacity difference is not equal to zero, and generates an interrupt signal when the runtime equals the time value. The logic circuit outputs a high voltage to the quartz meter to control the dial pointer to run around the scale dial according to the enabling signal, and outputs a low voltage to the quartz meter to control the dial pointer to stop running around the scale dial according to the interrupt signal. |
| US08274397B2 |
Programmable light display
Programmable light assemblies that may function in various operating modes, such as to function as marker lights and/or emergency lights, or have other functions, are disclosed. The protocol and architecture of the light assemblies enables the associated light fixtures to provide a constant current output despite the presence of substantially large voltage ranges, and even when submerged in water. Alternative embodiments of the programmable light assemblies of the invention provide many other features as described herein. |
| US08274396B2 |
Local positioning systems and methods
A local positioning system uses at least one node to track a location of a mobile tag. The system measures flight times of signals communicated between the node and the tag to determine values indicative of the range of the tag from the node. If desired, the values may be filtered in an effort to increase the accuracy of the range estimation. As an example, a Kalman filtering algorithm may be used. Multiple antennas are used at both the node and the tag to provide more accurate range estimates and to determine when the tag is entering a dead zone where signals are blocked or attenuated by obstacles. |
| US08274389B2 |
Disposable and tamper-resistant RFID lock
A disposable and tamper-resistant RFID lock that employs an RFID tag. Use of tamper evident housing. Disabling an RFID tag contained in the housing cutting, crushing, or puncturing the RFID tag. |
| US08274387B2 |
System and method for stealth tracking
A shipping and tracking system has a number of tracking stations that are geographically distributed. The tracking stations gather information from shipping items processed by the shipping and tracking system. The shipping and tracking system provides an enhanced level of security for selected shipping items. The enhanced level of security for the selected shipping items is based at least on the information gathered at the tracking stations. The enhanced security is provided in such a way that personnel of the shipping and delivery system cannot physically discern whether or not a shipping item is being shipped with enhanced security. |
| US08274380B2 |
Anticipatory responses to commands
Responsive to intercepting an outbound command, a command interceptor may, upon determining that the command is associated with a particular category of commands, transmit an anticipatory response to the source of the command, for example, to prematurely indicate that the command has met with success. Accordingly, a given application whose further execution is dependent upon the successful completion of the command may further execute earlier than would be the case if the given application was to await the transmission of the command, the generation of a response indicating success and the receipt of the response indicating success. |
| US08274379B2 |
Remote climate control device including electrical AC unit for an electric vehicle and associated methods
A remote climate control system is for an electric vehicle without a combustion engine and having a rechargeable electrical power source and an electrical AC unit selectively powered thereby, a sensor associated with the rechargeable electrical power source, and a data communications bus extending throughout the hybrid vehicle. At least one of the electrical AC unit and the sensor is coupled to the data communications bus. The remote climate control system includes a remote transmitter and a receiver to be positioned at the hybrid vehicle for receiving signals from said remote transmitter. A vehicle remote climate controller cooperates with said receiver and to be coupled to the data communications bus extending within the hybrid vehicle for communication thereover to selectively operate the electrical AC unit responsive to the sensor and said remote transmitter. |
| US08274378B2 |
Remote climate control device including electrical heater for an electric vehicle and associated methods
A remote climate control system is for an electric vehicle without a combustion engine and including a rechargeable electrical power source and an electrical heater selectively powered thereby, a sensor associated with the rechargeable electrical power source, and a data communications bus extending throughout the electric vehicle. At least one of the electrical heater and the sensor is coupled to the data communications bus. The remote climate control system includes a remote transmitter and a receiver to be positioned at the electric vehicle for receiving signals from the remote transmitter. A vehicle remote climate controller cooperates with the receiver and to be coupled to the data communications bus extending within the electric vehicle for communication thereover to selectively operate the electrical heater responsive to the sensor and the remote transmitter. |
| US08274377B2 |
Information collecting and decision making via tiered information network systems
Techniques, apparatus and systems for information collecting and decision making based on one or more tiered networks of sensors and communication nodes for security monitoring and warning, disaster warning, counter-terrorism, and other applications associated with information collecting and decision making. In implementations, the one or more tier networks in the plurality of different tier networks include network nodes at roadway intersections; the sensors include automatic license plate recognition sensors to obtain data on vehicle license plates; and the response produced by the processing mechanism includes controlling traffic controllers to alter traffic routes at one or more locations. In other implementations, each command center in a tier network comprises a database to store data, a situation awareness module to provide event detection, event forecasting, assessment and response, an analytic module to analyze data characteristics, and a communication module to provide communications with adjacent subordinate and superordinate tier networks. |
| US08274375B2 |
Combined RFID reader and transponder with common elements
A communication apparatus includes a first communicating part that reads data stored in a storage device of an outside apparatus and writes data in the storage device of the outside apparatus, a second communicating part that transmits and receives data with respect to the outside apparatus, and an operation controlling part that operates either the first communicating part or the second communicating part. The operation controlling part is configured to operate the first communicating part when power is supplied to the communication apparatus and operate the second communicating part when power is not supplied to the communication apparatus. |
| US08274374B2 |
Synchronization method between reader and tag
Disclosed is a synchronization method between a reader and tag according to an example embodiment, the method including: transmitting, by the reader, a first write command message to the tag at a first time; detecting, by the tag, the first write command message from the reader at a second time and transmitting a first response message to the reader in response to the first write message; transmitting, by the reader, a second write command message including first time information of the first time to the tag; and correcting, by the tag, a clock offset using a difference between the first time and the second time. |
| US08274365B2 |
Smart lock system
An electronic access control and recording system includes a lock, a card reader, a key card configured to communicate with the lock and with the card reader, a database, and an administrator microprocessor configured to provide a user interface and to communicate with the database and with the card reader. At least one of the lock and the card contain a microprocessor and a non-volatile memory storing encrypted information. In use, the key card provides access to the lock and transfers the encrypted information between the lock and the database via the card reader and the administrator microprocessor. The administrator microprocessor provides a user interface for reviewing and administering the database. The user interface also provides account and password qualification for users. |
| US08274364B1 |
Selectable access to compartments in a cash handling device
Methods and devices provide flexible demarcation points in order to determine whether access to individual stackers, rollers or areas in a cash handling device should be allowed. A plurality of stackers may be provided in a cash handling device and may store different denominations of currency. An input means may receive user input to request access to one or more of the stackers. One or more variables stored in memory may indicate whether user access is authorized for a given stacker. One or more electromechanical locks may secure one or more of the stackers. Computer-executable instructions executing on a processor may access the variable(s) in order to determine whether to allow user access to a requested stacker and may unlock the lock if access is authorized. |
| US08274362B2 |
Electronic device and method for controlling the same
Disclosed herein is an electronic device that is connected to one or more other devices via a specified signal line and capable of operating in accordance with a control signal transmitted from any of the one or more other devices connected to the electronic device. The electronic device includes: a reception section configured to receive the control signal transmitted from any of the one or more other devices connected to the electronic device; a control section configured to perform a specified process if, after receiving a specific control signal, the reception section does not receive a control signal corresponding to the specific control signal within a set signal waiting period; and a waiting period adjustment section configured to adjust the signal waiting period based on traffic in the signal line. |
| US08274361B2 |
Control device for selecting the color of light emitted by a light source
The invention relates to a control device (1) for controlling hue (H) and saturation (S) of light (L) emitted by a light source (2). The device comprises a body (20) with a surface (21) containing a visible representation (10,11,12,13) of a plurality of selectable combinations of hue and saturation available for said light source. The device further has means (26) for generating at least one selection signal in response to a selection of a combination of hue and saturation on said surface, said selection signal comprising said selected hue and saturation, and means (27) for communicating said selection signal to said light source to control said hue and saturation of said light in accordance with said selected combination of hue and saturation. The control device (1) is simple and user intuitive. |
| US08274360B2 |
Systems and methods for storing, analyzing, and retrieving medical data
Physiological information can be stored in a dynamic round-robin database. Parameter descriptors may be used to identify parameter values in the records. The parameter values can be dynamically updated by changing the parameter descriptors. In addition, the size of files used in the database can be dynamically adjusted to account for patient condition. In certain implementations, the round-robin database can be adaptive, such that an amount of data stored in the database is adapted based on patient condition and/or signal condition. Additionally, medical data obtained from a clinical network of physiological monitors can be stored in a journal database. The medical data can include device events that occurred in response to clinician interactions with one or more medical devices and device-initiated events, such as alarms and the like. The journal database can be analyzed to derive statistics, which may be used to improve clinician and/or hospital performance. |
| US08274355B2 |
Trip device
A trip device is disclosed, the device comprising: a power source side heater connected to a power source side of a molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) to receive current; a load side heater connected to a load side of the MCCB to receive the current; and a bimetal including a direct heat unit contacting the power source side heater and an indirect heating unit facing the power source side heater, wherein the bimetal is partially fixed between the power source side heater and the load side heater and is curved when over-current or short-circuited current flows in the MCCB. |
| US08274352B2 |
Inductor devices
An inductor device comprising a first conductive pattern on a first layer of a substrate, a second conductive pattern on a second layer of the substrate, and a first region between the first layer and the second layer through which at least one hole is coupled between the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer, wherein a magnetic field induced by at least one of the first conductive pattern or the second conductive pattern at the first region is more intensive than that induced by at least one of the first conductive pattern or the second conductive pattern at a second region between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer. |
| US08274351B2 |
Transformer device
A transformer device includes an iron core, a plurality of stacked coils, wound onto the iron core, a plurality of base members arranged between the plurality of coils adjacent in a stacking direction, a plurality of flow channel member groups provided for each of the coils, each provided at a corresponding base member, and forming a flow channel directed to a flow of an insulating liquid between the corresponding base member and a corresponding coil, and an obstruction member arranged to obstruct the flow of the insulating liquid such that at least one of the flow channels formed by the plurality of flow channel member groups differs in the flow volume of the insulating liquid from another of the flow channels, and to obstruct the flow of the insulating liquid at a region not overlapping with the iron core in the flowing direction of the insulating liquid, among the flow channels. |
| US08274350B2 |
Electric winding body and transformer having forced cooling
An electrical winding body includes an electrically conductive winding and an insulation surrounding the winding. The surrounding insulation surrounds the entire winding and forms a mechanically stable winding body. At least one continuous channel having an opening in the electrical winding body is disposed inside the winding body. An extension element is placed in the openings of the continuous channels to elongate the channels beyond the dimensions of the electrical winding body, thus providing for improved cooling. Side elements are additionally attached on the outer wall of the electrical winding body to create an intermediate space which forms a new cooling channel that produces an additional cooling effect due to an air current created by the chimney effect. |
| US08274349B2 |
Voltage regulation system
A tap-switching autotransformer for regulating the voltage supplied to a facility includes an electronics sub-assembly for controlling switching of the taps. The electronics sub-assembly and the windings are contained in a housing from which the electronics sub-assembly may be removed for repair or replacement. The electronics sub-assembly is adapted to enable an electronically actuated switch to short-circuit two of the taps. A mechanical switch enables a separate short-circuit to be maintained between the taps to enable the electronics sub-assembly to be safely removed from the housing. |
| US08274348B2 |
Single coil solenoid having a permanent magnet with bi-directional assist
A single coil solenoid includes a permanent magnet with bi-directional assist capabilities. The solenoid includes an armature that during de-energization of a single coil of wire is attracted to the permanent magnet thereby maintaining a hold position and during energization of the single coil has a polarity that repels the permanent magnet thereby creating a push/pull force. In this regard, the permanent magnet operates to not only hold the armature but also is used to push the armature when current is induced in the single coil. |
| US08274345B2 |
Electromagnetic relay
An electromagnetic relay includes a coil, a movable member, first and second fixed contact supports each having first and second fixed contacts, and a movable body having first and second movable contacts. A third fixed contact is arranged on the second fixed contact support at a position away from a line passing through the first and second fixed contacts, and a third movable contact is arranged on the movable body. When the movable member is driven by electromagnetic force of the coil, the movable contacts contact the fixed contacts at a contact portion between the first fixed contact and the first movable contact, a contact portion between the second fixed contact and the second movable contact, and a contact portion between the third fixed contact and the third movable contact. |
| US08274342B2 |
Duplexer and electronic device
A duplexer includes a transmission filter connected between a common terminal and a transmission terminal, a reception filter connected between the common terminal and a reception; and a capacitor connected in parallel with the transmission filter and the reception filter between the transmission terminal and the reception terminal and has a capacitance so that a phase difference between a signal passing from the transmission terminal to the reception terminal through the transmission filter and the reception filter and a signal passing from the transmission terminal to the reception terminal through the capacitor, or connected in parallel with the reception filter between the common terminal and the reception terminal and has a capacitance so that a phase difference between a signal passing from the common terminal to the reception terminal through the reception filter and a signal from the common terminal to the reception terminal through the capacitor. |
| US08274340B2 |
Parallel transmission lines having different path lengths and including different properties for equalizing the path lengths there between
A signal bus includes multiple interconnects for transporting electronic signals. The interconnects have different physical path lengths and different structures to equalize the different the physical path lengths, so that the electronic signals traverse the corresponding interconnects in same period of time. |
| US08274334B2 |
Detection circuit with improved anti-blooming circuit
The detection circuit comprises a photodiode connected to an input of a capacitive transimpedance amplifier. The circuit comprises an anti-blooming circuit connected between the input and an output of the capacitive transimpedance amplifier. The anti-blooming circuit comprises a field effect transistor connected between the input and output of the capacitive transimpedance amplifier. The transistor is of pMOS type when the input of the capacitive transimpedance amplifier is connected to a cathode of the photodiode. The transistor is of nMOS type when the input of the capacitive transimpedance amplifier is connected to an anode of the photodiode. |
| US08274333B2 |
Method and apparatus for protecting devices in an RF power amplifier
A method and apparatus are provided for use with a power amplifier for protecting active devices on the power amplifier. A peak detector is used by control circuitry to detect the presence of a peak voltage that exceeds a threshold voltage. In response to the detection of a peak voltage, the gain of the power amplifier is reduced. |
| US08274328B2 |
Amplifying apparatus
An amplifying apparatus includes an amplifier that amplifies a signal, using a voltage supplied; a power source unit that generates a first voltage and a second voltage having an amplitude greater than that of the first voltage; and a switching controller that, when the an envelope signal of the signal becomes current zero, switches between and supplies to the amplifier, the first voltage and the second voltage generated by the power source unit. |
| US08274326B2 |
Equalization circuit
An equalization circuit includes a first differential amplifier having first and second transistors, and a first differential high-pass filter coupled to respective gate terminals of the first and second transistors. A source terminal of the first transistor is coupled to a first input node, and a source terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the second input node. The equalization circuit further includes a second differential amplifier having third and fourth transistors, and a second differential high-pass filter coupled to respective gate terminals of each of the third and fourth transistors. A source terminal of the third transistor is coupled to the first input node, and a source terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the second input node. Using such a circuit, continuous time decision feedback equalization may be performed. |
| US08274325B2 |
Phase-locked loop
A loop filter for receiving an input signal indicative of a phase-difference between a reference signal and a signal output by a signal generator and forming a control signal for controlling the signal generator in dependence thereon, the loop filter comprising a plurality of filter components that determine the frequency response of the filter, said filter components being arranged so that a first set of said components determines one or more zeros of the filter's frequency response and a second set of said components determines one or more poles of the filter's frequency response, each of said first and second sets of filter components being independent of the other such that the zero(s) and pole(s) of the filter's frequency response may be selected independently. |
| US08274324B2 |
Electrostatic actuator apparatus
According to one embodiment, an electrostatic actuator apparatus includes a first voltage generation circuit configured to generate a first voltage, a first switch connected between the first voltage generation circuit and a first node, a second voltage generation circuit configured to generate a second voltage, a second switch connected between the second voltage generation circuit and a second node, a capacitor connected between the first node and the second node, an electrostatic actuator having a drive electrode connected to the first node, and a control circuit configured to perform an operation of sequentially turning on the first switch, turning off the first switch and turning on the second switch when the electrostatic actuator is driven. |
| US08274322B2 |
Charge pump with low noise and high output current and voltage
The present invention discloses a charge pump system with low noise and high output current and voltage, comprising: a four phase clock generator used to generate a first signals group; a serial of delay circuits coupled to said four phase clock generator, wherein each of said delay circuits is coupled to a previous delay circuit relative to each of said delay circuits for delaying a signals group received from said previous delay circuit; a first charge pump circuit coupled to the four phase clock generator and the delay circuits; and an output terminal coupled to the first charge pump circuit; wherein high level of said first signal overlaps two sections of high level of said third signal to generate a first overlapping time and a second overlapping time, and said first overlapping time is not equal to said second overlapping time. |
| US08274319B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes a flip-flop circuit formed in a CMOS semiconductor integrated circuit. The flip-flop circuit includes at least a first clock generating inverter that generates a first clock signal and a second clock generating inverter that generates a second clock signal obtained by inverting the first clock signal, the first clock generating inverter and the second clock generating inverter are arranged so as to sandwich a latch unit, the latch unit including a master latch unit and a slave latch unit in the flip-flop circuit, the first clock generating inverter and a first other circuit in the flip-flop circuit are configured to share a source region, the first other circuit being adjacent to the first clock generating inverter, and the second clock generating inverter and a second other circuit in the flip-flop circuit are configured to share a source region, the second other circuit being adjacent to the second clock generating inverter. |
| US08274318B2 |
Duty cycle correction circuit of semiconductor memory apparatus
A duty cycle correction circuit of a semiconductor memory apparatus includes a duty correction unit configured to determine a duty correction range in response to a duty correction range control signal, correct a duty of an inputted clock in response to duty correction codes to fall in the determined duty correction range, and generate a duty corrected clock; a duty detection unit configured to detect a duty of the duty corrected clock and output duty information; and a duty correction code generation unit configured to generate the duty correction codes based on the duty information. |
| US08274311B2 |
Data transmission system and method
A system and method are provided for transmission of data bits across a data bus. To reduce power usage, noise, or some combination of the two, the data bus utilizes differential transmission using a three level signal in which a reference signal signifies no difference between input bits. Before the signals are transmitted an analysis is made to choose which one of a set of predetermined polarity reversal combinations is advantageous to encode the data bits. The data bits are so encoded and a formatting value F associated with the chosen polarity reversal is differentially transmitted with the encoded bits over the data bus. The three level differential signal is received at the far end of the bus, the encoded bits are recovered and decoded with use of F. The system and method achieves up to N bits transmitted per N data lines. |
| US08274310B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing a non-volatile programmable transistor
A method and apparatus of providing a programmable system using non-volatile programmable transistors are disclosed. A programmable logic circuit, in one embodiment, includes a first programmable transistor and a second programmable transistor. The first programmable transistor includes a first gate terminal, a first source terminal, a first drain terminal, and a first programming terminal. The second programmable transistor includes a second gate terminal, a second source terminal, and a second drain terminal, and a second programmable terminal. The first and second programmable transistors include non-volatile memory elements. The first and the second gate terminals are coupled to an input terminal, and the first drain terminal and the second source terminal are coupled to an output terminal to perform a logic function. |
| US08274307B1 |
Impedance discontinuity compensator for electronic packages
The present disclosure provides for a circuit package that can include a signal input port that receives an electronic signal that includes multiple frequency components and a signal output port that outputs the electronic signal. The circuit package can include a trace having multiple portions that have a portion-dependent impedance. The trace can transfer the electronic signal from the signal input port to the signal output port. The present disclosure provides an apparatus to compensate a package trace parasitics, such as parasitic capacitance, to improve signal fidelity over a predetermined frequency range. The apparatus can provide a broadband impedance matching structure that matches the impedance of an I/O cell to the impedance of a printed circuit board and can compensate for the parasitic effects of both the I/O cell, terminals, and other discontinuities that may be present within the package. |
| US08274305B2 |
Linear voltage generating device for testing performance of power supplies
A linear voltage generating device for testing performance of a power supply includes a comparator circuit, an analog to digital (A/D) conversion circuit, and an amplifier circuit. The comparator circuit is configured for receiving a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal, and comparing the PWM signal with a reference voltage to output a filtered PWM signal. The A/D conversion circuit is configured for receiving the filtered PWM signal, and converting the filtered PWM signal to a linear digital signal. The amplifier circuit is configured for receiving the linear digital signal, and outputting an amplified linear digital signal to an electric load electrically coupled to the power supply. |
| US08274303B2 |
Schmitt trigger with test circuit and method for testing
A Schmitt trigger circuit having a test circuit and method for testing are provided. The Schmitt trigger test circuit includes switches for reconfiguring the Schmitt trigger for testing by shorting the input and output terminals of an inverter and by opening a feedback path to allow the application of test voltages to the gates of feedback transistors coupled to the inverter. The method includes: directly connecting an input terminal of the inverter to an output terminal of the inverter; providing a first power supply voltage to the feedback transistors coupled to the inverter; measuring a first voltage at the input terminal; removing the first power supply voltage from the feedback transistors; providing a second power supply voltage to the feedback transistors. The test circuit and method reduce the test time by eliminating the need to ramp an input voltage while monitoring the output. |
| US08274302B2 |
Wafer and test method thereof
A wafer and a test method thereof are provided. The invention utilizes a first group of probes to perform a high voltage stress (HVS) test on a first chip, and utilizes a second group of probes to perform a function test on a second chip, where a period of the high voltage stress test overlaps a period of the function test, thereby greatly decreasing the test time of the wafer. |
| US08274301B2 |
On-chip accelerated failure indicator
An accelerated failure indicator embedded on a semiconductor chip includes an insulating region; a circuit located inside the insulating region; a heating element located inside the insulating region, the heating element configured to heat the circuit to a temperature higher than an operating temperature of the semiconductor chip; and a reliability monitor configured to monitor the circuit for degradation, and further configured to trigger an alarm in the event that the degradation of the circuit exceeds a predetermined threshold. A method of operating an accelerated failure indicator embedded on a semiconductor chip includes determining an operating temperature of the semiconductor chip; heating a circuit located inside an insulating region of the accelerated failure indicator to a temperature higher than the determined operating temperature; monitoring the circuit for degradation; and triggering an alarm in the event that the degradation of the circuit exceeds a predetermined threshold. |
| US08274299B2 |
Methods for measurement and characterization of interferometric modulators
Various methods are described to characterize interferometric modulators or similar devices. Measured voltages across interferometric modulators may be used to characterize transition voltages of the interferometric modulators. Measured currents may be analyzed by integration of measured current to provide an indication of a dynamic response of the interferometric modulator. Frequency analysis may be used to provide an indication of a hysteresis window of the interferometric modulator or mechanical properties of the interferometric modulator. Capacitance may be determined through signal correlation, and spread-spectrum analysis may be used to minimize the effect of noise or interference on measurements of various interferometric modulator parameters. |
| US08274298B2 |
Calibration structure for flex fuel sensor
A calibration structure (10) for calibrating a flex fuel sensor (12) for a vehicle is provided. The flex fuel sensor has a first sensor electrode (14) and a second sensor electrode (16). The calibration structure includes a first electrode (30), a second electrode (36) spaced from and electrically insulated from the first electrode, and at least one capacitor (40), or at least one resistor (42), or at least one combination of a capacitor with a resistor, of a certain value electrically connected with the first and second electrodes. The first electrode (30) is constructed and arranged to contact the first sensor electrode (16) and the second electrode (36) is constructed and arranged to contact the second sensor electrode (14) to provide a known input value to the flex fuel sensor for calibration of the flex fuel sensor without the use of test liquids. |
| US08274295B2 |
Method for testing an electronics unit
A method for testing an electronics unit, especially an electronics unit of an apparatus for ascertaining and/or monitoring a process variable, wherein the electronics unit has a plurality of electrical components. At least a part of the electrical components is grouped into at least one group, and this group is supplied with a query signal. A response signal is received from the group, and the response signal is evaluated. Furthermore, the invention relates to an apparatus for determining and/or monitoring a process variable. |
| US08274294B2 |
Method and device for capturing a fault in an electrical supply grid
A method for detecting a ground fault in an electrical supply system includes using a combination of components and their connections within the supply system to form virtual components, allowing presetting of fault indicators for incoming and outgoing supply lines to individual components. A fault index can be determined for each virtual component in conjunction with a respective association of a correlation coefficient with fault indicators and a subsequent normalization over all fault indicators using a correlation coefficient. Comparison of the indices of all virtual components of the supply system permits a determination of that virtual component in which the highest fault index occurs, and therefore in which there is the highest probability of a fault. The fault search in a supply system can therefore be determined quickly and easily independently of power supply system geometry and configuration. An apparatus performing the method and computer program product, are also provided. |
| US08274289B2 |
Antenna coupling component measurement tool having rotating antenna configuration
Disclosed herein are electromagnetic resistivity logging systems and methods that employ an antenna configuration having at most two transmitter or receiver antenna orientations that rotate relative to the borehole. The measurements made by this reduced-complexity antenna configuration enable the determination of at least seven components of a coupling matrix, which may be determined using a linear system of equations that express the azimuthal dependence of the measurements. For increased reliability, measurement averaging may be performed in azimuthally spaced bins. The coupling matrix components can then be used as the basis for determining logs of various formation parameters, including vertical resistivity and anisotropy. |
| US08274286B2 |
System and method for multi-spectral MR imaging near metal
A system and method for multi-spectral MR imaging near metal include a computer programmed to calculate an MR pulse sequence comprising a plurality of RF pulses configured to excite spins in an imaging object and comprising a plurality of volume selection gradients and determine a plurality of distinct offset frequency values. For each respective determined offset frequency value, the computer is programmed to execute the MR pulse sequence having a central transmit frequency and a central receive frequency of the MR pulse sequence set to the respective determined offset frequency value. The computer is also programmed to acquire a three-dimensional (3D) MR data set for each MR pulse sequence execution and generate a composite image based on data from each of the acquired 3D MR data sets. |
| US08274285B2 |
Modification of frequency response profiles of steady state free precession for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Apparatus and methods for modification of the frequency response profile of steady-state free precession (SSFP) type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences. Using alternating dephasing moments within succeeding radiofrequency (RF) excitation pulses, the frequency response function of SSFP sequences can be modified to different shapes such as near triangular or bell shaped. The particular response function as produced by alternating dephasing moments can be used, among others, for functional brain MRI, MR spectroscopy or spatial encoding. |
| US08274279B2 |
Inspection apparatus and method
An apparatus and method are disclosed for detecting flaws in electrically conductive materials by observing properties of the back-EMF of the eddy current field generated by driving magnetic flux through the object to be examined. The input signal may include sweeps at several frequencies, and may do so at one time under the principle of wave superposition. The sectorial observations of eddy currents summations may be compared to a known datum for a defect free material, the presence of anomalies in eddy field back EMF divergence tending to provide an indication of an irregularity in the underlying eddy field, and hence in the underlying material itself. The portable unit may have a number of different configurations depending on the nature of the object to be examined, be it a flat or large radius plate, a flange, a rail, or some other structural element. |
| US08274276B2 |
System and method for the non-destructive testing of elongate bodies and their weldbond joints
An arrangement for testing an elongated body 1 or a welded and bonded joint in the body for faults 60 has a device 4, 5 for production of an eddy current in the elongated body 1 or its welded and bonded joint. At least one magnetic field sensor 7 for sensing the magnetic field is provided on the elongated body 1 or the welded and bonded joint. The dimensions of the at least one magnetic field sensor 7 are equal to or less than the fault 60 to be investigated. |
| US08274267B2 |
Hybrid power converter
Power converter circuits, structures, and methods are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a hybrid converter can include: (i) a first switching device controllable by a control signal; (ii) an inductor coupled to the first switching device and an output; and (iii) a control circuit configured to receive feedback from the output for generation of the control signal to control the first switching device, where the control circuit includes a first detection circuit configured to detect first and second output conditions, the control circuit being configured to operate the first switching device in a switch control in response to the control signal when the first output condition is detected, and to operate the first switching device in a linear control region when the second output condition is detected. |
| US08274266B2 |
Switch mode power supply with dynamic topology
A power supply system has an inductive device, a plurality of switching devices for providing connection of the inductive device to input and output nodes and a ground node, and a switch driver circuit for driving the switching devices so as to enable the power supply to operate in a boost mode to increase the input voltage, in a buck mode to decrease the input voltage, and in a solid-state flyback mode to transfer between the boost mode and the buck mode. In the solid-state flyback mode, the switching devices are controlled to provide switching of the inductive device between an input state in which the inductive device is connected between the input node and the ground node, and an output state in which the inductive device is connected between the ground node and the output node. |
| US08274263B2 |
Battery saver
The battery saver includes a charge pump connected to a control switch to provide a time-hysteretic threshold feature wherein it takes a longer, elapsed time threshold to activate the control switch than it does to deactivate the control switch. Control switch output is connected to a main switch wherein activation of the control switch opens the main switch to de-energize a battery-powered device's battery circuit. Control switch deactivation closes the main switch, which energizes the battery circuit of the battery-powered device. A quick elapsed time threshold allows a vibration sensor, which indicates continuing use of the battery-powered device, to instantaneously deactivate the control switch when vibrations are sensed. When the vibration sensor no longer senses motion in the device, a longer elapsed time threshold is triggered in which the charge pump slowly ramps up current to activate the control switch to turn the battery-operated device off. |
| US08274259B2 |
Method and charge-up circuit capable of adjusting charge-up current
A charge-up circuit includes a charge-up transistor configured to supply a charge-up current to a secondary battery in accordance with a control signal, a detection resistor connected in series with the charge-up transistor to detect the charge-up current, a current-to-voltage conversion circuit configured to generate and output a monitor voltage in accordance with the charge-up current based on each voltage at both end terminals of the detection resistor, a reference voltage generator configured to generate a predetermined reference voltage and including a voltage adjusting mechanism to generate the reference voltage from the constant voltage so that the charge-up current becomes a desired current, and a charge-up current control circuit configured to control the charge-up transistor so that the monitor voltage becomes the reference voltage. |
| US08274249B2 |
Motor drive device with lock protection function
A cooling system is provided with a motor drive device, a fan motor, and a Hall element. The motor drive device includes a lock protection circuit and a lock controller. When a control signal instructing rotation of the fan motor that is to be driven instructs stoppage of the motor for a predetermined time-period or longer, the lock controller has the lock protection circuit inactive. At an occasion when the control signal has continued to instruct stoppage of the fan motor for a first time-period or longer, a standby controller starts time measurement, and after a further predetermined second time-period has elapsed, makes at least a part of the motor drive device transition to a standby mode. |
| US08274246B2 |
Inverter control device and AC motor control device using this inverter control device
There is provided a current tracking PWM control circuit that directly generates PWM signals such that inverter output currents id, iq track PWM current references id**, iq**, using the results of comparison of the inverter output currents id, iq and PWM current references id**, iq**, in which, if current references id*, iq* exist, the result of adding the original current reference iq* and a correction signal iqC*, obtained by amplifying the deviation (iq*-iq) of the current reference iq* and iq, is used as the PWM current reference iq** on the q axis side for performing current control, but, in respect of the d axis side, the original current reference id* is used directly as the PWM current reference id** for performing current control. |
| US08274242B2 |
Power supply apparatus for an LED lamp
The present invention provides a power supply apparatus for an LED lamp, which mainly uses an isolation transformer to convert a high voltage AC input signal into a low voltage AC signal and thus generate a driving voltage for driving an LED lamp, comprising: a waveform and frequency modulation module disposed on the primary side of the isolation transformer for modulating an input waveform and a frequency f; and a secondary rectifier filter module disposed on the secondary side of the isolation transformer for converting the low voltage AC signal after passing through the isolation transformer into the driving voltage. In this way, the power supply apparatus for an LED lamp utilizes the principle of persistence of vision of human eyes to modulate the waveforms and frequencies of voltages for driving LEDs and can still maintain the normal operation. |
| US08274232B2 |
Lighting system communications apparatus and method
A communications apparatus and techniques are presented for communicating with ballasts or drivers through lighting system power connections in which the power connections are energized with low levels of power to power communications components in the ballast/drivers while the light sources are off and low frequency AC communications signals are transmitted through the power connections. |
| US08274229B2 |
Reverse polarity series type LED and drive circuit
The present invention of a reverse polarity series type LED is formed by two sets of LED and diode assemblies in reverse polarity series connection wherein the first set is consisted of at least one or multiple homopolar series or parallel connected or series and parallel connected LEDs, and the second set consisting of at least one or more homopolar parallel or series connected or series and parallel connected LEDs for further connection to the drive circuit formed by current-limiting impedance and/or power storage and discharging devices and/or voltage-limit circuit devices in order to produce the required operational characteristics. |
| US08274221B2 |
Plasma-generating structures, display devices, and methods of forming plasma-generating structures
Some embodiments include methods of forming plasma-generating microstructures. Aluminum may be anodized to form an aluminum oxide body having a plurality of openings extending therethrough. Conductive liners may be formed within the openings, and circuitry may be formed to control current flow through the conductive liners. The conductive liners form a plurality of hollow cathodes, and the current flow is configured to generate and maintain plasmas within the hollow cathodes. The plasmas within various hollow cathodes, or sets of hollow cathodes, may be independently controlled. Such independently controlled plasmas may be utilized to create a pattern in a display, or on a substrate. In some embodiments, the plasmas may be utilized for plasma-assisted etching and/or plasma-assisted deposition. Some embodiments include constructions and assemblies containing multiple plasma-generating structures. |
| US08274219B2 |
Electro-luminescent display panel including a plurality of island patterns serving as an encapsulation film
An electro-luminescent display panel including an active device array substrate, a pixel definition layer, electro-luminescent devices, an electrode layer and a protective layer is provided. The substrate includes pixel electrodes. The pixel definition layer on the substrate includes openings, each exposing the corresponding one of the pixel electrodes. The electro-luminescent devices are in the openings. Each electro-luminescent device layer is on the corresponding one of the pixel electrode. The electrode layer is on the pixel definition layer and the electro-luminescent devices. The protective layer including a buffer layer, a first and a second encapsulation films is on the electrode layer. The buffer layer covers the pixel definition layer and the electro-luminescent devices. The first encapsulation film partially covers the buffer layer. The first encapsulation film includes island patterns on the pixel electrodes. The second encapsulation film covers the buffer layer and the first encapsulation film. |
| US08274216B2 |
Bottom emission type organic electroluminescent panel
Provided is a bottom emission type organic EL panel capable of preventing or delaying loss of light emission from an end portion of the light emission area and reduction of the light emission area in an organic EL element. This organic electro luminescence panel includes an organic electro luminescence element having at least one organic layer between an anode and a cathode arranged on a substrate. This panel has a main light emission area emitting light with a high luminance and a non-light emission area or a low light emission area emitting light with a lower luminance than the main light emission area, arranged outside the end portion of the main light emission area. By limiting the main light emission area to a smaller size than the cathode forming area, the end portion of the cathode forming area is arranged outside the end portion of the main light emission area. |
| US08274214B2 |
Light emitting element, light emitting device, and electronic device
An object is to improve luminous efficiency of a light emitting element using triplet exciton energy effectively. Another object is to reduce power consumption of a light emitting element, a light emitting device, and an electronic device. Triplet exciton energy generated in a light emitting layer which exhibits short wavelength fluorescence can be effectively utilized by use of a structure in which the light emitting layers which exhibit short wavelength fluorescence are sandwiched between light emitting layers each including a phosphorescent compound. Further, the emission balance can be improved between the light emitting layer including a phosphorescent compound and the light emitting layer which exhibits fluorescence by the devising of the structure of the light emitting layer which exhibits fluorescence. |
| US08274212B2 |
Organic light emitting device including first hole injection layer and second hole injection layer
An organic light emitting device includes a first electrode; a second electrode; an emissive layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode; a first hole injection layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode; and a second hole injection layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The first hole injection layer includes a metal fluoride and a first organic hole injection layer forming compound, and the second hole injection layer includes a metal oxide and a second organic hole injection layer forming compound. |
| US08274211B2 |
White organic light emitting device
Provided is a white organic light emitting device (OLED). The white OLED includes a double cavity structure in which a first region and a second region are defined based on a transparent common electrode using a top emission method. A green phosphorescence or fluorescence emission layer is disposed in the first region, a blue fluorescence emission layer is disposed in the second region, a red emission layer is optionally disposed in the first region or the second region, and an optical path control layer (OPCL) for widening color gamut is disposed in a region in which green light and blue light are emitted so that color coordinates are not greatly changed due to a change in thickness of the OPCL and white light having good quality is obtained. |
| US08274207B2 |
EL display panel, EL display apparatus, and method of manufacturing EL display panel
An EL display panel including an EL unit and a thin film semiconductor unit, in which the EL unit includes an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and a light-emitting layer, and the thin film semiconductor unit includes a substrate, a gate electrode, a gate insulating film, a semiconductor layer, a first electrode, a second electrode, an interlayer insulating film, a gate line formed above the interlayer insulating film, a power supply line formed above the interlayer insulating film, in a same layer as the gate line, and side-by-side with the gate line, and an auxiliary line formed above the interlayer insulating film, in a same layer as the gate line and the power supply line, and side-by-side with the gate line and the power supply line. |
| US08274202B2 |
Spark plug with receiving end of ground elbow set above discharge terminal of central electrode and located by one side of central electrode extension line
A spark plug include an insulator, a central electrode, which is in the form of a bar received in the insulator, a metal case, which surrounds the insulator and is grounded, and a ground elbow fixed to the metal case. The central electrode includes a discharge terminal exposed outside the insulator and defining an extension line as an imaginary line extending from the discharge terminal along a central axis of the central electrode. The ground elbow has a connection end and an opposite, sharp-tip-like receiving end. The connection end is fixed to the metal case. The receiving end is set close to but spaced from the discharge terminal and is locate by one side of the extension line. |
| US08274200B2 |
Microfabricated cantilever slider with asymmetric spring constant
Mechanical springs and sliders as used in microfabricated actuators to provide an asymmetric spring constant are described. The asymmetric spring constant provides a propensity for deflection towards one direction, and a propensity for separation (i.e. restoration) towards the other direction. The asymmetry and slider system provides a passive mechanical means to achieve faster switching times and higher switch restoring forces. |
| US08274194B2 |
Auxiliary assembly of an internal combustion engine
In the drive train of a combustion engine an auxiliary arrangement is arranged which is to be coupled with an axial flow machine including a stator and a rotor, in order to perform an actuating movement. The stator has a coil arrangement, and the rotor has an essentially cup-shaped support for permanent magnet elements. The coil arrangement of the stator has at least one cylindrical winding and is at least partially enclosed by two essentially pot-shaped magnetic flux yokes. Each of the pot-shaped magnetic flux yokes has side areas with magnetic flux poles whose outsides are oriented towards the permanent magnet elements of the rotor. The magnetic flux poles of the stator are arranged spaced apart from the permanent magnet elements of the rotor. The magnetic orientation of neighboring permanent magnet elements towards the air gap alternates. |
| US08274193B2 |
Electric motor
The windings (12) wound around each of the teeth (9) form two coil groups (71, 72) of three-phase concentrated windings which are disposed point-symmetrically to each other with respect to the rotational shaft. Each of the coil groups (71, 72) includes a first coil (33), in which the windings (12) are wound around the teeth in a forward direction, and a second coil (34), in which the windings (12) are wound around the teeth in a reverse direction. When each of the teeth (9) is allocated with a U phase, a V phase, and a W phase in this order in a circumferential direction so that the first coil (33) wound for each phase is set to be coils of the U phase, the V phase, and the W phase, and the second coil (34) wound for each phase is set to be coils of the −U phase, the −V phase, and the −W phase, the coils of the U, −W, V, −U, W and −V phases are electrically connected between the adjacent segments (14) in this order. |
| US08274192B2 |
Segmented stator assembly
An electric machine and a stator assembly include a segmented stator having stator portions. Each stator portion includes end plates arranged axially on opposing sides of the stator portion, support plates arranged interior to the end plates, stator laminations arranged between the support plates, and stabilizing elements coupling the end plates and the support plates together. Each of the stabilizing elements has a dovetail portion coupled to the end plates and to the support plates. Connectors are provided to connect the stator portions of the segmented stator together. |
| US08274190B2 |
Electric machine rotor bar and method of making same
A method, system, and apparatus including an electric machine having a plurality of rotor bars and a first coupling component configured to electrically couple the plurality of rotor bars together. Each rotor bar of the plurality of rotor bars includes a first metallic material having a first electrical resistivity and a second metallic material cast about the first material, where the second metallic material has a second electrical resistivity greater than the first electrical resistivity. The first metallic material has a first end and a second end opposite the first end and the first coupling component is coupled to the first end of the first metallic material. |
| US08274189B2 |
Motor and window lift
A window lift has a motor and a gearbox. The motor is a permanent magnet motor, comprising a stator and a rotor rotatably mounted to the stator. The stator or the rotor comprises a housing and magnets fixed to inner surface of the housing. The radial cross section of the housing comprises n side portions and n connecting portions, where n is an integer greater than 2. Adjacent side portions are connected together by one corresponding connecting portion and the magnets are fixed at portions corresponding to the connecting portions. The radial cross section of each side portion is like a convex curve line, which is curved outwardly relative to a straight line passing through the two ends of the convex curve line. |
| US08274183B2 |
Stator for a linear motor
A stator for a linear motor is described. The stator has a stator member with a coil arrangement, a connecting member with external terminals, a sensor arrangement having at least one Hall sensor, and terminals for the sensor arrangement, as well as a holding member. The holding member is subdivided into a connecting member insertion portion and a stator member insertion portion and has holding devices for disposing the stator member and the connecting member stationarily, releasably and in an accurate position with regard to each other. |
| US08274181B2 |
Structure for transmission in power supply
A structure for transmission in a power supply, particularly to a power structure for transmission for bearing large DC current, wherein the power supply includes a power input port for connecting to DC input power and a DC/DC conversion circuit for converting the DC input power into DC output power. The architecture including at least one power transmission board for disposing the power input port, wherein the power transmission board is electrically connected to the power process board with the DC/DC conversion circuit mounted thereon by at least one power conduction element. Therefore, through the power conduction elements replacing the conventional connecting wires with large diameter to connect the power input port and the power process board without disobeying the safety regulation, not only the space occupied by the bent connection wires can be reduced, but the collisions and damage to other components caused therefrom also can be avoided. |
| US08274178B2 |
System of transmission of wireless energy
A resonant array for the transmission of multiple frequency wireless energy in multiple configurations at a useful distance for grid-coordinate power and information delivery on small aperture and mobile scales where alternatives such as battery, solar, infrared, microwave, or other power-independent means are inappropriate or inaccessible. |
| US08274170B2 |
Wind power turbine including a cable bundle guide device
A wind power turbine for producing electric energy has a pylon extending from a bottom end to a top end; a nacelle fitted to the top end of the pylon to rotate about a first axis; an electric generator fitted to the nacelle to produce electric energy; a blade assembly, which rotates with respect to the nacelle about a second axis; an electric cable bundle extending from the electric generator to a point inside the pylon, such as at the bottom end of the pylon; and a guide device for guiding the cable bundle, and configured to divert the cable bundle radially from a point close to the first axis, to a point substantially away from the first axis. |
| US08274169B2 |
Wind powered generator for a vehicle
The present invention is directed to wind powered apparatus for recharging batteries in an electric powered vehicle, the system includes at least one generator adapted to alternately recharge batteries that supply power to the vehicle, and at least one windmill with turbine blades that automatically adjust blade pitch and operate the generator. Each adjusting turbine blade includes at least one fluid handling system that contains a non-Newtonian pseudoplastic fluid, the handling system including means to reposition the non-Newtonian pseudoplastic fluid between a first location and a second location within the fluid handling system in response to a fluid viscosity is changed by shear created from blade rotation, the blade pitch changed by a shift in blade center of gravity from the repositioned fluid. |
| US08274165B2 |
Semiconductor substrate, laminated chip package, semiconductor plate and method of manufacturing the same
A semiconductor substrate has a plurality of groove portions formed along scribe lines. The semiconductor substrate includes: insulating layers formed in the plurality of groove portions; a rectangular unit region in contact with at least any one of the plurality of groove portions; and a wiring electrode including an extended terminal portion extended from the unit region to the inside of the groove portion. The semiconductor substrate is manufactured by forming a plurality of groove portions along scribe lines; embedding an insulating material in the plurality of groove portions and planarizing a surface to form insulating layers; and forming a wiring electrode including an extended terminal portion extended from a rectangular unit region in contact with at least any one of the plurality of groove portions to the inside of the groove portion. |
| US08274163B2 |
Method and apparatus providing integrated circuit having redistribution layer with recessed connectors
A method of making a semiconductor die includes forming a trench around a conductive stud extending from the first side to a second side of a substrate to expose a portion of the stud and then forming a conductive layer inside the trench and in electrical contact with the stud. |
| US08274159B2 |
Group III nitride based flip-chip integrated circuit and method for fabricating
A circuit substrate has one or more active components and a plurality of passive circuit elements on a first surface. An active semiconductor device has a substrate with layers of material and a plurality of terminals. The active semiconductor device is flip-chip mounted on the circuit substrate and at least one of the terminals of the device is electrically connected to an active component on the circuit substrate. The active components on the substrate and the flip-chip mounted active semiconductor device, in combination with passive circuit elements, form preamplifiers and an output amplifier respectively. In a power switching configuration, the circuit substrate has logic control circuits on a first surface. A semiconductor transistor flip-chip mounted on the circuit substrate is electrically connected to the control circuits on the first surface to thereby control the on and off switching of the flip-chip mounted device. |
| US08274158B2 |
Structure, method and system for assessing bonding of electrodes in FCB packaging
Structures, methods, and systems for assessing bonding of electrodes in FCB packaging are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method comprises mounting a semiconductor chip with a plurality of first electrodes of a first shape to a mounted portion with a second electrode of a second shape, wherein the second shape is different from the first shape, bonding a respective one of the plurality of first electrodes and the second electrode using a first solder bump, generating an X-ray image of the first solder bump, and determining an acceptability of the bonding of the respective one of the plurality of first electrodes and the second electrode based on the X-ray image of the first solder bump. |
| US08274155B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing semiconductor device
An interconnect is provided in a first insulating layer and the upper surface of the interconnect is higher than the upper surface of the first insulating layer. An air gap is disposed between the interconnect and the first insulating layer. An etching stopper film is formed over the first insulating layer, the air gap, and the interconnect. A second insulating layer is formed over the etching stopper film. A via is provided in the second insulating layer and is connected to the interconnect. A portion of the etching stopper film that is disposed over the air gap is thicker than another portion that is disposed over the interconnect. |
| US08274151B2 |
Object including a graphic element transferred on a support and method for making such an object
An object including at least one graphic element, including at least one layer including at least one metal and etched according to a pattern of the graphic element, a first face of the layer being positioned opposite a face of at least one at least partly transparent substrate, a second face, opposite to the first face, of the layer being covered with at least one passivation layer fixed to at least one face of at least one support by wafer bonding and forming with the support a monolithic structure, and the layer including at least at the second face, at least one area including the metal and at least one semiconductor. |
| US08274150B2 |
Chip bump structure and method for forming the same
A chip bump structure is formed on a substrate. The substrate includes at least one contact pad and a dielectric layer. The dielectric layer has at least one opening. The at least one opening exposes the at least one contact pad. The chip bump structure includes at least one elastic bump, at least one first metal layer, at least one second metal layer, and at least one solder ball. The at least one elastic bump covers a central portion of the at least one contact pad. The at least one first metal layer covers the at least one elastic bump. The at least one first metal layer has a portion of the at least one contact pad. The portion of the at least one contact pad is not overlaid by the at least one elastic bump. The at least one second metal layer is formed on a portion of the at least one first metal layer. The portion of the at least one first metal layer is located on the top of the at least one elastic bump. The at least one solder ball is formed on the at least one second metal layer. The at least one solder ball is also on the top of the at least one elastic bump. |
| US08274147B2 |
Method and system for intra-printed circuit board communication via waveguides
Methods and systems for intra-printed circuit board communication via waveguides are disclosed and may include communicating one or more signals between or among a plurality of integrated circuits via one or more waveguides integrated on a printed circuit board. The integrated circuits may be bonded to the printed circuit board. The waveguides may be configured via switches integrated within each of the plurality of integrated circuits. The one or more signals may include microwave signals. The one or more waveguides may be configured for communicating microwave signals with a frequency of 60 GHz or greater. The communication of the one or more signals may be configured via a low frequency control signal, which may include a digital signal. The one or more waveguides may include metal and/or semiconductor layers deposited on and/or embedded within the printed circuit board. |
| US08274146B2 |
High frequency interconnect pad structure
An integrated circuit includes a high speed circuit, an interconnect pad, a passivation layer under the interconnect pad, a first patterned metal layer, and a first via. The high speed circuit is for a high speed signal at a terminal of the high speed circuit. The interconnect pad is on a top surface of the integrated circuit structure. The first patterned metal layer is under the passivation layer having a first portion and a second portion. The first portion of the first patterned metal layer is connected to the terminal of the high speed circuit. The second portion of the first patterned metal layer is under the interconnect pad and is electrically floating when the high frequency signal is present on the interconnect pad portion. The result is reduced capacitive loading on the high speed signal which improves performance. |
| US08274142B2 |
Semiconductor device having stacked multiple substrates and method for producing same
A semiconductor device includes: a plurality of semiconductor substrates each having a pad-formed surface and being mutually laminated; a connection electrode pad formed on the pad-formed surface; a wire connecting the connection electrode pads of the plurality of semiconductor substrates so as to electrically connect the semiconductor substrates; a relay electrode pad that is provided on the pad-formed surface of a lower one of the laminated semiconductor substrates so as to be exposed by an upper one of the laminated semiconductor substrates, and that is connected to the connection electrode pad by a relay wire included in the wire; and a mounting electrode pad that is formed on a mounting surface on which the laminated semiconductor substrates are mounted, and that is connected to the relay electrode pad of the lower semiconductor substrate by the wire. In the device, the wire electrically connects the connection electrode pad of the upper semiconductor substrate to the relay electrode pad of the lower semiconductor substrate. |
| US08274135B2 |
Fuse of semiconductor device
The present invention relates to a fuse for a semiconductor device, and discloses the technique capable of preventing fuse damage, which might occur during a fuse blowing step, with reducing area of the fuse occupying the semiconductor device. The present invention includes a common source region, wherein a plurality of fuses are radially arranged about the common source region, and a fuse box wall is formed outside the fuses. |
| US08274130B2 |
Punch-through diode steering element
A storage system and method for forming a storage system that uses punch-through diodes as a steering element in series with a reversible resistivity-switching element is described. The punch-through diode allows bipolar operation of a cross-point memory array. The punch-through diode may have a symmetrical non-linear current/voltage relationship. The punch-through diode has a high current at high bias for selected cells and a low leakage current at low bias for unselected cells. Therefore, it is compatible with bipolar switching in cross-point memory arrays having resistive switching elements. The punch-through diode may be a N+/P−/N+ device or a P+/N−/P+ device. |
| US08274129B2 |
Power transistor with improved high-side operating characteristics and reduced resistance and related apparatus and method
A method includes forming a transistor device on a first side of a semiconductor-on-insulator structure. The semiconductor-on-insulator structure includes a substrate, a dielectric layer, and a buried layer between the substrate and the dielectric layer. The method also includes forming a conductive plug through the semiconductor-on-insulator structure. The conductive plug is in electrical connection with the transistor device. The method further includes forming a field plate on a second side of the semiconductor-on-insulator structure, where the field plate is in electrical connection with the conductive plug. The transistor device could have a breakdown voltage of at least 600V, and the field plate could extend along at least 40% of a length of the transistor device. |
| US08274125B2 |
Semiconductor device and semiconductor device manufacturing method
An insulation is provided in a portion surrounding a light receiving portion in a semiconductor element, and a sealing resin is provided around the insulation, thereby warping the insulation outward when viewed from the light receiving portion to prevent diffuse light from returning to the light receiving portion of the semiconductor element. |
| US08274119B2 |
Hybrid material accumulation mode GAA CMOSFET
A Ge and Si hybrid material accumulation mode GAA (Gate-All-Around) CMOSFET includes a PMOS region having a first channel, an NMOS region having a second channel and a gate region. The first channel and the second channel have a racetrack-shaped cross section and are formed of p-type Ge and n-type Si, respectively; the surfaces of the first channel and the second channel are substantially surrounded by the gate region; a buried oxide layer is disposed between the PMOS region and the NMOS region and between the PMOS or NMOS region and the Si substrate to isolate them from one another. In an accumulation mode, current flows through the overall racetrack-shaped channel. The disclosed device has high carrier mobility, high device drive current, and maintains the electrical integrity of the device. Meanwhile, polysilicon gate depletion and short channel effects are prevented. |
| US08274111B2 |
Method for fabricating a semiconductor memory device having a buried word line structure
A method for fabricating a semiconductor apparatus including a buried gate removes factors deteriorating the operational reliability of the semiconductor device such as the electrical connection between a contact and a word line, and increases a processing margin when forming the contact disposed on a source/drain region. The method includes forming a recess in a semiconductor substrate, forming a gate in a lower portion of the recess, forming a first insulation layer over the gate, growing silicon over the first insulation layer in the recess, and depositing a second insulation layer over the semiconductor substrate and in the remaining portion of the recess. |
| US08274101B2 |
CMOS image sensor with heat management structures
An image sensor includes a device wafer substrate of a device wafer, a device layer of the device wafer, and optionally a heat control structure and/or a heat sink. The device layer is disposed on a frontside of the device wafer substrate and includes a plurality of photosensitive elements disposed within a pixel array region and peripheral circuitry disposed within a peripheral circuits region. The photosensitive elements are sensitive to light incident on a backside of the device wafer substrate. The heat control structure is disposed within the device wafer substrate and thermally isolates the pixel array region from the peripheral circuits region to reduce heat transfer between the peripheral circuits region and the pixel array region. The heat sink conducts heat away from the device layer. |
| US08274095B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device having the present high withstand voltage power device IGBT has at a back surface a p collector layer with boron injected in an amount of approximately 3×1013/cm2 with an energy of approximately 50 KeV to a depth of approximately 0.5 μm, and an n+ buffer layer with phosphorus injected in an amount of approximately 3×1012/cm2 with an energy of 120 KeV to a depth of approximately 20 μm. To control lifetime, a semiconductor substrate is exposed to protons at the back surface. Optimally, it is exposed to protons at a dose of approximately 1×1011/cm2 to a depth of approximately 32 μm as measured from the back surface. Thus snapback phenomenon can be eliminated and an improved low saturation voltage (Vce (sat))-offset voltage (Eoff) tradeoff can be achieved. |
| US08274090B2 |
Organic light-emitting display device
An organic light-emitting display device includes: a substrate; pixels on a first side of the substrate, each of the pixels comprising a first region for emitting light and a second region for transmitting external light; pixel circuits on the first regions of the pixels, each of the pixel circuits comprising at least one thin film transistor; an insulating layer covering the pixel circuits; first electrodes on the insulating layer, spaced from each other on the first regions, and electrically connected to the pixel circuits; a second electrode opposite the first electrodes and formed throughout the first and second regions of all the pixels; an organic layer between the first electrodes and the second electrode; a sealing member facing the first side of the substrate; and an anti-reflection layer located on at least one of a second side of the substrate or an outer side of the sealing member. |
| US08274080B2 |
Semiconductor wafer including guard ring patterns and process monitoring patterns
A semiconductor wafer includes semiconductor chip areas on a semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor chip areas having thereon semiconductor circuit patterns and inner guard ring patterns surrounding the semiconductor circuit patterns; and scribe lanes on the semiconductor substrate between the semiconductor chip areas, the scribe lanes having thereon outer guard ring patterns surrounding the inner guard ring patterns and a process monitoring pattern between the outer guard ring patterns, the outer guard ring patterns and the process monitoring pattern being merged with each other. |
| US08274074B2 |
Polymer material and device using the same
A polymer material comprising a composition containing a fluorescent conjugated polymer (A) and a phosphorescent compound (B) or comprising a polymer having the structure of (A) and the structure of (B) in the same molecule, wherein the following conditions (1), (2) and (3) are satisfied: (1) at least one of the light emission peak wavelengths of the fluorescent conjugated polymer (A) is less than 500 nm, (2) the light emission peak wavelengths of the phosphorescent compound (B) are not less than 500 nm, (3) the following relation is satisfied: ETA−ESA 0≧(ETB−ESB0)−0.2 (unit; eV) (Eq 1) (wherein, ESA 0 represents energy of the fluorescent conjugated polymer (A) at the ground state, ETA represents energy of the fluorescent conjugated polymer (A) at the lowest excited triplet state, ESB 0 represents energy of the phosphorescent compound (B) at the ground state, and ETB represents energy of the phosphorescent compound (B) at the lowest excited triplet state). |
| US08274072B2 |
Ultrathin spacer formation for carbon-based FET
A carbon-based field effect transistor (FET) includes a substrate; a carbon layer located on the substrate, the carbon layer comprising a channel region, and source and drain regions located on either side of the channel region; a gate electrode located on the channel region in the carbon layer, the gate electrode comprising a first dielectric layer, a gate metal layer located on the first dielectric layer, and a nitride layer located on the gate metal layer; and a spacer comprising a second dielectric layer located adjacent to the gate electrode, wherein the spacer is not located on the carbon layer. |
| US08274071B2 |
MOS devices with partial stressor channel
A semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate having a first lattice constant; a gate dielectric on the semiconductor substrate; a gate electrode on the semiconductor substrate; and a stressor having at least a portion in the semiconductor substrate and adjacent the gate electrode. The stressor has a tilted sidewall on a side adjacent the gate electrode. The stressor includes a first stressor layer having a second lattice constant substantially different from the first lattice constant; and a second stressor layer on the first stressor layer, wherein the second stressor has a third lattice constant substantially different from the first and the second lattice constants. |
| US08274067B2 |
Memory devices and methods of manufacturing the same
Memory devices and methods of manufacturing the same are provided. In a memory device, a memory-switch structure is formed between a first and second electrode. The memory-switch structure includes a memory resistor and a switch structure. The switch structure controls current supplied to the memory resistor. A memory region of the memory resistor and a switch region of the switch structure are different from each other. |
| US08274066B2 |
Surface treatment to improve resistive-switching characteristics
This disclosure provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device layer and associated memory cell structures. By performing a surface treatment process (such as ion bombardment) of a semiconductor device layer to create defects having a deliberate depth profile, one may create multistable memory cells having more consistent electrical parameters. For example, in a resistive-switching memory cell, one may obtain a tighter distribution of set and reset voltages and lower forming voltage, leading to improved device yield and reliability. In at least one embodiment, the depth profile is selected to modulate the type of defects and their influence on electrical properties of a bombarded metal oxide layer and to enhance uniform defect distribution. |
| US08274064B2 |
System and apparatus for dermatological treatment
Exemplary embodiments of system and apparatus can be provided for treating various dermatological and biological conditions using electromagnetic energy in the form of optical radiation. For example, energy can be provided by a chemical reaction, such as by combustion of a fine metallic filament, which can be used to generate a high-intensity pulse of energy without requiring external energy sources. Various parameters of the reactive materials and enclosures can be selected and/or applied to provide a radiation pulse having particular characteristics, including fluence, peak intensity, and radiation wavelength distribution. Various filters may be provided to further modify characteristics of the radiation. Such radiation pulses can be used to irradiate tissue such as skin to obtain various therapeutic or beneficial effects, including improvement in the appearance of pigmented or venous lesions. |
| US08274063B2 |
Composite focused ion beam device, process observation method using the same, and processing method
A composite focused ion beam device has a first ion beam irradiation system that irradiates a first ion beam for processing a sample and a second ion beam irradiation system that irradiates a second ion beam for processing or observing the sample. The first ion beam irradiation system has a plasma type gas ion source that generates first ions for forming the first ion beam, each of the first ions having a first mass. The second ion beam irradiation system has a gas field ion source that generates second ions for forming the second ion beam. Each of the second ions has a second mass smaller than that of the first mass. |
| US08274061B2 |
Scanner and method for setting voltage value of photomultiplier
A scanner includes a plurality of laser stimulating ray sources, a sample stage on which a sample containing a labeling substance is to be placed, a scanning mechanism, a photomultiplier for photoelectrically detecting light released from the labeling substance and producing analog image data, an A/D converter for converting the analog image data to digital image data, and a pixel density signal intensity simulating section for effecting simulation based on pre-scan digital image data produced by setting a voltage value of the photomultiplier to a given photomultiplier voltage value G0 to simulate density signal intensity of each pixel of digital image data that would be produced by setting the photomultiplier to a voltage value G different from the voltage value G0. According to the thus constituted scanner, it is possible to determine the voltage value of the photomultiplier simply and rapidly without causing on the degradation of a sample. |
| US08274057B2 |
Detection element
The present invention provides a detection element that can suppress generation of a residual image. A sensor portion includes a semiconductor layer, an upper electrode and a lower electrode. The semiconductor layer generates charges due to light being illuminated thereto. The upper electrode applies a bias voltage to the semiconductor layer. The lower electrode collects charges that have been generated at the semiconductor layer. The charges that have been generated at the semiconductor layer are collected and accumulated by the lower electrode. In the detection element, a saturation prevention circuit (diode and second bias line) is provided through which the accumulated charges flow-out when the charges that have been generated at the semiconductor layer are collected and a voltage level of the lower electrode becomes a saturation prevention voltage level Vs. |
| US08274055B2 |
Radiation signal-processing unit and radiation detector provided with the same
A radiation signal-processing unit including a position identifying device for identifying an incident radiation position in a radiation detector; a count data-memory device for storing positional information outputted from the position identifying device, a count ratio-calculation device for calculating a count ratio based on the positional information stored in the count data-memory device, a reference count ratio-memory device for memorizing a reference count ratio as the count ratio calculated under a state where fluorescence to be detected does not overlap each other temporally, and a correction instruction device for reading the reference count ratio from the reference count ratio-memory device and comparing the ratio with the count ratio, thereby instructing execution of correction of a radiation generating position to the position identifying device. |
| US08274053B2 |
System and method for valve seat gap evaluation
A method of detecting a gap between a valve seat insert and a port in a cylinder head may include heating the valve seat insert and the cylinder head and generating a thermal image of the valve seat insert and the cylinder head at an interface between the valve seat insert and corresponding port in the cylinder head housing the valve seat insert. The thermal image may be evaluated to determine the magnitude of a gap between the valve seat insert and the cylinder head based on a temperature at the interface between the valve seat insert and the cylinder head. |
| US08274052B1 |
Specimen identification system and specimen identification device
In a specimen identification system, an oscillator directs a THz wave toward a channel that accommodates a specimen. A receiver detects the THz wave transmitted through the specimen. A first controller controls the oscillator to sweep the oscillation frequency of the THz wave within a frequency band. A receiver generates a receiving signal by sweeping the receiving frequency of the THz wave within the frequency band. A specimen identification unit specifies the specimen based on the waveform of the receiving signal within the frequency band. |
| US08274050B2 |
Radiometry using an uncooled microbolometer detector
An infra-red imaging camera comprises focusing optics for gathering infra-red energy from an external scene, and an uncooled and unshielded detector arranged to detect infra red energy. Internal temperature sensing together with approximation of the temperature response of the camera provides a time varying calibration that allows the infra-red energy received at the detector to be used as a temperature measurement for objects in the camera's field of view. |
| US08274043B2 |
Estimation of ion cyclotron resonance parameters in fourier transform mass spectrometry
The present invention comprises a method and system for accurate estimation of the ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) parameters in Fourier-transform mass spectrometry (FTMS/FT-ICR MS). The parameters are essential to estimating the mass to charge ratio of an ion from FT-ICR MS data, the intended purpose of the instrument. Achieving greater accuracy in the parameters assists in greater accuracy of the mass to charge ratio of an ion, and obtaining an accurate estimation of the mass to charge ratio of an ion further aides in detecting mass with sub-ppm accuracy. Estimating mass in this manner enhances identification and characterization of large molecules. The inventive method and system thereby enhances the data obtained by conventional FTMS by accurately estimating ICR parameters. Ultimately, accurate estimates of the masses of molecules and detection and characterization of molecules from FT-ICR MS data are obtained. |
| US08274042B2 |
Imaging mass spectrometry for small molecules in two-dimensional samples
The invention relates to spatially resolved mass spectrometric measurement and visualization of the distribution of small molecules in a mass range from approximately 150 to 500 Daltons, for example drugs and their metabolites, in thin sections or other two-dimensional samples, preferably with ionization of the molecules by matrix-assisted laser desorption. The invention includes the steps measuring a daughter ion produced by forced decomposition of the molecular ion instead of the ionized analyte molecule itself, the daughter ion having a much better signal-to-noise ratio. The daughter ions are detected in a relatively simple reflector time-of-flight mass spectrometer instead of using an expensive time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometers for the measurement of the daughter ions. Advantageously, substantially faster and less expensive scanning of the thousands of mass spectra which serve as the basis for visualizing the spatial distribution of the analyte molecule is achieved, while the mass resolution and sensitivity are at least equally good. |
| US08274041B2 |
Water detection and 3-phase fraction measurement systems
Methods and apparatus enable monitoring a hydrocarbon well for water within a flow stream of the well. A water detector includes a light source for emitting into a flow stream infrared light that includes a water absorbent wavelength band. A detector detects attenuation of the water absorbent wavelength band upon the infrared radiation passing through at least a portion of the flow stream. The water detector outputs a presence of water and/or a phase fraction or quantification of water as determined based on the attenuation. Detecting attenuation of a substantially transmissive wavelength band with respect to water simultaneously with detection of the attenuation of the water absorbent wavelength band can enable correction for non-wavelength dependent attenuation. |
| US08274040B2 |
Substrates and optical system having at least one optical waveguide, at least one nanometer-scale aperture and at least one lens array and methods of use thereof
This invention provides substrates for use in various applications, including single-molecule analytical reactions. Methods for propagating optical energy within a substrate are provided. Devices comprising waveguide substrates and dielectric omnidirectional reflectors are provided. Waveguide substrates with improved uniformity of optical energy intensity across one or more waveguides and enhanced waveguide illumination efficiency within an analytic detection region of the arrays are provided. |
| US08274037B2 |
Automatic calibration technique for time of flight (TOF) transceivers
A system and method for automatically calibrating a Time-of-Flight (TOF) transceiver system for proximity/motion detection, is provided. Moreover, the system comprises a component that senses a signal (e.g., current or voltage) at an light emitting diode (LED), an attenuator, a signal injector at a sensor and a switching circuit that toggles between a normal mode (e.g., when signal from the sensor is input to the sensor front end) and a calibration mode (e.g., when signal from the attenuator is input to the sensor front end). During the calibration mode, the sensor front end identifies the phase delay error within the signal path, including board and/or package parasitic, and accounts for the phase delay error during proximity/motion detection in the normal mode. |
| US08274036B2 |
Processing method and apparatus for energy saving of an active infrared induction instrument powered by a dry battery
An active infrared induction instrument powered by a dry battery capable of reducing power consumption through the adjustment of the emitter pulse width. The infrared emitted LED emits infrared signals, which, after being reflected by an object, are received by the infrared photodiode. The infrared signals received the infrared signals received by the infrared photodiode then enter an integrated circuit chip through a comparator. The pulse widths of the infrared emission pulse signals are dynamically adjusted after the width of the pulse series is received by the discrimination chip, thus reducing the emission power consumption to save energy. |
| US08274035B2 |
Photosensor circuit having a level shifting circuit for biasing a first node with an operation voltage signal and a phototransistor for modulating the level of the operation voltage signal
A photosensor circuit including a first node, a level shifting circuit, a phototransistor and an inverter is provided. The first node has an operation voltage signal. The level shifting circuit is coupled to the first node for biasing the first node, so that the operation voltage signal is biased to an operation biasing level. The phototransistor is coupled to the first node for receiving an optical signal and accordingly generates a first electrical signal by means of controlling the level of the operation voltage signal. The inverter receives the first electrical signal and accordingly generates and outputs a second electrical signal, which indicates the intensity of the optical signal. |
| US08274033B2 |
Photoelectric converter
Disclosed is a photoelectric converter.According to the present invention, a photoelectric converter comprises a plurality of substrates, which are located adjacent to each other and on which a plurality of photoelectric conversion devices are two-dimensionally arranged, either scan circuits or detection circuits, at least, that are arranged on two opposing sides of the photoelectric converter, whereby scanning directions either from the scan circuits or from the detection circuits, which are arranged on the two opposing sides, are capable of being set so as to be performed in like directions. |
| US08274030B2 |
Solar concentrator and portable tracking device
The present disclosure relates to a concentrator, particularly a terrestrial solar concentrator to harness the sun's energy, and a tracking system. The concentrator includes a parabolic or other curved reflective surface and an absorber positioned at the focus of the curved reflective surface. Parabolic ribs give shape to the reflective surface. The tracking system includes a rotating, swiveling, or pivoting joint. One or more cables attach to the tracking system. Selectively applying tension to the cables causes the tracking system to rotate, swivel, or pivot at the joint to track an object. |
| US08274027B2 |
Transparent silicon detector and multimode seeker using the detector
A laser energy detector may include at least one photodetector device formed on a semiconductor substrate. The photodetector device may have an active area effective to detect laser energy at a laser wavelength. The active area of the laser energy detector may be substantially transparent for a first wavelength band within an infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. |
| US08274021B2 |
Fully integrated temperature regulator for biochemical applications
The invention is an integrated temperature regulator that can be fabricated using conventional semiconductor processing technology. The integrated temperature regulator can include a reaction chamber, for example fabricated from PDMS, in which chemical or biochemical reactions of interest can be carried out. The temperature regular can also be used to regulate the temperature of some circuits, e.g. an effective-inductance-change based magnetic particle sensor, to achieve a stable operation performance, such as an improved sensitivity. The integrated temperature regulator includes as subcomponents a temperature sensing circuit that receives a thermal signal from the vicinity of the reaction chamber, a temperature reference circuit, and a temperature control circuit that controls a heater based at least in part on the difference between the sensed temperature and the reference temperature. The various subcomponents can be programmable. |
| US08274018B2 |
Apparatus for use in direct resistance heating of platinum-containing vessels
An apparatus for use in direct resistance heating of a molten glass-carrying vessel, such as a finer or connecting pipe, is provided. The apparatus comprises a flange comprises a plurality of electrically-conductive rings that include an inner ring joined to the vessel's exterior wall during use of the flange and an outer ring that receives electric current during use of the flange. The innermost ring comprises a high-temperature resistant metal preferably comprising at least 80% platinum, and the outermost ring preferably comprising at least 99.0% nickel. This combination of materials both increases the reliability of the flange and reduces its cost. Either one or both of the width or thickness of one or both of the inner or outer rings varies as a function of angular position relative to the vessel. The width and/or thickness of the inner and the outer rings with relation to each other produces a uniform current distribution in the flange and the vessel. |
| US08274017B2 |
Multifunctional heater/chiller pedestal for wide range wafer temperature control
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to a semiconductor processing chamber and, more specifically, a heated support pedestal for a semiconductor processing chamber. In one embodiment, a pedestal for a semiconductor processing chamber is provided. The pedestal comprises a substrate support comprising a conductive material and having a support surface for receiving a substrate, a resistive heater encapsulated within the substrate support, a hollow shaft coupled to the substrate support at a first end and a mating interface at an opposing end, the hollow shaft comprising a shaft body having a hollow core, and a cooling channel assembly encircling the hollow core and disposed within the shaft body for removing heat from the pedestal via an internal cooling path, wherein the substrate support has a heat control gap positioned between the heating element and the ring-shaped cooling channel. |
| US08274015B2 |
Culinary heater rolling pin device
A heater rolling pin having a roller body, stainless steel axles, hollow roller interior, roller outer surface, a handle mounted to each axle, electrical tactile switch secured to one end of the roller, a heater secured inside the roller interior, batteries and a battery holder at the opposite end of the roller. The internal heater makes the outer surface of the roller hot. The roller is manufactured from food grade aluminum alloy and is hard anodized and dyed to make the surface very hard and scratch resistant. The roller has two food quality, high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic handles with stainless steel axles. |
| US08274013B2 |
System for tracking and analyzing welding activity
A system and a method for tracking and analyzing welding activity. Dynamic spatial properties of a welding tool are sensed during a welding process producing a weld. The sensed dynamic spatial properties are tracked over time and the tracked dynamic spatial properties are captured as tracked data during the welding process. The tracked data is analyzed to determine performance characteristics of a welder performing the welding process and quality characteristics of a weld produced by the welding process. The performance characteristics and the quality characteristics may be subsequently reviewed. |
| US08274009B2 |
Automotive body shop flexible framing gate changing system
An automotive body framing system includes a setter supported by parallel spaced tracks for movement from a work position to a standby position and to a gate change position and driven by corresponding racks and synchronized pinion drive units. Opposing gate storage belt shuttles are located at the gate change position for receiving the setter therebetween, and a gate staging cart is supported in back of the setter by parallel tracks and is also moved between opposing gate storage belt shuttles by synchronized rack and pinion drive units. Power operated registration units are positioned on the setter to register each gate received at precise horizontal and vertical positions, and the setter, staging cart and gate storage belt shuttles each have a series of resilient guide and support rollers to provide for quiet operation during rapid transfer of the gates on the setter, staging cart and belt shuttles. |
| US08274008B2 |
EDM spindle assembly with fluid seal
An EDM spindle assembly is provided comprising a pull stud, an electrode holder, a fluid seal, and a seal holder. A threaded outside diameter of the seal holder is threadedly engaged with a threaded inside diameter of a counter bore formed in the tail end of the electrode holder. A threaded outside diameter of the pull stud is threadedly engaged with the threaded inside diameter of the counter bore. The threaded inside diameter of the counter bore in the electrode holder comprises a longitudinal threading dimension that is sufficient to accommodate the entire longitudinal threaded outside diameter of the seal holder and a portion of the longitudinal threaded outside diameter of the pull stud sufficient to create threaded engagement, with the fluid seal positioned in the seal accommodating space. |
| US08274003B2 |
Button structure
A button structure assembled in a button area below a touchpad. The button structure includes a circuit board and a button frame. The circuit board has a first switch and a second switch corresponding to the button area. The button frame has a left side button portion, a right side button portion, and a contacting elastic portion, wherein the left side button portion is corresponding to the first switch, the right side button portion is corresponding to the second switch, and the contacting elastic portion is contacted against the circuit board and between the first switch and the second switch. |
| US08274002B2 |
Modular keyboard and manufacturing method thereof
A modular keyboard includes an upper casing, a lower casing corresponding to the upper casing, an electric conduction element and a circuit board. The upper casing includes a first side and a second side opposite to each other, and a plurality of press keys disposed on the first side. The lower casing is set for sealing the second side, and an enclosure space is formed between the upper casing and the lower casing. The electric conduction element is installed on the second side in the enclosure space, and the circuit board is installed between the electric conduction element and the lower casing. With a supersonic welding technique, the upper casing and the lower casing are engaged with each other to seal the enclosure space and isolate the electric conduction element in the enclosure space and the circuit board from the exterior. |
| US08273996B2 |
Z-directed connector components for printed circuit boards
A Z-directed connector component for insertion into a printed circuit board and providing electrical connections to internal conductive planes contained with the PCB and/or to external conductive traces on the surface of the PCB. In one embodiment the Z-directed component is housed within the thickness of the PCB allowing other components to be mounted over it. The body of the Z-directed connector component may contain one or more conductors and may include one or more surface channels or wells extending along at least a portion of the length of the body. Methods for mounting Z-directed components are also provided. |
| US08273994B2 |
BGA footprint pattern for increasing number of routing channels per PCB layer
A printed circuit board (PCB) includes a ball grid array (BGA). The PCB further includes a first BGA pad having a circular shape, and a first via having a circular shape, where the circular shape of the first via overlaps a portion of the circular shape of the first BGA pad and is rotated diagonally relative to a center of the first BGA pad. The PCB also includes a second BGA pad having a circular shape, and a second via having a circular shape, where the circular shape of the second via overlaps a portion of the circular shape of the second BGA pad and is rotated diagonally relative to a center of the second pad, and where a center of the second via is located at a first distance from the center of the first via and at a first angle relative to an axis that crosses a center of the first via. |
| US08273990B2 |
Flexible flat circuit cable with gapped section
A flexible flat circuit cable includes first and second flexible circuit substrates extending in an extension direction. The first flexible circuit substrate has a first surface forming a first conductor layer and an insulation layer, and the second flexible circuit substrate has a first surface forming a second conductor layer and an insulation layer. A bonding material layer is applied at a predetermined section between the first flexible circuit substrate and the second flexible circuit substrate to bond the first and second flexible circuit substrates together in such a way to maintain a predetermined spacing distance between the first and second flexible circuit substrate and forming a gapped segment at sections where no bonding material is applied. The first and second flexible circuit substrates form a cluster section within the gapped segment, which has opposite ends respectively forming first and second connected sections each of which forms a connection plug or is provided with a connector. |
| US08273989B2 |
Cable management accessories
A vertical cable manager includes a base, an interconnected double-spine assembly topped by a top frame, and a pair of doors. The double-spine assembly is supported by the base. Each door is removably coupled at each lower corner to the base and at each upper corner to the top frame, thus permitting each door to be opened or hinged along either of its lateral sides or removed entirely. The double-spine assembly may support selectively repositionable mounting members, which may in turn support a large cable spool, a selectively repositionable shelf-mounted handle spool assembly, and various other cable management accessories. |
| US08273985B2 |
Junction box
A junction box includes a base, a cover snap-fitted into the base and a ventilation valve on the cover. The ventilation valve includes a first hollow cylinder that has a first inner bore having a first thread and a bottom having an open area that includes an annular flange; a second hollow cylinder; and a waterproof air-permeable membrane. The second hollow cylinder has a second thread on an outer surface thereof, a first end, a second end and a second inner bore. The first end has an annular groove. The waterproof air-permeable membrane is disposed between the first end of the second hollow cylinder and the bottom of the first hollow cylinder. A specific distance, smaller than an axial feeding amount of the first thread when being threaded by one turn, is formed between the top of the annular flange and the top of the annular groove. |
| US08273983B2 |
Photonic device and method of making same using nanowires
A photonic device, a method of making the device and a nano-scale antireflector employ a bramble of nanowires. The photonic device and the method include a first layer of a microcrystalline material provided on a substrate surface and a second layer of a microcrystalline material provided on the substrate surface horizontally spaced from the first layer by a gap. The photonic device and the method further include, and the nano-scale antireflector includes, the bramble of nanowires formed between the first layer and the second layer. The nanowires have first ends integral to crystallites in each of the first layer and the second layer. The nanowires of the bramble extend into the gap from each of the first layer and the second layer. |
| US08273982B2 |
Photoelectric converting device
A photoelectric converting device comprises: a first electrode layer having conductivity; a metal filled dielectric layer formed on said first electrode layer and comprising a dielectric base material in which a plurality of micropores are formed, and a plurality of conductive fine metal bodies made of a metal material which fills said plurality of micropores formed in said dielectric base material; a photoelectric converting layer that is formed on said metal filled dielectric layer and is made of a photoelectric converting material; and a second electrode layer having conductivity that is formed on said photoelectric converting layer; each of said fine metal bodies including a protruding unit that protrudes from said dielectric base material to within said photoelectric converting layer, and being electrically connected to said first electrode layer; said photoelectric converting layer covering said protruding unit of each of said fine metal bodies. |
| US08273980B2 |
Photovoltaic roof ridge cap and installation method
A photovoltaic roofing system and a method of installing the photovoltaic ridge cap structure have been provided. The photovoltaic roofing system includes a ridge cap adapted to cover a ridge of a roof structure. The system also includes at least one photovoltaic cell disposed within the ridge cap. The method of installing a photovoltaic ridge cap structure includes mounting the ridge cap over multiple photovoltaic cells along a ridge of a roof structure. The method further includes routing electrical leads from each photovoltaic cell through one or more openings along the ridge of the roof structure. |
| US08273977B2 |
Audio system, signal producing apparatus and sound producing apparatus
An audio player is connected to an automatic playing musical instrument, and command files and audio data files are prepared in the file format defined in the Red Book in the audio player, although the time data are stored in the time data fields of the longitudinal time codes, the user's data fields are available for commands to the automatic player and identification of a music data file; when a user instructs the audio player to control the automatic player for a solo performance, a quasi audio signal is produced from the command data for the solo performance; when a user instructs to a performance in collaboration with the automatic player, the audio signal, which expresses the pieces of audio data and a music data file, is supplied to the automatic player so as to reproduce the music tune through the acoustic tones and electric tones. |
| US08273975B2 |
Flute
A flute has a pipe. The pipe has a linear body tube and a linear mouthpiece tube. The body tube has multiple keys for changing the pitch of the flute. The mouthpiece tube is connected to the body tube and has a mouthpiece plate. A curved tube is mounted on one end of the mouthpiece tube facing the body tube. The curved tube, mouthpiece tube and body tube are aligned with one another. |
| US08273974B1 |
Folding mechanism for bolt-on neck stringed instruments
This invention applies to a bolt-on neck guitar or similar instrument or device. The mechanism of this invention, a multiple section hinge with one end flap attached to the neck and the other end flap attached to the body while the center section stays sandwiched between the neck and the body in normal use, allows the removal of the neck screws with the strings under tension by the hinge absorbing the horizontal stress produced by the tension of the strings. The neck is then rotated 180 degrees to rest on top of the body where it can be secured with a clamp or a strap for transportation or stowage. The neck holding screws can be replaced with a large single one, reducing the time required to loosen the neck, while still maintaining the possibility of using the normal four screws in addition to or in lieu of the single one if so desired, since the tone of the guitar is improved when the pressure of the neck-body junction is increased and distributed over a larger area. By folding the neck on top of the guitar, the bulk and the chances of damaging the instrument are greatly reduced, since the neck can be secured at both ends and the instrument can fit in boxes or pieces of luggage in which an ordinary guitar would not fit, in particular a carry-on size piece of luggage, which allows the traveler guitarist to have full control of the whereabouts of the instrument at all times. |