最新美国发明专利
Document Document Title
US08320883B2 Method to dynamically authenticate and control mobile devices
The present invention provides a secure, dynamic and customizable system and method for authenticating a mobile device in a wireless network, in accordance with the security policies associated with the wireless network. The system and method involve a trusted authentication and device management application stored on the SIM card of the mobile device in a memory space that is protected and only accessible by the network operator. Moreover, authentication is based, at least in part, on information that relates to the environment of the mobile device, the information being available to the authentication application through the operating system of the mobile device.
US08320882B2 Method and apparatus for managing obfuscated mobile device user identities
A mobile device identifier (such as an MSISDN) that typically accompanies a mobile device request is replaced with an “enriched” identifier that exposes the mobile device user's home operator but obfuscates the mobile device's (and, thus, the device user's) identity. In one embodiment, the identifier comprises a first part, and a second part. The first part comprises a data string that identifies (either directly or through a database lookup) the mobile device user's home operator. The second part, however, is an opaque data string, such as a one-time-use unique identifier (UID) or a value that is otherwise derived as a function of the MSISDN (or the like). The opaque data string encodes the mobile device's identity in a manner that preferably can be recovered only by the user's home operator. The present invention describes a method and apparatus for use in a home network to manage the generation, storage and use of the unique identifiers.
US08320881B2 Proximity based security protocol for processor-based systems
A security protocol may be implemented on a processor-based system by providing a wireless signal to a handheld device normally carried by the user. If a response is not received, it may be determined that the user is not sufficiently proximate to the device being accessed and that, therefore, the person accessing the device is not authorized. An appropriate security protocol may be implemented as a result.
US08320878B2 Charging system for a communication system
A communication system comprises network elements (103, 105, 107, 109) and user equipments (101), at least some of which comprise a charging proxy (205). The system further comprises a charging server (111) which includes a topic controller (305) for initializing charging topics where each charging topic is associable with charging data. The charging server (111) furthermore comprises functionality for registering proxies as subscribing proxies or publishing proxies (or both) for the different charging topics. A receiver (301, 311) receives charging data messages from charging proxies and validates a first set of charging data belonging to a first charging topic in response to a first set of charging proxies registered as publishing proxies for the first charging topic. A charging data transmitter (313) transmits the first set of charging data to a second set of charging proxies registered as subscribing proxies for the first charging topic.
US08320877B2 Method and system for 60 GHz location determination and coordination of WLAN/WPAN/GPS multimode devices
Within a local region, information may be communicated between two or more wireless multimode communication devices (WMCD) comprising 60 GHz band and lower frequency band wireless interfaces. Spatial relationships between devices may vary. The 60 GHz interface may handle location determination operations and data transfers. The lower frequency band may support WPAN, WLAN and may handle coordination of communications and data transfers. The WMCDs may be coupled with a network. Antennas may be directional. Moreover, the spatial orientation of the antennas may be dynamically modified or swept across a specified angle. Furthermore, intelligent and/or adaptive antenna systems may be utilized. The WMCDs may utilize a position and/or time reference system to aid in location determination operations.
US08320873B2 System and method for the definition and scope of commercial mobile alerts
An emergency alert gateway configured for receiving an emergency alert message wherein the alert message includes a text message and one of an audio message, a video message, an audio-video message and a multi-media message; storing an audio, video or multimedia portion of the alert message to form a first stored portion and for determining a subscriber base to receive the alert message. There is a database in communication with the alert gateway and an emergency alert server configured to broadcast the alert message to the subscriber base, and if the first stored portion of the alert message is not available, then broadcasting only the text message as the alert message.
US08320871B2 Emergency data message router database
A system and method for providing information associated with public safety answering points may include storing a set of records including information associated with a plurality of PSAPs, each record may include (i) an identifier indicative of a PSAP available to service emergency communications, (ii) at least one cell code identifier indicative of cell sites in which the associated PSAP services, and (iii) at least one network address capable of receiving certain emergency data message types. In response to receiving a request, a PSAP local to a wireless communications device of a user who sent an emergency data message may be identified, and a network address associated with the identified local PSAP may be provided.
US08320865B2 WCDMA AGC receiver SNR adjustment and signalling
The present invention relates to a method, an Automatic Gain Control control unit and a receiver for Noise change output signalling. It also relates to an Adjustment Unit, a receiver and a base band detector for adjustment of an Automatic Gain Control output signal on the basis of the Noise change output signalling. In a first step a receiver receives a communication input signal. In a second step at least one Automatic Gain Control attenuator or amplifier in the receiver attenuates the communication input signal. In a third step the receiver produces at least one AGC output signal. In a fourth step at least one AGC control unit in the receiver initiates a changed gain setting on the receiver, when the level of an AGC control unit input signal received by the unit has been below a first threshold level or above a second threshold level during a detection interval.
US08320863B2 Rotating harmonic rejection mixer
In one embodiment, the present invention includes a mixer circuit to receive and generate a mixed signal from a radio frequency (RF) signal and a master clock signal, a switch stage coupled to an output of the mixer circuit to rotatingly switch the mixed signal to multiple gain stages coupled to the switch stage, and a combiner to combine an output of the gain stages.
US08320860B1 Clean spot detection for FM transmission
Methods and apparatuses for quiet spot detection for radio frequency transmission thereon. According to various embodiments, a device may include a local receiver configured to evaluate one or more frequencies of a frequency band to determine a quiet spot frequency, the device further including a local transmitter configured to transmit signals at the quiet spot frequency.
US08320859B2 Method of controlling a plurality of internal antennas in a mobile communication device
In one embodiment, a mobile communication device comprises a plurality of antennas, the antennas operable in at least one frequency band, is operable to automatically optimize the best antenna or antenna combination in reaction to the mobile communication device's immediate environment. The antennas are disposed substantially coplanar and have varying degrees of polarity. The mobile communication device further comprises logic structure for determining which of the antennas are optimal for operation of the mobile communication device and logic structure for selecting the optimal antenna for operation of the mobile communication device.
US08320858B2 Apparatus for receiving multiple independent RF signals simultaneously and method thereof
An apparatus and method for receiving and processing multiple independent, uncorrelated RF signals is presented. The apparatus includes a Hybrid-Direct Conversion Receiver incorporating front end branches, protocol-specific digital processing branches, an interference detector, a correlator, and an offset control for controlling oscillator sources. The front end branches each contain a preselector that filters received signals and a mixer that down converts the received signal to an IF offset from a reference frequency by a unique offset. The bandwidth of an IF processor is partitioned into sub-channels corresponding to the different offsets and is wider than the combination of the sub-channels. The interference detector and correlator determine whether a particular desired signal is degraded by interference signals and select a new sub-channel. This information is provided to the offset control, which adjusts a LO source coupled to the corresponding down mixer accordingly.
US08320854B2 Semiconductor device for signal amplification
A semiconductor device for transmitting-signal amplification which has a fine resolution, a high dynamic range, a small occupied area, and low power consumption, is realized. An input signal amplitude is reduced every one half by a ladder network, and a transconductance amplifier stage is arranged corresponding to each node of the ladder network. An output of the transconductance amplifier stage is coupled to an output signal line in common. According to a control word WC<21:0>, the transconductance amplifier stage is enabled selectively, and the output current which appears in the output signal line is added.
US08320852B2 Method and apparatus to transmit signals in a communication system
A method is provided to transmit a signal by a transmitter in a communication system. The method includes predicting a receiver noise signal received from a receiver, and increasing an intelligibility of a transmitter signal using the receiver noise signal. The transmitter signal includes a transmitter noise signal and a transmitter speech signal. The transmitter cancels the transmitter noise signal from the transmitter signal and intensifies the transmitter speech signal in consideration of the receiver noise signal.
US08320848B2 Method and system for diversity processing including using dedicated pilot method for open loop
Methods and systems for diversity processing including using dedicated pilot method for open loop may include combining a plurality of received WCDMA/HSDPA multipath signals for each diversity transmit antenna to at least one processed diversity signal. The received WCDMA/HSDPA multipath signals may originate from diversity transmit antennas at a base station that may be transmitting information via a closed loop or open loop diversity transmission mode. Open loop symbols may be estimated using information from at least one common pilot channel. At least a portion of the at least one processed diversity signal may be despread from the at least one common pilot channel.
US08320845B2 Radio transmitter
A radio transmitter includes a transmitter circuit which produces a signal at a first frequency, and has digital divider circuitry, for dividing the first frequency to produce a signal at a second frequency. The noise performance of the digital divider is adjusted, depending upon the transmitter output power. Specifically, the digital divider is operated with a relatively good noise performance when the gain of the power amplifier is high, and is operated with a worse noise performance at low output powers. This can ensure that a specified noise requirement is met, without excessively increasing the power consumption or the size of the device.
US08320842B2 Apparatus method and computer program for radio-frequency path selection and tuning
An apparatus includes a tunable diplexer; first, second and third radio nodes; and path selection circuitry. The tunable diplexer includes a dedicated port, at least a first signal port and a second signal port, and control inputs configured to change at least one of frequency characteristics and phase characteristics of the tunable diplexer. The path selection circuitry is configurable to select between a first signal pathway between the third radio node and the first signal port and a second signal pathway between the third radio node and the second signal port. The tunable diplexer may have control signals inputs to select between the first and second signal pathways based on an expected interference scenario between radio signals at the first and second signal ports, and the control signals may change frequency characteristics and/or phase characteristics of at least one of the signal ports based on an operational condition of the apparatus.
US08320841B2 Active power meter
An integrated circuit radio transceiver and method therefore include circuitry for generating and power amplifying an outgoing RF signal to produce a power amplified outgoing signal, conducting the power amplified outgoing signal down a transmission path that is disposed substantially parallel to a directional coupler formed on a metallization layer of the integrated circuit, producing a sensed signal level sensed in the directional coupler to a power detector and determining the forward output power based upon the sensed signal level.
US08320840B2 Method and system for diversity using orthogonal frequency/division multiplexing
A method and system for achieving a link budget improvement in a diverse OFDM radio system by addressing the timing misalignment issue that can occur due to the differences in propagation time in signals between mobile stations and Radio Access Nodes. Timing misalignment is shared or split between the primary path to a primary Radio Access Node and a diverse path to a diverse Radio Access Node. The relative timing offsets between mobile stations are adjusted, the mobile stations are grouped into zones using a variety of different grouping techniques, and the transmission for each mobile station is scheduled, using one or more of a variety of scheduling techniques.
US08320836B2 Radio communications system and radio communications method
A radio communications system including a network connecting radio station and a counterparty radio station is disclosed, the network connecting radio station being a radio station connected to a network and the counterparty radio station being in radio communications with the network connecting radio station. In the system, the network connecting radio station includes an information obtaining unit; an information reporting unit; and a radio resource parameter determining unit. The counterparty radio station includes a waveform information extracting unit which calculates a measured value, for each of one or more waveform feature amounts reported from the network connecting radio station; and a received status reporting unit which reports, to the network connecting radio station, the measured value of the waveform feature amount calculated at the waveform information extracting unit.
US08320835B2 Method and device for determining channel feedback information in LTE system
A method and a device for determining channel feedback information in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system are provided. The method includes: obtaining an (N−1)th layer interference-plus-noise matrix in an LTE system, and obtaining an Nth layer interference-plus-noise matrix according to the (N−1)th layer interference-plus-noise matrix; and then, calculating a Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) corresponding to the Nth layer interference-plus-noise matrix according to the Nth layer interference-plus-noise matrix, and determining channel feedback information according to the SINR. It can be seen that, in the embodiments of the present invention, in a processing manner, a current layer interference-plus-noise matrix is calculated according to an obtained previous layer interference-plus-noise matrix through calculation in a calculation process of the channel feedback information, thus effectively reducing the calculation amount in the calculation process of the channel feedback information.
US08320832B2 Wireless audio output device, wireless audio output system including the same and control method thereof
A wireless audio output device, a wireless audio output system including the same and a control method thereof are disclosed. When a user approaches the output device, while listening to music on a portable device, the output device automatically connects the wireless audio output system to the portable device, to reproduce the music of the portable device. The control method includes detecting the user, detecting the portable device if the user is sensed, and outputting an audio file being reproduced by the portable device using the wireless audio output system, if the portable device is detected.
US08320822B2 Method and system for single chip satellite set-top box system
A system for processing signals includes a single integrated circuit chip that includes one or more circuits, the one or more circuits including a first receiver demodulator and a second receiver demodulator. The one or more circuits are operable to: control access to information received by one or both of the first demodulator and/or the second receiver demodulator utilizing at least one secure key stored in on-chip memory within the single integrated circuit chip; and generate an audio stream and a video stream based on one or both of the information received by the first receiver demodulator and/or the information received by the second receiver demodulator. The one or more circuits include one or more video decoders, one or more video and graphics display engines coupled to the one or more video decoders; and one or more video encoders coupled to the one or more video and graphics display engines.
US08320821B2 Receiving apparatus
A receiving apparatus discriminates RDS data containing traffic information corresponding to the vehicle's own position from RDS data of broadcasting stations searched for by frequency sweeping by a sub tuner front end 7; stores step by step into a pool memory 16 frequencies of alternative stations identified by each PI code of the RDS data and the number of the alternative stations; determines the PI code with the greatest number of the alternative stations by comparing the numbers of the alternative stations for individual PI codes stored in the pool memory 16 in a frequency sweeping range; and receives the traffic information from the station with the highest received electric field strength among all the alternative stations identified by the PI code determined.
US08320819B2 Mobile TV channel and service access filtering
Provided are apparatuses and methods for transmitting and receiving ESG fragments containing identification information. In one example, the identification identifies a mobile operator. For example, the identification information may include a Mobile Network Code (MNC), Mobile Country Code (MCC), or name corresponding to the mobile operator. In another example, the identification information may also contain a web address corresponding to a web page associated with the mobile operator. For example, the identification information received in the ESG fragment may be compared to stored identification information at a receiver. Based on the identification information in the ESG fragment and stored identification information, a corresponding web page may be provided. Also, a program or service corresponding to the ESG fragment may be filtered based on the identification information in the ESG fragment and stored identification information.
US08320817B2 Charge removal from a sheet
A method of removing charge from a charged sheet prior to stacking the charged sheet is disclosed. The method includes moving the charged sheet through a set of nipped rollers while a first roller has an AC voltage applied thereto so that a first side of the charged sheet is in contact with the first roller and has its charge substantially dissipated, whereby charge substantially remains on a second side of the charged sheet in contact with a second roller. The method further includes using at least one non-contact charge removal device to remove charge from the second side of the charged sheet, and stacking the discharged sheet.
US08320815B2 Image forming device configured to control a carrying speed of a recording medium
An image forming device includes a plurality of medium feed units configured to feed a recording medium on respective carrying routes, an image forming unit configured to form an image on the recording medium fed from one of the plurality of medium feed units, a first roller provided on a common route of the carrying routes, the first roller being configured to rotate at a first circumferential velocity and carry, to the image forming unit, the recording medium fed from one of the plurality of medium feed units, and a control unit configured to control the first circumferential velocity of the first roller depending on from which of the plurality of medium feed units the recording medium is fed.
US08320810B2 Belt fuser having a protuberance for an imaging device
A fuser has a protuberance extruding lengthwise from the surface of a heater opposite the interior surface of an endless belt and is positioned in transverse relationship to the interior surface of the endless belt. A pressure roller defines a nip with the endless belt wherein the nip has an entrance side and an exit side and wherein the position of the protuberance adjacent to the nip creates pressure upon the endless belt. The print media sheet is driven through the nip in reaction to the pressure applied by the pressure roller to the belt. The position of the protuberance and the pressure created upon the endless belt directs the lubricant from the endless belt surface to the nip.
US08320809B2 Cleaning apparatus using web sheet
A cleaning apparatus using a web sheet includes: a send-out roller that is wound with the web sheet; a take-up roller that is connected to an end of the web sheet; and a rotation-regulating and canceling portion that regulates rotation of the send-out roller and cancels the regulation according to tension of the web sheet between the send-out roller and the take-up roller; wherein the web sheet is sent out from the send-out roller and taken up by the take-up roller, the web sheet is brought into contact with another roller during the sending out and taking up operation, and extraneous matters that have adhered to the other roller are removed.
US08320806B2 Image forming apparatus with cleaning member
An elastic layer and a top layer of an intermediate transfer belt are configured such that an elastic modulus in a sub-scanning direction is larger than an elastic modulus in a main-scanning direction. Accordingly, when a toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt, a pressure applied to and affect on a toner is reduced as well as deformation at a sliding-contact portion between the intermediate transfer belt and a cleaning blade can be suppressed.
US08320805B2 Image forming apparatus having transfer member supported by rotatable supporting member
An image forming apparatus includes a movable belt; a transfer member opposed to the image bearing member with the belt therebetween; wherein the transfer member has a contact surface substantially parallel with a surface of the belt and contacted to the belt, and wherein when the belt is moving, the belt rubs the contact surface, and a toner image is transferred from such a part of image bearing member as is opposed to the contact surface; and a supporting member for supporting the transfer member, the supporting member being swingable.
US08320800B2 Image forming device, developing device and toner cartridge
An image forming device has: a developing cartridge for developing an electrostatic latent image on an image carrying member and a toner cartridge. The developing cartridge contains a developing roller and a single auger. The toner cartridge is detachably attached to the developing cartridge and containing toner. The toner cartridge has an agitation mechanism that agitates the toner, a conveyance mechanism that conveys the toner to the agitation mechanism, and two ports, the two ports being aligned in the axial direction and communicated with the developing cartridge, respectively. The toner cartridge and the developing cartridge are arrayed side by side in a horizontal direction. The toner cartridge has a shape having a vertical cross section in which a horizontal length is greater than a vertical length.
US08320799B2 Recycling image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus includes a first image formation unit that forms a black toner image, and a detachable second image formation unit that forms a color toner image. A first toner supply unit is provided to supply the black toner to the first image formation unit. A second toner supply unit is provided to supply one of a black and component color toner to the first and second image formation units in accordance with a color mode. A first conveyance path is provided to convey the black toner to the first image formation unit. A second conveyance path is also provided to convey the component color toner stored in the second toner container section to the second image formation unit. The second toner supply unit is selectively connected to one of the first and second conveyance paths in accordance with the color mode.
US08320798B2 Sheet conveying device and image forming apparatus
A conveying device conveys a sheet of non-blank recording medium recorded with an image formed in an image forming unit, and includes a container that is detachable and contains a sheet of blank recording medium, a feeding unit that feeds the blank recording medium from the container, and a recirculating path that leads the non-blank recording medium to the feeding unit. The recirculating path is disposed lateral to the image forming unit. A part of the recirculating path is integrated into the container and forms a reversing path that leads to the feeding unit. At least one of surfaces of the reversing path can be exposed.
US08320794B2 Electrophotographic image forming apparatus
An electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a transfer member, includes a main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which is provided with a transfer member for transferring a developer image onto the transfer member; a supporting member movable between an inside position which is for supporting an electrophotographic photosensitive member on which the developer image is to be formed and which is inside the main assembly, and an outside position which is outside the main assembly; and a contacting and spacing member movable between a first position for spacing the electrophotographic photosensitive member from the transfer member in the state that the supporting member is in the inside position, and a second position for contacting the electrophotographic photosensitive member to the transfer member, the contacting and spacing member being provided in the supporting member.
US08320793B2 Development device and printer having the same
A development device has a casing configured with a first frame and a second frame. The first frame includes attachment surfaces to which a regulating member is attached. A facing surface of the second frame is disposed between the attachment surfaces, in a predetermined plane including the attachment surfaces, and configured to face a portion of the regulating member between the attachment surfaces. A seal member is disposed between the regulating member and opposite surfaces including the attachment surfaces and the facing surface, and configured to seal first gaps each of which is formed between the facing surface and one of the attachment surfaces, in a first direction parallel to a rotational axis of a developing member rotatably supported by the casing.
US08320792B2 Cleaning device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus
A cleaning device includes a casing including an opening facing the rotary member, a cleaning member disposed at the opening to contact the rotary member to remove a substance adhering thereto, an entrance seal disposed at the opening to prevent leakage of the removed substance through a gap between the opening and the rotary member, a pair of lateral end seals respectively disposed both end portions of the cleaning member as well as the entrance seal in an axial direction of the rotary member, and a compressing member. A first face of each lateral end seal is attached to the casing. The compressing member compresses each lateral end seal by pressing a second face thereof opposite the first face-and presses a third face of the lateral end seal against the casing in a direction in which the lateral end seal is expanded by the compression.
US08320791B2 Intermediate transfer belt, a conveyance belt member, and an image forming apparatus comprising the same
An image forming apparatus includes a first drive member located downstream of an image bearing member and upstream of a transfer portion and a second drive member located downstream of the transfer portion with respect to a direction of conveying a recording material on a conveyance belt member and configured to apply a driving force to the conveyance belt member.
US08320789B2 Cooling apparatus and image formation apparatus
In an image formation state, to cool a recording sheet on a route from a fixer to a paper ejection roller, a blast fan assumes a first position restrained by a first fixture. Also, in another state, to cool a recording sheet on the catch tray, the blast fan assumes a second position restrained by a second fixture. To transition from the image formation state to another state, the blast fan sends a strong blast in a reverse direction from the normal blast direction. A bias is generated on the blast fan due to the resulting reactive force, the blast fan becomes free from the restraint of the first fixture, and shifts from the first position to the second position. Conversely, to transition from another state to the image formation state, a strong blast is sent in the same direction as the normal blast direction, and the blast fan shifts from the second position to the first position.
US08320788B2 Image forming apparatus, return processing method, and program
An image forming apparatus, which has a plurality of operation modes with different power supply conditions, includes an electric-energy accumulating unit for calculating electric energy consumption in a current operation mode; a return-time calculating unit for calculating a return time taken for the image forming apparatus to return from an energy reduction mode, which is the operation mode in which part of the image forming apparatus is supplied with electric power, to a normal mode, which is the operation mode in which the whole image forming apparatus is supplied with electric power, on the basis of the calculated electric energy consumption and an upper limit of electric energy, which is predetermined as maximum electric energy consumption in a certain period of time; and a mode control unit for making the image forming apparatus return from the energy reduction mode to the normal mode on the basis of the calculated return time.
US08320781B2 Image processing apparatus and image processing apparatus control method
An image processing apparatus is provided in which the accuracy of measurement of an amount of toner adhesion is improved by forming a toner image pattern according to a detection scheme for the amount of toner adhesion. In the image processing apparatus, a toner image pattern control unit 215 determines a detection scheme for the amount of toner adhesion of a toner image based on attribute information of the toner image, decides a toner image pattern according to the results of that determination, and forms that decided toner image pattern. A toner adhesion amount calculation unit 605 measures the amount of toner adhesion for the toner image pattern formed by the toner image pattern control unit 215.
US08320777B2 Temperature controlled interferometer for phase demodulation
An interferometer includes an optical beam splitter that splits an input optical signal into a first optical signal propagating in a first optical path comprising free space and a second optical signal propagating in a second optical path comprising a dielectric medium. A differential delay delays the second optical signal relative to the first optical signal by a differential delay time that is proportional to at least one of a temperature and a refractive index of the dielectric medium. A temperature controller in thermal contact with the dielectric medium changes the temperature of the dielectric medium to control at least one of thermal expansion/contraction and a temperature dependent change in the refractive index of the dielectric medium, thereby changing the differential phase delay. An optical beam splitter/combiner optically coupled to the first and second optical paths generates a first and second interferometric optical signal having an amplitude and phase that is related to the differential delay.
US08320772B2 Optical transmission apparatus
An optical transmission apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a plurality of optical modulating sections serially connected to each other via optical fibers; driving sections corresponding to the optical modulating sections; delay amount varying sections that provide variable delay amounts for modulating signals to be input to the driving sections, to adjust timing between drive signals to be provided for the optical modulating sections; temperature monitoring sections that monitor the temperature of each of the optical fibers and the like; and a delay amount control section that controls the delay amount in each of the delay amount varying sections based on the monitored temperatures.
US08320771B2 Optical transmission system and repeater
A repeater includes a variable optical attenuating unit that collectively attenuates WDM optical signal input, an optical-attenuation adjusting unit that adjusts attenuation in the variable optical attenuating unit, and an optical amplifying unit that collectively amplifies and outputs the WDM optical signal collectively attenuated, to a downstream side. An optical-attenuation adjusting unit includes an input level detector; an output level detector; an output-level transmitting unit that receives information of a signal level of WDM optical signal output by a repeater at an upstream side and transmits information of a signal level of the WDM optical signal detected by the output level detector to a repeater at a downstream side; and an attenuation amount controller that controls the variable optical attenuating unit by calculating an attenuation amount thereof based on information of a signal level detected by the input level detector and a signal level received by the output-level transmitting unit.
US08320768B2 Communication link apparatus and method for maintaining visibility in visible light communication
A system and method for continuing a communication link while maintaining visibility in visible light communication. A frame is transmitted by a sender for establishing a communication link before data transmission to a receiver by a sender. A receiver sends a response frame that reports on establishment of the communication link prior to data transmission by the sender. A data frame containing information is transmitted by the sender to the receiver. An acknowledgment frame is transmitted to the sender in response to the data frame. A disconnect frame is transmitted by the sender which is acknowledged by the receiver. A visible sequence is transmitted during a time period when the sender and the receiver do not transmit respective frames for communication to maintain visibility between two devices that may be communicating otherwise by, for example, infrared communication.
US08320767B2 Free-space photonic connection using wavelength division multiplexing and optical antenna
An interconnect system has an optical transmitter mounted on a first circuit board and an optical receiver mounted on a second circuit board. The optical receiver can be nominally aligned to receive an optical signal through free space from the optical transmitter. Further, the optical receiver includes one or more light detectors, and an optical antenna coupled to direct incident light into the one or more light detectors.
US08320766B2 Inline optoelectronic converter and associated methods
An inline optoelectronic converter configured to convert electrical signals to optical signals and to convert optical signals to electrical signals. The converter is external to the avionic computer and connected to the avionic computer at a location spaced apart from the avionic computer. The converter is configured to be integrated into an existing wiring bundle of the avionic computer. Also disclosed is a method of retrofitting an avionic computer by connecting an optoelectronic converter to the computer. The method comprises connecting the converter to an existing wiring bundle of the avionic computer at a location spaced apart from the avionic computer.
US08320763B2 Planar lightwave circuit (PLC) device wavelength tunable light source comprising the same device and wavelength division multiplexing-passive optical network (WDM-PON) using the same light source
In the manufacture and application of a PLC-ECL type wavelength tunable light source, provided is a wavelength tunable mechanism with improved performance and stability, a light source with improved packaging performance and mass productivity, and a light source applied to a WDM-PON with initialization and stabilization functions. The wavelength tunable light source having a PLC (planar lightwave circuit)-ECL (external cavity laser) structure includes a first housing in which a semiconductor optical gain medium is mounted, a second housing in which a PLC device is mounted, and a third housing in which an optical fiber is mounted. The first, second, and third housings make an optical axis alignment through an optical coupling lens and combined in a laser welding method.
US08320761B2 Broadband and wavelength-selective bidirectional 3-way optical splitter
Embodiments of a bidirectional 3-way optical splitter are described. This bidirectional 3-way optical splitter includes an optical splitter having: a first external node, a second external node, a third external node, and a fourth external node. In one mode of operation, the optical splitter may be configured to receive an external input optical signal on the first external node and to provide external output optical signals on the other external nodes. Moreover, in another mode of operation, the optical splitter may be configured to receive the external input optical signal on the third external node and to provide the external output optical signals on the other external nodes.
US08320757B2 Method and device for starting up an optical transmission link
Schemes are provided for starting up optical transmission links where, after a link interruption, endpoints switch into a startup mode original detection state, and a query-transmit pulse goes out at both end points at given time intervals. In a “TRANSMITTED” handshake mode, in a loop to be passed through n times, and at least once, after the transmission of a transmit pulse, it is detected whether a received pulse is received within a given time span. If no received pulse is received, then the mode is ended and the system is returned to the original detection state. If a received pulse is received, it is answered with another transmit pulse. After the last transmit pulse, if another received pulse occurs within a given time span, the link is activated. If not, the “TRANSMITTED” handshake mode ends and the system enters the original detection state.
US08320753B2 Handshake correction apparatus
A handshake correction apparatus for correcting shake of a camera includes Hall sensors that detect current position of a correction lens. The Hall sensors include a pair disposed along a virtual extension line crossing a correction lens. The apparatus also includes an actuator that drives the correction lens in response to a control signal calculated according to the current position and a target position of the correction lens.
US08320749B1 Method and system for DVD smooth search transitions
Methods, systems and computer-readable medium for changing video playback speed are disclosed. Video playback speed may be changed by determining a first frame rate and a second frame rate for which a frame rate transition is to be made. An instantaneous frame rate is calculated to produce a calculated instantaneous frame rate, wherein the calculated instantaneous frame rate is between the first frame rate and the second frame rate. A timestamp of a frame is adjusted based on the calculated instantaneous frame rate to produce an adjusted timestamp. Graphical data for the frame is provided in accordance with the adjusted timestamp to enable display of the frame. Thereafter, the frame may be displayed in accordance with the adjusted timestamp.
US08320741B1 Media capture system, method, and computer program product for assessing processing capabilities
A media capture system, method, and computer program product are provided for assessing processing capabilities. In use, media data is captured from a system. Additionally, the media data is stored in memory separate from the system. Further, the media data is fed back to the system for assessing media processing capabilities of the system in real-time or non-real-time.
US08320739B2 Recording and playback apparatus
A recording and playback apparatus includes a recording unit configured to download a content stored in a server and to record the content in a recording medium, an instruction receiver configured to receive a stop instruction for stopping download of the content done by the recording unit, and a controller configured to control the recording unit. The controller controls the recording unit so as to stop the download of the content when the instruction receiver receives the stop instruction for stopping download of the content, and to restart the download of the content when a predetermined time elapses in which the recording unit is in a stop state of the download.
US08320730B2 Input/output device and input/output management system
The present invention relates to an I/O device capable of collectively managing and easily editing AV data recorded by a plurality of video cameras with transfer bit rate between devices kept constant, and an I/O management system. The I/O management system according to the present invention comprises: a storage device having a non-linear accessible recording medium; a control unit for controlling output of externally supplied data with respect to the storage device, or input of data from the storage device; and one or more I/O device having a record information management unit for managing, through a file system, record information acquired at the time when data is recorded onto the recording medium, and controls input of data from the storage device on the basis of the record information managed by a file system at the time of reproduction.
US08320728B2 Film thin waveguides, methods of fabrication thereof, and detection systems
Briefly described, embodiments of this disclosure, among others, include solid state, thin film waveguides, detection systems including waveguides, and methods of detecting target compounds.
US08320727B1 Composite structures with ordered three-dimensional (3D) continuous interpenetrating phases
A three-dimensional (3D) composite structure and a method of making the same. In one embodiment, the 3D composite structure includes a 3D ordered microstructure and a second continuous material. The 3D ordered microstructure includes first truss elements defined by first self-propagating polymer waveguides and extending along a first direction, second truss elements defined by second self-propagating polymer waveguides and extending along a second direction, and third truss elements defined by third self-propagating polymer waveguides and extending along a third direction. The first, second, and third truss elements interpenetrate each other at nodes to form a first continuous material with the three-dimensional ordered microstructure. In addition, the second continuous material has different physical properties than the first continuous material and shares an interface with the three-dimensional ordered microstructure, and wherein the interface is everywhere continuous.
US08320726B2 Methods of making single mode optical fibers with reduced bend sensitivity and catastrophic bend loss
Described are multi-tube fabrication techniques for making an optical fiber that is relatively insensitive to bend loss and alleviates the problem of catastrophic bend loss comprises a core region and a cladding region configured to support and guide the propagation of light in a fundamental transverse mode. The cladding region includes (i) an outer cladding region, (ii) an annular pedestal (or ring) region, (iii) an annular inner trench region, and (iv) an annular outer trench region. The pedestal region and the outer cladding region each have a refractive index relatively close to that of the outer cladding region. In order to suppress HOMs the pedestal region is configured to resonantly couple at least one (unwanted) transverse mode of the core region (other than the fundamental mode) to at least one transverse mode of the pedestal region.
US08320723B2 Optical imaging probe connector
This document discusses, among other things, a connector for an optical imaging probe that includes one or more optical fibers communicating light along the catheter. The device may use multiple sections for simpler manufacturing and ease of assembly during a medical procedure. Light energy to and from a distal minimally-invasive portion of the probe is coupled by the connector to external diagnostic or analytical instrumentation through an external instrumentation lead. Certain examples provide a self-aligning two-section optical catheter with beveled ends, which is formed by separating an optical cable assembly. Techniques for improving light coupling include using a lens between instrumentation lead and probe portions. Techniques for improving the mechanical alignment of a multi-optical fiber catheter include using a stop or a guide.
US08320719B2 Method for manufacturing a fiber optic current sensor with inherent temperature compensation of the faraday effect
A method is provided for tuning the fiber optic retarder of a fiber optic current sensor towards a desired temperature dependence, the sensing fiber is exposed to a magnetic field or corresponding electric current and the sensor signal as well as the signal's dependence on the retarder temperature are measured. From this initial sensor signal and its temperature dependence, a target sensor signal can be determined, at which the dependence on the retarder temperature equals a desired value. Then, the retarder is thermally treated until the sensor signal reaches the target value. The method obviates the need for repetitively measuring the temperature dependence during the tuning process.
US08320715B2 Device and method for interpolating image, and image scanner
An image interpolation device comprises a data storage unit (2) for storing the data in the neighborhood of a missing pixel, a filter interpolation unit (3) for performing a multiply-add computation on the data output from the data storage unit, a limiter processing unit (4) for limiting the data output from the filter interpolation unit to within the range of the data output from the data storage unit, and an interpolation data insertion unit (5) for interpolating the data output from the limiter processing unit into a position corresponding to the missing pixel in the data output from the data storage unit. The image interpolation device is capable of increasing the interpolation accuracy of missing pixels, especially in the interpolation of scanned document data including periodic data.
US08320713B2 Image processing enabling decoding of encoded information embedded in source document
An image processing apparatus that receives an image from a scanner capable of optical scaling is provided by the present invention. It has an image scaling unit for performing digital scaling of a received image, and an information detecting unit for detecting encoded information from the received image. Unless the scaling factor is that suitable for optical scaling, the received image undergoes the digital scaling instead of the optical scaling. Before the received image undergoes the digital scaling, the information detecting unit detects the encoded information from the received image. The scaling using the image reading device capable of optical scaling enables more accurate analysis of the encoded information embedded in a source document.
US08320712B2 Satellite image fusion method and system
Satellite image fusion method and system are provided. The satellite image fusion method includes matching sizes of a panchromatic image and a multispectral image captured from a satellite image; dividing the panchromatic image and the multispectral image into a plurality of blocks; calculating coefficients to acquire Intensity (I) component image data using pixel values of each block of the multispectral image; and generating fused multispectral image data by applying the acquired I component image data to a fusion algorithm. In the multispectral image fusion, the distortion of the color information can be minimized and the multispectral image data of the high resolution can be attained. In addition, the present invention is applicable to not only the IKONOS images but also other satellite images, and the present image fusion can be carried out fast.
US08320707B2 System and method for use of images with recognition analysis
An index is provided that holds information about each image content item in a collection of items, For each image content item, a first information item identifying the image content item and its location on a network, and at least one of (i) a second information item identifying a signature value of an object in the image content, or (ii) identification of a recognized object in the image content.
US08320706B2 Method for geotagging of pictures and apparatus thereof
Provided are a method and an apparatus for tagging a photograph with information. The method of tagging a photograph with information, which calculates a shooting position of an input image from reference images having shooting position information to tag the shooting position information, includes: selecting a plurality of reference images; calculating a relative shooting position of the input image to the shooting positions of the reference images; calculating the shooting position of the input image on the basis of the calculation result of the calculating; and storing the shooting position and shooting direction information on the input image in an exchangeable image file format (EXIF) tag of the input image.
US08320704B2 Method for creating reference images in electron microscopes
Methods for creating reference images of fiber optic sensor plates for use in electron microscopes. The methods include taking of reference images of stripe or dot patterns. The spatial frequency of the stripe or dot patterns is such that image artifacts of the fiber optic stacks is recorded. The reference images can then be used to correct for these artifacts.
US08320702B2 System and method for reducing specular reflection
An imaging unit programmed to reduce specular reflection in a captured image and improve the interpretation of decodable information within the image. The imaging unit is programmed to scan a predetermined region within the image that is susceptible to specular reflection, evaluate the pixel values within the region against a threshold value that is representative of specular reflection, and then replace the pixel value found to represent specular reflection with replacement pixel values that do not corrupt interpretation of the decodable information in the predetermined region. The threshold value and replacement values may be determined on an ad hoc basis and stored in local memory, or calculated for each captured image.
US08320697B2 Image processing filter, image processing method of image processing filter, and image processing circuit of image processing apparatus having image processing filter
An image processing filter for correcting a pixel value of an image includes a flatness calculation unit 40 for calculating a flatness of distribution of pixel values of surrounding pixels positioned on the periphery of a target pixel to be filtered, and a pixel value composition unit 50 for blending the pixel value of the target pixel and the pixel value of the surrounding pixels, on the basis of a blend ratio corresponding to the flatness calculated by the flatness calculation unit 40, and generating a composite pixel value by combining the pixel value of the target pixel and the pixel value of the surrounding pixels.
US08320696B2 Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program
In order to reduce wasteful operation processes by operation units, a data supply unit reads out a plurality of pieces of pixel data from an image memory and temporarily stores the pixel data in registers, and outputs the pixel data while shifting the pixel data in one direction; product-sum operators concurrently perform operation processes based on multiple pieces of pixel data outputted from the data supply unit and filter coefficients in a filter kernel. At this time, a selector within the data supply unit selects the pixel data stored in each register in accordance with the type of the filter operation process, and outputs the selected pixel data to the product-sum operators.
US08320695B2 Method, terminal and computer-readable recording medium for deblurring barcode image
The present invention relates to a method for deblurring a barcode image. The method includes the steps of: acquiring the terminal's n OTFs calculated by varying focal lengths for a subject; if a barcode image is inputted through the mobile terminal, fixing a specific value among NSRs as a value to be applied to an error metric of Wiener filtering, applying n PSFs calculated from the n OTFs to the error metric by a binary search algorithm and determining whether the result of the application to the error metric is not exceeding the pre-set threshold or not; and selecting a PSF value and an NSR value as values of Wiener filtering if the result of the application to the error metric is not exceeding the pre-set threshold and then performing the Wiener filtering to the inputted barcode image by using the selected PSF value and the selected NSR value.
US08320690B2 System, data structure, and method for simultaneously retrieving multi-dimensional data with zero contention
A system, processor, and method for processing multiple dimension data. A single rectangular data array having a single data port may store a set of data elements representing a multi-dimensional pixel array. A load/store unit may receive the set of data elements and store them divided among a plurality of individually addressable data arrays each having separate address ports. Each individually addressable data array may include at most a single row that stores data elements from a sub-set of the set of data elements representing a multi-dimensional sub-array of the pixel array. A processor may simultaneously access the single row of each of the plurality of individually addressable data arrays by accessing the corresponding respective address ports for each individually addressable data array to retrieve the complete sub-set of data elements in a single computational cycle. An execution unit may execute instruction(s) on the sub-set of data elements.
US08320687B2 Universal lossy compression methods
The present invention provides methods for universal lossy compression that provide performance at or near the rate-distortion limit and that are based on universal, implementable lossy source coding algorithms.
US08320684B2 Image compressing apparatus, image compressing method and program
An image compressing apparatus carrying out code amount control upon JPEG2000 coding, in which the number of coding passes and a code amount for each code block generated by a MQ (arithmetic) coder are input, and the number of coding passes and the code amount are determined based on a first code amount control standard and a second code amount control standard given for each code block. For a specific code block, the second code amount control standard is used to determine the number of coding passes and the code amount, while, for the other code blocks, the first code amount control standard is used to determine the number of coding passes and the code amount.
US08320683B2 Image processing method, image processing apparatus, image reading apparatus, and image forming apparatus
When a reference image to which a document image is judged as being similar for the first time is not the first document sheet of the document type which contains this reference image, error occurrence is concluded so that the page number indicated by a counter is set to be an error occurrence position. In case that the reference image to which the document image is similar is the last document sheet of the document type, when the number of document images having been counted up by the time when this document image is judged as being similar to the reference image does not correspond with the number of reference images contained in the document type, error occurrence is concluded so that the page number indicated by a counter is set to be an error occurrence position.
US08320674B2 Text localization for image and video OCR
In accord with embodiments consistent with the present invention, a first action in recognizing text from image and video is to locate accurately the position of the text in image and video. After that, the located and possibly low resolution text can be extracted, enhanced and binarized. Finally existing OCR technology can be applied to the binarized text for recognition. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US08320670B1 Hough transform method for linear ribbon and circular ring detection in the gradient domain
A method for converting a portion of an image from a first domain to a second domain. The method may apply a Hough transform on the converted portion of the image, including calculating a range of angles for each tested pixel q relative to a center pixel p, quantizing the range of angles into a plurality of bins, voting each tested pixel q using a range of bins using a weighted voting schema; and detecting one or more features in the portion of the image. The methods may be implemented by program instructions executing in parallel on CPU(s) or GPUs.
US08320669B2 Image processing method, image processing apparatus, image data compression device, and computer program
In image processing in which each small area included in color image data, which is represented by C, M, Y, and K, is expressed by a predetermined number of representative colors, values of color parameters are obtained for a small area from the values of the color parameters for C, M, Y, and K for each pixel in the small area, so that the values of the color parameters have degrees of variation being compensated to become smaller in the group as the value for black becomes larger. One color parameter to be targeted is selected (#104) based on the degree of variation in the values of individual color parameters in the group. A reference value to be used for grouping the pixels is obtained based on the relationship between the values of the color parameter to be targeted in the group and the quantities of pixels in the group. Based on the reference value, the pixels are divided into groups (#106), and a representative color for each group is obtained (#109).
US08320668B2 Image processing apparatus and image processing method
Noise does not occur even if an image of an object region extracted from an input image and a background image are stored separately, and then displayed or printed, at a boundary portion of the object region. A boundary region is set at the inner side of the object region of the input image, and a pixel value of an adjacent pixel at the outer side of the boundary of the object region is written to a corresponding pixel in the boundary region. Even if a difference occurs between the background image and the object image, when a document file is displayed or printed, since the pixel value of the pixel at the outer side of the object region is assigned to the pixel in the boundary region, noise due to average color does not occur.
US08320662B2 Distinguishing colors of illuminated objects using machine vision
System and method for distinguishing colors of illuminated objects using machine vision. A color-balanced image that includes at least one lit area is received, as well as an indication of a region of interest that includes one of the one or more lit areas. A mask image is generated based on the region of interest. A color-balanced image of the region of interest is generated by masking the color-balanced image with the mask image, and a plurality of image attributes for the region of interest is determined by analyzing the color-balanced image of the region of interest. A color is determined based on the plurality of image attributes using a trained classifier, and the determined color stored, e.g., in a memory medium.
US08320660B2 Image processing system, 3-dimensional shape estimation system, object position/posture estimation system and image generation system
An object of the present invention is to process an image without a need to previously find out the initial value of a parameter representing an illumination condition and without a need for a user to manually input the illumination parameter. An image processing system includes a generalized illumination basis model generation means 300, a position/posture initial value input means 102, a face model generation means 103, an illumination basis model calculation means 301, a perspective transformation means 202, an illumination correction means 203, and a parameter update means 204. The generalized illumination basis model generation means 300 previously calculates a generalized illumination basis model. The face model generation means 103 generates an individual 3-dimensional shape and texture from the generalized 3-dimensional face model. The illumination basis model calculation means 301 generates an individual illumination basis from the generalized illumination basis model using the same parameter. The parameter update means 204 searches for a parameter of a shape, texture, and position/posture to minimize the error when the input image is reproduced.
US08320656B1 Automatic creation of after-the-fact payroll journal
A method for creating an after-the-fact (ATF) payroll journal, including identifying a payroll check cashed at a financial institution, where the payroll check is issued to an employee during a payroll period for payment via a financial institution, obtaining, using a processor of a computer system, an electronic image associated with the payroll check, extracting, using the processor, payroll check information from the electronic image, validating, using the processor, the payroll check information based on a pre-determined criterion, where the payroll check information includes a payee name, a check date, and a check amount, and generating, using the processor, an entry of the ATF payroll journal from the payroll check information based on a pre-determined payroll rule, where the entry includes an amount of tax withholding of the employee for the payroll period.
US08320655B2 Process and system for analyzing the expression of biomarkers in cells
The invention relates generally to a process of analyzing and visualizing the expression of biomarkers in individual cells wherein the cells are examined to develop patterns of expression by using a grouping algorithm, and a system to perform and display the analysis.
US08320654B2 Bone mineral density evaluation device and bone mineral density evaluation method
To evaluate an exact bone mineral density, whena reference bar region in an X-ray picture of a mandible and a reference bar disposed beside the mandible is selected, the mean value and deviation of the brightness of this region are displayed by means of letter groups. When an evaluation object region is selected, the brightness of this region is corrected according to the mean value and deviation of the brightness of the reference bar region and standard mean value and deviation, or, in other words, according to a fixed reference. The corrected brightness is displayed in the form of histogram. Furthermore, the mean value and deviation of the corrected brightness are determined, and they are displayed by means of letter groups. The bone mineral density is quantitatively evaluated from the histogram and the mean value and deviation of the corrected brightness.
US08320652B2 Method, a system and a computer program for segmenting a structure in a Dataset
A suitable database, including a temporal series of images is acquired (3) and subjected to a suitable binary segmentation (4) to create temporally sequenced binary coded images large portions corresponding to blood are labeled as unity, the rest is set to zero. A preceding binary coded image (8a) corresponding to a phase (t) from the temporal sequence is subtracted from a subsequent binary coded image (8b) corresponding to a phase (t+1) yielding a multi-dimensional temporal feature map (8c). A pre-defined deformable shape model is deformed (14) to fit the temporal feature map. The segmentation results are displayed (18) using suitable display (47). The segmented surface is overlaid on the original data using a two-, three- or four-dimensional visualization technique and can be presented as a color-code in a suitable transparency mode.
US08320651B2 Image reporting method and system
A method and system are provided to report the findings of an expert's analysis of image data. The method and system are based on a reporting system that forms the basis of an image management system that can efficiently and systematically generate image reports, facilitate data entry into searchable databases for data mining, and expedite billing and collections for the expert's services. The expert identifies a significant finding on an image and attaches a location:description code to the location of that finding in order to create a significant finding and an entry into a database. Further descriptions of that finding, such as dimensional measurements, may be automatically appended to the finding as secondary attributes. After the evaluation, the system sorts the findings in the database and presents the findings by prioritized categories. The expert edits and approves a multimedia report which may be delivered by electronic means to an end-user.
US08320650B2 In vivo spectral micro-imaging of tissue
In vivo endoscopic methods an apparatuses for implementation of fluorescence and autofluorescence microscopy, with and without the use of exogenous agents, effectively (with resolution sufficient to image nuclei) visualize and categorize various abnormal tissue forms.
US08320646B2 MRI acquisition using 2D sense and partial fourier pace sampling
An MRI system produces a three-dimensional image by acquiring NMR signals that fully sample a central region of k-space and partially sample peripheral k-space as a set of asymmetric radial sectors. The NMR signals are acquired with a plurality of receive channels and coils. An image is reconstructed using a homodyne reconstruction combined with SENSE processing.
US08320644B2 Object detection metadata
A perimeter around a detected object in a frame of image data can be generated in a first coordinate system. The perimeter can be converted from the first coordinate system into a second coordinate system having the same aspect ratio as the first coordinate system. A first metadata entry can include dimensions of image data in the second coordinate system. A second metadata entry can provide a location and dimensions of the converted perimeter in the second coordinate space. Additional metadata can indicate matching objects between frames, position of an object relative to other objects in a frame, a probability that an object is correctly detected, and a total number of objects detected across multiple frames of image data.
US08320638B2 Anonymous association system utilizing biometrics
Various exemplary embodiments are a device and a related method for interaction with an anonymous database system, the device including: a biometric input; a communicator configured to retrieve a key stored in a first enrollment process, retrieve an institution identifier and a user identifier stored in a second enrollment process, and retrieve user data from an institution database corresponding to the institution identifier; and a display that displays the retrieved user data. Furthermore, various exemplary embodiments are a system and related method including: a plurality of biometric nodes in communication with one another, each of the plurality of biometric nodes comprising a biometric input; at least one central database in communication with the plurality of biometric nodes; and a plurality of institution databases in communication with the plurality of biometric nodes.
US08320636B2 Detecting image detail level
One aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented in a method for detecting a detail level of an image including receiving an original image, transforming the original image to generate one or more blurred images, deriving image differences corresponding to ranges of detail frequency of the original image based, at least in part, on the one or more blurred images and the original image, determining, based on the image differences, a detail level value corresponding to the original image, and providing the detail level value to an image management application.
US08320634B2 System and method for monitoring protective garments
The wearing of required medical garments by caregivers and other persons is detected through the use of a digital imaging system and methods that employ digital imaging. The medical garments include colors, symbols or other features that allow them to be identified by the system. A moving object within an isolation room or other area requiring the wearing of medical garments is detected. Various stages of processing confirm that the moving object is indeed a person and that the person is wearing the required medical garments. In order to enhance the digital imaging procedure, the person may be instructed to move to a selected position.
US08320633B2 System and method for identifying produce
An apparatus, method and system are presented for identifying produce. Multiple images of a produce item captured using five different types of illumination. The captured images are processed to determine parameters of the produce item and those parameters are compared to parameters of known produce to identify the produce item.
US08320631B2 Movement detection apparatus and movement detection method
According to one embodiment, a movement detection apparatus includes an arithmetic module, an edge-storing filter, a determination module, and a control module. The arithmetic module calculates a difference signal between an input image signal and an image signal of the previous frame. The filter performs smoothing processing for a signal falling within a level range provided as threshold value, among difference signals calculated by the arithmetic module. The determination module determines levels of a movement component and a noise component of the signal output from the filter. The control module controls a level range supplied as threshold value to the filter in accordance with an amplitude level of the noise component overlying the input image signal.
US08320630B2 Measuring turbulence and winds aloft using solar and lunar observable features
Presented is a system and method for detecting turbulence in the atmosphere comprising an image capturing device for capturing a plurality of images of a visual feature of a celestial object such as the sun, combined with a lens having focal length adapted to focus an image onto image capturing device such that the combination of the lens and the image capturing device are adapted to resolve a distortion caused by a turbule of turbulent air, and an image processor adapted to compare said plurality of images of said visual feature to detect the transit of a turbule of turbulent air in between said image capturing device and said celestial object, and compute a measurement of the angular velocity of the turbule. A second plurality of images is used to triangulate the distance to the turbule and the velocity of the turbule.
US08320629B2 Multi-level neural network based characters identification method and system
A system and method, which enable precise and automatic identification of characters, perform and calibrate data verification to ensure data reliability. The system can process these identified characters, such as override adverse conditions, adjusting and correcting unclear characters and their images.
US08320621B2 Depth projector system with integrated VCSEL array
A projector is disclosed for use in a 3-D imaging device. The projector includes a light source formed of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, or VCSEL array. The VCSEL array provides a light source for illuminating a capture area. Light from the VCSEL array is reflected off of objects in the capture area and received within a sensing device such as a 3-D camera. The projector may further include a collimating lens array for focusing the light emitted from each VCSEL in the array, as well as a DOE for patterning the light from the collimating lens array to enable the sensing device to generate a 3-D image of the objects in the capture area.
US08320615B2 Systems and methods for recognizing a target from a moving platform
Systems and methods for recognizing a location of a target are provided. One system includes a camera configured to generate first data representing an object resembling the target, a memory storing second data representing a template of the target, and a processor. The processor is configured to receive the first data and the second data, and determine that the object is the target if the object matches the template within a predetermined percentage error. A method includes receiving first data representing an object resembling the target, receiving second data representing a template of the target, and determining that the object is the target if the object matches the template within a predetermined percentage error. Also provided are computer-readable mediums including processor instructions for executing the above method.
US08320613B2 Detecting and tracking targets in images based on estimated target geometry
A system for detecting and tracking targets captured in images, such as people and object targets that are captured in video images from a surveillance network. Targets can be detected by an efficient, geometry-driven approach that determines likely target configuration of the foreground imagery based on estimated geometric information of possible targets. The detected targets can be tracked using a centralized tracking system.
US08320609B2 Device and method for attaching additional information
An image analyzing section acquires information on a type of a subject as an image attribute using an image analysis technique, and if the subject is a human, information on clothes of the human as the image attribute. In an additional information DB, there are provided plural pieces of candidate additional information which possibly become additional information, plural reference attributes for each piece of the candidate additional information, and individual compatibility degrees for the respective reference attributes. For every piece of the candidate additional information, a sum of the individual compatibility degrees of the reference attributes which are correlated with the image attributes acquired from the image are calculated as a total compatibility degree. The candidate additional information having the total compatibility degree equal to or higher than a certain value is selected as additional information. A tag having this additional information is attached to an image file.
US08320607B2 Image processing method and image processing device for embedding invisible sub information into main images
An electronic watermarking embedding-processing section acquires layout information which specifies an embedding area of first sub information and an embedding area of second sub information in main image information. The electronic watermarking embedding-processing section performs overlapping processing for invisibly embedding the first sub information in the embedding area of the first sub information in the main image information which is specified by the layout information. The electronic watermarking embedding-processing section performs overlapping processing for invisibly embedding the second sub information in the embedding area of the second sub information in the main image information which is specified by the layout information. The electronic watermarking embedding-processing section creates composite image information by composing image information in which the first sub information is invisibly embedded in the main image information and image information in which the second sub information is invisibly embedded in the main image information.
US08320605B2 Electro-acoustic transducer
An electro-acoustic transducer with a front part having an acoustically radiating surface, a supporting part that supports the front part and that extends from a peripheral region of the front part in a direction away from the acoustically radiating surface, and a reinforcing part that provides rigidity to the transducer. The reinforcing part extends from the supporting part to the front part such that a portion of the reinforcing part is spaced from the front part and/or the supporting part.
US08320599B2 Resonator system for a speaker of an electronic device
A resonator for a transducer of an electronic device is provided. The resonator comprises: a first enclosure having a first opening to receive a back end of the transducer and a second opening; and a port connected to the first enclosure through the second opening of the enclosure, the port having a first end, a second end, an interior channel spanning from the first end to the second end. When the transducer is mounted into the first enclosure, a first volume between the transducer and the enclosure is formed which is in communication with air surrounding the second end of the port through the interior channel of the port. A second enclosure to cover a front portion of the transducer may be provided.
US08320597B2 Acoustic dock for portable electronic device
An accessory for a portable electronic device having a speaker uses an acoustic wave guide to passively amplify and direct the output of the device's speaker. The accessory has a housing with a docking cavity formed therein. The docking cavity has supportive sidewalls that are adapted to receive and support the portable electronic device in an upright position. A cable access channel is formed in the docking cavity that allows a connector and cable to be coupled to the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is mounted in the docking cavity. An acoustic waveguide having a spiral shaped acoustic chamber is positioned in the housing such that an entrance to the acoustic waveguide corresponds to a hole in the docking cavity that is positioned to correspond to the location of the speaker of the device when the device is mounted in the docking chamber. The exit of the acoustic chamber corresponds to an exterior opening in a sidewall of the housing and the hole in the docking cavity. The housing can be provided with charging circuitry to charge the device when the device is mounted in the dock.
US08320593B2 Method and hearing apparatus for adjusting a hearing aid with data recorded in an external unit
A hearing apparatus for adjusting a hearing aid and an associated method. The apparatus includes at least one hearing aid and at least one external unit which can exchange data with the hearing aid. It further includes a first memory unit in the external unit which stores a point in time and a hearing situation at which at least one predeterminable algorithm for signal processing is activated, an output unit in the external unit which outputs the stored points in time and hearing situations, an input unit in the external unit for entering a measure of evaluation which expresses the satisfaction of a hearing aid wearer with the activated algorithm, and a modification unit in the hearing aid for changing at least one parameter of the algorithm as a function of the measure of evaluation. The hearing aid user is able to evaluate and change the setting of their hearing aid retrospectively for specific hearing situations.
US08320592B2 Apparatus and method of reproducing virtual sound of two channels based on listener's position
An apparatus and method of reproducing a virtual sound of two channels which adaptively reproduces a 2-channel stereo sound signal reproduced through a recording medium such as DVD, CD, or MP3 player etc., based on a listener's position. The method includes sensing a listener's position and recognizing distance and angle information about the listener's position, determining output gain values and delay values of two speakers based on the distance and angle information about the sensed listener's position and selecting localization filter coefficients in a predetermined table, and updating filter coefficients of a localization filter based on the selected localization filter coefficients and adjusting output levels and time delays of the two speakers from the determined gain values and delay values.
US08320589B2 Electret condenser
An electret condenser includes a fixed film 110 including a conductive film 118 to be an upper electrode, a vibrating film 112 including a lower electrode 104 and a silicon oxide film 105 to be an electret film, and a silicon oxide film 108 provided between the fixed film 110 and the vibrating film 112 and including an air gap 109. Respective parts of the fixed film 110 and the vibrating film 112 exposed in the air gap 109 are formed of silicon nitride films 106 and 114.
US08320585B2 Radio with dual sided audio
A dual-sided radio (100) for enhancing a user's experience is provided. The radio includes a primary transducer (110) on an audio-side of the radio that projects a primary sound, a secondary transducer (120) on a data-side of the radio that projects a mid-high frequency sound, a processor (160) that equalizes (200) audio to the primary transducer and the secondary transducer, and a communication module (130) that receives and transmits communication signals containing the audio. The secondary transducer supplements the primary sound with a mid-high frequency sound (404) to compensate for mid-high frequency loss of the primary sound due to diffraction (300).
US08320584B2 Method and system for performing audio signal processing
A method and system for performing audio signal processing is provided. A phase of a signal may be shifted between 0° and 360° for all frequencies of the signal, without any significant delay distortion. The phase shift can be accomplished through the use of two signal outputs (which are each shifted in phase by 90° relative to the other), inverters and an analog summing circuit. Selective use of the inverter on one or both of the 90° phase shifted outputs, and their linear combinations, allows the phase of the audio signal outputs to be shifted between about 0° and about 360° by a recording engineer, for example.
US08320582B2 Interference signal removing apparatus and RF receiver using the same
An interference signal removing apparatus of a radio frequency (RF) receiver includes a low noise amplification unit which performs low noise amplification, a feedback processing unit which removes a necessary signal in a desired band from a signal output from the low noise amplification unit, and performs feedback of the signal from which the necessary signal is removed, and a signal processing unit which transmits a processed RF signal by synthesizing an input RF signal and the feedback signal to the noise amplification unit.
US08320581B2 Vehicle engine sound enhancement
A vehicle engine harmonic enhancement system. A method for operating the system includes providing a first engine harmonic enhancement audio signal and equalizing the first engine harmonic enhancement audio signal separately for each of the plurality of loudspeakers to provide individually equalized loudspeaker engine harmonic enhancement audio signals. A vehicle audio system includes a plurality of loudspeakers, an entertainment audio system, and an engine harmonic enhancement system. A method includes equalizing an entertainment audio signal to provide an equalized entertainment audio signal; providing an engine harmonic enhancement audio signal; equalizing the engine harmonic enhancement audio signal separately from the entertainment audio signal to provide an equalized engine harmonic enhancement audio signal; and combining the equalized entertainment audio signal with the equalized engine harmonic enhancement audio signal.
US08320580B2 System and method for directional sound transmission with a linear array of exponentially spaced loudspeakers
A system and method for the directional transmission of sound is disclosed. In one embodiment, the system comprises an audio source configured to generate an audio signal, a control module configured to receive the audio signal and generate a driving signal, based at least in part on the audio signal, and an array comprising a plurality of loudspeakers, wherein the loudspeakers are linearly arranged such that the spacing between two adjacent loudspeakers increases along the array. In a particularly, embodiment, the spacing increases exponentially, and broadband dipole loudspeakers are used.
US08320576B1 Piezo element stethoscope
A passive stethoscope chest piece has a chest piece housing containing a passive piezoelectric (piezo) element mounted within a metal housing. The piezo element converts body signals to an electrical representation. A pair of electrical connections attached to the metal plate and the piezoelectric layer of the piezo element pass the electrical representation outside the housing for processing by external circuitry. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US08320575B2 Efficient audio signal processing in the sub-band regime
A signal processing system enhances an audio signal. The audio signal is divided into audio sub-band signals. Some audio sub-band signals are excised. Other audio sub-band signals are processed to obtain enhanced audio sub-band signals. At least a portion of the excised audio sub-band signals are reconstructed. The reconstructed audio sub-band signals are synthesized with the enhanced audio sub-band signals to form an enhanced audio signal.
US08320573B2 Adaptive hearing device and method for providing a hearing aid
A hearing device having an input unit for converting an acoustic input to a first signal, an output unit for converting a second signal to an acoustic output and a signal processing unit for generating said second signal from said first signal based on a setting indicating a characteristic of a user's ear, said signal processing unit coupling said input unit and said output unit, to a corresponding method for providing a hearing aid and a corresponding computer program. In order to provide an adaptive hearing device and a method for providing a hearing aid which allow for a compensation for the change in a characteristic of a user's ear, in particular for the change to the ear of a child during growth and which are of a low complexity and do not need additional sensors.
US08320571B2 Method for generating downlink frame, and method for searching cell
The present invention relates to a method of generating a downlink frame. The method of generating the downlink frame includes: generating a first short sequence and a second short sequence indicating cell group information; generating a first scrambling sequence and a second scrambling sequence determined by the primary synchronization signal; generating a third scrambling sequence determined by the first short sequence and a fourth scrambling sequence determined by the second short sequence; scrambling the first short sequence with the first scrambling sequence and scrambling the second short sequence with the second scrambling sequence and the third scrambling sequence; scrambling the second short sequence with the first scrambling sequence and scrambling the first short sequence with the second scrambling sequence and the fourth scrambling sequence; and mapping the secondary synchronization signal that includes the first short sequence scrambled with the first scrambling sequence, the second short sequence scrambled with the second scrambling sequence and the third scrambling sequence, the second short sequence scrambled with the first scrambling sequence and the first short sequence scrambled by the second scrambling sequence and the fourth scrambling sequence to a frequency domain.
US08320570B2 Apparatus and method for generating secret key
An apparatus for generating a secret key generates the secret key by using information of a mobile RFID terminal, transmits the generated secret key to an RFID tag attached on an article, and decrypts a unique item identifier of the article encrypted by using the generated secret key after receiving the unique item identifier of the article encrypted by using the secret key from the RFID tag. By this configuration, it is possible to protect user's personal privacy of the mobile RFID terminal in a state where user's intervention is minimized.
US08320565B2 Method for generating downlink frame, and method for searching cell
The present invention relates to a method of generating a downlink frame. The method of generating the downlink frame includes: generating a first short sequence and a second short sequence indicating cell group information; generating a first scrambling sequence and a second scrambling sequence determined by the primary synchronization signal; generating a third scrambling sequence determined by the first short sequence; scrambling the first short sequence with the first scrambling sequence and scrambling the second short sequence with the second scrambling sequence and the third scrambling sequence; and mapping the secondary synchronization signal that includes the scrambled first short sequence and the scrambled second short sequence to a frequency domain.
US08320564B2 Encrypted signal detection circuit and video device using the same
A video device includes a video signal generation circuit, an encrypted signal detection circuit and a central processing unit (CPU). The encrypted signal detection circuit detects encrypted messages in video signals output from the video signal generation circuit and outputs stable trigger control signals to the CPU, which includes an amplifier circuit, a separation circuit, a reverse circuit, a delay circuit and a trigger circuit. The video signals are amplified via the amplifier circuit and negative phase pulse signals are extracted from the video signals via the separation circuit. The reverse circuit converts the negative phase pulse signals to positive phase pulse signals that are delayed via the delay circuit. The trigger circuit outputs the stable trigger control signals based on the delayed positive phase pulse circuit.
US08320562B2 Methods for creating secret keys based upon one or more shared characteristics and systems thereof
A method and system for generating one or more keys includes obtaining at two or more devices data based on movement of at least one of the devices with the respect to the other device. At least one key is generated based on the obtained data at each of the devices for use in securing communications between the devices. The key at each of the devices is substantially the same.
US08320560B2 Secure data parser method and system
A secure data parser is provided that may be integrated into any suitable system for securely storing and communicating data. The secure data parser parses data and then splits the data into multiple portions that are stored or communicated distinctly. Encryption of the original data, the portions of data, or both may be employed for additional security. The secure data parser may be used to protect data in motion by splitting original data into portions of data, that may be communicated using multiple communications paths.
US08320558B1 Encryption of synchronization information
A computer-implemented method for synchronizing encryption of information is disclosed according to one aspect of the subject technology. The method comprises receiving a selection of one or more types of information by a user, wherein the one or more types of information are synchronized across a plurality of computing devices. The method also comprises generating an encryption status indicating that the one or more types of information selected by the user are to be encrypted, and sending the encryption status from a first one of the computing devices to a server, wherein the server distributes the encryption status to each of the other computing devices.
US08320556B1 Method to allow cryptographic processing of messages without sanitizing the cryptographic processor between messages
An improved architecture is disclosed of a crypto engine, such as a Janus Crypto Engine (JCE) having a Programmable Cryptographic Channel (PCC) using a Programmable Cryptographic Processor (PCP). The architecture of the crypto engine does not require zeroizing between messages received by the PCC. Consequently, using the new architecture of the present invention, the crypto engine can allocate PCC resources based on throughput and algorithm needs, reducing latency, and employing fewer PCCs.
US08320555B2 Method and apparatus for determining a change in network-generated crosstalk levels caused by a multi-line phone
An embodiment of a method and apparatus for determining a change in network-generated crosstalk levels caused by a multi-line phone includes determining a first crosstalk level between a first line pair and a second line pair of a multi-line phone caused by the multi-line phone, and determining a second crosstalk level between each of the first line pair and the second line pair of the multi-line phone. The second crosstalk level is determined when the first line pair and the second line pair are coupled to a first predetermined length of network line pair cable. The method further includes determining a change of network generated crosstalk levels caused by the multi-line phone by subtracting the first crosstalk level from the second crosstalk level.
US08320554B1 Acoustic echo canceller clock compensation
A conferencing endpoint uses acoustic echo cancellation with clock compensation. Receiving far-end audio to be output by a local loudspeaker, the endpoint performs acoustic echo cancellation so that the near-end audio capture by a microphone will lack echo of the far-end audio output from the loudspeaker. The converters for the local microphone and loudspeaker may have different clocks so that their sample rates differ. To assist the echo cancellation, the endpoint uses a clock compensator that cross-correlates an echo estimate of the far-end audio and the near-end audio and adjusts a sample rate conversion factor to be used for the far-end audio analyzed for echo cancellation.
US08320553B2 Enhanced echo cancellation
The present invention provides for echo cancellation circuitry and variable rate encoding circuitry to cooperate with one another to effectively provide comfort noise in an effective and efficient manner. The echo cancellation circuitry will use far-end signals to generate estimated echo signals, which correspond to the actual echo signals appearing in near-end signals. The estimated echo signals are essentially subtracted from the near-end signals in an effort to remove the actual echo signals from the near-end signals. The echo cancellation circuitry will monitor any residual echo signals in the resulting processed near-end signals and provide residual echo control signals that are indicative of whether the residual echo signals should be replaced with comfort noise. The residual echo control signals are used at least in part by the variable rate encoding circuitry to determine the encoding rate to use for encoding different portions of the processed near-end signals.
US08320552B2 Delay estimator
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for finding an estimate of the delay of a signal travelling between two points. A quantity is evaluated from the signal at a final number of time instants, at both a reference point and a reception point. The values are quantized by comparison with a threshold adapted to a typical magnitude of the quantity. If the quantized values from the reception point are shifted back by the true delay with respect to the quantized values from the reference point, then certain co-occurrences of quantized values have very low probability. Hence, the best delay estimate is that shift which yields the least number of low-probability co-occurrences.
US08320549B2 Advanced call routing using linked identities
Architecture for enabling user identities of callers to be collected from data sources and aggregated into respective meta-identities for each caller. Alternate user identities are searched, collected and associated with the meta-identity that can be a user name. A routing rule applied to the meta-identity is then applied across the alternate identities. The user identities can include a name of the caller, a phone number of the caller, or caller information collected from an external source. The phone numbers can include a partial phone number that is normalized into a full phone number format. The user identities can be mapped to the meta-identity and stored according to a hierarchy of confidence ratings. The user identities can be tagged with corresponding data source identifiers that designate respective data sources of the user identities. Conflict resolution is provided for selecting a suitable call routing path between callers having similar meta-identities.
US08320543B2 System for effecting a telephone call over a computer network without alphanumeric keypad operation
A system for effecting a telephone call between telephonic devices is operative to use a computer network, without manual use of the alphanumeric keypads. A third party call control (3PCC) application program interface (API) provides the capability for users to use a web browser or other Internet capable software to place a call, rather than using the telephone keypad. A third party call control application program interface includes a uniform resource locator operable over the Internet to cause a call between a first telephonic device and a second telephonic device to be completed. The uniform resource locator includes identification of the first telephonic device and identification of the second telephonic device.
US08320539B2 Advanced payment for telephone services
A method of providing telephone services includes receiving an advanced payment. The advanced payment corresponds to a fixed time interval of telephone service spanning at least one day. The method also includes activating service to a mobile device for the fixed time interval and collecting a plurality of call data.
US08320536B2 Method and system for centralized recording in a distributed environment
A system and method for central recording of telephone calls are provided. The method may include transferring a telephone call from a session border controller (SBC) to a contact center and to a central recording unit, transferring of CTI information from the contact center to the central recording unit, associating the CTI information to the telephone call and determining by the central recording unit whether to record the call.
US08320530B2 Method, apparatus and system for realizing a multimedia call
A method for realizing a multimedia call includes the following steps. A call request initiated by a calling terminal is received. An indication of the multimedia negotiation capability of the calling terminal is acquired, in which the indication of the multimedia negotiation capability identifies whether the terminal has the capability of supporting multiple multimedia negotiations or not. It is determined, according to the indication of the multimedia negotiation capability, whether the calling terminal has the capability of supporting multiple multimedia negotiations or not. A multimedia call connection is performed according to the multimedia negotiation capability of the calling terminal. It is determined, according to the factor whether the calling terminal has the capability of supporting multiple multimedia negotiations or not, how to perform the multimedia call connection, so as to flexibly realize the multimedia call connection accordingly.
US08320528B2 System and method for electronic message notification
A system and method are disclosed for facilitating enhanced call awareness. A system incorporating teachings of the present disclosure may include an interface that receives a signal associated with a call to a telephone number. A call information engine may be coupled to the interface and may recognize that a party to the call subscribes to an enhanced call activity service. In some cases, the party may be a called party or a calling party, and the activity may include an incoming call to the telephone number, an outgoing call, a missed call, or a waiting voicemail message. A memory may maintain a data network address for the party, and a messaging engine may initiate sending of a message containing call information to the data network address. The message may be sent in response to a trigger signal output by a notification engine without consideration for whether or not a telephone line associated with the telephone number is busy.
US08320527B2 Crossover faults detection in two-wires network
A system and method for detecting crossover faults in a telecommunications access network having a plurality of access lines. Each access line includes a pair of wires for connection to a user terminal, e.g. a telephone handset. The system includes a monitor for monitoring each of the access lines to detect the presence of an off-hook state; a current sensor for each of the access lines for determining a fault condition on an access line for which an off-hook state has been detected when a imbalance is detected between currents in the wires of the access line; a controller for generating a report of each fault condition determined on an access line, in which each report comprises a time record relating to the time of generation of the report; and a crossover fault detector for recording a possible crossover fault involving two access lines upon the reporting within a set time period of one or more fault condition on each of the two access lines.
US08320526B2 Method, equipment and digital subscriber line system for spectrum optimization
The embodiments of the present invention disclose a spectrum optimization method and device and digital subscriber line system, the method comprising: calculating according to acquired information of each of respective subcarriers on the DSL line to be optimized to obtain optimized transmission power of a subcarrier to be optimized in a DSL line to be optimized; calculating a transmission rate of the DSL line to be optimized according to the optimized transmission power; and comparing the transmission rate with a target rate of the DSL line to be optimized, and if the transmission rate is less than the target rate, updating the information of an optimized subcarrier, and performing a recalculation. The embodiments of the present invention can overcome the problem of the conventional art that it is difficult to converge the rate weighted coefficient, and improve the rate of a given subscriber line while reduce power loss caused by the given subscriber line to other subscriber lines in the same bundle of cables.
US08320524B2 Orthovoltage radiotherapy
A radiosurgery system is described that delivers a therapeutic dose of radiation to a target structure in a patient. In some embodiments, inflammatory ocular disorders are treated, specifically macular degeneration. In some embodiments, ocular structures are placed in a global coordinate system, based on ocular imaging, which leads to direction of an automated positioning system. In some embodiments, the position of an ocular structure is tracked and related to a radiosurgery system. In some embodiments, a treatment plan is utilized for a specific disease to be treated and/or structures to be avoided. In some embodiments, a fiducial aids in positioning the system. In some embodiments, a reflection off the eye is used to aid in positioning. In some embodiments, radiodynamic therapy is described in which radiosurgery is used in combination with other treatments and can be delivered concomitant with, prior to, or following other treatments.
US08320523B2 Method and device for inspection of liquid articles
Disclosed are a method and a device for security-inspection of liquid articles with dual-energy CT imaging. The method comprises the steps of obtaining one or more CT images including physical attributes of liquid article to be inspected by CT scanning and a dual-energy reconstruction method; acquiring the physical attributes of each liquid article from the CT image; and determining whether the inspected liquid article is dangerous based on the physical attributes. The CT scanning can be implemented by a normal CT scanning technique, or a spiral CT scanning technique. In the normal CT scanning technique, the scan position can be preset, or set by the operator with a DR image, or set by automatic analysis of the DR image.
US08320522B2 Method for creating a tomographic image
A method for creating a tomographic image in the manner of a dental X-ray panoramic tomographic image from a digital 3D volume exhibiting X-ray absorption values, comprising transradiating the 3D volume forming an object to be scanned virtually using a virtual X-ray source, recording the virtually produced image by a virtual detector, and moving the virtual source of X-rays and virtual detector virtually past the object to be scanned with formation of a sharp layer having a blurred area.
US08320517B2 X-ray system and method for the generation of a scan path
A method for generation of a scan path for an x-ray source and/or an x-ray detector of an x-ray system is provided. CT-type imaging on the x-ray system is enabled by traversing the scan path upon simultaneous acquisition of a series of x-ray images. An original scan path of the x-ray source and/or of the x-ray detector is provided, where the scan path is defined by a series of original acquisition points. A viewing axis from the x-ray source to the object and/or the detector is identified for at least one acquisition point on the scan path. A modified scan path is generated by displacement of the at least one acquisition point at least partially along the viewing axis so that the scanning movement upon traversing the modified scan path can be reproduced as in the original scan path.
US08320516B2 Pulse signal output circuit and shift register
An object of the present invention is to provide a pulse signal output circuit capable of operating stably and a shift register including the pulse signal output circuit. In an embodiment of the pulse signal output circuit, a transistor has a source terminal or a drain terminal connected to a gate electrode of another transistor having a source terminal or a drain terminal forming an output terminal of the pulse signal output circuit, the channel length of the transistor being longer than the channel length of the other transistor. Thereby, the amount of a leakage current modifying the gate potential of the other transistor can be reduced, and a malfunction of the pulse signal output circuit can be prevented.
US08320515B2 Water reactor fuel cladding tube
A water reactor fuel cladding tube (4) is described. The tube (4) comprises an outer layer (6) of a first zirconium based alloy and has metallurgically bonded thereto an inner layer (7) of a second zirconium based alloy. The inner layer protects (7) the cladding tube (4) against stress corrosion cracking. The second zirconium based alloy comprises tin as an alloying material, and each one of the zirconium based alloys comprises at least 96 percent by weight zirconium. The first zirconium based alloy comprises at least 0.1 percent by weight niobium. A method of manufacturing the cladding tube (4) is also described and comprises the step of co-extruding two tubes of different zirconium based alloys to produce the cladding tube (4).
US08320514B2 Nuclear power plant, method of forming corrosion-resistant coating therefor, and method of operating nuclear power plant
In a nuclear power plant, a corrosion-resistant oxide film on a surface of the metal component of a reactor structure is exposed to a high-temperature water, the corrosion-resistant oxide film containing an oxide having a property of a P-type semiconductor, and a catalytic substance having a property of an N-type semiconductor is deposited on the oxide film. The oxide film maintains the property of the P-type semiconductor.
US08320511B2 Cycle slip detection for timing recovery
A method and an arrangement for cycle slip detection for timing recovery of a received analog signal including asynchronously sampled digital data are implemented with a timing recovery control loop using a technique known as interpolated timing recovery and improved cycle slip detection as well as improved cycle slip correction based on said cycle slip detection. The method includes using an output signal of the loop filter in the control loop for timing recovery, generating averaged timing error values from said filtered timing error signal and accumulating changes of the averaged timing error values in adjacent blocks of samples which exceed a first threshold. Accumulated averaged timing error changes of adjacent blocks which exceed a second threshold are then declared as cycle slip and the number of cycle slips is determined by a third threshold being a tolerance threshold.
US08320505B2 Apparatus and method for receiver in multiple antenna system
Detection apparatus and method for achieving performance close to a Maximum Likelihood (ML) detection having optimal performance and reducing computational complexity in a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) system including a plurality of transmit antennas and receive antennas are provided. The apparatus includes a hard decision part for confirming an initial hard decision value of a receive symbol vector; a candidate symbol selector for selecting candidate symbols restricted to neighbor values of the initial hard decision value; and an interference canceller for canceling interference in the selected candidate symbols and selecting a final candidate symbol from the received symbols using a result of the interference cancellation.
US08320503B2 Receiver
A receiver that receives a train of a plurality of symbols representing digital data, includes: an isolated pulse detector that detects whether the digital data includes an isolated pulse in the symbol train, respectively; a phase detector that detects a timing at which the level of the symbols changes; a symbol value converter that converts the symbols into logical values on the basis of the timing detected by the phase detector; and a data selector that selects a logical value of the isolated pulse instead of the logical value converted by the symbol value converter when the isolated pulse detector detects the digital data containing the isolated pulse.
US08320502B2 Digital demodulating apparatus, digital receiver, controlling method of the apparatus, computer program product, and recording medium recording thereon the product
A digital demodulating apparatus comprises circuit components constituting a tuner that applies channel select processing to a received signal, and a demodulator that demodulates the signal to which the tuner has applied channel select processing; a power supply unit that supplies power to each circuit component; a reception condition detecting unit that detects a reception condition when the tuner receives the signal; a power adjusting unit that adjusts the power to be supplied to each circuit component by the power supply unit, on the basis of a result of the detection by the reception condition detecting unit; a fading environment estimating unit that estimates a fading environment when the tuner receives the signal; and a power controlling unit that controls the power adjusting unit on the basis of a result of the estimation by the fading environment estimating unit so that the number of times of adjustments of the power by the power adjusting unit per unit time changes in accordance with the variability of the reception condition.
US08320500B2 Clustered OFDM with channel estimation
An improved OFDM receiver is realized by employing a simplified delay function for the transmissions channel. The simplified delay function yields a simplified frequency-domain correlation that is applied to develop an Eigen matrix U that is used in developing estimates of the channels. Those channel estimates are used in the receiver to develop the output signals.
US08320494B2 Method and apparatus for generating reference voltage to adjust for attenuation
A system and method are shown for generation of at least one reference voltage level in a bus system. A reference voltage generator on a current driver includes at least one reference voltage level, at least one control signal, and an active device. The active device is coupled to the at least one control signal, such as a current control signal, and a selected reference voltage of the at least one reference voltage level. The active device is arranged to shift the at least one reference voltage level based on the at least one current control signal such as an equalization signal, a crosstalk signal, or the combination thereof, employed on the current driver.
US08320492B2 Closed form singular value decomposition
The subject matter disclosed herein provides methods and apparatus for determining a singular value decomposition, providing feedback from a client station to a base station, and closed loop operation of a wireless system implementing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). The method may include determining one or more singular vectors using a closed form singular value decomposition. The one or more determined singular vectors may be provided to a precoder at the base station as feedback. The method may include aligning a phase of one or more singular vectors. The method may also include determining, at a client station, a plurality of singular vectors for channels used in a MIMO transmission from a base station to a client station. The client station may provide an indication to the base station regarding whether to use a singular value decomposition or a uniform channel decomposition. Related systems, apparatus, methods, and/or articles are also described.
US08320489B2 Determining channel coefficients in a multipath channel
A device, method, and computer-readable medium are provided. The device includes, but is not limited to, an antenna configured to receive a multipath signal and a processor operably coupled to the antenna to receive the multipath signal. The processor is configured to determine a training signal transmitted from a second device to create the received multipath signal; sample the received multipath signal; and determine channel coefficients based on the sampled multipath signal and the determined training signal using a mixed-norm convex optimization process, wherein the channel coefficients characterize a channel associated with the multipath signal.
US08320486B2 Retransmission method for HARQ in MIMO systems
In a closed-loop wireless communication system (200), a codeword retransmission scheme is provided which allows retransmission of a single codeword using a higher order transmission rank, which may or may not be the same as the higher order transmission rank used to originally transmit the codeword. When one of a plurality of codewords (CW1, CW2) being transmitted over two codeword pipes to a receiver (201.i) fails the transmission, codeword retransmission is enabled by duplicating the failed codeword at the base station (210) and then retransmitting the duplicated codewords over both codeword pipes using the same transmission layers or “rank” as the original transmission.
US08320484B2 1K mode interleaver in a digital video broadcasting (DVB) standard
A data processor maps input symbols to be communicated onto a predetermined number of sub-carrier signals of an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) symbol. The data processor includes an interleaver memory which reads-in the predetermined number of data symbols for mapping onto the OFDM sub-carrier signals. The interleaver memory reads-out the data symbols on to the OFDM sub-carriers to effect the mapping, the read-out being in a different order than the read-in, the order being determined from a set of addresses, with the effect that the data symbols are interleaved on to the sub-carrier signals. The set of addresses are generated from an address generator which comprises a linear feedback shift register and a permutation circuit.
US08320479B2 Ranking and grouping of transmissions in communication system
Improved ranking and grouping techniques are disclosed for communication systems such as a multiple input multiple output system. For instance, techniques are disclosed for ranking and grouping users that are eligible for single-user and/or multiple-user transmissions. In one case, ranking and grouping are performed independently and, in another case, ranking and grouping are performed jointly.
US08320476B2 Communication control system, radio communication terminal and communication control method
A communication control system according to the present invention transmits and receives multiple data flows having different priorities to and from a radio communication terminal by a multicarrier using multiple carriers. The communication control system is provided with a carrier transmitter configured to transmit the multiple carriers to the radio communication terminal 2; and a carrier assignment unit configured to assign a data flow of a priority, which is different from that of a different data flow, a carrier different from that of the different data flow on the basis of the priorities of the respective data flows.
US08320474B2 Digital frequency hopping in multi-band OFDM
A transmitter configured for generating a frequency-hopped OFDM signal comprises a digital Fourier transform circuit, a variable bandpass filter, and a frequency-hopping controller. The digital Fourier transform circuit comprises a plurality of input frequency bins and is configured to modulate complex data symbols onto a plurality of OFDM subcarriers. The variable bandpass filter selects sets of the plurality of input frequency bins for frequency hopping the OFDM subcarriers over a plurality of subbands. The frequency-hopping controller controls the variable bandpass filter with respect to at least one predetermined frequency-hopping pattern. A receiver configured for processing a received frequency-hopped OFDM signal comprises a digital Fourier transform circuit configured to convert a received digital baseband signal into a frequency-domain signal comprising a plurality of OFDM symbols, a variable bandpass filter configured to select sets of the OFDM symbols with respect to predetermined subbands, and a frequency-hopping controller configured to control the variable bandpass filter with respect to a predetermined frequency-hopping pattern.
US08320473B1 Data communication system utilizing optimized code table signaling
A data communication method is disclosed. The method may include obtaining a data vector to be communicated; selecting a code table configured for facilitating the data communication; selecting a vector of real numbers representative of the data vector using the code table; and transmitting the vector of real numbers, wherein the vector of real numbers is transformed, upon reception, into a best corresponding vector by utilizing the code table.
US08320471B2 Transmission device for differential communication
In a transmission device for differential communication, a first cathode-side element part is coupled between a first communication line and a cathode-side power supply line, a second cathode-side element part is coupled between a second communication line and the cathode-side power supply line, a first anode-side element part is coupled between the first communication line and an anode-side power supply line, and a second anode-side element part is coupled between the second communication line and the anode-side power supply line. A driving portion drives the element parts based on transmission data input from an outside. A target potential generating portion generates target potentials of the element parts based on potentials of the first communication line and the second communication line.
US08320468B2 Apparatus for encoding and decoding header data in picture signal transmission
A picture decoding method and apparatus for encoding a video signal. The method includes performing an encoding process on the video signal to generate a bit stream compatible with MPEG 1 moving picture video standard. The method further includes controlling the encoding process so as to generate the bit stream which includes, in a previous picture header, an extension start code indicating the beginning of extension data added when a picture header includes control data that is newly added in MPEG 2 standard format and the extension data, and does not include, in a current picture header, the extension start code and the extension data.
US08320467B2 Coding device and method, decoding device and method, recording medium, and program
An encoding apparatus and an encoding method, a decoding apparatus and a decoding method, a recording medium, and a program suitable for encoding image signals with a higher compression ratio for transmission or accumulation. In an arithmetic coding section, from among the syntax elements of input image compression information, the frame/field flag is first encoded by a frame/field flag context model. When the macroblock to be processed is subjected to frame-based encoding, a frame-based context model, specified in the current H.26L standard, is applied. On the other hand, when the macroblock to be processed is subjected to field-based encoding, a field-based context model is applied for the syntax elements described below. The present invention is applied to an encoder for encoding image information and a decoder for decoding image information.
US08320464B2 Method and apparatus to construct bi-directional predicted frames for temporal scalability
A method, apparatus and system for decoding a bi-directional picture predicted from two reference frames with a motion compensation codec that is capable of locating reference frame portions from only one reference frame at a time. Including locating a first reference frame portion from a first frame in a first pass, storing the first reference frame portion in memory; locating a second reference frame portion from a second frame in a second pass, and combining the first reference frame portion and the second reference frame portion to form a bi-directionally predicted portion. Also, a method and apparatus for restricting the encoding of a bi-directional picture predicted from two reference frames to be decoded by a motion compensation codec that is capable of locating reference frame portions from only one reference frame at a time and is capable of decoding a limited number of partitions for each macroblock.
US08320463B2 Reference data buffer for intra-prediction of digital video
Encoding or decoding digital video frames in intra-prediction mode by selecting column reference data locations for blocks adjacent a current block from a column reference data buffer storing column reference data samples for no more than two macro blocks of the frame. In some cases, the column reference data buffer may include a storage size for samples of a first column of data of blocks of one macro block of luminance samples. Encoding and decoding may also include selecting row reference data locations for blocks adjacent a current block from a row reference data buffer storing row reference data samples for at least one row of macro blocks of the frame. In some cases, the row reference data buffer may include storage for samples of a first row of data of fourteen successive blocks spanning two rows. The concept can be applied to various video processing components and standards.
US08320457B2 Display device and method of driving the same
A display device with improved display quality and a method of driving the display device set at least one static area in each of a previous frame and a current frame by comparing edge areas of the previous frame and edge areas of the current frame, and create an interpolated frame for display between the previous and current frames. At least one static area of the previous frame is used in an unmodified state as a static area of the interpolated frame.
US08320455B2 System and method to process motion vectors of video data
Systems and methods to process motion vectors of video data are disclosed. According to an embodiment, an intra-block in a video frame of the video data is identified. At least a first set and a second set of inter-blocks that neighbor the identified intra-block are identified, where each inter-block in a set of inter-blocks has a motion vector associated therewith. Data of the first and second set of inter-blocks is evaluated to determine an error associated with each of the first and second sets. A motion vector associated with motion vectors of the inter-blocks of the set with the least error is determined. The determined motion vector may be associated with the identified intra-block.
US08320453B2 Method for modeling coding information of a video signal to compress/decompress the information
A method for context modeling of coding information of a video signal for compressing or decompressing the coding information is provided. An initial value of a function for probability coding of coding information of a video signal of an enhanced layer is determined based on coding information of a corresponding video signal of a base layer.
US08320451B2 Replacement of frame data in a video stream signal
An apparatus processes a video stream signal. The video stream signal represents a succession of frames, comprising a plurality of dependent frames that each provide for prediction of visual content using selectable ones of a preceding and following anchor frame that precede and follow the plurality of frames respectively. When a shortage of transmission bandwidth occurs, the apparatus generates a processed version of the video stream signal wherein a bit-rate alteration is performed starting from one of the dependent frames before an end of said plurality. Said alteration is executed by substituting a standard prediction from the following anchor frame at least for data in the video stream signal that encodes a region in said one of the dependent frames. The bit rate alteration is accompanied by a switch to a mode in which the processing circuit substitutes a standard prediction from the following anchor frame in all following dependent frames that follow said one of the dependent frames until the following anchor frame, for data in the video stream signal that encodes the region in said following dependent frames. In an embodiment interlacing is killed for the replaced regions.
US08320446B2 System for transmission of synchronous video with compression through channels with varying transmission delay
The present invention overcomes limitations of conventional synchronous signal transmission systems. The present invention provides apparent low latency synchronous signal transmission between devices, even if the transmission channel has impairments, and, allows for asynchronous transmission of signals between a transmitters and receivers that are located between the devices. Compression is preferably used for reducing the bandwidth of the transmitted data which results in asynchronous transmission of signals between a transmitter and a receiver.
US08320441B2 Efficient high performance demodulation of low BT value gaussian minimum shift keying incorporating turbo equalization
Systems (600) and methods (100) for demodulating a Gaussian Filtered Minimum Shift Keyed (GMSK) signal. The GMSK signal is defined in a transmitted symbol domain where each symbol is given by a product of a current data bit and a previous data bit. The GMSK signal is converted from the transmitted symbol domain to a data symbol domain. The conversion is achieved by approximating filtered complex output signals that would be produced by matched filters having filter shapes corresponding to pulses used in terms of a Laurent expansion. Subsequent to the convention of the GMSK signal, a trellis equalization of the GMSK signal is performed exclusively in the data symbol domain based on the terms of the Laurent expansion.
US08320434B2 Encoding uplink acknowledgments to downlink transmissions
A portable device, such as a mobile terminal or user equipment, for encoding uplink acknowledgments to downlink transmissions. The portable device includes a receiver configured to receive a plurality of data blocks, such that each of the data blocks include an associated cyclic redundancy check (CRC), and a processor configured to determine received status for each of the data blocks by checking the CRC of each of the data blocks. The portable device further includes a transmitter for transmitting a response sequence which indicates the received status of all of the data blocks.
US08320433B2 Compression of baseband signals in base transceiver system interfaces
A signal compression method and apparatus for a base transceiver system (BTS) in a wireless communication network provides efficient transfer of compressed signal samples over serial data links in the system. For the uplink, an RF unit of the BTS compresses baseband signal samples resulting from analog to digital conversion of a received analog signal followed by digital downconversion. The compressed signal samples are transferred over the serial data link to the baseband processor then decompressed prior to normal signal processing. For the downlink, the baseband processor compresses baseband signal samples and transfers the compressed signal samples to the RF unit. The RF unit decompresses the compressed samples prior to digital upconversion and digital to analog conversion to form an analog signal for transmission over an antenna. Compression and decompression can be incorporated into operations of conventional base stations and distributed antenna systems, including OBSAI or CPRI compliant systems.
US08320431B2 Differential channel quality reporting
Various example embodiments are disclosed herein. According to one example embodiment, a method may include obtaining a first channel quality measurement for a wireless node such as a mobile station or relay station in a wireless network. The method may further include sending, from the wireless node, a full channel quality indicator (CQI) to a base station based on the first channel quality measurement. The method may further include obtaining a second channel quality measurement for the wireless node. The method may further include sending a differential CQI to the base station based on comparing the second channel quality measurement to the first channel quality measurement. The differential CQI may occupy less channel resources than the full CQI.
US08320429B2 Receiver and method for receiving data in human body communication system using multiple receivers
There are provided a receiver in human body communication system using multiple receivers reducing an error rate of receiver signals by applying a space diversity acquisition-related SIMO technology to a plurality of received data using multiple receivers or receiver electrodes in a human body communication system using a human body as a medium, and of stably transmitting the data for the interference of signals generated by other users or from different electronic devices, and a method for receiving data in the human body communication system. The receiver and the method for receiving data in a human body communication system may be useful to stably transmit/receive data without any reduction of its transmission rate by reducing the distortion in channels and the signal noise which are caused in the use of one receiver.
US08320428B1 Spread spectrum clock generator with controlled delay elements
A programmable spread spectrum clock generator (SSCG) reduces electromagnetic interference by spreading the frequency bandwidth of an output signal. The rate at which the frequency of the output signal changes, as well as other aspects of the output signal, are software programmable. The programmable SSCG receives a periodic signal whose cycles have substantially identical periods and outputs the output signal whose cycles have periods that vary smoothly over a plurality of cycles of the periodic signal. The programmable SSCG generates a control signal using the periodic signal. The programmable SSCG includes a variable delay element that generates the output signal by delaying the periods of the periodic signal based on the magnitude of the control signal. The output signal is generated without using a phase locked loop. Moreover, successive cycles of the output signal rarely have identical periods.
US08320427B2 Cold walled induction guide tube
The introduction of spray formed metals into critical applications in the aircraft engine and power generation industries has been hampered by the possibility of erosion of oxide particles from a crucible lining or pouring nozzle in conventional spray forming equipment. These oxide particles may become inclusions that limit low-cycle fatigue life of parts. Use of a cold-walled induction guide (CIG) with an electrical insulation layer between copper CIG elements and the liquid metal offers a means of delivering ceramic-free alloys to a spray system with improved efficiency. CIG design options facilitated by a new oven-brazed fabrication technique resolve induction coil environmental isolation issues, correct thermal strain tolerance problems, facilitate dual frequency induction designs, allow improved electrical coupling efficiency and thermal efficiency, result in improved melt flow initiation, and facilitate disassembly without damage from the solidified melt.
US08320424B2 Optical component cleanliness and debris management in laser micromachining applications
Preferred embodiments of a purge gas port, laser beam attenuating input window, and laser shutter constitute subsystems of a UV laser optical system in which a laser beam is completely enclosed to reduce contamination of the optical system components. Purge gas is injected through multiple locations in a beam tube assembly to ensure that the optical component surfaces sensitive to contamination are in the flow path of the purge gas. The input window functions as a fixed level attenuator to limit photopolymerization of airborne molecules and particles. Periodically rotating optical elements asymmetrically in their holders reduces burn damage to the optics.
US08320420B2 Polarity independent laser monitor diode current sensing circuit for optical modules
A laser bias control and monitoring circuit receives a monitor diode current on an input node and generate a bias current for a laser diode on an output node where the monitor diode current flows into (positive polarity) or out of (negative polarity) the input node. The laser bias control and monitoring circuit includes a polarity independent current sensing circuit configured to receive the monitor diode current in either positive or negative polarity and to generate a normalized output current having a magnitude proportional to a magnitude of the monitor diode current. In this manner, the laser bias control and monitoring circuit can be used with laser diode and monitor diode combination in either the common anode or the common cathode configuration, or with the monitor diode current being provided from the anode or cathode of the monitor diode. No reprogramming or reconfiguration of the circuit is required.
US08320416B2 Laser irradiation system
A laser irradiation system includes a laser configured to irradiate light, a laser transfer unit configured to transfer the laser along a target irradiation area, the target irradiation area being divided into a plurality of sections, a laser transfer controller configured to control a speed of the laser in each of the plurality of sections of the target irradiation area, a laser output controller configured to control an output level of the laser in each of the plurality of sections of the target irradiation area, and a main controller configured to control the laser output controller and the laser transfer controller.
US08320414B2 Formation and rearrangement of lender devices that perform multiplexing functions
A method comprises establishing an ad-hoc network between a borrower and at least two lenders of bandwidth and establishing one lender of the at least two lenders as a multiplexer to manage data flow over the ad-hoc network between the borrower and lenders of the at least two lenders of bandwidth. The method may include providing a computer infrastructure to perform the steps of the invention. A system is also provided which includes a server having a database containing data associated with one or more lenders and a borrower in an ad-hoc network and at least one hardware and/or software component. The system may further includes computer usable medium having readable program code embodied in the medium to perform processes of the invention.
US08320410B2 Synchronization of media data streams with separate sinks using a relay
Relay devices and sink devices that provide synchronized audio and/or video outputs are described. A relay device receives a first communication packet from a source device. The first communication packet includes a data frame. A timestamp is generated. The timestamp is an estimate of a time at which content defined by the data frame will be “played.” A second communication packet is generated that includes the data frame and the generated timestamp. The second communication packet is transmitted from the relay device. In one implementation, the generated timestamp is received by a plurality of sink devices, and is used to synchronize output signals (e.g., sound and/or video images) of the sink devices. In another implementation, the generated timestamp is received by a sink device, and is used to synchronize an output signal of the sink device with an output signal of the relay device.
US08320401B2 System and method to access and address high-speed interface converter devices
High-speed transceiver devices, such as GBIC-type transceivers, are accessed and addressed. Identification information (including manufacturer name, model, compliance codes) is placed in data fields of the transceivers. An algorithm checks each port in each module of a host system to determine if a transceiver is present. If a particular transceiver is present, then algorithms store the port address of the transceiver in memory and enable the transceiver to be read from or written to. Reading from the transceiver includes reading the identification information, and writing to the transceiver includes writing the identification information. If a transceiver is initially determined not to be present or if the reading/writing/enabling processes fail, then a recovery process determines if the transceiver was present the last time it was checked. If it was present the last time, then the process continues to try to recover the transceiver data—otherwise, the port is marked as empty.
US08320395B2 Reduced interference channel allocation based on subband grouping by modulation, coding, and power
A radio resource control in an Uplink Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) system is provided. The control procedure includes: dividing the common frequency band into more than one frequency band sub-block; allocating at least one user terminal to each frequency band sub-block on the basis of the modulation and coding schemes used by the user terminals; and controlling transmission power of the user terminals on the basis of the modulation and coding schemes used by the user terminals.
US08320394B2 Radio communication system, terminal and packet
A radio communication system includes a plurality of radio communication terminals, in which a first radio communication terminal stores, in a first field contained in a header of a radio communication packet, address information indicating at least one radio communication terminal to which the radio communication packet is directly transmitted, and a second terminal relays the radio communication packet with reference to the address information stored in the first field. The header of the radio communication packet includes a second field which stores address information indicating a final destination terminal and a third field which stores address information indicating the first terminal as a sending source.
US08320392B1 Method and apparatus for programmable buffer with dynamic allocation to optimize system throughput with deadlock avoidance on switches
A method and apparatus for programmable buffer with dynamic allocation to optimize system throughput with deadlock avoidance on switches have been disclosed where a buffer availability is based on a programmable reservation size for dynamic allocation.
US08320385B1 Wireless scheduler bandwidth estimation for quick start
A method, wireless system, and medium are provided for estimating capacity for a new communication session initiated by a wireless device. The wireless system includes a base station and wireless devices that wirelessly connect to the base station. The base station executes a wireless scheduler that coordinates wireless transmission over wireless networks. The base station also executes a bandwidth estimation component to estimate available bandwidth for a new communication session. The estimated available bandwidth is used in a quick configuration message communicated from the base station to a wireless device to notify the wireless device of the capacity available at the base station and of a transmission rate for the wireless device.
US08320383B2 Method and apparatus for providing call admission control for VoIP over wireless local area networks using a transparent proxy agent
The invention includes a method and apparatus providing call admission control for a wireless local area network (WLAN). A method includes extracting call signaling information from call signaling messages exchanged between a first user terminal and a second user terminal for establishing a voice call, where the second user terminal is being served by a wireless access point, and propagating a quality-of-service request toward the wireless access point which may be used by the wireless access point for determining whether or not to accept the voice call. The quality-of-service request includes at least one quality-of-service parameter determined using the extracted call signaling information. The at least one quality-of-service parameter is adapted for use by the wireless access point for determining whether or not to accept the voice call. The wireless access point then provides an indication as to whether it has accepted the voice call (in which case the voice call is completed) or whether it has rejected the voice call (in which case some other call handling may be applied to the voice call).
US08320377B2 Connectivity plane routing
A method and device for routing a connectivity plane message to a mobile terminal that can be reached via two or more network nodes of a first type are described. The method includes receiving positional information indicating the geographical location of the mobile terminal, receiving routing information being associated with a network node of a second type to which the mobile terminal is attached, determining, based on the positional information, the network node of the first type via which the connectivity plane message is to be routed to the mobile terminal, and routing the connectivity plane message to the mobile terminal via the selected network node of the first type.
US08320376B2 Method and system for out-of-band messaging
Method and system for Out-Of-Band (OOB) massaging with Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) configured to receive OOB messaging signals from a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS). The method and system include determining whether a DCD message identifying data tunnels includes a DCD message identifier matching with a CPE identifier such that the data tunnels identified in the matching DCD message are tuned to by the CPE.
US08320375B2 Method and device for distributing data segment of data stream to group of users
A status message is sent by each node a group of nodes in a network to other nodes in the group using a multicast and/or broadcast channel of the network to identify the nodes in the group. The status message includes a piece of information about a data segment to be received by the nodes in the group via the multicast and/or broadcast channel. At least one of the nodes in the group requests the data segment via a point-to-point transmission channel from a source node. The data segment is sent to the other node(s) in the group via the multicast and/or broadcast channel.
US08320372B2 Processing of packet fragments
In one embodiment, the present invention is a technique for processing fragments received at a node (e.g., a router) in a datagram-based communication system in order to provide a wide range of protection against potential fragment-based attacks. Received fragments are examined as they are received to verify that they do not overlap one another and that the fragment sequence does not exploit common weaknesses in IP packet-reassembly algorithms. Valid fragment sequences that represent potential threats to the receiver can be reordered and/or fully or partially re-assembled and re-fragmented into a fragment sequence that eliminates or reduces the threat to the receiver. Fragmented sequences that represent a likely attack are blocked, as are subsequent fragments of the associated packet.
US08320368B2 Systems and methods to provide communication references based on recommendations to connect people for real time communications
Methods and apparatuses to selectively present communication references based on recommendations from related entities to connect people for real time communications. One embodiment includes: receiving from a user a selection of a first listing, including a reference to be used to request a connection for real time communications between the user and a first entity; responsive to the selection of the first listing, determining one or more entities related to the first listing; selecting a second listing based at least in part on data representing one or more recommendations from the one or more entities; and presenting to the user the second listing, the including a reference for the user to request a connection with a second entity for real time communications. In one embodiment, the first and second entities provide services over connections established via the references included in the first and second listings for real time communications.
US08320364B2 Control of bit-rate and packet duplication in a real-time media stream
A method for controlling a real-time media stream between a sender and a receiver. The method includes streaming, from the sender, media packets over a network at a bit-rate, determining at the sender a loss-rate for the streamed media packets not received at the receiver. The sender optionally generates duplicate packets for a selected number of media packets and streams the duplicate packets over the network when the loss-rate is above a first loss-rate threshold, or varies the bit-rate of streaming the media packets over the network when the loss-rate is above a second loss-rate threshold.
US08320362B2 Telecommunications system and method of initiating file transfers from voice endpoints
A communications system and method of transferring data over the communications system. The system includes audio communications devices (telephones and/or, soft phones) connected to Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) endpoints with multiple line capabilities and a unique Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) associated with audio communications that has the form x@y.z. A file transfer agent system running a File Transfer Application Agent (FTAA) application is also connected at each of SIP endpoints, and has a unique URI that has the form ft.x@y.z. Parties conducting a phone conversation at SIP endpoints can initiate file transfers between the file transfer agent system from respective audio communications devices without otherwise accessing the file transfer agent system.
US08320359B2 Synchronization channel scheme for super 3G
An apparatus and method operable to enable the use of synchronization (SCH) and broadcast channel (BCH) signals with a bandwidth (BW) equal to the minimum possible BW for the system, for example 1.25 MHz. The present invention increases the speed of the initial cell search. In addition, the repetition of signals in the frequency domain makes it possible to perform a faster cell detection in the event a system/mobile terminal/UE is using a larger BW. When the present invention is used in a high BW system, a mobile terminal/UE is operable to determine whether to perform a cell search on a low or high BW to get sufficient cell detection performance.
US08320357B2 Wireless telecommunications system with improved transmission capacity
A wireless telecommunications system for stationary or semi-stationary equipment includes a main node and a first plurality of terminals belonging to the same access subset and arranged to receive from and transmit to the main node. The main node transmits in at least one beam and receives in at least two beams, and the system indicates to the terminals that they may or may not transmit to the central node. Based upon certain criteria, two or more terminals located in different receive beams of the main node may be given permission to transmit to the central node simultaneously. Suitably, two or more terminals which are given permission to transmit simultaneously do so using the same frequency, or the same code, or the same time slot.
US08320355B1 Voice data integrated multiaccess by self-reservation and contention algorithm
Certain exemplary embodiments provide a method for providing multiple access to a communication channel, the method comprising: sending a reservation request of a first type into a first selected minislot of a selected frame of an uplink channel when information of a first type is to be sent, the uplink channel having a plurality of frames, each frame having a first selectable number of minislots and a second selectable number of slots, the reservation request of the first type requesting an assignment of at least one slot for transmitting information of the first type in at least one frame that is subsequent to the selected frame.
US08320354B2 Robust transmission scheme for wireless networks
Systems and methods are described that facilitate assigning a predefined manner in which interfering transmissions may be fully or partially orthogonalized, as well as transmission time periods during which the orthogonalization protocol(s) may be employed. Depending on interference conditions, flexible resource reuse may be implemented to mitigate interference without unduly taxing resources. The subject of the innovation may be employed in, for instance, an ad hoc or unplanned/semi-planned wireless communication environment.
US08320353B2 Method and system for estimating adaptive combined channel in CDMA system based on time division duplex system
Disclosed is a method and system for estimating an adaptive joint channel in a CDMA system based on TDD. The method includes the steps of a) receiving activity information of a mobile terminal; b) parsing the activity information, and transmitting a midamble sequence to the mobile terminal when a result of the parsing shows that the mobile terminal is in an ON state; c) conducting adaptive joint channel estimation by using the midamble sequence in the mobile terminal; and d) conducting adaptive joint detection by using a channel impulse response of the mobile terminal, obtained as a result of conducting the adaptive joint channel estimation. The method and system decreases the complexity in channel estimation and additionally increases the accuracy of channel estimation by reducing transmission power consumption and eliminating unnecessary interference.
US08320350B2 Method, system and a data frame for communication in a wireless communication system
A means for determining a channel for communication in a wireless communication system is provided. A method includes receiving one or more sub-frames of a beacon signal on a beaconing channel until a legitimacy condition of the beacon signal is met. The beacon signal is transmitted by a beaconing device. The method further includes determining a suitability of the channel for communication in the wireless communication system based on the legitimacy condition.
US08320347B2 Wireless communication device and computer usable medium therefor
A wireless communication device is provided. The wireless communication device includes a first obtainer configured to obtain an identifier of a wireless network to which a first external device belongs, the identifier of the wireless network being detected based on radio waves transmitted from the first external device, a second obtainer configured to obtain an identifier of a wireless network to which a second external device belongs, the identifier of the wireless network being obtained from the second external device through an IP network to which the wireless communication device has been connected, and an output controller configured to output a first identifier obtained commonly by the first obtainer and the second obtainer to an output unit so that the first identifier is presented to be distinguishable from other identifiers obtained by solely one of the first obtainer and the second obtainer.
US08320346B2 Apparatus and methods for universal services interface networking
Embodiments of systems and methods for Universal System Interface (USI) networking are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a USI request may be received by a station configured for heterogeneous wireless communication from an application service provider (ASP) over a first access network. The USI request may include a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of a USI system for services provided by a network service provider (NSP) over a second access network. The station may then determine the USI system address based on the FQDN Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
US08320343B2 Radio cell station apparatus, reference signal allocation method and reference signal allocation program
A CS searches in advance for information about unique words used by neighboring CSs to hold the information in a storage unit. When an LCH establishment request is made by a PS in the cell of the CS, it is confirmed whether or not there is an empty traffic slot. Further, with reference to the unique word information of the neighboring CSs of the same frequency and the same slot as the empty slot to be allocated, an unused unique word pattern is allocated.
US08320338B2 Transmission/reception apparatus and method for supporting MIMO technology in a forward link of a high rate packet data system
Methods and apparatus are provided for transmitting and receiving data in a communication system with a plurality of antennas. Data and a first pilot are generated. The first pilot is transmitted at a first position in a frequency domain that corresponds to a position of the generated data in the frequency domain and at a first position in a time domain that is with the generated data, in every transmission time interval of the data. A second pilot is generated. The second pilot is transmitted at predetermined second positions in the time domain and the frequency domain, in a transmission time interval that is predefined by a transmitter and a receiver.
US08320337B2 Method and apparatus for transmitting ACK/NACK
A technology enabling a base station to transmit acknowledgement (ACK)/negative ACK (NACK) information about data received from a terminal is provided. A cyclic shift value difference of each terminal may be maximized and a radio resource for transmitting the ACK/NACK information may be assigned without collision.
US08320336B2 Method for transmitting and receiving control channel with additional information
A method for transmitting and receiving a control channel with additional information is disclosed. To this end, a mobile station acquires information of at least one control channel, which supports additional information transmission through phase rotation, and phase rotation value information for representing the additional information, and transmits control information through any one of the control channels and the additional information through phase rotation of the control information. A base station provides information of at least one control channel, which supports additional information transmission through phase rotation, and phase rotation value information for representing the additional information, and simultaneously receives specific control information and additional information from the mobile station based on the control channel information and the phase rotation value information.
US08320331B2 Method and apparatus for estimating a position of an access point in a wireless communications network
The present invention describes a method for estimating a position of an Access Point in a wireless communications network. The Access Point, used for connecting wireless networks to a core network, is being equipped with a User Equipment module, UE module. The UE module is used for scanning, for example upon a triggering event, a surrounding environment of the Access Point to identify neighbor Radio Base Stations. The Access Point then creates a neighbor list including information relating to neighbor Radio Base Stations. The Access Point forwards the neighbor list to the Network Control Node, wherein the Network Control Node uses the information in the neighbor list to estimate a position of the Access Point.
US08320330B2 Service zone switching method based on load considering inter-cell interference in 802.16/WIBRO systems
There is provided a method of switching a zone through which services are provided to subscriber stations (SS) in an environment using an FRF-1 zone and an FRF-3 zone based on traffic load of each zone in order to reduce the inter-cell interference in 802.16/WiBro systems. The service zone switching method based on load considering inter-cell interference in 802.16/WiBro systems may be useful to minimize the inter-cell interference, enhance the capacity of cells and improve users' transmission quality in the cells by determining whether the services are provided through one out of an FRF-1 zone (a zone where users in 3 sectors of one cell can use all subchannels) and an FRF-3 zone (a zone where users in each of 3 sectors of one cell can use one third of all subchannels; 3 sectors of one cell use 3 channel group, respectively), which are present in one frame, based on the distribution and traffic load of subscriber stations (SS) present in one cell, which consists of 3 sector units, under the environment of the 802.16/WiBro systems, and providing services through the selected zone.
US08320326B2 Method and system for inter-technology active handoff of a hybrid communication device
A communication system provides for a handoff of a hybrid mobile station (MS) between a legacy network implementing a non-high rate packet data (non-HRPD) communication technology and a network implementing a high rate packet data (HRPD) communication technology. In one embodiment, the legacy network receives a handoff trigger and redirects the MS to the HRPD network. In other embodiments, the legacy network (or HRPD network) receives a handoff trigger, obtains an allocation of HRPD network (or non-HRPD network) resources from the HRPD network (or non-HRPD network), and informs the MS of the allocated HRPD network (or non-HRPD network) resources. Subsequent to the establishment by the HRPD network (or non-HRPD network) of a traffic channel with the MS, the non-HRPD network (or HRPD network) releases non-HRPD network (or HRPD network) RF resources associated with the MS. In still other embodiments, the handoffs may be controlled by a Mobile Switching Center.
US08320318B2 Power ramping for RACH
The present invention relates to a method for requesting access to a resource, said method comprising a secondary station transmitting an access preamble to a primary station, upon failure of correct transmission of the access preamble, the secondary station starting a first power ramping scheme for transmitting the access preamble, upon failure of correct transmission of the access preamble with the first power ramping scheme, the secondary station transmitting a second access preamble with a second power ramping scheme being different from the first power ramping scheme.
US08320314B2 Method for efficiently performing initial access in a multi-carrier broadband wireless access system
A method for efficiently performing an initial access in an MS in a multi-carrier broadband wireless access system is disclosed. The method includes scanning a plurality of carriers supported by a BS, and selecting one of the scanned carriers as a first carrier and receiving an SFH of the first carrier. The SFH of the first carrier includes at least one of a field indicating load status of the first carrier and recommended network entry carrier information including information about a second carrier in good load status.
US08320311B2 Method and system for establishing high-speed downlink shared channel
A method and system for establishing high-speed downlink shared channel, wherein the method comprises the following steps: RNC indicates Node B to establish high-speed downlink shared channel between the Node B and terminal; in response to the indication of the RNC, the Node B establishes high-speed downlink shared channel between the Node B and the terminal by using the preset high-speed downlink shared channel physical layer category; the terminal establishes radio resource control connection between the terminal and the RNC and returns information on the actual high-speed downlink shared channel physical layer category of the terminal to the RNC; and the RNC judges whether the actual high-speed downlink shared channel physical layer category of the terminal is identical with the preset high-speed downlink shared channel physical layer category, and if not, the RNC indicates the Node B to reestablish high-speed downlink shared channel between the Node B and the terminal by using the actual high-speed downlink shared channel physical layer category of the terminal.
US08320310B2 SDMA communication system for feeding back channel state information and method supporting the same
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for feeding back Channel State Information (CSI) by a Base Station (BS) in a communication system using Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA). The CSI feedback method includes grouping Mobile Stations (MSs) into at least two groups; allocating a second feedback channel over which CSI is to be fed back, to semi-orthogonal MSs having a semi-orthogonal relationship with MSs included in a first group which is one of the at least two groups, among MSs included in a second group which is one of the at least two groups and is different from the first group; receiving CSIs being fed back from the semi-orthogonal MSs through the second feedback channel; and selecting at least one MS satisfying a semi-orthogonal criterion to the MSs included in the first group from among the semi-orthogonal MSs that feed back CSIs through the second feedback channel.
US08320309B2 IP mobility within a communication system
A method and gateway node for routing IP traffic to and from a mobile terminal able to connect to the Internet via two or more gateway nodes. A multi-addressing multi-homing protocol is implemented at each gateway node on behalf of the mobile terminal. The gateway nodes share protocol state information to enable gateway nodes to update state information at the corresponding node when the mobile terminal changes gateway nodes.
US08320307B2 Communication method, mobile station, and communication system
Conventionally, there is a problem that a state transition of E-TFC changes according to QoS for descriptions of data to be transmitted, and therefore a mobile station's operation is not decided uniquely. To solve this problem, a transmission control method includes a step of selecting transmission control information according to a combination of user data transmitted, via a transport channel, from an upper layer, and a step of transmitting the transmission control information, as well as a physical channel into which two or more transport channels are multiplexed, to a fixed station, the transmission control information including at least transmit power information.
US08320305B2 Random access burst transmission scheme
An apparatus for transmitting and receiving signals in a wireless telecommunication system and to a method for transmitting random access bursts in such an apparatus. The apparatus includes a transmitter for transmitting random access bursts, a receiver for receiving acknowledgement information confirming a successful transmission of a random access burst, a decision unit for deciding if acknowledgement information has been received, and a control unit for randomly choosing a time point for an attempt to retransmit said random access burst from an interval if no acknowledgement information has been received after a random access burst had been transmitted.
US08320303B2 Wimax network, wimax network element, and method of handling QoS requirements therein
A method of handling QoS requirements in a wireless communication network (1), wherein a QoS request message (A) associated with said QoS requirements is sent from a core network (2) to an access network (3.1, 3.2) responsible for resource allocation to an end terminal (4, 4′) requiring a particular service to a wireless access gateway (9) The proposed method comprises the step of allocating a wireless access gateway (9) at initial authentication of the end terminal (4, 4′) while the latter is still connected to the network.
US08320302B2 Over the air microcontroller flash memory updates
Techniques for over the air (OTA) microcontroller flash memory updates using a wireless network are disclosed herein. A control node first transmits the microcontroller flash memory update to all devices that can receive the message. Each packet of the message is relayed through multiple communication levels until all devices receive the packet. This starts with communications from the control node to each device node that has a direct communication path to the control node, which are referred to herein as “first level” device nodes. The first level device nodes then relay each communication to each other device node that has a direct communication path to the first level device nodes, which are referred to herein as “second level” device nodes. This process is repeated at each level of the wireless network until each of the plurality of device nodes has received the microcontroller flash memory update.
US08320296B2 Mobile satellite communication
Embodiments provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for adaptive coding, spreading, and modulating over a satellite communication channel. In some embodiments, a method of adaptive coding, sampling, and modulating over a satellite communication channel may include providing multiple data frames. At least one modcode partition may be provided for each data frame. The modcode partitions may represent modulation, coding, spreading, and/or frame size information for respective data frames. Each data frame and the respective modcode partition may be combined to form a modcode data unit. Multiple superframes may be formed. Each superframe may include a first known sequence and multiple subframes. Each subframe for a respective superframe may include a portion of a respective modcode data unit. Multiple superframes may be transmitted across a wireless channel.
US08320295B2 Mobile IP control system, mobile IP control method, and mobile IP control program
To suppress communication delay and data loss caused by the radio type of a mobile terminal and the radio communication band when a communication packet is sent to the mobile terminal in a mobile IP system. A mobile IP control system includes: a radio base station (40A) which provides a radio connection link to a mobile terminal (50); a home agent (20) which transfers a communication packet transmitted from a partner terminal (60), to the mobile terminal (50); and a foreign agent (30A) which relays mutual communication between the foreign agent (30A) and the radio base station (40A). The foreign agent (30A) notifies the home agent (20) of the communication band of the radio communication performed between the radio base station (40A) and the mobile terminal (50). The home agent (20) performs band control for packet transmission to the mobile terminal (50) in accordance with the notified communication band.
US08320294B2 Method for communicating in a network comprising wire and wireless nodes
The inventive method makes it possible to communicate in a network comprising wireless nodes provided with communications means enabling to communicate through a wireless channel and wire nodes provided with communication means enabling to communicate through a wire channel. Said method is characterised in that the wire node repeats a message received exclusively through a wireless channel if a signal acknowledging the message reception is not received, wherein the transmission of said acknowledgement signal is generated in a first time slot upon the reception of the signal though a wire channel.
US08320293B2 Method and apparatus for controlling uplink multicast service
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for controlling the transmission of uplink multicast service data in communication network. According to the invention, a user equipment sends request to a multicast controlling device for the permission of providing uplink multicast data stream; once the uplink multicast controlling device has verified and accepted the request, it will assign multicast address, bandwidth, valid time for it and update the uplink multicast forwarding table at the access device to establish an uplink multicast dedicated VLAN. After that, the access device will forward multicast data from the UE according to the uplink multicast forwarding table configured by the uplink multicast controlling device, to be specific, allowed multicast packets to be forwarded into the uplink multicast dedicated VLAN, and get to the multicast router via the uplink multicast dedicated VLAN. Finally, the multicast router will take the responsibility of multicast distributing of the uplink multicast service data. Based on the present invention, the access of uplink multicast and the data transmission can be well controlled, the multicast routers provide multicast service to the network in a centralized manner. Also, this is compatible with the existing multicast and unicast services.
US08320292B2 Method to control a multimedia broadcast multicast service(MBMS) mode of a MBMS session in a communication system
A method to control a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) mode of a MBMS session in a communication system is provided herein. In operation, a first network element that is located outside a radio access network determines to use one of a single frequency network MBMS mode and a single cell MBMS mode for the MBMS session based on a property of the MBMS session. The first network element then transmits a session control signaling message to a second network element that is located inside the radio access network. The session control signaling message instructs the second network element that user plane data for the MBMS session shall be transmitted using the determined MBMS mode. The base stations then transmit the user plane data to one or user equipments in a target service area according to the determined MBMS mode.
US08320290B2 Evolved multimedia broadcast/multicast service access gateway, base station and methods thereof
The present invention provides an Evolved Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (EMBMS) access gateway supporting network multicast, comprising: receiving/responding means for receiving a Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) Session Start message from a Broadcast/Multicast-Service Center (BM-SC) and for returning a response message to the BM-SC after receiving the MBMS Session Start message; storage means for storing a mapping relationship between respective MBMS service areas (SAs) and respective base stations; determining means for determining base station(s) associated with the MBMS based on the stored mapping relationship when the receiving/responding means receives the MBMS Session Start message; and transmitting means for transmitting the MBMS Session Start message to the determined bases station(s).
US08320283B2 Method and system for utilizing givens rotation expressions for asymmetric beamforming matrices in explicit feedback information
Aspects of a method and system for utilizing Givens rotation expressions for asymmetric beamforming matrices in explicit feedback information are presented. In one aspect of the invention, Givens matrices may be utilized to reduce a quantity of information communicated in explicit feedback information via an uplink RF channel. The explicit feedback information may include specifications for a feedback beamforming matrix that may be utilized when transmitting signals via a corresponding downlink RF channel. The feedback beamforming matrix may represent a rotated version of an un-rotated matrix. The Givens matrices may be utilized to apply one or more Givens rotations to un-rotated matrix. The feedback beamforming matrix may be computed based on a matrix product of a plurality of Givens matrices. The feedback beamforming matrix may be encoded utilizing fewer bits than may be required to encode the un-rotated matrix.
US08320279B2 Managing and provisioning virtual routers
Methods and systems are provided for provisioning and managing network-based virtual private networks (VPNs). According to one embodiment, a routing configuration for each of multiple network-based customer VPNs is generated for multiple customers based on (i) site reachability information for multiple service processing switches and (ii) a global customer routing profile for a network-based customer VPN of the plurality of network-based customer VPNs. Multiple virtual routers (VRs) distributed among the service processing switches are provisioned to support the network-based customer VPNs based on the routing configurations. A custom routing profile, identifying one or more routing protocols to be used for one or more segments of the network-based customer VPN profile, is received for the network-based customer VPN. The network-based customer VPN is automatically reconfigured by programmatically generating appropriate routing configurations for VRs partitioned to the network-based customer VPN based on the site reachability information and the custom routing profile.
US08320276B1 Multicarrier communication support
Embodiments of the invention are concerned with multicarrier communication support, such as non-adjacent multicarrier support for a contiguous-bandwidth receiver. One embodiment includes receiving one or more carriers in a configurable contiguous bandwidth, calculating an imbalance metric representing a receiving imbalance over a set of carriers, said imbalance metric representing a difference between a first value based on received signal strength indication on each of one or more carriers and a second value based on received signal strength indication on each of one or more carriers, verifying, based on the calculated imbalance metric, whether a threshold condition relating to a current mode of an adjacent carrier mode and non-adjacent carrier mode is satisfied, and reporting an event for triggering reconfiguration of said configurable contiguous bandwidth to switch the current mode between said adjacent and non-adjacent carrier modes, if the threshold condition is satisfied.
US08320267B2 Reference signal sounding for uplink pilot time slot in wireless communication system
A wireless terminal operating in TDD mode transmits a plurality of sounding reference signals using an assigned maximum sounding reference signal (SRS) bandwidth (BW) size. At least one of the sounding reference signals is transmitted in a corresponding uplink pilot time slot (UpPTS) region of a special sub-frame of a radio frame wherein, in the frequency dimension, an uplink BW center is misaligned with a BW center of the SRS in the UpPTS region, a maximum SRS BW size in the UpPTS region is an even number of resource blocks with prime factors from a set of {2, 3, 5}, and the maximum SRS BW having a size in number of resource blocks less than or equal to (NRBUL−6·NRA) where NRA is a number of Random Access Channel (RACH) opportunities in the UpPTS region.
US08320265B2 Method and apparatus for obtaining an attenuation factor
The present invention discloses a method for obtaining an attenuation factor. The method is adapted to process the synthesized signal in packet loss concealment, and includes: obtaining a change trend of a signal; obtaining an attenuation factor, according to the change trend of the signal. The present invention also discloses an apparatus for obtaining an attenuation factor. A self-adaptive attenuation factor is adjusted dynamically by using the latest change trend of a history signal by using the present invention. The smooth transition from the history data to the data last received is realized so that the attenuation speed is kept consistent between the compensated signal and the original signal as much as possible for adapting to the characteristic of various human voices.
US08320264B2 Method and apparatus for determining path loss by active signal detection
In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to a method for determining a path loss value of a signal transmitted from a wireless device and received by a receiver, where the wireless device and the receiver operate within a wireless communication system having at least one cell having at least one sector operating on at least one frequency channel. The method includes: (i) identifying a geographic area where the path loss value is to be determined; (ii) identifying a first cell, a first sector, and a first frequency channel associated with the geographic area wherein said wireless device is actively communicating with said receiver using said first frequency channel; (iii) receiving at said receiver the signal transmitted from said wireless device on said first frequency channel; (iv) receiving at said receiver an indication of transmission signal strength of said signal; (v) measuring at said receiver the received signal strength of said signal; and (vi) determining the path loss value of said first frequency channel as a function of the indication of transmission signal strength and the received signal strength.
US08320262B2 Bus system and method and device for transmitting communications on a bus system
A method and device for transmitting communications on a bus system, as well as a bus system, is provided, in which the communications are transmitted in communication frames and the communication frames and the communications contain a security sequence. In the bus system, communications of various lengths can be transmitted, and for all of the communications to be transmitted in the bus system, a maximum length of a communication is provided. A first code is contained in the communication frame, by means of which the maximum length of the respective communication to be transmitted can be specified.
US08320252B2 System and method for data communications using a sliding window protocol with selective retransmission
A system and method for data communications involves receiving a data frame in a receiver using a sliding receive window protocol, where a sliding receive window of the sliding receive window protocol is identified by sliding receive window information, and determining whether the data frame is a retransmitted data frame using the sliding receive window information.
US08320247B2 Dynamic queue management
A method may include receiving a data unit and identifying a state of a memory storing data units. The method may include selecting a threshold value having a first threshold unit or a second threshold unit based on the state of the memory. The method may include comparing the threshold value to a queue state using the first threshold unit if the memory is in a first state. The method may include comparing the threshold value to the queue state using the second threshold unit if the memory is in a second state.
US08320245B2 Policy enforcement points
A policy enforcement point (PEP) attaches to the edge of a network to manage loading when the network nears or exceeds its capacity due to changes in the network, e.g., component failures or incremental growth. Autonomous PEP's at the network's edges provide short-term, application-aware controls on their own that are applied to the corresponding network ingress traffic. Path tables are used to calculate whether particular PEP's can admit more traffic, or should they shed sessions/calls to keep service up for the existing application traffic. Long-term controls are periodically downloaded as admission tables from a session/call admission controller to the PEP's.
US08320243B2 Method of classifying data and transmitting data in a PLC network and apparatus therefor
A method of transmitting data more effectively, and more particularly, a method of classifying service traffic, transmitting data according to the classifications of the service traffic, and performing a contention free slot (CFS) allocation in order to transmit data in a power line communication (PLC) network, and an apparatus to do the same. The data transmission method includes determining transmission priority of data according to service traffic characteristics, and transmitting data according to the determined transmission priority, thereby providing differentiated quality of service (QoS) according to service traffic characteristics.
US08320242B2 Active response communications network tap
An active response network tap for use in monitoring a network comprises a first device interface terminal, a second device interface terminal, a first monitor interface terminal, and a second monitor interface terminal. A tap structure is coupled to the first device interface terminal, second device interface terminal, first monitor interface terminal and second monitor interface terminal. A memory is coupled to the tap structure and configured to store data. In one aspect, the tap structure is configured to communicate full-duplex traffic between the tap structure and a monitor device coupled to a monitor interface terminal. In another aspect, the tap structure is configured to insert data from a monitor coupled to the first monitor interface into the traffic between the first device and the second device. Advantages of the invention include the ability to provide monitor access to a network while also supporting communication with other network devices.
US08320240B2 Rate limiting and minimum and maximum shaping in a network device
A network device for scheduling packets in a plurality of queues includes a plurality of leaky bucket modules, each of the plurality of leaky bucket mechanisms being associated with one of a plurality of queues and configured to process information based on a predefined bandwidth, a scheduler configured to schedule services of the plurality of queues and a metering module for tracking whether or not the plurality of queues has exceeded a predefined threshold through the leaky bucket modules. If the plurality of queues has exceeded the predefined threshold, the metering module is configured to compute a new bandwidth allocation for each of the plurality of queues, the new bandwidth allocation replacing the predefined bandwidth and being proportional to the predefined bandwidth for each of the plurality of queues.
US08320233B2 Transmitter and method for applying multi-tone OFDM based communications within a lower frequency range
According to one embodiment of the invention, an integrated circuit comprises an encoding module, a modulation module and a spectral shaped module. The encoding module includes an interleaver that adapted to operate in a plurality of modes including a first mode, a second mod and a third mode. The interleaver performs repetitive encoding when placed in the second mode and even greater repetitive encoding when placed in the third mode.
US08320232B1 Patterned perpendicular magnetic recording medium with multiple magnetic layers and interlayers
A patterned perpendicular magnetic recording medium has discrete data islands that have first and second ferromagnetic layers (MAG1 and MAG2) with first and second nonmagnetic interlayers (IL1 and IL2) between MAG1 and MAG2. MAG1 and MAG2 may be similar CoPtCr alloys with similar thicknesses, with thicknesses of IL1 and IL2 that assure that MAG1 and MAG2 are strongly exchange coupled. Alternatively, MAG2 may be a “write assist” layer, for example a high-saturation magnetization, magnetically soft material in an exchange-spring structure, with IL1 being very thin so that IL2 functions as the coupling layer between MAG1 and the write-assist MAG2 layer. In an application for thermally-assisted recording (TAR), MAG2 may be the chemically-ordered equiatomic binary alloy FePt or CoPt based on the L10 phase, with high magneto-crystalline anisotropy (Ku).
US08320231B2 Recording apparatus and recording method
A recording apparatus that performs recording of data on a disc-shaped recording medium including a recording area, which is capable of recording user data therein, and a replacement area, which is replaced by a defect area included in the recording area, includes a setting section configured to replace a portion of the recording area by the replacement area, and set the portion of the recording area as an area for adjustment, and an adjustment section configured to perform adjustment by using the area for adjustment.
US08320222B2 Semiconductor integrated circuit and disk recording and reproducing drive using the same
The present invention enables a comprehensive evaluation from both of data read from a disk and a servo signal of a servo controller. The present invention provides a semiconductor integrated circuit mountable to a disk recording and reproducing drive, which comprises a signal processor of an RF signal read from a pickup, a servo controller responsive to a servo error signal read from the pickup, a memory controller, and an external interface. The memory controller is supplied with read data and a servo signal and stores the read data and the servo signal in a buffer memory according to a time division process. The read data and the servo signal stored in the buffer memory can be transferred to an external device via the external interface by the memory controller.
US08320218B2 Hidden ultrasonic transducer with beam angle control for non-contact target detection systems
An ultrasonic transducer utilizes a unique forward acoustic transmission line comprised of a composite structure partially consisting of a portion of a continuous smooth sheet of material, such as an automobile bumper, from which the acoustic beam is emitted. This makes it invisible to sight, thus allowing for an improved object detection system in which the sensors cannot be seen, so that they do not interfere with the smooth lines that were designed into the surface of the object or vehicle onto which they are mounted. This is a significant improvement for applications where the look and style of the surface of the platform is important, such as in automotive park assist systems.
US08320214B1 Device for reducing target strength of an underwater object
A device for deflecting acoustic waves for an object in a liquid environment includes a heating grid and a cooling grid. The heating grid is positioned about the object and increases the temperature in the liquid environment. The cooling grid is positioned about the object to cool the liquid environment outside the heating grid. Jointly, these grids establish a temperature gradient in the liquid environment that is capable of bending acoustic waves in the environment. The cooling grid and heating grid can be established through mechanical, electrical or chemical methods. Alternatively, the required temperature gradient can be established by a heating grid alone in a moving vehicle wherein the heating grid is continuously in contact with undisturbed water at the ambient temperature.
US08320211B1 Current-sense amplifier with low-offset adjustment and method of low-offset adjustment thereof
A current-sense amplifier with low-offset adjustment and a low-offset adjustment method thereof are disclosed. The current-sense amplifier includes a sensing unit, an equalizing unit and a bias compensation unit. The sensing unit includes a sense amplifier, a latch circuit, a first precharged bit line, and a second precharged bit line. The equalizing unit is electrically connected to the first and the second precharged bit line for regulating a voltage of the first precharged bit line and a voltage of the second precharged bit line to the same electric potential. The bias compensation unit is electrically connected to the sense amplifier for compensating an input offset voltage of the current-sense amplifier.
US08320209B2 Sense amplifier using reference signal through standard MOS and DRAM capacitor
A memory circuit includes a first memory cell node capacitor, a first memory cell node transistor, a second memory cell node having a second memory cell node capacitor and a second memory cell node transistor, and a pre-charging circuit for pre-charging the first and second memory cell nodes to first and second voltage levels, respectively. The circuit includes a reference memory cell having first and second reference cell transistors with an equalizing transistor between, and a sense amplifier that detects a potential difference between reference bit lines from the reference memory cell and the first or second memory cell node, respectively. The reference cell transistors and equalizing transistor perform a first voltage equalization of the memory cell nodes at a predetermined voltage and a second voltage equalization of the memory cell nodes based on first or second reference signals respectively input to the first or second reference cell transistor.
US08320205B2 Semiconductor memory device, semiconductor system including the semiconductor memory device, and method for operating the semiconductor memory device
A semiconductor memory device includes a first data input/output unit configured to receive a normal training data, whose data window is scanned based on an edge of a source clock, in response to a training input command, and output a data in a state where an edge of the data window is synchronized with the edge of the source clock in response to a training output command, and a second data input/output unit configured to receive a recovery information training data, whose data window is scanned based on the edge of the source clock, in response to the training input command, and output a data in a state where an edge of a data window is synchronized with the edge of the source clock in response to the training output command.
US08320197B2 Semiconductor memory device
A semiconductor memory device having read and write operations includes a discrimination signal generating unit for generating a discrimination signal during the write operation and a selective delay unit for receiving and selectively delaying a command-group signal in response to the discrimination signal.
US08320195B2 Memory circuit and method of writing data to and reading data from memory circuit
A disclosed memory circuit includes first and second latch circuits, each writing a write data at a timing of a clock signal and retaining the write data, the write data having been input in each of the first and second latch circuits, a data input circuit supplying the write data to each of the first and second latch circuits when a write enable signal indicates a state allowing the write data to be written, a write back circuit supplying the write data retained in the second latch circuit to the first latch circuit when the write enable signal indicates a state preventing the write data from being written, wherein a robustness against noise in the second latch circuit is more improved than that in the first latch circuit.
US08320192B2 Memory cell, a memory array and a method of programming a memory cell
A method of programming a memory cell (100), the method comprising applying a first electric potential to a first electric terminal (101) of the memory cell (100) to accelerate first charge carriers of a first type of conductivity to thereby generate second charge carriers of a second type of conductivity by impact ionisation of the accelerated first charge carriers, and applying a second electric potential to a second electric terminal (102) of the memory cell (100) to accelerate the second charge carriers to thereby inject the second charge carriers in a charge trapping structure (103) of the memory cell (100).
US08320191B2 Memory cell arrangement, method for controlling a memory cell, memory array and electronic device
In an embodiment of the invention, a memory cell arrangement includes a substrate and at least one memory cell including a charge storing memory cell structure and a select structure. The memory cell arrangement further includes a first doping well, a second doping well and a third doping well arranged within the substrate, wherein the charge storing memory cell structure is arranged in or above the first doping well, the first doping well is arranged within the second doping well, and the second doping well is arranged within the third doping well. The memory cell arrangement further includes a control circuit coupled with the memory cell and configured to control the memory cell such that the charge storing memory cell structure is programmed or erased by charging or discharging the charge storing memory cell structure via at least the first doping well.
US08320188B2 Semiconductor apparatus and method for transferring control voltage
A semiconductor apparatus includes a control voltage transfer unit configured to transfer a control voltage transmitted through first transmission lines, to second transmission lines in response to a select signal transmitted through a select signal transmission line; a select signal driving unit configured to drive the select signal to the select signal transmission line; and a voltage boosting control unit configured to float the select signal transmission line when a voltage level of the select signal transmission line increase to or above a target level.
US08320186B2 Method of operating nonvolatile memory device
Provided is a method of operating a nonvolatile memory device to perform a programming operation or an erase operation. The method includes applying a composite pulse including a direct current (DC) pulse and an AC perturbation pulse to the nonvolatile memory device to perform the programming operation or the erase operation.
US08320182B2 Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes: a memory unit; and a control unit. The memory unit includes: first and second memory strings including first and second memory transistors with first and second select gates, respectively; and first and second wirings connected thereto. In a selective erase operation of a selected cell transistor of the first memory transistors, the control unit applies V1 voltage to the first wiring, applies V2 voltage lower than V1 to a selected cell gate of the selected cell transistor, applies V3 voltage not higher than V1 and higher than V2 to a non-selected cell gate of the first memory transistors, applies V1 or V4 voltage not higher than V1 and not lower than V3 to the first select gate, and applies V2 or V4 voltage higher than V2 and not higher than V3 to the second wiring or sets the second wiring in a floating state.
US08320176B2 EEPROM charge retention circuit for time measurement
An electronic charge retention circuit for time measurement, implanted in an array of EEPROM memory cells, each including a selection transistor in series with a floating-gate transistor, the circuit including, on any one row of memory cells: a first subassembly of at least a first cell, the thickness of the dielectric of the tunnel window of the floating-gate transistor of which is less than that of the other cells; a second subassembly of at least a second cell, the drain and source of the floating-gate transistor of which are interconnected; a third subassembly of at least a third cell; and a fourth subassembly of at least a fourth cell, the tunnel window of which is omitted, the respective floating gates of the transistors of the cells of the four subassemblies being interconnected.
US08320173B2 Methods of forming programmed memory cells
In some embodiments, a memory cell includes a transistor gate spaced from a channel region by gate dielectric; a source region on one side of the channel region; and a drain region on an opposing side of the channel region from the source region. The channel region has phase change material adjacent the drain region. In some embodiments, the phase change material may be adjacent both the source region and the drain region. Some embodiments include methods of programming a memory cell that has phase change material adjacent a drain region. An inversion layer is formed within the channel region adjacent the gate dielectric, with the inversion layer having a pinch-off region within the phase change material adjacent the drain region. Hot carriers (for instance, electrons) within the pinch-off region are utilized to change a phase within the phase change material.
US08320172B2 Write operation for phase change memory
Embodiments disclosed herein may relate to controlling a discharge of a capacitive element coupled to a phase change memory cell to produce a specified state in the phase change memory cell.
US08320171B2 Phase change memory devices and memory systems including the same
A phase change memory device includes a memory cell array having a plurality of phase change memory cells, a read bias generating circuit, a clamping circuit and a clamping control signal generating circuit (CCSGC). The read bias generating circuit provides a sensing node with a read bias for reading a resistance level of a selected phase change memory cell. The clamping circuit controls an amount of clamping current flowing into a bit line connected with the selected phase change memory cell. The CCSGC provides the clamping control signal to the clamping circuit and adjusts a level of the clamping control signal.
US08320165B1 SRAM strap row substrate contact
An integrated circuit containing an SRAM array having a strap row. The strap row has a substrate contact structure that includes a substrate contact plug and a tap layer.
US08320161B2 Conductive metal oxide structures in non volatile re writable memory devices
A memory cell including a memory element comprising an electrolytic insulator in contact with a conductive metal oxide (CMO) is disclosed. The CMO includes a crystalline structure and can comprise a pyrochlore oxide, a conductive binary oxide, a multiple B-site perovskite, and a Ruddlesden-Popper structure. The CMO includes mobile ions that can be transported to/from the electrolytic insulator in response to an electric field of appropriate magnitude and direction generated by a write voltage applied across the electrolytic insulator and CMO. The memory cell can include a non-ohmic device (NOD) that is electrically in series with the memory element. The memory cell can be positioned between a cross-point of conductive array lines in a two-terminal cross-point memory array in a single layer of memory or multiple vertically stacked layers of memory that are fabricated over a substrate that includes active circuitry for data operations on the array layer(s).
US08320159B2 Resistance variable nonvolatile memory device
Each of memory cells (MC) includes one transistor and one resistance variable element. The transistor includes a first main terminal, a second main terminal and a control terminal. The resistance variable element includes a first electrode, a second electrode and a resistance variable layer provided between the first electrode and the second electrode. A first main terminal of one of two adjacent memory cells is connected to a second main terminal of the other memory cell, to form a series path (SP) sequentially connecting main terminals of the plurality of memory cells in series. Each of the memory cells is configured such that the control terminal is a part of a first wire (WL) associated with the memory cell or is connected to the first wire associated with the memory cell, the second electrode is a part of a second wire (SL) associated with the memory cell or is connected to the second wire associated with the memory cell; and the first electrode is a part of a series path (SP) associated with the memory cell or is connected to the series path associated with the memory cell.
US08320158B2 Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device
Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device of an embodiment includes: a memory cell array including a plurality of first and second lines intersecting each other and plural memory cells provided at intersections of the first and second lines and having data written and erased upon application of voltages of the same polarity; and a writing circuit configured to select first and second lines and supply a set or reset pulse to the memory cell through the selected first and second lines. In an erase operation, the writing circuit repeatedly supplies the reset pulse to a selected memory cell until data is erased, by increasing or decreasing voltage level and voltage application time of the reset pulse within a reset region. The reset region, or an aggregate of combinations of voltage level and voltage application time of the reset pulse, is a region where voltage level and voltage application time are negatively correlated.
US08320157B2 Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device
According to one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array and a control circuit. The memory cell array includes a plurality of first wirings, a plurality of second wirings intersecting the plurality of first wirings, and a plurality of memory cells provided at the intersections of the plurality of first and second wirings and each including a non-ohmic element and a variable resistance element connected in series. The control circuit selects one of the plurality of memory cells, generates an erasing pulse for erasing data from the selected memory cell, and supplies the erasing pulse to the selected memory cell. The control circuit executes data erase by applying a voltage of the erasing pulse to the non-ohmic element in the reverse bias direction.
US08320148B1 PMC-based non-volatile CAM
Methods and circuits for CAM cells using PMCs are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a BCAM cell can include: (i) a first PMC coupled to a first access transistor and a bit node, where the first access transistor is coupled to a true bit line; (ii) a second PMC cell coupled to a second access transistor and the bit node, where the second access transistor is coupled to a complement bit line, and the first and second access transistors are controllable by a word line; (iii) a program enable transistor coupled to the bit node, and configured to couple a program control voltage to the bit node when enabled; and (iv) a match indication transistor configured to discharge a match line in response to states of the true and complement bit lines relative to the bit node.
US08320144B2 Power factor correction circuit for reducing distortion of input current
The present invention relates to a power factor correction circuit that can reduce distortion of input current in a switching mode power supply. The power factor correction circuit provided in the present invention basically comprises a first inductor which is electrically connected at a first end thereof to an input terminal, a second coil that is coupled to the first inductor to form an induced voltage, a switch electrically connected to the a second terminal of the first inductor, and a switching control unit for controlling turn-on and turn-off of the switch. In such a power factor correction circuit of the present invention, the switching control unit is configured to differently set a turn-on period of the switch depending on the input voltage by generating a signal for controlling the turn-off of the switch using a second coil voltage induced at the secondary coil of the inductor by input voltage or a directly sensed input voltage. Accordingly, distortion of input current can be effectively corrected.
US08320140B2 Optimizing operation of DC-to-AC power converter
In one embodiment, a power converter system includes an input terminal for receiving a DC input voltage. The power converter system delivers AC power to a load at an output terminal. A transformer is coupled between the input terminal and the output terminal. The transformer has a first winding, a second winding, and a third winding. The output terminal is coupled to the second winding. A half-bridge circuit, coupled between the input terminal and the first winding of the transformer, includes a first switch and a second switch coupled at a common node. The first and second switches are operable to be turned on and off for causing current to flow in the transformer during operation of the power converter system. Circuitry is close coupled to the first winding of the transformer. The circuitry is operable to provide a current path for transformer magnetizing current and reflected load current when both the first and second switches of the half-bridge circuit are turned off, thereby preventing energy from being fed back to the half-bridge circuit.
US08320137B2 Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board includes a high-speed differential signal control chip, first to eighth coupling capacitor pads, first to fourth connector pads, a first transmission line, a second transmission line, a third transmission line, a fourth transmission line, first to eighth transmission lines, two ninth transmission lines, first and second vias, and first to fourth sharing pads. The printed circuit board is operable to selectively support multiple connectors.
US08320136B2 Stackable electronic component
An embodiment of an electronic component includes a circuit element disposed within a package, which includes a surface and at least one standoff protruding from the surface. For example, where the circuit element is an inductor in a power supply, the standoff may allow one to mount the inductor component over another component, such as a transistor component. Therefore, the layout area of such a power supply may be smaller than the layout area of a power supply in which the inductor and transistor components are mounted side by side.
US08320132B2 Computer motherboard
A computer motherboard includes a display controller, a digital visual interface integrated (DVI-I) connector, and a switching unit. The switching unit includes four first terminals, two second terminals, and a control terminal. Two of the first terminals are respectively connected to clock and data pins of a first display data channel (DDC) of the display controller, the other two first terminals are respectively connected to clock and data pins of a second DDC of the display controller, and the second terminals are respectively connected to DDC clock and DDC data pins of the DVI-I connector. The control terminal is connected to a hot plug detect pin of the DVI-I connector to detect a voltage and correspondingly control the second terminals to be respectively connected to the two first terminals connected to the clock and data pins of the first DDC or the second DDC.
US08320130B2 Heat dissipation device with bracket
An exemplary heat dissipation device includes a base plate, a bracket engaged with the base plate, and a heat radiator mounted on the base plate and the bracket. The bracket includes two parallel arms. The bracket defines an opening between the arms. Each of the arms extends downwardly two clasps. Each clasp of each arm comprises a blocking part and a connecting part connecting the blocking part. The base plate is received into the opening of the bracket and sandwiched and secured by the blocking parts of the clasps and the arms of the bracket.
US08320123B2 Electronic device with biaxial pivoting mechanism
An electronic device includes a first housing, a first pivoting mechanism disposed on a side of the first housing, a second housing, a second pivoting mechanism disposed on a side of the second housing, and a bridging component. A first end and a second end of the bridging component are respectively pivoted on the first pivoting mechanism and the second pivoting mechanism. The bridging component includes a first contacting portion for contacting against the side of the first housing when the first pivoting mechanism pivots on the first end so that the first housing rotates around the second housing at a first angle, and a second contacting portion for contacting against the side of the second housing when the second end pivots on the second pivoting mechanism so that the first housing rotates around the second housing at a second angle greater than the first angle.
US08320122B2 Latching device and electronic device using the same
A latching device applied in an electronic device includes a battery cover and a main body. The latching device includes an elastic member mounted on the battery cover facing the main body and a latching member slidably connected to the battery cover. The latching member includes an operation portion and at least one hook portion. The operation portion is exposed to users for sliding the latching member, and the hook portion is for hooking the main body when the battery cover covers the main body. When the battery cover is pressed to cover the main body, the operation portion is pushed to slide the latching member until the latching member resists the elastic member, and when the battery cover covers the main body, the push of the operation portion is removed, thus the elastic member resumes its natural state, and the at least one hook portion hooks the main body.
US08320121B2 Cooling high performance computer systems
A computer system may include a chassis defining a front and a rear. The chassis may include a vertically oriented midplane disposed therein, the midplane including a plurality of front module slots for receiving front electronic modules from the front of the chassis, and a plurality of rear module slots for receiving rear electronic modules from the rear of the chassis. A cooling system may be provided within the chassis and may generate an upwardly-directed front air flow within the chassis directed at selected ones of the front electronic modules and an upwardly-directed rear air flow within the chassis directed at selected ones of the rear electronic modules. The front air flow is separate from and independent of the rear air flow. The selected front and rear electronic modules may be disposed in the chassis so as to separate the front air flow into a plurality of substantially equal front air streams and the rear air flow into a plurality of substantially equal rear air streams, respectively.
US08320109B2 Television and electronic apparatus
According to one embodiment, a television comprises a first panel, a second panel, and a cover. The first panel comprises a display surface. The second panel is laid over the first panel to cover the display surface. The cover comprises a receiver. A holding member is fixed to the edge of the second panel. The holding member comprises a protrusion protruding to the periphery of the second panel. The protrusion is butted against the receiver of the cover so that the second panel is tilted in a posture that slants the protrusion relative to the first panel. The second panel is rotated toward the first panel on the end of the protrusion butted against the receiver. As a result of this rotation, the second panel is stacked on the first panel to cover the display surface.
US08320107B2 Modular power distribution system and methods
A modular power distribution system comprises a chassis and a backplane including a power input, and a plurality of module connection locations. A plurality of modules are mounted in the chassis, each module mounted to one of the module connection locations. Each module includes: (i) a circuit protection device; and (ii) a power output connection location. Bus bars connect front power inputs to the backplane.
US08320096B2 Soft start clutch controller
A clutch actuator for an electromechanical clutch having a solenoid actuating coil initially provides power to the solenoid at a high rate by using a high duty cycle pulse with a modulated controller. When the initial engagement of the clutch elements is sensed by a decrease in current, the duty cycle of the pulse width modulator is reduced and thereafter increased in a controlled fashion to accomplish a soft start.
US08320094B2 Surge protection module
A surge protection module comprises a base, a plurality of first pins extending from the base to connect electrically to an upstream circuit, a plurality of second pins extending from the base to connect electrically to a downstream circuit, a fuse device acting between each first pin and a respective one of the second pins, at least one analog arrestor upstream of the fuse devices that is electrically connected across the first pins and in electrical connection to a ground terminal extending from the base, and a low capacitance solid state arrestor arrangement electrically connected to each second pin downstream of the fuse devices and to the ground terminal.
US08320091B2 Apparatus and method for electronic circuit protection
Apparatus and methods for electronic circuit protection are disclosed. In one embodiment, an actively-controlled protection circuit includes a detector, a timer, a current source and a latch. The detector is configured to generate a detection signal when the detector determines that a transient signal satisfies a first signaling condition. The timer is configured to receive the detection signal, and to generate a current control signal. The current control signal is provided to a current source, which produces a trigger current at least partly in response to the control signal. The trigger current is provided to a node of the latch, thereby enhancing the conductivity modulation of the latch and selectively controlling the activation voltage of the latch.
US08320090B2 SSPC for parallel arc fault detection in DC power system
A solid state power controller (SSPC) for detecting a parallel arc fault in a direct current (DC) power distribution system includes an input, the input being connected to a DC power source; a power switch connected to the input; an output connected to the power switch, the output being connected to a DC motor controller and associated capacitive load; an output current sensor; an output voltage sensor; and an SSPC controller, the SSPC controller being configured to determine the presence of a parallel arc fault in the DC power distribution system and control the power switch via a gate drive based on inputs from the output current sensor and the output voltage sensor.
US08320085B2 Disk drive including a latch configured to lock an actuator in response to an external force
A disk drive. The disk drive includes: a head for accessing a data recording area of a disk; an actuator for pivoting to move the head; a voice coil motor; and, a latch configured to lock the actuator from pivoting toward the data recording area in response to an external force. The voice-coil motor includes a voice coil, a magnet, and a yoke. The latch is positioned at a closed position when the actuator is positioned at a stand-by position, and is configured to pivot by application of a magnetic bias force with pivoting of the actuator from the stand-by position into proximity with the data recording area such that the latch is configured to stop at an open position. The yoke includes a protrusion which protrudes toward the magnetic body at the open position.
US08320082B2 Head with guide groove in center rail and ribs extending along air intake groove and disk device with the same
According to one embodiment, a head includes a slider and a head section on the slider. A supporting surface of the slider includes a leading step in an inflow side of airflow, a leading pad on the leading step, a negative-pressure cavity in a downstream side of the leading pad, a trailing step in an outflow end side of the airflow, a center rail extending from the leading step to the trailing step, a guide groove in the center rail, configured to guide the airflow to the trailing step, and an intake groove formed in the leading pad, extending in a direction transverse to the airflow, communicating with the guide groove, and includes two end parts in its longitudinal direction, the two end parts extending in a direction of the airflow and forming openings open to the inflow side of the leading pad.
US08320079B2 Magnetic head assembly and magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus
It is made possible to reduce the write magnetic field generated from the main magnetic pole toward the spin torque oscillator, so as to reduce the variation in the oscillation characteristics of the spin torque oscillator, and reduce the current required for oscillation. The magnetic head assembly includes: a recording magnetic pole; a spin torque oscillator that has first and second magnetic layers, and an intermediate layer interposed between the first and second magnetic layers, the spin torque oscillator generating a high-frequency magnetic field by applying a current between the first and second magnetic layers; and a third magnetic layer that is placed adjacent to at least part of a side face of the second magnetic layer.
US08320075B2 Biasing structure for write element domain control in a magnetic writer
A magnetic writer includes a write element having a first domain pattern when in a quiescent state and a second domain pattern when in an active state. A biasing structure is configured to induce the write element into the first domain pattern when the magnetic writer is in the quiescent state.
US08320074B2 Magnetic head and card reader equipped with the magnetic head
A magnetic head which includes a core, a coil wound on the core, terminals to which ends of the coil are connected. The magnetic head also includes a substrate on which mounted are a demodulating electronic component for demodulating an analog output signal output from the terminals to create a digital demodulated signal, and an encrypting electronic component for encrypting the demodulated signal to create an encrypted signal. A cable electrically connects the demodulating electronic component and the terminals. A case body stores the core, the coil, the terminals, and the cable. The demodulating electronic component is mounted on one side of the substrate, and the encrypting electronic component is mounted on the other side of the substrate. The substrate is fixed to the case body so that the demodulating electronic component is placed inside the case body while the encrypting electronic component is placed outside the case body.
US08320072B2 Sealing an enclosure for a disk drive form factor
Embodiments of the present invention pertain to sealing an enclosure for a disk drive form factor. According to one embodiment, material is removed from a base casting for the disk drive form factor to enable insertion of a component. The removal of the material results in a portion of the base casting being thin enough to potentially cause an inadvertent hole in the base casting. A hole is purpose created in the base casting to avoid development of the inadvertent hole. A seal is used to cover the created hole in a manner that allows for insertion of the component.
US08320071B2 Tape cartridge tray transmission device apparatus with rack and pinion gear arrangement
A transmission apparatus for transmitting tapes within a tape library is disclosed. The transmission apparatus comprises a tray for transmitting a tape cartridge. A plurality of pinion gears is provided. The pinion gears are operably connected to each other and are rotatably attached to the tray. A plurality of vertically disposed racks is provided for engagement by the plurality of pinion gears for rotational movement therealong.
US08320068B1 Recording medium and recording apparatus for using test data recorded in a blank zone to refine data recording
In some implementations, a recording medium includes a plurality of data areas, a plurality of data area separating sections, and one or more blank zones. Each data area is configured to store data. Each data area separating section is disposed between the data areas and extends in parallel with respect to the data areas. Each data area separating section is configured to prevent data from being written into the data area separating section. Each blank zone extends in a direction perpendicular to the data areas and is configured to record written data.
US08320067B1 Refresh operations using write/read commands
Systems and methods for performing refresh operations using write/read commands are provided. In one embodiment, a disk drive comprises a disk partitioned into a plurality of refresh zones, a head configured to write data to and read data from the disk, and a controller. The controller is configured to receive an access command, to read data from at least one of the refresh zones using the head in response to the access command, to check a condition of the read data, and to determine whether to refresh the at least one refresh zone based on the condition of the read data, wherein the read data includes data from a portion of the at least one refresh zone not being accessed by the access command.
US08320066B2 Storage device and read/write processing method therefor
According to one embodiment, a storage device includes: a control circuit configured to perform a write retry when data writing fails, wherein the control circuit recognizes that read commands are issued at regular intervals for reproducing continuous pieces of data, and upon detecting an error requiring the write retry to be performed in the data writing by a write command received during the reproduction, the control circuit interrupts the data writing, perform data reading to store the data in the buffer memory after allocating a storage area for the data in the buffer memory, and then resumes the data writing.
US08320065B2 Lens driving device
An lens driving device is disclosed. The lens driving device includes a base, a lens holder mounted on the base, a movable cover opposite to the a lens holder, a elastic supporting portion received into the lens holder and engaged with the movable cover, a coil and a permanent magnet respectively attached on the lens holder. The permanent magnet interacts with the coil for generating a magnetic force for driving the lens holder to move toward the base along a central axis of the lens holder. The elastic supporting portion defines an elastic force which is more than a weight of the movable cover but not more than the resultant of the weight of the movable cover and the magnetic force. While assembled, the lens driving device further defines a movable distance between an upper surface of the supporting elements and a first surface of the movable cover.
US08320064B2 Lens barrel and optical device including the same
A lens barrel includes a first frame configured to hold a first optical element, be movable in an optical-axis direction, and hold a position of the optical element in the optical-axis direction in a nonenergized state; a second frame configured to hold a second optical element, be movable in the optical-axis direction, and not hold a position of the optical element in the optical-axis direction in the nonenergized state; and a shock-absorbing portion provided at least one of the first and second frames. In the nonenergized state, the first frame is positioned within a range of the second frame.
US08320059B2 Lens module
A lens module includes a lens barrel, a first lens, an opaque plate, and a second lens. The first lens includes an imaging portion and a non-imaging portion surrounding the imaging portion. The non-imaging portion defines an annular conic surface. The opaque plate is annular conic shaped and contacts with the annular conic surface. The second lens includes an imaging portion and a non-imaging portion surrounding the imaging portion. The object-side surface of the non-imaging portion of the second lens is step-like shaped and includes at least two step surfaces. A junction of two adjacent step surfaces abuts against the opaque plate.
US08320058B2 Lens assembly
A lens assembly includes a first lens and a second lens. The first lens includes a first optically active part, a first optically inactive part surrounding the first optically active part, and a first annular protrusion formed on the first optically inactive part. The first annular protrusion defines an accommodating room. The second lens includes a second optically active part, a second optically inactive part surrounding the second optically active part, a second annular protrusion formed on the second optically inactive part, and a light blocking layer formed on a surface of the second annular protrusion facing the first lens. The second lens is coupled to the first lens in such a manner that the second annular protrusion is received in the accommodating room.
US08320055B2 Lens barrel and optical apparatus
A lens barrel showing a satisfactory property in assembly and a high dust-proof and drip-proof performance includes: a first member; a lens holding frame configured to hold lens units moving in an optical axis direction to either zoom or focus the lens units; and an elastic member held between respective optical-axis-orthogonal surfaces of the first member and the lens holding frame, wherein the elastic member can be compressed in the optical axis direction during a zooming or focusing operation.
US08320053B2 Zoom lens
A zoom lens including, in a sequence from an object side, a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, and a succeeding lens group having an overall positive refractive power, and having a high zoom magnification and a compact size.
US08320048B2 Projection lens and projection-type display apparatus using the lens
A projection lens includes a first lens having at least an aspheric surface, a second lens having a concave surface facing the reduction side of the projection lens, and having negative refractive power, a third lens, a fourth lens, a fifth lens, a sixth lens having a convex surface facing the reduction side, and having positive refractive power, and the like, which are sequentially arranged from the magnification side of the projection lens. Further, the following formulas (1) and (2) are satisfied: 3.5
US08320046B2 Optical device
An optical device (10) for providing a synthetic integral image includes a polymer foil stack (111). The polymer foil stack (111) includes at least one polymer foil (11). A first interface (17) of the polymer foil stack (111) includes optically distinguishable image data bearer structures (116). The first interface (17) has a general shape defined by a first array (115) of curved interface portions (117), on which the image data bearer structures (116) are superimposed. Preferably, the optical device (10) includes a second interface (12) of the polymer foil stack (111), which has a second array (13) of microlenses (14). The second interface (12) is provided at a distance from the first interface (17), which distance is close to a focal length of the microlenses (14). The second array (13) is in registry with the first array (115).
US08320044B2 Optical element and production method of the same
Disclosed is an optical element for use in an optical apparatus having a light source which emits a light flux with a wavelength λ (350 nm≦λ≦450 nm), the optical element containing: a molded portion formed by molding a resin; and one or a plurality of anti-reflection layers formed on the molded portion, wherein at least one of the anti-reflection layers is made of SixOy; and an elemental ratio r (r=y/x) designating an ratio of O to Si in the molecule of SixOy satisfies a requirement represented by Formula (1): 1.40≦r≦1.80.
US08320042B2 Polarizing film, optical film laminate comprising polarizing film, and stretched laminate for manufacturing the same
A polarizing film includes a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) type resin having a dichroic material impregnated therein. The polarizing film is formed by stretching the PVA type resin, such that the thickness of the polarizing film is decreased to 10 μm or less, and. The polarizing film has optical properties which satisfy conditions represented by formulae: P>−(100.929T-42.4−1)×100 (where T<42.3); and P≧99.9 (where T≧42.3) where T represents a single layer transmittance and P a polarization rate. The polarizing film can be made by providing a laminate comprising a PVA type resin layer formed on a non-crystallizable ester type thermoplastic resin substrate.
US08320040B2 Multi-wavelength light amplifier
A multi-wavelength light amplifier includes a first-stage light amplifier which has a first light amplifying optical fiber amplifying a light input, a second stage light amplifier which has a second light amplifying optical fiber amplifying a first light output from the first-stage light amplifier, and an optical system which maintains a second light output of the second-stage light amplifier at a constant power level. The first-stage and second-stage light amplifiers have different gain vs wavelength characteristics so that the multi-wavelength light amplifier has no wavelength-dependence of a gain thereof.
US08320038B2 Method of fabricating an integrated device
A method of fabricating an integrated device including a MicroElectroMechanical system (MEMS) and an associated microcircuit is provided. In one embodiment, the method comprises: forming a high temperature capable contact through a dielectric layer to an underlying element of a microcircuit formed adjacent to a MicroElectroMechanical System (MEMS) structure on a substrate; and depositing a layer of conducting material over the dielectric layer, and patterning the layer of conducting material to form a local interconnect (LI) for the microcircuit overlying and electrically coupled to the contact and a bottom electrode for the adjacent MEMS structure. Other embodiments are also provided.
US08320036B2 Normally emitting pixel architecture for frustrated total internal reflection displays
The present invention provides an apparatus that includes a waveguide and one or more pixels deployed adjacent the top surface of the waveguide which contains TIR light therein. Each pixel includes a deformable active layer having a first conductor and a driver electronics layer having a second conductor. The driver electronics layer is deployed in spaced-apart relation to the active layer and opposite the waveguide. In a quiescent state of a pixel, the active layer is in contact or near contact with the top surface of the waveguide so as to optically couple light out via FTIR (i.e., pixel's ON state). To actuate the pixel, the electronics layer is configured to selectively apply an electrical potential difference to the second conductor thereby causing the active layer to move away from the top surface so as to prevent the optical coupling of light out of the waveguide (i.e., pixel's OFF state).
US08320035B2 Micro-movable device
A micro-movable device includes a frame, a movable section including a body section, and a torsion coupling section for coupling the frame with the movable section to define an axis of oscillation of the movable section, wherein the frame includes a first extending portion and a second extending portion that are spaced apart from each other in a direction parallel to the axis and extend along the body section, and oppose the body section via a gap.
US08320034B2 Optical scanning apparatus and image forming apparatus
An optical scanning apparatus that scans a light beam from a light source includes: a movable portion and a fixed portion. The movable portion includes: a rotating member, which is capable of rotating about a rotation axis being parallel with an optical axis of the light beam, has an open hole through which the light beam passes, and is provided with a first coil; and a mirror that is provided to the rotating member, electrically connected with the first coil, and reflects the light beam that passes through the open hole of the rotating member in a variable angle with respect to the optical axis of the light beam. The fixed portion includes: a magnetic member; and a second coil capable of supplying an electromagnetic field to the first coil. One of a part and a whole of the magnetic member is made of a magnetic material and the magnetic member serves as a magnetic core of the second coil.
US08320033B2 Actuator, optical scanner, and image forming device
An actuator includes: a first oscillatory system including a frame-shaped driving member and a pair of first axial members holding the driving member from both ends so as to allow the driving member to rotate around an X-axis; a second oscillatory system including a movable plate provided inside the driving member and a pair of second axial members holding the movable plate to the driving member from both ends so as to allow the movable plate to rotate around a Y-axis perpendicular to the X axis; and a driving unit including a permanent magnet provided on the driving member, a coil provided so as to face the permanent magnet, a voltage applying unit applying a voltage to the coil, and the permanent magnet has a relief section to avoid making contact with the movable plate.
US08320032B2 Diffractive beam expander and a virtual display based on a diffractive beam expander
A diffractive beam expander (50) comprises a substantially planar waveguiding substrate, an input grating (10) to provide an in-coupled beam (B1) propagating within said substrate, and an output grating (30) to provide an out-coupled beam. The expander (50) comprises also four or more further grating portions to expand the height of the in-coupled beam (B1). A part of the in-coupled light is diffracted by a first deflecting grating portion (21a) to provide a first deflected beam. A part of the in-coupled light is diffracted by a second deflecting grating portion (22a) to provide a second deflected beam. The first deflected beam propagates downwards and the second deflected beam propagates upwards with respect to the in-coupled beam (B1). The first deflected beam impinges on a first direction-restoring grating portion (21b) and the second deflected beam impinges on a second direction-restoring grating portion (22b). The first restoring grating portion (21b) provides a first restored beam (V1) and the second restoring grating portion (22b) provides a second restored beam (V2), which both have the same direction as the in-coupled beam (B1). Out-coupling provides an output beam which is parallel to the input beam, and has a greater vertical dimension than said input beam.
US08320026B2 Image reading apparatus and image forming apparatus with a control device for adjusting a white reference member to a set position according to shading correction or image reading operation
An image reading apparatus including: an image sensor unit having a light source that irradiates light onto an original document transferred to a predetermined image reading position, and a light receiving element that receives reflected light of the light; a white reference member for shading correction, provided so as to oppose the image sensor unit across a transferring path for the original document; an actuator that adjusts a position or an angle of the white reference member; and a control device that sets a position or angle of the white reference member and controls the actuator so as to adjust the white reference member to the set position or to the set angle, so that light reflected from the white reference member is received on the light receiving element when correcting shading, and so that the reflected light is not received on the light receiving element when reading an image.
US08320025B2 Providing multiple payment schedules for storing images and utilizing the stored images
A method of selecting images from a plurality of images previously stored by a user in a memory location of a service provider and ordering services to be provided utilizing the images includes establishing a service account for the user with the service provider to permit the user to have access to ordered services, receiving and storing a plurality of images along with a designated date in the memory location, and displaying image designators for at least a subset of the images for viewing by the user. The method also includes the user selecting at least one image to be utilized after viewing the displayed images, and selecting a service, receiving payment for the selected service for the selected image based upon a payment schedule that depends upon the designated date associated with the selected image, and providing the selected service using the selected image.
US08320024B2 Method and apparatus for image forming and computer program product
An image forming apparatus capable of minimizing degradation in density correction as a part of skew correction includes a noise-occurrence determining unit, a correction-target-pixel selecting unit, a density correcting unit, and a phase correcting unit. When the noise-occurrence determining unit determines that noise would appear, the density correcting unit performs density correction on a correction target pixel that is determined by the correction-target-pixel selecting unit. The phase correcting unit corrects an output point in time of image data of the density-corrected correction target pixel in a pixel period during which the image data can be output so as to output the image data at a position displaced away from a shift position or toward a shift position.
US08320019B2 Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and computer program thereof
There are cases in which an effective search index cannot be provided to an image data only by extracting character codes from a character object in PDL data. An image processing apparatus of the present invention obtains image data by rendering PDL data, and extracts a character object from the image data. The image processing apparatus performs character recognition processing on the extracted character object to obtain character code information, and provides metadata including the character code information to the image data.
US08320015B2 Maintenance processing control for image forming job
According to an image forming apparatus of the present invention, when a user with the intention of having a processing completed in a short time inputs execution of an image forming job involving the intention, this operation information is acquired by an operation information acquisition section. In response to that, an invalidation determining section determines to invalidate processing for maintenance, based on the operation information. Responding to that, an invalidation control section invalidates the processing for maintenance on image forming during execution of the image forming job regardless of predetermined rules. By this means, the processing for maintenance on image forming cannot be executed during the image forming job in the case of a user with the intention of having a processing completed in a short time.
US08320014B2 Printing condition changing method, program, storage medium, printing method, printer and printing system
The present invention prevents necessary image data from deviating from a print medium and thereby executes a good printing operation without a loss of necessary image data. For this purpose, when performing a so-called marginless printing, in which ink is applied also to an area overrunning from the print medium to form an image without leaving a blank margin at edges of the print medium, the overrunning widths of the area are made adjustable.
US08320009B2 Method, apparatus, and computer readable storage medium for predicting a data amount for image data prior to reading the image data
A disclosed image formation apparatus includes: an operation unit allowing input of reading conditions of image data; an input unit reading the image data in accordance with the reading conditions input via the operation unit; a first storage unit storing the image data read by the input unit; a second storage unit storing correspondence relation between the reading conditions and predicted data amount of the image data to be stored in the first storage unit; a data amount prediction unit predicting data amount of the image data to be read based on the reading conditions and the correspondence relation stored in the second storage unit; and a judgment unit judging whether to perform reading of the image data based on the predicted data amount and an available capacity of the first storage unit.
US08320005B2 Image processing system, image processing method, image processing apparatus, information processing apparatus and recording medium
An image processing system includes an image processing apparatus and an information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus transmits to the image processing apparatus, a job and storage location information indicating a storage location of base data of data included in the job, collectively. Receiving the job and the storage location information, the image processing apparatus records the job and the storage location information in a memory, with interconnections between them.
US08320004B2 Image forming apparatus and computer-readable medium storing operation control program
An image forming apparatus includes: a display unit that displays an image; a web browser that causes the display unit to display thereon a web page; and an operation setting unit that receives from a user and stores an input of operation settings relating to the operation of the image forming apparatus, and of web page display settings relating to web page display control by the web browser. Upon launching of the web browser, the operation setting unit outputs the web page display settings to the web browser. The web browser displays the web page on the display unit according to the web page display settings.
US08320003B2 Systems and methods for printer configuration management
Systems and methods consistent with disclosed embodiments provide a method for managing a printer configuration menu comprising a plurality of menu options, by associating a menu configuration change field with each menu options, assigning a value to the menu configuration change field, and displaying the menu option as part of printer configuration menu during printer configuration based on the value of the menu configuration change field associated with the at least one menu option.
US08320001B2 Information processing method and apparatus for banner printing
When a setting corresponding to a setting item for generating a banner sheet for banner printing by the printer driver of the printer is made, print setting information including information representing that a banner sheet is to be generated is generated in accordance with the setting. Based on the generated print setting information, banner data for generating a banner sheet is generated. Information for using the generated banner data as banner data for print data, printing of which is designated by the application, is additionally described in the print setting information.
US08319998B2 Billing system capable of being connected to an output apparatus having printing function and copy function via a network server apparatus capable of being connected to an output apparatus having printing function and copy function via a network and method of billing by system capable of being connected to an output apparatus having printing function and copy function via a network
A disclosed billing system includes a client apparatus, a multi-functional peripheral, a server apparatus and a billing apparatus. A communication unit of the billing apparatus sequentially transmits first account balance information read from a storage medium to the server apparatus; receives from the server apparatus a copy permission signal which is then transmitted to the multi-functional peripheral; receives from the multi-functional peripheral a copy-output signal regarding a copy output having been performed on the multi-functional peripheral, the copy-output signal being then transmitted to the server apparatus; and receives copy billing information transmitted from the server apparatus according to the transmitted copy-output signal.
US08319992B2 Approach for processing locked print jobs obtained from other printing devices
An approach is provided for remotely processing locked print jobs. A printing device discovers other printing devices on a network that store locked print jobs. A user enters user identification data and the printing device displays the locked print jobs stored on the other printing devices that are associated with the user. The user selects a particular locked print job. The printing device requests the particular locked print job from the printing device that stores the locked print job and then processes the locked print job locally. An approach is also provided for a printing device to forward print jobs to other printing devices. The printing device discovers other printing devices on a network and the printing attributes of those printing devices. The printing device determines another printing device that is capable of processing a print job and forwards the print job to the printing device for processing.
US08319990B2 Printing apparatus with data decryption
A printing apparatus includes a data reading unit that reads data from a storage device that can store pieces of data, the data reading unit being connectable to the storage device, an input panel that accepts an input a password used to decrypt encrypted data stored in the storage device, a password storing unit that stores the input password, a data decrypting unit that decrypts the encrypted data by using the stored password, a decrypted data storing unit that temporarily stores the decrypted data, and a re-decrypting unit that decrypts other encrypted data stored in the storage device by using the stored password.
US08319988B2 Job auditing systems and methods for direct imaging of documents
A document that corresponds to an imaging job to be performed by an imaging device may be received. The document may be in a non-native format that is not native to the imaging device. It may be determined that a translation operation should be performed on the document. The translation operation may include translating the document from the non-native format into a native format that is native to the imaging device. At least one job auditing function may be performed with respect to the document in the non-native format. Audit data may be generated as a result of the at least one job auditing function being performed. The audit data may be provided to a job auditing record manager. The job auditing record manager may store the audit data in a job auditing record.
US08319984B2 Image forming system, apparatus, and method executing a process designated by a service request after token validation
An image forming system includes a terminal apparatus and an image forming apparatus executing a process in response to a request from the terminal apparatus. The terminal apparatus sends user identification information to the image forming apparatus, receives from the image forming apparatus a token issued to a user logging into the image forming apparatus, and sends a service request associated with the token to the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a network processing unit that communicates data using a predetermined protocol with the terminal apparatus; a login processing unit that permits the user to log in when the user identification information is valid and sends the token to the terminal apparatus; a determination unit that determines whether the token is valid upon receipt of the service request; and a service providing unit that executes a process designated by the service request when the token is valid.
US08319982B2 Information processing device, printing condition setting method, and computer product which display a graphical representation of a sheet including parameters which have been selected
The CPU of a personal computer displays a list of one-click icons, each representing one or a plurality of printing functions, in the icon display area, and selects one one-click icon from the list of the one-click icons displayed in the icon display area, to automatically set a plurality of printing functions corresponding to the selected one-click icons.
US08319978B2 System and method for probe mark analysis
A method for analyzing probe mark, the method includes: scanning the probe mark by multiple spots; evaluating a probe mark characteristic in response to detection signals generated by multiple sensors of the chromatic confocal system that is characterized by a sub-micron axial resolution.
US08319974B2 Enhanced optical coherence tomography for anatomical mapping
A system, method and apparatus for anatomical mapping utilizing optical coherence tomography. In the present invention, 3-dimensional fundus intensity imagery can be acquired from a scanning of light back-reflected from an eye. The scanning can include spectral domain scanning, as an example. A fundus intensity image can be acquired in real-time. The 3-dimensional data set can be reduced to generate an anatomical mapping, such as an edema mapping and a thickness mapping. Optionally, a partial fundus intensity image can be produced from the scanning of the eye to generate an en face view of the retinal structure of the eye without first requiring a full segmentation of the 3-D data set. Advantageously, the system, method and apparatus of the present invention can provide quantitative three-dimensional information about the spatial location and extent of macular edema and other pathologies. This three-dimensional information can be used to determine the need for treatment, monitor the effectiveness of treatment and identify the return of fluid that may signal the need for re-treatment.
US08319971B2 Scatterfield microscopical measuring method and apparatus
The present invention provides a scatterfield microscopical measuring method and apparatus, which combine scatterfield detecting technology into microscopical device so that the microscopical device is capable of measuring the sample whose dimension is under the limit of optical diffraction. The scatterfield microscopical measuring apparatus is capable of being controlled to focus uniform and collimated light beam on back focal plane of an objective lens disposed above the sample. By changing the position of the focus position on the back focal plane, it is capable of being adjusted to change the incident angle with respect to the sample.
US08319970B2 Device and method for beam adjustment in an optical beam path
A device for beam adjustment in an optical beam path, having at least two mutually independent light sources providing respective beams of a high or extremely high resolution microscope, the beams of the light sources superposed in a common illumination beam path. The device includes a calibration sample with the aid of which the pupil position and/or focal position of the beams can be checked. The device also includes a sample holder arranged to bring the calibration sample into and out of the common illumination beam path at the site or in the vicinity of an intermediate image. A corresponding method is described. In accordance with the device and method, it is possible to undertake the beam adjustment independently of the actual use, that is to say, in the case of a high resolution microscope, independently of the examination sample and/or the recording of images.
US08319969B2 Color detector having area scaled photodetectors
A color detector includes a light source, a first filter, and a first photodetector. The light source generates light within a spectrum of wavelengths. The first filter is in optical communication with the light source and is configured to pass light within a first predetermined spectrum of wavelengths. The first photodetector is in optical communication with the first filter and is configured to output a first color signal if light passes through the first filter. The photodetector has an area configured to equalize the first color signal and maximize a signal-to-noise ratio of the first color signal.
US08319966B2 Optical metrology systems and methods
Metrology systems and methods that measure thin film thickness and or index of refraction of semiconductor wafers with at least one deposited or grown thin film layer. The present invention measures near normal incidence and grazing angle of incidence reflection (using reflected broadband UV, visible, and near infrared electromagnetic radiation) from a small region on a sample. Embodiments of the system selectively comprise a near-normal incidence spectrometer/ellipsometer, a high angle of incidence spectrometer/ellipsometer, or a combination of the two.
US08319962B2 Mask making decision for manufacturing (DFM) on mask quality control
The present disclosure provide a method for making a mask. The method includes assigning a plurality of pattern features to different data types; writing the plurality of pattern features on a mask; inspecting the plurality of pattern features with different inspection sensitivities according to assigned data types; and repairing the plurality of pattern features on the mask according to the inspecting of the plurality of pattern features.
US08319958B2 Phase modulator, phase modulator assembly, and photosensor
The present invention provides a photosensor that uses a phase modulation technique for optical detection and conducts a highly accurate measurement. The photosensor uses a phase change difference of light propagated through a polarization preserving fiber with respect to tensile stress and employs proper polarization preserving fibers for a phase modulator 10, light-transmitting polarization preserving fiber 23, and coil-shaped polarization preserving fiber 30, to achieve a highly accurate measurement.
US08319956B2 System and method for shade selection using a fabric brightness factor
Brightness factors associated with shade fabric may be utilized when shading a building. A brightness factor may incorporate an openness factor, a visible light reflectance, a diffusion factor, a color, or other characteristics of the shade fabric. The brightness factor may be utilized when selecting a particular shade fabric for a room, building or other location. Additionally, the brightness factor may be utilized by an automated shade control system. The shade fabric selection may affect the building envelope by facilitating the optimization of daylighting, reduction of artificial electric lighting needs, minimization of glare conditions, and reduction of thermal load.
US08319955B2 Device and method for determining a position and orientation
The invention relates to a device for determining the position and orientation of a movable object. The latter exhibits at least two relative sensors (24) on the object, which register a change in the position and/or orientation of the object, and at least two absolute sensors (26) on the object, each for determining the absolute position in an X direction and Y direction in relation to a substrate (20). The invention further relates to a method for determining the position and orientation.
US08319953B2 Method and device for spectrally detecting presence of blood
The present disclosure provides systems and methods for detecting the presence of blood. Specific applications may include hunting, during which it may be necessary to track a wounded, bleeding animal. According to one embodiment, a device transmits light at one or more wavelengths to irradiate a region potentially containing blood. Hemoglobin in the blood absorbs or reflects more of the transmitted light than other matter in the region. A detector detects the light reflected from the region and determines if blood is present in the region using spectral analysis.
US08319951B1 Local positioning system
A local positioning system including a sighting device for indicating an aim point on a target object, the target object having a local coordinate system, an articulation mechanism connected to the sighting device to effect movement of the sighting device about at least two independent axes, and a controller in communication with the articulation mechanism, the controller being configured to control a velocity of the sighting device about each of the independent axes to obtain desired movement of the aim point on the target object in the local coordinate system.
US08319947B2 Operating valve, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method
An operating valve of the present invention is a differential pressure operating valve 100 for performing a vacuum suction of a substrate, the operating valve comprises a body 4 having an opening which is provided at an exhaust side for exhausting an air from an inside to an outside and is opposed to a suction side for sucking the air from the outside to the inside, a valve 8, and a spring 9 whose one end is connected with one of the suction side and the exhaust side of the body 4 and the other end is connected with the valve 8. The spring 9 is configured to stretch or compress in accordance with a differential pressure between the suction side and the exhaust side, and the valve 8 is provided with at least one hole.
US08319946B2 Transfer device
The present invention relates to a transfer device that can feed a work in a stable condition without applying it any excess loads. The transfer device for feeding a tape-shaped work to a process stage standing in an upright position, which is placed on one side of the process stage and which includes a supply reel, a take-up reel and a work feeding mechanism. Specifically, the supply reel, around which the work and a protective sheet are wound, is adapted to feed the work and the protective sheet therefrom. The take-up reel is adapted to wind the work and the protective sheet that have been fed from the supply reel, and it is located below the supply reel. The work feeding mechanism is adapted to forward the work from the supply reel to the take-up reel through the process stage.
US08319945B2 Illumination system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus
A microlithographic projection exposure apparatus includes an illumination system and a projection objective. During use of the microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, the illumination system illuminates an object plane of the projection objective. The illumination system is configured so that light components in point-symmetrical relationship with each other, which are produced during use of the illumination system and which are only superposed in the object plane, have mutually orthogonal polarization states.
US08319938B2 Stereo camera with emulated prime lens set
There is disclosed a stereographic camera system including a first camera and a second camera including respective first and second lenses. A zoom mechanism may synchronously set focal lengths of the first and second lenses to a selected focal length of a plurality of predetermined focal lengths.
US08319937B2 Alignment of liquid crystalline materials to surface relief diffractive structures
An alignment layer may align molecules of a liquid crystalline material to a surface of a substrate having a diffractive optical power region using a nonlinear alignment. The alignment layer may align the molecules of the liquid crystalline material in one of a tangential alignment, a piecewise tangential alignment, a perpendicular alignment, a piecewise perpendicular alignment, a continuous intra-zone alignment, or a piecewise continuous intra-zone alignment. The nonlinear alignment may result in optimal or near optimal alignment of the liquid crystalline material thereby resulting in improved optics and fewer vision compromises.
US08319928B2 Liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing the same
The liquid crystal display device, in which liquid crystal is filled between a TFT array substrate having a TFT and a counter substrate placed opposite to the TFT array substrate, includes a pixel electrode placed at least partly directly over or under a drain electrode of the thin film transistor so as to directly overlap the drain electrode, an interlayer insulating layer placed to cover the pixel electrode, and a counter electrode placed on the interlayer insulating layer and having a slit to generate a fringe electric field with the pixel electrode, wherein the counter electrode is placed to overlap a gate line connected to a gate electrode of the TFT in at least part of area and connected to the counter electrode in an adjacent pixel across the gate line.
US08319925B2 Encapsulated pixels for display device
A display device comprising an array of encapsulated pixels. The encapsulating pixel includes an optical element which is altered from a first optical state to a second optical state upon when a potential difference is generated across it. The optical element is in contact with two electrodes which are connected to a pixel driver for generating the potential difference. The encapsulated pixel is hermetically sealed from the environment by a sealing layer and the driver receives power wirelessly via an inductive power transmission system.
US08319920B2 Transflective liquid crystal display device with transmissive portion having right-angled triangle shape and fabricating method thereof
A transflective liquid crystal display device includes: first and second substrates facing and spaced apart from each other; a gate line on an inner surface of the first substrate; a data line crossing the gate line to define a pixel region including a reflective portion and a transmissive portion, wherein the transmissive portion has a polygonal shape inscribed in a rectangle, and a circumference of the transmissive portion is less than the circumference of the rectangle; a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line; a passivation layer on the thin film transistor, the passivation layer having a opening corresponding to the transmissive portion; a reflective layer corresponding to the reflective portion on the passivation layer; a transparent electrode corresponding to the pixel region over the reflective layer; a color filter layer on an inner surface of the second substrate; a common electrode on the color filter layer; and a liquid crystal layer between the common electrode and the transparent electrode.
US08319918B2 Multi-domain display using fringe fields
A multi-domain vertical alignment liquid crystal display that does not require physical features on the substrate (such as protrusions and ITO slits) is disclosed. Each pixel of the MVALCD is subdivided into color components, which are further divided into color dots. The polarity of the color dots are arranged so that fringe fields from adjacent color dots causes multiple liquid crystal domains in each color dot. Specifically, the color dots of a pixel are arranged so that each color dot of a first polarity has four neighboring pixels of a second polarity. Thus, a checkerboard pattern of polarities is formed. Furthermore, the checkerboard pattern is extended across multiple pixels in the MVALCD. In addition, many display unit include multiple pixel designs to improve color distribution or electrical distribution.
US08319916B2 Method of producing organic nanoparticles, organic nanoparticles thus obtained, inkjet ink for color filter, colored photosensitive resin composition and photosensitive resin transfer material, containing the same, and color filter, liquid crystal display device and CCD device, prepared using the same
A method of producing organic nanoparticles, comprising: mixing a solution of an organic material dissolved in a good solvent with a solvent that is compatible with the good solvent but is a poor solvent for the organic material, to prepare a dispersion in which the organic material is being formed to organic fine particles of a size in the order of nanometer; wherein the dispersion contains a polymer compound having a weight-average molecular weight of 1,000 or more represented by the following formula (1): wherein R1 represents a (m+n)-valent connecting group; R2 represents a single bond or a divalent connecting group; A1 represents a specific monovalent organic group; when n is two or more, plural A1s may be the same or different; m represents 1 to 8; n represents 2 to 9; m+n is 3 to 10; and P1 represents a polymer compound residue.
US08319914B2 Liquid crystal display with narrow angular range of incident light
A liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal panel in the pixel electrode and common electrodes formed within a pixel comprise repeating structures. The angular range of light incident from the light source is narrower along a direction of the repeating structures than along an orthogonal direction.
US08319912B2 Display apparatus
A display apparatus includes a plurality of first brackets adhered to the rear panel. A first bracket has a recess on a first surface where an adhesive is applied, and a first protrusion extending from a second surface and a second protrusion extending from the first protrusion. A connection bracket has a side wall and a plurality of first tab portions. The tab portion is provided into an opening of the first protrusion. A second bracket is provided adjacent to the plurality of the first brackets and attached to the connection bracket. A frame is mounted to the at least one second bracket. A light source is provided between the frame and the second bracket.
US08319906B2 Active matrix substrate, liquid crystal panel, liquid crystal display unit, liquid crystal display device, television receiver, active matrix substrate manufacturing method, and liquid crystal panel manufacturing method
A scanning signal line (16) includes an opening (29) leading from the outside of a pixel region through below a data signal line (15) into the pixel region, and first and second scanning electrode portions (16a/16b) or two side portions of the opening confronting in a column direction through that opening. The end portion of the first scanning electrode portion (16a) in the pixel region is a first end portion (EP1), and the end portion of the second scanning electrode portion (16b) in the pixel region is a second end portion (EP2). A first transistor has a source electrode (9a) and a drain electrode (8a) individually overlapping the first electrode portion (16a) but not the first end portion (EP1) in the pixel region. A second transistor has a source electrode (9b) and a drain electrode (8b) individually overlapping the second electrode portion (16b) but not the second end portion EP2) in the pixel region. According to the aforementioned constitution, it is possible to realize a pixel split type active matrix substrate capable of easily correcting the short-circuits of the data signal line (15) and the scanning signal line (16).
US08319900B2 Remote control security
A television receiver device consistent with certain embodiment is controlled by a remote controller has an infrared receiver that receives control signals from the remote controller. An infrared transmitter transmits signals from the television to the remote controller. A processor, upon receipt of a control signal from the remote controller sends a challenge signal to the remote controller in order to obtain a reply from the remote controller. Upon receipt of a reply to the challenge, the processor determines if the reply is correct and if so, executes the command associated with the control signal, wherein if the reply is incorrect, the command is not executed. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US08319898B2 Edge enhancement method and apparatus
An image processing device, method, an image display device and method which can obtain a high-definition display image by properly controlling processing of reducing the blur of a displayed image caused by the time integration effect of an image sensor. The image display device comprises a motion detection part (1) which detects the moving amount of an input image signal, and an edge emphasis part (2) which subjects the input image signal to edge emphasis processing, and the image display device increases an edge emphasis degree of edge emphasis processing to an area where the moving amount of the input image signal is large. The image display device comprises a genre judgment part (3) which judges the genre classification which the input image signal is connected with according to genre information obtained from outside of the device, and a control part (4) which controls the edge emphasis part (2) to reduce the edge emphasis degree of the edge emphasis processing or to avoid the edge emphasis processing even in the area where the moving amount of the input signal is large when the input image signal is connected with a predetermined genre.
US08319896B2 Image processing apparatus and method for controlling image processing apparatus
The control unit provided in the image processing apparatus determines, based on the measurement result obtained by the time measurement unit, whether or not a change timing of external light detected and determined by the external light detection unit and the external light change determination unit is before a predetermined time has elapsed since the input switching detection unit detected the switching process. When the change timing of external light is before a predetermined time threshold value Th1 has elapsed as a result of the determination, the control unit provides instructions to the image processing unit about executing image quality adjustment processing while increasing the adjustment amount per unit time.
US08319892B2 Video signal processing apparatus, video displaying apparatus and high resolution method for video signal
For providing a technology for preferably achieving high resolution of video signals of a video signal or moving video, with a small number of frames thereof, a video signal processing apparatus comprise an input unit to be inputted a plural number of video frames, a resolution converter unit, having resolution converting characteristics differing from each other, depending on a direction thereof, by composing 2 pieces of the video frames from the inputted video frames, thereby increasing a number of pixels making up the video frames, and a mixer unit for obtaining the output video frame by mixing output results of the resolution converter unit.
US08319890B2 Arrangement for generating a 3:2 pull-down switch-off signal for a video compression encoder
Arrangement for generating a pull-down switch-off signal The invention relates to an arrangement (1) for generating a pulldown switch-off signal for a video compression encoder, which signal is determined by the arrangement (1) in dependence on a converted signal which is produced from an NTSC signal by means of an inverse 3:2 pull down conversion, wherein the circuit arrangement includes a M(ean) A(bsolute) D(istortion) (MAD) detector (2) and a circuit (3) for determining Hadamard coefficients, wherein the MAD detector (2) produces a MAD signal which indicates for each block of predefined size the difference between the picture contents of two consecutive frames, wherein the circuit (3) for determining the Hadamard coefficients delivers two coefficients in blocks per frame, from which coefficients a first coefficient indicates the sum of the differences of the pixels of adjacent scanning lines i and i+1 and a second coefficient indicates the sum of the differences of the pixels of scanning lines i and i+2, and wherein the pull-down switch-off signal is generated in dependence on the summed values of the MAD signal for all blocks of a frame and in dependence on the two Hadamard coefficients summed for all the blocks of a frame.
US08319889B2 Frame rate conversion apparatus and method
Correlation detectors 21 and 22 employ two different correlation detecting methods to determine correlations. Correlation comparators 23 and 24 output correlation values DF1 and DF2, and motion vectors MV1 and MV2 in directions representing largest correlation values. A correlation comparator 25 selects one of the motion vectors larger in correlation, as a motion vector MV3, to output an interpolation control signal FS1 to determine an interpolation method at an interpolator 3. The interpolator 3 is operative in accordance with the interpolation control signal FS1, to select any one out of two different one-side interpolations and a both-side interpolation, to generate interpolation pixel data fp0.
US08319885B2 Detachable camera module
An exemplary camera module includes an image sensor package, an enclosure, and a lens module. The image sensor package includes a circuit board and an image sensor mounted on the circuit board. The enclosure is attached on the circuit board and includes four elastic engaging portions protruding from an interior surface thereof. The lens module includes a barrel and at least one optical element received in the barrel. The barrel defines four recesses in an outer surface thereof. The barrel is detachably mounted in the enclosure. The engaging portions engage in the respective recesses.
US08319883B2 Image pickup apparatus and control method thereof
An apparatus includes a display unit configured to display a captured image, an object region detection unit configured to detect the main object region in a photographic screen, a determination unit configured to determine whether the main object region is in a focused state, an enlarge unit configured to enlarge and display the main object region in focus on the display unit larger than when the main object region is not in focus, an object movement detection unit configured to detect whether the main object in the main object region moves in the photographic screen, and an enlarge control unit configured to, when the object movement detection unit detects that the main object is moving, limit the enlarge from performing enlargement and display.
US08319878B2 Solid-state imaging device and its production method
A solid-state imaging device of the type having photoelectric conversion elements formed in a matrix pattern on a semiconductor substrate, vertical transfer elements each of which reads signal charges from the photoelectric conversion elements arranged in the column direction and transfers the signal charges in the vertical direction, and a horizontal transfer element which transfers in the horizontal direction the signal charges sent from each of the vertical transfer elements, the horizontal transfer element includes: a charge transfer channel; a first transfer electrode; a second transfer electrode; and an interelectrode insulating film; with the first transfer electrode and the second transfer electrode being at the same potential.
US08319877B2 Solid-state imaging device, method of manufacturing solid-state imaging device, and electronic apparatus
A solid-state imaging device includes a pixel section including light receiving sensors, horizontally spaced vertical transfer registers including vertical transfer channel regions and vertical transfer electrodes formed above the vertical transfer channel regions, vertically spaced horizontal transfer registers each including a horizontal transfer channel region and horizontal transfer electrodes formed side by side in a horizontal direction above the horizontal transfer channel region and formed in the same layer as the vertical transfer electrodes, and a horizontal-to-horizontal transfer portion formed between adjacent two of the horizontal transfer registers and including a horizontal-to-horizontal transfer channel region interconnecting respective parts of the horizontal transfer channel regions positioned under the horizontal transfer electrodes to which the transfer drive pulses having different phases are applied, and a horizontal-to-horizontal transfer electrode formed above the horizontal-to-horizontal transfer channel region in the same layer as both the vertical transfer electrodes and the horizontal transfer electrodes.
US08319876B2 Solid-state imaging device, imaging apparatus and driving method for the same
A solid-state imaging device includes first-group pixels 41, second-group pixels 42 skipped during thinning drive, and a scanning section 13. The scanning section 13 drives each of the first-group pixels 41 to perform read operation of outputting the output signal and initializing the amount of the signal charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion element to a first level, and also drives each of the second-group pixels 42 to perform discharge operation of initializing the amount of the signal charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion element to a second level that is higher than the first level and lower than a saturation signal level of the photoelectric conversion element 12.
US08319875B2 Imaging device that prevents loss of shadow detail
An imaging device outputs brightness information according to an amount of incident light and includes: an imaging unit that includes a plurality of unit cells arranged one dimensionally or two-dimensionally, each unit cell including a photoelectric conversion part that generates a first output voltage in a reset state and a second output voltage according to an amount of incident light, and each unit cell generating a reset voltage that corresponds to the first output voltage and a read voltage that corresponds to the second output voltage; and an output unit operable to output, in relation to each unit cell, brightness information indicating a difference between the reset voltage and the read voltage when normal light is incident to the imaging device and the read voltage is in a predetermined range, and brightness information indicating high brightness when strong light is incident to the imaging device and the read voltage is not in the predetermined range.
US08319871B2 Solid-state imaging device, its production method, camera with the solid-state imaging device, and light receiving chip
Provided is a light-receiving chip whose transparent protection plate has an area equal to or smaller than an area of the light-receiving chip, and which does not require a base portion for mounting. Provision of the light-receiving chip contributes to reduction in size and weight of cameras. In addition, provision of a solid-state imaging apparatus having excellent productivity contributes to reduction in price of cameras. A solid-state imaging apparatus (10) having: a solid-state imaging device (11) (a light-receiving chip) provided with a plurality of light-receiving cells arranged either one dimensionally or two dimensionally on one main surface of a base substrate; and a transparent protection plate (12) provided to cover a light-receiving area (18) (the plurality of light-receiving cells), where an area of the transparent protection plate is equal to or smaller than an area of the light-receiving chip, and a space (20) is formed between the light-receiving cells and the transparent protection plate.
US08319870B2 Imaging apparatus
An imaging apparatus with improved convenience, which can perform various types of processing using an imaging device while performing phase difference detection, is provided.An imaging unit (1) includes an imaging device (10) for performing photoelectric conversion to convert light into an electrical signal, the imaging device (10) configured so that light passes through the imaging device (10), a phase difference detection unit (20) for receiving the light having passed through the imaging device (10) to perform phase difference detection, a focus lens group (72) for adjusting a focus position, and a body control section (5) for controlling the imaging device (10) and controlling driving of the focus lens group (72) at least based on a detection result of the phase difference detection unit. The body control section (5) performs a focus operation based on a detection result of the phase difference detection unit during exposure of the imaging device.
US08319867B2 Solid-state imager device, drive method of solid-state imager device and camera apparatus
In a case when a structure of forming a p+ layer on a substrate rear surface side is employed in order to prevent dark current generation from the silicon boundary surface, various problems occur. According to this invention, an insulation film 39 is provided on a rear surface on a silicon substrate 31 and a transparent electrode 40 is further provided thereon, and by applying a negative voltage with respect to the potential of the silicon substrate 31 from a voltage supply source 41 to the insulation film 39 through the transparent electrode 40, positive holes are accumulated on a silicon boundary surface of the substrate rear surface side and a structure equivalent to a state in which a positive hole accumulation layer exists on aforesaid silicon boundary surface is to be created. Thus, various problems in the related art can be avoided.
US08319866B2 Imaging optical system and imaging apparatus
An imaging optical system includes: a light control element formed of a dye pigment-containing dichroic guest-host liquid crystal, and that is disposed on a light path to adjust a quantity of incident light for an image sensing device; and an optical filter disposed on the light path, and that includes an infrared absorbing material, the optical filter having a spectral transmittance that satisfies the following conditions (1), (2), and (3) 0.6
US08319865B2 Camera adjusting system and method
A camera adjusting system includes a first camera, a second camera, and a control apparatus. The first camera is movably arranged on a sliding rail to monitor a locale. The second camera captures a three dimensional (3D) image of a head of a subject. The control apparatus receives the captured 3D image of the head of the subject and simulates a corresponding 3D model according to the captured 3D image, and compares the actual 3D model with a reference 3D model, to compute a compared result, and outputs a control signal to the first camera to adjust parameters of the first camera according to the compared result.
US08319864B2 Imaging apparatus and imaging method
An imaging apparatus includes: an image sensor; a pixel output judging processor which judges if a pixel output reaches a saturation level or not; a pixel output compensation processor which performs a compensating operation to compensate a pixel output of a pixel of a specific color which reaches the saturation level; a bit compression convertor which performs a bit compression such that pixel output data, which is once converted from a first bit number to a second bit number, is converted again to the first bit number; a histogram producer which produces a brightness histogram of a photographic subject image; and a calculator which calculates a ratio of the number of pixels of a maximum brightness area to the number of entire pixels from the brightness histogram, wherein the bit compression convertor performs the bit compression based on a bit compression characteristic set on the basis of the ratio of the number of pixels of the maximum brightness area.
US08319862B2 Non-uniformity correction of images generated by focal plane arrays of photodetectors
Methods and apparatus for effecting a non-uniformity correction of images of a scene obtained with an array of detector elements are disclosed. A first image of the scene having a first integration period is acquired using the array of detector elements. A second image of the scene having a different integration period is acquired, and a corrected image of the scene is generated by computing a difference of the images. In some embodiments, the first and second images are images of substantially identical scenes. According to some embodiments, the images are infrared images. Optionally, the corrected image is subjected to further correction using pixel dependent correction coefficients, such as gain coefficients. Exemplary image detection elements include but are not limited to InSb detector elements and ternary detector elements, such as InAlSb, MCT (Mercury Cadmium Telluride), and QWIP technology (Quantum Well Infrared Photodiodes). In some embodiments, the detector elements are cooled to a temperature substantially equal to an atmospheric boiling point of liquid nitrogen. Alternatively, the detector elements are cooled to a temperature below an atmospheric boiling point of liquid nitrogen, or any other operating temperature.
US08319860B2 Electrical device with zooming function and zooming method for thereof
An electrical device with zooming function includes an image-sensing module, a display unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is electrically connected to the image-sensing module and the display unit respectively. The image-sensing module senses an image. The processing unit includes an image display module, a selecting module and a zooming-control module. The image display module makes the display unit display the sensed image. The selecting module receives a selection signal for selecting a reference point from the image displayed on the display unit. The zooming-control module makes the image-sensing module sense another image, the reference point is in the center of which, by zooming.
US08319856B2 Imaging apparatus for calculating a histogram to adjust color balance
An imaging apparatus includes an imaging unit to acquire image data, an integration unit to calculate a white balance integration value, a first calculation unit to calculate a still image white balance control value, a second calculation unit to calculate a histogram white balance control value, and a histogram processing unit. The second calculation unit calculates the histogram white balance control value by converting a white balance control value which is used in white balance processing on the image data acquired by the imaging unit in an electronic view finder (EVF) mode to the still image white balance control value, and the histogram processing unit adjusts color balance of the image data acquired by the imaging unit using the calculated histogram white balance control value and performs the histogram processing in parallel with calculation of the white balance integration value.
US08319855B2 Method, apparatus and system for image acquisition and conversion
A method for image acquisition and conversion includes low-pass filtering an image by an acquisition lens, producing from the low-pass filtered image, an up-sampled image with a first resolution with an up-sampling factor using a image sensor. The up-sampled image is converted into a multi-level image with a second resolution lower than the first resolution with an image processing circuit. The converting depends on the low-pass filtering of the lens and on the up-sampling factor. The method is adapted to gigapixel sensors and convention image sensors.
US08319848B2 Imaging apparatus
An imaging apparatus includes an imaging unit that receives image data in response to a photographic subject, a face detection unit that detects a human face from the received image data, a photometry unit that performs a photometry of the detected human face, an exposure control unit that calculates a target exposure amount in accordance with a photometry result to calculate an exposure control value, and an exposure correction control unit that determines an exposure in response to the target exposure amount, wherein an exposure correction unit performs an exposure correction by using an exposure target determined by the exposure correction control unit, as an area smaller than a domain of the human face detected by the face detection unit is set to the photometry area.
US08319847B2 Imaging apparatus
An apparatus includes an imaging unit including an image sensor configured to photoelectrically convert an object image formed by a photographic lens, a light-blocking member configured to adjust an exposure time of the image sensor by mechanically closing an aperture thereof to block a light flux from the photographic lens from entering the image sensor through the aperture, and a driving unit configured to drive the imaging unit along an optical axis within a range including a position where at least a part of the imaging unit is inside the aperture of the light-blocking member.
US08319845B2 In-play camera associated with headgear used in sporting events and configured to provide wireless transmission of captured video for broadcast to and display at remote video monitors
System and method for capturing visual perspectives of live activities at an entertainment venue with wireless in-play video cameras associated with user equipment for transmission to enterprise equipment for processing and broadcast to remote video monitors for display. Video recording can be from more than one entertainment venue or can be more than one wireless in-play video camera. Remote video monitors can be venue-based hand held devices or video monitors used at home. Remote video monitors can include hand held devices and high definition televisions (e.g., HDTVs) including flat panel display screens therein. A user can select from more than one view from video cameras that the user wants displayed on the remote viewer, enabling a user of the remote video monitor to view more than one camera view through the remote viewer at a time/simultaneously.
US08319844B2 Lens driving device, image stabilizing unit, and image pickup apparatus
A lens driving device having a simplified structure in which a holding member is moved relative to a stationary member with appropriate viscous damping is provided. The lens driving device includes the holding member configured to hold a compensation lens for image stabilization, the stationary member configured to support the holding member in a movable manner in a plane that is perpendicular to a light axis, a driving unit configured to change the position of the holding member relative to the stationary member, and a damping material disposed between the holding member and the stationary member. The damping material has a transition region in a frequency range between 0.3 Hz and 100 Hz.
US08319843B2 Image processing apparatus and method for blur correction
A capturing parameter and a capturing image are obtained by an image capturing device which uses the capturing parameter. Correction data, which corresponds to an optical transfer function of the image capturing device derived from the capturing parameter, and a noise amount of the capturing image dependent on the capturing parameter, is acquired to correct a blur of the capturing image. A first degree of correction by the correction data for a high noise amount is less than a second degree of correction by the correction data for a low noise amount.
US08319842B2 Image capturing apparatus to prevent image blurring and control method therefor
An image capturing apparatus includes a motion vector detection unit which detects a motion vector on the basis of the correlation between image signals continuously captured by an image capturing unit, a reliability evaluation value calculation unit which calculates the reliability evaluation value of the motion vector detected by the motion vector detection unit, a blurring correction amount determination unit which determines the image blurring correction amount on the basis of the motion vector detected by the motion vector detection unit, a correction amount reduction unit which reduces the image blurring correction amount on the basis of the reliability evaluation value calculated by the reliability evaluation value calculation unit, and a blurring correction unit which corrects image blurring on the basis of the image blurring correction amount reduced by the correction amount reduction unit.
US08319841B2 Video processing apparatus, video processing system, video processing method, and program
A video processing apparatus comprises a signal input unit which receives a video signal, a shift detection unit which detects a shift period in shooting and a maximum shift amount during the shift period from the video signal input from the signal input unit, an effective area detection unit which detects an object area common throughout the shift period as an effective area on the basis of the shift period and the maximum shift amount, a correction unit which corrects a shift during the shift period by reading out data from the effective area, and a resolution conversion unit which performs enlarge processing to convert a size of the effective area read out by the correction unit into an output image size.
US08319840B2 Image processing device, image processing method, and information terminal apparatus
Provision is made for obtaining a high-quality image with noise, such as ringing, reduced.An image processing device includes an image correction means for applying image-shake correction processing to an input image; a correction-image characteristic detection means for detecting a characteristic of a correction image obtained through the image-shake correction processing; a first characteristic-determination means for outputting selection information, based on a characteristic-detected correction image obtained through detection of the characteristic of the correction image; and an image outputting means for outputting the input image or the correction image, based on the selection information. As a result, it is made possible to obtain a high-quality image with noise reduced.
US08319839B2 Optical image system
An optical image system includes an image pickup module, a swinging mechanism, a first swinging calibration element and a second swinging calibration element. When the optical image system is tilted because of handshaking, the image pickup module is swung by the swinging mechanism. At the same time, the first swinging calibration element and the second swinging calibration element detect whether the image pickup module is swung to an ideal position where the handshaking problem is eliminated.
US08319837B2 Method for sharing file between control point and media server in a DLNA system, and system thereof
A method for sharing a file between a control point and a media server in a DLNA system, and a system thereof are provided, in which the control point captures a photo, determines a similarity between a facial image included in the captured photo and a facial image file corresponding to at least one media server, compares the similarity with a pre-stored value, and if the similarity is greater than or equal to the pre-stored value, transmits a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) representing a position at which the photo is stored to the media server, and the media server accesses the URI received from the control point and receives the photo using the URI.
US08319835B2 Image transfer system for a network
An electronic camera having a function of accessing a specific server via Internet includes: a storage unit in which related information concerning the electronic camera is stored in advance; a generation unit that dynamically generates an identifier to be used to identify the electronic camera in conformance to a predefined specific rule based upon at least part of the related information stored in the storage unit; and a setting unit that sets the identifier generated by the generation unit within a request message to be transmitted to the Internet.
US08319834B2 Analysis of video footage
Segments of interest within video footage are identified automatically. Such segments of interest include portions of the footage which were taken using a hand held camera and which show a static subject, portions which track the motion of a moving subject, and portions which show an abrupt event. Methods are presented for identifying such segments, based on motion and/or color analysis of the video footage or based on observations of discontinuities in the video footage following a period of stability.
US08319830B1 Ice fishing camera adjustment guide
An ice fishing camera support device generally comprises a base portion that rotatably supports an indexed wheel. The support base generally comprises a circular top portion and downward-protruding side wall extending from the outer peripheral section of the top portion. A plurality of gripping teeth extend from the bottom surface of the side wall. The gripping teeth may be embedded into the ice surface to prevent the camera support device from sliding on the ice surface. The indexed wheel is centrally supported within the recessed section and may be freely rotated with respect to the support base. The support base and the indexed wheel comprise a slotted section which extends from their centers through their peripheral edges. An underwater camera cable is inserted into the slot, and the indexed wheel may be rotated with respect to the support base to precisely determine the angular orientation of the underwater camera.
US08319828B2 Highly efficient 2D-3D switchable display device
Provided is a highly efficient 2D-3D switchable display device. The image display device includes a display unit forming an image, and a switching visual field separation unit switching the image formed by the display unit into a 2D image or a 3D image, and comprising a lens array for separating a visual field and a liquid crystal lens controlled so as to have a refractive power offsetting or reinforcing a refractive power of the lens array.
US08319827B2 Apparatus for processing image signal and method for controlling thereof
An image signal process apparatus and a method for controlling thereof are provided. The image signal process apparatus includes a storage unit storing pixel data of an incoming frame image, a scaling filter generating one frame image by scaling the pixel data, and a controller retrieving a part of the pixel data among pixel data of the frame image stored at the storage unit, and transmitting the retrieved pixel data to the scaling filter. As a result, a process of processing a stereoscopic image may be reduced such that deterioration of an image quality may be prevented, and a data processing time may be reduced.
US08319818B2 Information processing device, information processing method and storage medium storing computer program
There is provided an information processing device including a recipient information recording portion that records recipient party information, an image recording portion that records images of the recipient party taken on the recipient party side during a call, an image extraction portion that extracts an image at a predetermined point in time from the images recorded in the image recording portion, and a registration portion that, after the call is ended, associates the image extracted by the image extraction portion with the recipient party information and registers the associated image in the recipient party information recording portion.
US08319817B2 Method and apparatus for video call using transmission of divided image frames
A method and an apparatus for a video call using transmission of divided image frames are provided. A transmitting mobile terminal captures a still image with the first resolution at a predefined period, divides the captured image into images with the second resolution that is smaller than the first resolution, and transmits the divided images to a receiving mobile terminal. Then the receiving terminal receives the divided images at a predefined period, creates a combined image corresponding to the initial still image from the divided images, and outputs the combined image on a display unit.
US08319812B2 Image forming apparatus and method of controlling the same
An image forming apparatus that is operable at a plurality of image forming speeds and can be constructed at low costs without adding circuits or the like. A conversion circuit converts image data into lighting patterns for turning on/off laser light on a basis of each of units of auxiliary pixels formed by dividing a pixel as an image forming element. A shift register sequentially stores lighting patterns for pixels pixel from the conversion circuit, and sequentially outputs them to a laser drive circuit. In monochrome printing, the rotational speed of a polygon motor is set to perform a printing operation. In color printing, the difference between an image forming speed for the monochrome printing and an image forming speed for the color printing is calculated, and based on the difference, the amount of insertion of pixel pieces using the shift register is determined for a printing operation.
US08319808B2 Image forming apparatus
According to one embodiment, there is provided an image forming apparatus, including an accommodation unit, an image forming unit, an image reading unit, an image erasing unit, a first medium processing unit, and a second medium processing unit. The first medium processing unit forms the image on the recording medium carried from the accommodation unit and discharges the recording medium on which the image is formed, based on the setting of a first image process mode. The second medium processing unit forms a test image on the recording medium carried from the accommodation unit, reads the test image, erases the test image, and returns the recording medium to the accommodation unit, based on a setting of a second image process mode.
US08319805B2 Screen condensation with heterogeneous display resolution
In one embodiment, a video signal is displayed on a display screen in two or more resolutions. The video signal may be of a first resolution and the display screen may be set to a second resolution. In one embodiment, the video signal resolution is of a size that is greater than the size of the display screen resolution. The method includes displaying a first portion of the video signal in a first resolution in a first region of the display. A second portion of the video signal is then displayed in a second resolution in a second region of the display. The second resolution is a resolution that displays at least a portion of the video signal that would be off screen if the video signal is displayed in the first resolution. Accordingly, more of the signal can be displayed on the screen.
US08319804B2 Electronic devices with automatic brightness adjustment and the method thereof
A electronic device and method regulates a display brightness of the electronic device. The electronic device can create relationships between the external environment brightness of the electronic device and the brightness of the display of the electronic device. Furthermore, the electronic device can regulate the brightness of the display, according to user's expression due to the former regulation. The operations of creating relationships and regulating the brightness can be expediently implemented, and faults of the operations can be avoided, by utilizing the electronic device.
US08319802B2 Apparatus to select gamma reference voltage and method of the same
The present invention provides a method of selecting a gamma reference voltage. The method is used to switch the picture to a first grey scale. The second grey scale and its luminance of a plurality of regions of a liquid crystal display panel are determined by a sensor, and the gamma voltage corresponding to the second grey scale is stored into a bank to output. The bank signal is input to a reference voltage.
US08319801B2 Magnifying content on a graphical display
Systems, methods and articles of manufacture are disclosed for magnifying content on a graphical display. A user may specify a selection area of the graphical display to be magnified. The user may also specify a display area of the graphical display within which to output a magnified copy of the selection area. Further, the user may anchor a selection area or a display area to an application window or to content in the application window. For instance, an anchored display area may move with an application window. The user may also specify a text size for the display area. The display area may magnify text from the selection area to the specified text size. A magnification area may also display metadata from an application window or from content in the application window. A composite view may combine multiple magnification areas.
US08319800B2 Systems and methods for displaying fixed-scale content on mobile devices
A system and method for maintaining certain content items at a fixed size and resolution and/or position relative to a device display are described herein. Fixed-scale content items are maintained at a given size, resolution, and/or, in some cases, position relative to a display regardless of changes in size and/or resolution of other displayed content.
US08319799B2 Flexible display device and method for changing display area
A display device to change an image displayed in a display area when the display area is changed includes a memory, a location output unit and a screen display unit. The memory stores size information of a display area displayed on a screen and the image data of the displayed image. The location computing unit computes a start point of the changed display area when the display area is changed. The display unit decodes data corresponding to the size of the display area based on the computed new start point from the image data to display the decoded data in the display area. Since the start point is obtained with center point of the changed display area and its size information and then a display area to be displayed is determined based on the start point, a current search location is maintained even when the screen is swung.
US08319798B2 System and method providing motion blur to rotating objects
In graphics applications, objects including rotating objects having geometric detail or surface relief are rendered in render targets where pixels are assigned color and depth values by color and depth buffers. A pixel shader performs ray intersection calculations on a primitive approximating the object in the render target to generate three-dimensional world space positions for the pixels. Samples for each pixel are taken around a primitive's axis of rotation, and for each sample, the object in the render target is queried to gather color and depth data for the pixel. The query results are composited and a blurred object is provided in a scene at a desired location and at a depth according to depth data retrieved from the depth buffer.
US08319793B2 Analyzing pixel data by imprinting objects of a computer-implemented network structure into other objects
An analysis system analyzes digital images using a computer-implemented network structure that includes a process hierarchy, a class network and a data network. The data network includes image layers and object networks. Objects in a first object network are segmented into a first class, and objects in a second object network are segmented into a second class. One process step of the process hierarchy involves generating a third object network by imprinting objects of the first object network into the objects of the second object network such that pixel locations are unlinked from objects of the second object network to the extent that the pixel locations were also linked to objects of the first object network. The imprinting step allows object-oriented processing of digital images to be performed with fewer computations and less memory. Characteristics of an object of the third object network are then determined by measuring the object.
US08319792B2 Virtual components for CAD models
One embodiment of the invention is a method for composing a computer-aided design (CAD) drawing that includes modeled components and non-modeled components. The method includes receiving a selection of properties for a non-modeled component to include in the CAD drawing, where the non-modeled component defines an element of an object modeled in the CAD drawing that is not included in a display representation of the object including an instance of the non-modeled component in the CAD drawing. Although not shown in display representations, the non-modeled elements may be displayed in a browse view showing the elements included in a CAD drawing, and in a bill of materials generated from the CAD drawing.
US08319788B2 Automated color selection method and apparatus
An automated method and apparatus for providing color selection capability to a user wherein a first display is generated on a display apparatus of an array of color family groups disposed in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. Upon selection of a particular color family group, a second display is generated comprising an enlarged display of a particular selected color family group wherein, as the second display is generated, the array of color family groups of the first display dissolves while the particular selected color family group moves into a central enlarged position and a miniature version of the entire array of color family groups is displayed in a thumbnail navigation frame, located in a corner of the display screen. Various elements of a color family such as color stripe cards, color style cards, and sample chips may be selected and caused to appear via animation in a central enlarged position in the display.
US08319785B2 Image display system and method for preventing image tearing effect
An image display system includes: a frame buffer including plurality of lines; a memory controller conducting writing and reading operations with the frame buffer; an image data provider supplying image data to the memory controller and generating a writing address; a display controller generating a reading address and receiving image data that is read from the frame buffer by the memory controller; a tearing-protection bus arbiter storing a burst length, receiving the writing and reading addresses, and selectively outputting the writing and reading addresses; and a display device displaying the image data by the display controller. The reading address contains a start address for the reading operation and the writing address contains a start address for the writing operation. If the writing and reading addresses are the same or if a difference between the start addresses for the writing and reading operations is less than the burst length, the tearing-protection bus arbiter outputs the reading address to the memory controller and holds the writing address.
US08319784B2 Fast reconfiguration of graphics pipeline state
Techniques and technologies are provided for binding resources to particular slots associated with shaders in a graphics pipeline. Resource dependencies between resources being utilized by respective shaders can be determined, and, based on these resource dependencies, common resource/slot associations can be computed. Respective common resource/slot associations identify a particular one of the resources to be associated with a particular one of the slots.
US08319783B1 Index-based zero-bandwidth clears
A system and method for performing zero-bandwidth-clears reduces external memory accesses by a graphics processor when performing clears and subsequent read operations. A set of clear values is stored in the graphics processor. Each portion of a color or z buffer may be configured using a zero-bandwidth-clear command to reference a clear value without writing the external memory. The clear value is provided to a requestor without accessing the external memory when a read access is performed.
US08319782B2 Systems and methods for providing scalable parallel graphics rendering capability for information handling systems
Systems and methods for providing scalability of multiple graphic processor units (GPU) that work together in a multi-coprocessor fashion to provide parallel graphics rendering methodology for an information handling system. The total number of active GPUs working together to provide parallel graphics rendering methodology for a given information handling system may be increased in a modular manner beyond one or two GPUs, e.g., so as allow as many GPUs as desired to be attached to a given information handling system such as a desktop computer or notebook computer.
US08319781B2 Multi-user multi-GPU render server apparatus and methods
The invention provides, in some aspects, a system for rendering images, the system having one or more client digital data processors and a server digital data processor in communications coupling with the one or more client digital data processors, the server digital data processor having one or more graphics processing units. The system additionally comprises a render server module executing on the server digital data processor and in communications coupling with the graphics processing units, where the render server module issues a command in response to a request from a first client digital data processor. The graphics processing units on the server digital data processor simultaneously process image data in response to interleaved commands from (i) the render server module on behalf of the first client digital data processor, and (ii) one or more requests from (a) the render server module on behalf of any of the other client digital data processors, and (b) other functionality on the server digital data processor.
US08319780B2 System, method, and computer program product for synchronizing operation of a first graphics processor and a second graphics processor in order to secure communication therebetween
A system, method, and computer program product are provided for synchronizing operation of a first graphics processor and a second graphics processor in order to secure communication therebetween. A first graphics processor is provided for processing video data. In addition, a second graphics processor is provided for processing the video data. Furthermore, a data structure is provided for use in synchronizing operation of the first graphics processor and the second graphics processor in order to secure communication therebetween.
US08319779B2 System and method for controlling animation by tagging objects within a game environment
A game developer can “tag” an item in the game environment. When an animated character walks near the “tagged” item, the animation engine can cause the character's head to turn toward the item, and mathematically computes what needs to be done in order to make the action look real and normal. The tag can also be modified to elicit an emotional response from the character. For example, a tagged enemy can cause fear, while a tagged inanimate object may cause only indifference or indifferent interest.
US08319773B2 Method and apparatus for user interface communication with an image manipulator
A system, and method for use thereof, for image manipulation. The system may generate an original image in a three dimensional coordinate system. A sensing system may sense a user interaction with the image. The sensed user interaction may be correlated with the three dimensional coordinate system. The correlated user interaction may be used to project an updated image, where the updated image may be a distorted version of the original image. The image distortion may be in the form of a twisting, bending, cutting, displacement, or squeezing. The system may be used for interconnecting or communicating between two or more components connected to an interconnection medium (e.g., a bus) within a single computer or digital data processing system.
US08319770B2 Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting user input left ventricle points
A method and system for optimizing user input points that identify points within an image of a left ventricle of a heart includes identifying user input points on an image. The user input points include an apical point and left and right basal points positioned proximate to an endocardium of a left ventricle. An adjusted apical point is determined based on at least an autocorrelation of points in the image proximate to the apical point. The adjusted apical point is displayed on the image.
US08319769B2 LCD panel driver with self masking function using power on reset signal and driving method thereof
In a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel driver with a self-masking function using a power-on reset signal, and in a method of driving the same, the LCD panel driver includes a power-on reset signal generation unit that generates a power-on reset signal in response to a supply voltage applied to a LCD panel; a latch unit that receives a start pulse signal instructing that source lines of the LCD panel be driven and generates first and second set signals for setting an initial value of an output signal of a flip-flop to be in a predetermined default logic level, in response to the power-on reset signal; and a counter unit that generates a start pulse masking signal by masking at least one pulse of the start pulse signal in response to the first and second set signals and the start pulse signal.
US08319764B2 Wave guide for improving light sensor angular response
Electronic displays encounter visibility issues due to varying ambient light conditions. An ambient light sensor can be provided to sense ambient light and dynamically adjust display brightness to compensate for changes in ambient light. A wave guide for improving angular response in a light sensor is provided.
US08319758B2 Interface system and flat panel display using the same
An interface system capable of reducing or minimizing an electromagnetic interference. The interface system includes a serializing unit for receiving first data having a plurality of bits and second data having a plurality of bits, and for serially outputting the plurality of bits of the received first data and second data as 2 bits; a transmission circuit for generating 4 voltage levels in accordance with the 2 bits supplied from the serializing unit; a receiving circuit for recovering the 2 bits using the voltage levels supplied from the transmission circuit; and a deserializing unit for recovering the first data and the second data while sequentially storing the 2 bits supplied from the receiving circuit.
US08319756B2 Adaptive hysteresis for reduced swing signalling circuits
Apparatus (50) for processing a differential input signal. The apparatus (50) comprises a minimum peak detector (51) with a differential input (28). The peak detector (51) provides a first voltage being proportional to an average voltage peak at the peak detector's differential input (28). A compressor (53) is provided for processing the first voltage in order to provide a second voltage. The compressor (53) is followed by a voltage controllable current source providing a trim current that is adjustable by the second voltage. A hysteresis equipped circuit (67.1) whose hysteresis characteristics are adjustable by the trim current is part of the apparatus (50).
US08319749B2 Image pickup apparatus, display-and-image-pickup apparatus and image pickup processing apparatus
An image pickup apparatus capable of easily improving the detection accuracy of a touching or proximity object is provided. An offset noise (a reset image R) is obtained by an image pickup process in a state (a reset state) in which an image pickup device is initialized. Moreover, a fingertip extraction process is performed in consideration of the offset noise on the basis of a picked-up image (a shadow image A or a display light-using image B) which is obtained by picking up an image of a proximity object to obtain object information about the proximity object. While an offset noise in the apparatus is easily reduced, object information about the proximity object can be obtained.
US08319748B2 Touch panel and output method therefor
A touch panel and an output method therefor are disclosed. The touch panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate, spacers, and a controller set. The first substrate is flexible and has a first electrode layer. The second substrate has a second electrode layer facing the first electrode layer. The spacers are configured between the first and the second substrates. The controller set electrically connects to the first and the second electrode layers to provide a first operation mode and a second operation mode. The controller set can apply a uniform voltage drop electrical field on the first electrode layer or the second electrode layer, so that a resistive touch panel configuration is formed during the first operation mode. The controller set can also apply a uniform electrical field on the first electrode layer, so that a capacitive touch panel configuration is formed during the second operation mode.
US08319745B2 Method of estimating nib position using images captured at different pen rotations
A method of estimating a position of nib of a pen relative to an optical sensor mounted on the pen. The method comprises the steps of: (a) placing the nib in contact with a coded surface; (b) capturing, using the sensor, at least two images of the coded surface at different rotations of the pen relative to the surface; (c) determining, from a perspective distortion of the coded surface in each image, an estimated rotation and viewing distance for each image; and (d) estimating, from the estimated rotations and viewing distances, the position of the nib relative to the optical sensor.
US08319742B2 Portable electronic device and method of controlling same
A method of controlling a touch-sensitive display includes displaying a keyboard on the touch-sensitive display. A key of the keyboard is associated with at least two characters. Confirmation of selection is detected and a plurality of touch locations on the touch-sensitive display are detected. At least one of the plurality of touch locations is associated with the key. A direction is determined based on at least two of the plurality of touch locations and a first character of the at least two characters is selected based on the direction and confirmation of selection.
US08319734B2 Input apparatus for a handheld electronic device and method of enabling input employing the same
An improved input apparatus and method of enabling input improve handheld electronic devices having a housing and a processor apparatus disposed on the housing. The processor apparatus comprises a processor and a memory. The input apparatus includes an input assembly with an input device for providing input to the processor, a plurality of input members, and at least a first actuating element movable between a first position and a second position. In the second position, the actuating element actuates the input device. Each input member of the portion of input members is movable among an unactuated position and an actuated position. Each of a plurality of input members of the portion of input members, in the actuated position, is engageable with the actuating element to move it toward the second position. The input apparatus enables close arrangement of the input members to provide, for example, a compact keyboard layout.
US08319733B1 Electronic device system utilizing a character input method
A character input method is implemented in a device with a plurality of keys. If a key is activated by a first operation matching a first input pattern, a first route is selected to traverse a plurality of characters corresponded by the key during presentation of the plurality of characters. If the first key is activated by a second operation matching a second input pattern, the plurality of characters corresponded by the first key are orderly retrieved and presented according to a second route in response to operations on the first key. The order for presenting two characters corresponded by the first key in the first route is reversed in the second route.
US08319727B2 Input device, information terminal provided with the same and input method
In an input device used in mobile apparatuses in which portability is considered important and in mobile apparatuses in which a display unit such as a display is considered important, even if an input unit of the apparatus is made small in size, the input device is configured so that an input can be carried out without requiring an operator for skill. The input device is provided with the input unit including a detecting unit that, when a part of a living body in contact with the input device is pushed, detects a force transmitted through the living body and outputs detection data, and an input information specifying module that, when receiving the detection data, refers to stored data at a database, specifies a position where the living body is pushed, and outputs data allotted to the position as input information of electronic data.
US08319724B2 Sub-pixel structure and pixel structure of color electrophoretic display
A sub-pixel structure of color electrophoretic display includes a driving unit, a display unit and a transparent electrode, wherein the display unit is disposed on the driving unit and the transparent electrode is disposed on the display unit. The display unit includes a plurality of first charged particles and a plurality of second charged particles. A color of the first charged particles is different from a color of the second charged particles. Diameters of the first charged particles are greater than diameters of the second charged particles. The first charged particles and the second charged particles have the same electrical property. The sub-pixel structure of color electrophoretic display has high light utility efficiency.
US08319723B2 Adaptive displaying scheme
A method and a system for improving the psychovisual experience of watching a display are presented. Measurements on the ambient light are performed by a sensor element, from which characteristics of the ambient light are derived. These are subsequently applied in a light-source adjustment model to determine the output of the light-source element. Moreover, a method and a system for adjusting the output of a light-source element by a feed-back loop involving the output from the light-source element and the input to a sensor element are revealed. In addition, the sensor element is also employed for adjusting the output of an electronic display by applying the results of the measurements to a preference model.
US08319722B2 Backlight unit for liquid crystal display device and driving method driving the same
A backlight unit for a liquid crystal display device includes: at least one light source; and an inverter circuit part including a dimming test portion generating a dimming signal and turning ON/OFF the at least one light source using the dimming signal.
US08319720B2 Redundancy shift register circuit for driver circuit in active matrix type liquid crystal display device
An active matrix display device comprises a substrate having an insulating surface, a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix form over the substrate, and a plurality of switching elements operationally connected to the pixel electrodes. Each of the switching elements further comprise a thin film transistor. The display device further includes a display medium comprising an emissive material that is capable of electrically changing luminous strength disposed at each of the pixel electrodes, and a driver circuit that includes a plurality of thin film transistors for driving the plurality of switching elements. Each of the plurality of thin film transistors comprise a crystallized semiconductor layer, a gate insulating film adjacent to the crystallized semiconductor layer and a gate electrode adjacent to the gate insulating film.
US08319719B2 Liquid crystal display device
A liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal display panel 21 having pixels each disposed on an intersection between plural scan lines and plural signal lines, a flexible wiring substrate having mounted thereon a drive IC 24 electrical connected to the liquid crystal display panel 21 for supplying video signals via video signal lines, to one video signal line of which N number of the signal lines are allocated, wherein N is an integer of two or more, an analog switch circuit switch-connected to a signal line selected from the N number of the signal lines in each of the video signal lines, and the control lines 26 formed across a region in which the drive IC 24 has been mounted on the flexible wiring substrate 23 and drawn from a center of the flexible wiring substrate 23 onto the liquid crystal display panel 21 for supplying at least a power source for driving the analog switch circuit or a control signal.
US08319716B2 Liquid crystal display with auxiliary lines and method of driving the same
A liquid crystal display (LCD) and method for driving the LCD using one or more polarity inversion methods is provided. In one embodiment, the invention relates to a method of driving an LCD comprising a liquid crystal panel partitioned by a plurality of gate lines and data lines and including a plurality of liquid crystal cells arranged in a matrix and auxiliary lines adjacent to and parallel to the gate lines, the auxiliary lines coupled with the plurality of liquid crystal cells, the method including supplying an auxiliary voltage that increases from a low level to a high level on a first pair of auxiliary lines adjacent to each other for a jth frame period, supplying an auxiliary voltage that decreases from a high level to a low level on a second pair of auxiliary lines adjacent to each other for the jth frame period, supplying the auxiliary voltages at levels opposite to the levels of the jth frame period on the first and second pairs of auxiliary lines in a (j+1)th frame period.
US08319712B2 System and driving method for active matrix light emitting device display
Active matrix light emitting device display and its driving technique is provided. The pixel includes a light emitting device and a plurality of transistors. A capacitor may be used to store a voltage applied to a driving transistor so that a current through the light emitting device is independent of any shifts of the transistor and light emitting device characteristics. A bias data and a programming data are provided to the pixel circuit in accordance with a driving scheme.
US08319709B2 Display device and manufacturing method thereof
A display device of the invention includes a display panel attached to one face side of a light transmissive circuit board and a light transmissive substrate attached to the other face side of the circuit board. A mounted component is mounted on the other face side of the circuit board. The circuit board includes a light transmissive junction layer for joining the circuit board to the light transmissive substrate at a position avoiding the mounted component. The junction layer includes a core substrate formed of a resin, an adhesive layer formed on one face of the core substrate, and a bonding layer formed on the other face of the core substrate and cured. The adhesive layer is adhered to the circuit board, and the bonding layer is firmly fixed to the light transmissive substrate.
US08319708B2 Pixel and organic light emitting display device using the same
A pixel for an organic light emitting diode display is disclosed. The pixel includes a capacitor configured to be charged with a voltage which compensates for the threshold voltage and mobility of the transistor driving the organic light emitting diode of the pixel.
US08319706B2 Display apparatus and driving method with first and second time correction of pixel drive transistor
A display apparatus including a pixel array section, and a driving section configured to drive said pixel array section having pixels respectively including a drive transistor and light emitting element. A first time correction for the mobility of the drive transistor is applied, and then a second time correction for additional correction time is applied if the signal potential of an image signal is not high.
US08319704B2 Plasma display and driving method thereof
A plasma display device, which gradually increases the current to the panel capacitors is disclosed. The display uses an inductor to reduce the current spike which would otherwise occur and create large electromagnetic interference.
US08319702B2 Two-dimensional and three-dimensional display device and driving method thereof
A 2D and 3D display device includes a display panel and a barrier panel. The barrier panel includes a first base, a first electrode layer, a first patterned electrode, a second base, a second electrode layer, a second patterned electrode and an electro-enabled material layer. The first electrode layer substantially completely covers the first base. The first patterned electrode is disposed on the first electrode layer and electrically insulated from the first electrode layer. The second base is disposed opposite to the first base. The second electrode layer substantially completely covers the second base. The second patterned electrode is disposed on the second electrode layer and electrically insulated from the second electrode layer, and an extending direction of the second patterned electrode substantially crosses over an extending direction of the first patterned electrode. The electro-enabled material layer is disposed between the first base and the second base.
US08319701B2 Liquid crystal display unit and system including a plurality of stacked display devices, and drive circuit
LCD unit includes first and second LCD panels stacked one on another. An image-data processing unit outputs monochrome image data to the second LCD panel, and color image data to the first LCD panel. The monochrome image data specifies a full transmission for a pixel having a luminance not less than a threshold, the original gray-scale level for a pixel having a luminance less than the threshold. The color image data is generated based on the monochrome image data and input image data.
US08319693B2 Antenna module for a motor vehicle
An antenna module for a motor vehicle has a first antenna device having at least one antenna 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 for the exterior of the motor vehicle, which antenna is arranged in the external area of the motor vehicle, and a second antenna device having at least one antenna 25, 27, 29, 31 for the interior of the motor vehicle, which antenna is arranged in the interior of the motor vehicle, the first antenna device and second antenna device being electrically coupled to each other for the purpose of supplying electricity to the antenna devices.
US08319692B2 Cavity antenna for an electronic device
A cavity antenna for an electronic device such as a portable computer is provided. The antenna may be formed from a conductive cavity and an antenna probe that serves as an antenna feed. The conductive cavity may have the shape of a folded rectangular cavity. A dielectric support structure may be used in forming the antenna cavity. A fin may protrude from one end of the dielectric support structure. The antenna probe may be formed from conductive structures mounted on the fin. An inverted-F antenna configuration or other antenna configuration may be used in forming the antenna probe. The electronic device may have a housing with conductive walls. When the cavity antenna mounted within an electronic device, a planar rectangular end face of the fin may protrude through a thin rectangular opening in the conductive walls to allow the antenna to operate without being blocked by the housing.
US08319689B2 Patch antenna with wide bandwidth at millimeter wave band
Provided is a millimeter wave band patch antenna. The patch antenna includes a multi-layer substrate, at least one metal pattern layer, an antenna patch, a ground layer, and a plurality of vias. In the multi-layer substrate, a plurality of dielectric layers are stacked. The metal pattern layer is disposed between the dielectric layers except for a center region of the multi-layer substrate. The antenna patch is disposed on an upper surface of the multi-layer substrate in the center region. The ground layer is disposed on a lower surface of the multi-layer substrate opposing to the upper surface. The vias is disposed around the center region through the dielectric layers for electrically connecting the metal pattern layer to the ground layer. The center region, which is surrounded by the ground layer and the vias, functions as a resonator.
US08319687B2 System for determining position in a work space
A system for determining the dimensional coordinates of a point of interest in a work space, includes a plurality of fixed-position ranging radios, located at known positions in the work space, and a wand having a first end configured for indicating a point of interest. A pair of ranging radios are mounted on the wand. A measurement circuit, responsive to the pair of ranging radios, determines the position of each of the pair of ranging radios with respect to the plurality of fixed-position ranging radios, and determines the position of the first end of the wand with respect to the plurality of fixed position ranging radios. A robotic total station may be used in lieu of the fixed-position ranging radios to monitor the positions of retroreflective elements on the wand.
US08319675B2 Analog-to-digital converter
An SAR ADC includes a digital-to-analog converter, a first comparator that compares an input analog signal with a reference analog signal, a second comparator that compares an input analog signal with a reference analog signal, a selection circuit that selects one of comparison results of the first comparator and the second comparator, and a control circuit that changes the multibit digital signal sequentially based on the selected comparison result in a plurality of steps so that the reference analog signal becomes closer to the input analog signal, and the control circuit controls the selection circuit to select the comparison result of the first comparator up to an intermediate step on the way of the plurality of steps and to select the comparison result of the second comparator after the intermediate step, and changes the bit value of the multibit digital signal according to the non-binary algorithm.
US08319663B2 Parking assist system
A parking assist system which, after a vehicle has passed the side of a parking area formed between parked vehicles, assists parking of the vehicle from a stopped position of the vehicle to the parking area, the parking assist system comprising: a distance sensor that emits radio waves or ultrasonic waves and detects the distance to the parked vehicles on the basis of the reflected waves; parking area detecting apparatus that measures, when the vehicle passes the parked vehicles and the side of the parking area, the distance to the parked vehicles with the distance sensor and detects, after the vehicle has passed the side of the parking area, the parking area on the basis of the measurement result; parking target position calculating apparatus that calculates a parking target position of the vehicle on the basis of the parking area that has been detected by the parking area detecting apparatus; and vehicle trajectory calculating apparatus that calculates, on the basis of the parking target position of the vehicle that has been calculated by the parking target position calculating apparatus, vehicle trajectories from a stopped position where the vehicle has stopped to the parking target position.
US08319661B2 Information distribution system and vehicle-mounted device
An information distribution system includes a roadside apparatus which transmits an utterance type provided information containing audio instruction information based on a traveling direction to be provided by the utterance type provided information. When an vehicle-mounted device receives an utterance type provided information via a communication unit from the roadside apparatus, the vehicle-mounted device outputs different utterance type provided information by an audio in accordance with the audio instruction in-formation contained in the received utterance type provided information, so that a vehicle driver can judge whether the information provided from the roadside apparatus is significant information.
US08319651B2 Electronic device providing charge status
An electronic device includes a switching circuit, a hardware (HD) indication unit, a LED module, a software (SF) indication unit, a first control switch electrically connected between a power port, an anode of the LED module, and the HD indication unit, and a second control switch connected between a cathode of the LED module, the SF indication unit and ground. When the electronic device is charged in a powered off state, the cathode of the LED module is grounded, the HD indication unit directs the first control switch to turn on and off alternatingly, and the LED module flashes accordingly. When the electronic device is charged in a powered state, the anode of the LED module is at a high voltage level, and the SF indication unit directs the second control switch to turn on and off alternatingly, and the LED module flashes accordingly.
US08319650B2 Apparatus and method for sensing leakage current of battery
An apparatus for sensing leakage current of a battery includes a current sensing resistance installed on a current detection path of positive and negative terminals of a battery; a DC (Direct Current) voltage applying unit for inducing a potential difference with an opposite polarity to the current detection path through the current sensing resistance; and a leakage current determining unit for sensing a magnitude of current flowing through the current sensing resistance according to the induced potential difference on the current detection path, and determining based on the sensed magnitude of current whether leakage current occurs.
US08319648B2 System and method for detection of HF decompensation based on signs and symptoms
In an example, physiologic information about a patient can be obtained and mapped to a first set of fuzzy logic membership functions, and a symptom status can be derived from the mapping of the physiologic information using a first fuzzy logic inference. In an example, the symptom status can be mapped to a second set of fuzzy logic membership functions, and a disease status can be derived from the mapping of the symptom status to the second set of fuzzy logic membership functions using a second fuzzy logic inference.
US08319646B2 Method and apparatus for tracking and monitoring containers
A tag has a circuit portion that functions as a reader capable of wireless communication with other tags. According to a different aspect, a tag has a circuit portion with first and second modes, the circuitry consuming less power in the second mode than the first mode, and exiting the second mode only in response to an act by a human. According to yet another aspect, a tag can receive wireless communications conforming to one of a cellular telephone network communication protocol, a satellite communication protocol, and a wireless computer network communication protocol. The tag responds to receipt of a predetermined wireless signal conforming to the one protocol by carrying out one of first action that includes causing the tag to enter an electronically secure state, or a second action that includes causing the tag to exit the electronically secure state.
US08319645B2 Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device with a built-in battery whose residual amount of the electrical energy can be detected accurately. The semiconductor device has a battery, a demodulation circuit, a control circuit which generates a signal having information about the residual amount of the electrical energy stored in the battery, and a transmission medium which displays the residual amount of the electrical energy in accordance with the signal. The demodulation circuit demodulates a signal input from an antenna which requests display of the residual amount of the electrical energy. Based on the demodulated signal, the control circuit starts to generate a signal having information about the residual amount of the electrical energy in the battery.
US08319642B2 Radio frequency identification device having nonvolatile ferroelectric memory
A RFID device having an analog block, a digital block, and a memory block having a nonvolatile ferroelectric memory is presented. The analog block is configured to receive a radio frequency signal so as to output an operating command signal. The digital block is configured to generate and output an address and an operation adjusting signal in response to the operating command signal. The digital block is also configured to output a response signal to the analog block and to generate a flag data corresponding to a data processing state and value. The memory block is configured to read and write a data in a nonvolatile ferroelectric capacitor in response to the operation adjusting signal. The memory block includes a memory unit configured to store the flag data so as to output the flag data to the digital block.
US08319637B2 Methods and apparatus for facilitating testing of the sobriety of online gamblers
Methods, systems and articles of manufacture are provided for administering sobriety tests to online gamblers, as well as to determining whether, when and to whom to administer a sobriety tests. Various mediation events to be initiated upon certain results of such sobriety tests are also disclosed.
US08319633B2 Location detection system for a patient handling device
A location detection system for a facility includes a patient handling device with a communication module with a unique ID, a locator fixed relative to the handling device for transmitting a unique location identifier corresponding to the location of the handling device, and a receiver mounted to the patient device for receiving the unique location identifier. A processing station remote from the handling device and the locator receives the unique location identifier and the unique ID and further correlates the unique ID with a patient supported by the handling device wherein the processing station can track the handling device and the patient supported thereby such that the location of the patient and handling device can be determined and monitored remotely from the handling device.
US08319630B1 Air-cushioned bag with electro-mechanical devices for safely and securely transporting objects
An air-cushioned bag for safely and securely transporting objects (9) is comprised of a housing (1) to store objects (9), an electric pump (3), a pressure sensor (6) and an electrical power source (5). The housing walls are filled with air to different pre-determined pressure values depending on the types of objects (9) to provide safe transportation. The bag also has an electronic controller (12), a unique electronic ID, an electronic lock (10), a remote control (14), an explosive sensor (19) and a GPS device (16). The unique electronic ID and the explosive sensor (19) facilitate secure transportation of the bag. The bag can be remotely tracked during transportation with the remote control (14) or a computer equipped with a GPS tracking system.
US08319626B1 Alarm system for hot water heaters
An alarm system for a storage hot water heater comprising an alarm housing, power supply leads inserted through the top of a hot water heater tank, a fluid collection pan positioned under the tank, and a fluid detection sensor associated with the pan. The alarm housing is configured to provide prompt owner/operator notification after only a small amount of fluid is collected in the pan under the tank. Owner/operator notification can be provided via audible, visual, and/or remote means, such as but not limited to a signal transmitted to a home security device that is relayed to a 24-hour security monitoring network. Since the alarm housing is hard wired, reliance on batteries is avoided and the system's useful life meets or exceeds that of the associated hot water heater. In addition, the leads never have to be removed from the hot water heater tank and can be made tamper-resistant.
US08319625B2 Fire alarm textual notification related application
In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, an alarm system is provided. The alarm system includes a system controller coupled to at least one initiation device. At least one textual notification device such as for example a signboard is coupled to the system controller. In one embodiment, the textual notification device is a multi-line signboard having an alarm input and a secondary input. The textual notification device is supervised, controlled, and powered integrally with the system controller. In an additional embodiment, an audible generator can be provided that provides an audible message in conjunction with the visual message on the textual notification devices.
US08319622B2 System for enabling the functionality of a sequence control system stored in a controller of a motor vehicle
A central check device is provided in a motor vehicle, to which device an enable message emitted by a first controller inside the vehicle or from a location outside the vehicle is supplied via a communication bus of the motor vehicle. The central check device evaluates the received enable message to identify the sequence control system to be enabled and the controller which comprises the sequence control system to be enabled. The central check device sends an enable command to the identified controller via the communication bus of the motor vehicle so as to enable the sequence control system which is to be enabled.
US08319621B2 Vehicle having tire wear evaluation system
A vehicle which evaluates tire wear properly even in a road condition that tires easily slip or lock up. The vehicle, which has a driven wheel and a driving wheel with tires attached thereto, includes: a revolution speed detector for detecting revolution speeds of the driven and driving wheels; a wheel speed detector for detecting wheel speeds of the driven and driving wheels based on the detected revolution speed data of the driven and driving wheels; a wheel speed ratio detector for detecting a wheel speed ratio between the driven and driving wheels based on the detected wheel speed data of the driven and driving wheels; and a tire condition evaluator for outputting an evaluation result indicating that the tire(s) attached to the driven wheel and/or driving wheel is(are) worn when the wheel speed ratio is higher than a preset threshold.
US08319620B2 Ambient situation awareness system and method for vehicles
Methods and devices for situation awareness facilitation for a vehicle driver are provided. A method includes receiving a first acoustic signal from outside a vehicle that the driver is in and converting the first acoustic signal into a first acoustic electronic signal; sending the first acoustic electronic signal to a processor; matching the first acoustic electronic signal by the processor to stored reference electronic signals; and sending an acoustic message associated with a matched reference electronic signal to a speaker in the cab of the vehicle.
US08319616B2 System and method for authorizing a remote device
A system and method for authorizing a remote device amongst multiple remote devices for passive functions, such as passive entry and passive start, includes a vehicle having a plurality of strategically located antennas, combinations of which transmit a query signal and receive query responses, a challenge antenna amongst the plurality of antennas for transmitting a challenge signal to at least one of the multiple remote devices in accordance with a challenge order, and a control unit having a controller in communication with the antennas for determining the challenge order based upon the query responses. The controller can determine whether a remote device is located in an authorization zone, out of an authorization zone, or whether the remote device's location is indeterminate.
US08319614B2 Parking assistance apparatus and parking assistance method
A target parking position serving as a parking target of a vehicle is set, and a parking start position from which the vehicle can start to reach the target parking position while maintaining a predetermined steering angle is set. Then, a vehicle mark V indicating a current position, a target parking frame F1 indicating the target parking position, and a parking start frame F2 indicating the parking start position are drawn on a bird's eye image of a periphery of the vehicle, and a display device 5 is allowed to display an image in which the vehicle mark V, the target parking frame F1 and the parking start frame F2 are drawn on the bird's eye image. At this time, the parking start frame F2 is drawn on the bird's eye image so that a drawing mode thereof can be changed in response to a current steering angle of the vehicle.
US08319611B2 Radio frequency indentification tag
An ID tag has a stable internal supply voltage and extends the range of communication with the reader/writer during back scattering communication. An ASK-modulated signal pre-boost circuit to which antenna terminals are coupled is coupled in parallel with a rectifying circuit. In the ASK-modulated signal pre-boost circuit, a switch for back scattering, working as a modulator element, is provided. During back scattering communication, when a back scattering signal “1” is transmitted, only the current flowing in the signal receiving path of the modulation/demodulation unit is wasted by turning the switch for back scattering on. Additional current loss other than the loss for impedance matching can be prevented.
US08319609B2 Radio frequency identification transponder
A radio frequency identification transponder including a power supply and a dynamic memory array which stores data. When power from the power supply ceases, the data in the dynamic memory array is validly maintained for a predetermined period of time. The dynamic memory array is responsive to an interrogating signal for selectively updating the data. A signal processor extracts an identifier from the interrogation signal and is responsive to the identifier and the stored data to determine whether some or all of the identifier is stored in the dynamic memory array.
US08319607B2 Inventory monitoring system
An inventory monitoring system including a data collection and transmission module and a data evaluation module. The data collection and transmission module receives data from an RFID tag and transmits the data to the data evaluation module to thereby enable the presence of a product to which the RFID tag is attached.
US08319606B2 Universal validation module for access control systems
A validation module provides for the upgrading of a physical access control system (PACS) to full HSPD-12 compliance without requiring modification or replacement of the existing PACS. The validation module may contain all of the validation functionality required by federal specifications and technical requirements. The validation module may be installed between an existing PACS panel and a supported card/biometric reader. Readers may be selected based on assurance level requirements, e.g., contactless or contact readers for low and medium assurance level areas and full biometric readers for high assurance areas. The validation module may validate a card according to the assurance level setting, extract ID information from data on the card and then pass the ID information to the PACS panel for an access decision. Cardholder data captured by one validation module may be distributed to other validation modules of the PACS using a management station.
US08319605B2 Remote vehicle control system utilizing multiple antennas
A remote vehicle control system having a base transceiver mounted in a vehicle and a mobile key fob. The base transceiver utilizes an omni-directional antenna to communicate wirelessly with the key fob via the IEEE 802.15.4 communication protocol. Additional antennas are mounted to the vehicle and are also tuned to communicate over the IEEE 802.15.4 bandwidth. The additional antennas have radiation patterns extending outwardly to various sides of the vehicle (e.g., driver, passenger and rear sides). The system provides remote control functions and enables passive keyless entry functions such as unlocking doors or trunk latches by detecting the presence of the key fob proximate to one or more sides of the vehicle based on the ability of the key fob to communicate over IEEE 802.15.4 via the additional antennas.
US08319601B2 Game account access device
Systems and methods for verifying the eligibility of players attempting to participate in gaming events are disclosed. Communication objects having RFID tags and closed electrical circuits are individually assigned to and worn by players within a gaming player verification system, which can be administered by a casino desk, hotel concierge, or other operating entity. These RFID tags are adapted to communicate with associated player tracking units attached to gaming machines and other devices via radio frequency waves, and each communication object is adapted to alter its communication pattern in response to any break of its closed electrical circuit. Bracelets, wristwatches or collars can be used as communication objects, such that the removal of such an object from a player cannot be accomplished without breaking the closed electrical circuit contained therein, thereby disabling or de-authenticating the device. A communications object may emit a signal which can be tied to one of two or more player accounts. One of the two accounts may be charged for a player transaction depending on the nature of the transaction. A computer server having a player verification program and database may also be used.
US08319600B2 Monitoring system and input device thereof
A monitoring system includes a controller, a number of input devices, a number of first sensors, a number of second sensors, and a number of alarms. Each input device comprises a switching circuit, an input circuit, and a connector. The connector is connected to a first sensor and a voltage source in series or connected to a second sensor and a current source in series. The controller controls the switching circuit of the input device to receive a voltage signal of the first sensor or a current signal of the second sensor and send out a corresponding detection signal. The input circuit transmits the detection signal to the controller. The controller controls the corresponding alarm to work according to the detection signal.
US08319596B2 Active material circuit protector
A circuit protector includes first and second conductive members. An active material alters at least one attribute in response to an activation signal. The active material is operatively connected to the first and second conductive members to alter the electrical resistance between the first and second members.
US08319594B2 Ceramic electronic component
A ceramic electronic component includes a ceramic body, a first external electrode, and a second external electrode. The first and second external electrodes are disposed on a principal surface, which is directed to the mounting surface side, of the ceramic body so as to face each other with a predetermined gap region therebetween. The external electrodes each include a base layer and a Cu plating layer which covers the base layer. In each of the first and second external electrodes, an expression 0.1≦t/d≦0.5 is satisfied, where t is a thickness of the Cu plating layer at an end of the base layer on a gap region side, and d is a distance from the end of the base layer on the gap region side to an end of the Cu plating layer on the gap region side.
US08319591B2 Ignition coil with core formed of compressed powder
A primary coil of an ignition coil has a socket with a side wall having an opening, a center core having a body portion with a root located in the opening and a collar portion extending perpendicularly from the root, and a winding wound on the body portion while the socket catches start and end portions of the winding on respective winding start and end sides. The collar portion is held in the socket. The core is formed by compressing magnetic powder in two divided dies divided through dividing lines which extend along a diagonal line of a rectangle formed by projecting the collar portion on a plane perpendicular to a center axis of the core. The root on the diagonal line is exposed to the opening on the winding start side and is covered with the side wall on the winding end side.
US08319590B2 Device for explosion prevention of an on load tap changer including a rupture element
Device for prevention against explosion of an on load tap changer on an electrical transformer, the on load tap changer including a tank and a cover, the tank including a cooling liquid. The prevention device includes a rupture element provided with tearing zones and with folding zones upon rupture, said rupture element being able to break open when the pressure inside the tank exceeds a predetermined ceiling, at least a support member supporting the rupture element, said support member supporting a duct downstream the rupture element, the support element being distinct from the cover.
US08319587B2 Device for sectioning an electrical circuit and a system for distributing electrical energy including the sectioning device
A device for sectioning an electrical circuit is provided. The device includes a housing having two main sectioning terminals and, in the housing, a first member for sectioning a first electrical connection between the two main sectioning terminals, an automatic control, under the action of an electrical signal, of the first sectioning member from the closed position to the open position thereof, and a manual control member for resetting the first sectioning member from the open position to the closed position thereof. The device also includes, in the housing, two secondary sectioning terminals and a second sectioning member movable between a position for opening and a position for closing a second electrical connection between the two secondary sectioning terminals, the second sectioning member being coupled to the first sectioning member, commutation of the first sectioning member bringing about commutation of the second sectioning member.
US08319581B2 Microwave combiner/splitter
A power amplifier having multiple solid state sub-amplifiers connected in parallel between an input and an output are described. The signal input to the power amplifier is provided to an RF splitter connected between an input connector and the input of each of the sub-amplifiers. The RF splitter splits the input power from the signal input and provides the power to the sub-amplifier inputs through input electrical paths. The input electrical paths from the power amplifier input to the sub-amplifiers are substantially identical. Each of the sub-amplifiers drive an input of an RF combiner connected between the outputs of the sub-amplifiers and the output of the power amplifier. The RF combiner combines the output power from each of the sub-amplifiers through output electrical paths, and provides the combined power to the power amplifier output. The output electrical paths from the sub-amplifiers to the power amplifier output are substantially identical.
US08319576B2 Magnetic resonance isolator
A magnetic resonance isolator includes a ferrite member, a junction conductor that is arranged on the ferrite member and that includes a first port, a second port, and a third port, a permanent magnet that applies a direct current magnetic field to the ferrite member, a capacitor as a reactance element, and a mounting substrate. A main line arranged between the first port and the second port does not resonate, and an end of a sub-line branching from the main line defines the third port. The capacitor is connected to the third port and to the ground. The phase of a wave reflected from the sub-line is adjusted so as to be shifted by about 90 degrees at the intersection of the junction conductor.
US08319575B2 Magnetic resonance type isolator
A magnetic resonance type isolator includes a ferrite; a connection conductor that is arranged on the ferrite and includes first, second and third ports; a permanent magnet that applies a direct current magnetic field to the ferrite; a capacitor (or an inductor) that defines a first reactance element; and a capacitor (or an inductor) that defines a second reactance element. A main line arranged between the first port and the second port of the connection conductor does not resonate, an end portion of a sub-line that branches off from the main line serves as the third port, and a wave reflected from the sub-line is modulated so that its phase is shifted by 90° or about 90° at an intersection of the connection conductor. One of the capacitors is connected to the third port and the other capacitor is connected between the first port and the second port.
US08319567B1 Two oscillator synchronization system
An oscillator synchronization system employs two oscillators, each of which includes an integrator which provides a ramping signal at its output, a comparator which receives the ramping signal and a reference signal at respective inputs and toggles an output when the ramping voltage crosses the reference signal, and a one-shot circuit that generates the integrator's reset signal when triggered. The system is preferably arranged such that the oscillators can be operated independently, in which case each oscillator's one-shot is triggered by its own comparator output, or synchronously, in which case each oscillator's one-shot is triggered by the other oscillator's comparator output—with the ramp signal of each oscillator operating to reset the integrator of the other oscillator. The oscillators are typically out-of-phase when synchronized, with the phase difference varying with the magnitude of the reference signals applied to the comparators.
US08319560B2 Switched active bias control and power-on sequencing circuit for an amplifier
An active bias control circuit for an amplifier includes a switch responsive to a supply voltage for providing an input current to the input of the amplifier, and a current sense circuit coupled to the switch for sensing a scaled down replica of the input current to the amplifier. A first amplifier control circuit is responsive to the current sense circuit for adjusting a first control voltage to the amplifier in response to the sensed, scaled down replica of the input current to regulate the input current to the amplifier. Circuitry for power up sequencing an amplifier for an active bias control circuit for the amplifier is also disclosed.
US08319558B1 Bias-based linear high efficiency radio frequency amplifier
The present disclosure relates to RF power amplifier circuitry that may operate as either a Class AB amplifier or as a Class B amplifier based on a magnitude of RF output power provided by the RF power amplifier circuitry. A transistor bias circuit in the RF power amplifier circuitry may control transitioning between operating as the Class AB amplifier and operating as the Class B amplifier. When the magnitude of the RF output power is below a first threshold, the RF power amplifier circuitry may operate as a Class AB amplifier, and when the magnitude of the RF output power is above the first threshold, the RF power amplifier circuitry may operate as a Class B amplifier.
US08319557B2 Integrated linear power detection in an RF power amplifier
A radio frequency (RF) power amplifier system having a power detection feature includes a balanced power amplifier, an in-phase branch current detector, an out-of-phase branch current detector, and detection circuitry. The balanced power amplifier includes a phase splitter, an in-phase power amplifier branch, an out-of-phase power amplifier branch, and a phase combiner. The in-phase branch current detector provides an indication of current in the in-phase power amplifier branch. The out-of-phase branch current detector provides an indication of current in the out-of-phase power amplifier branch. The detection circuitry combines the indications of current in the in-phase and out-of-phase power amplifier branches to produce an indication of current in the balanced power amplifier.
US08319555B1 Amplifier
The invention relates to a configurable low noise amplifier circuit which is configurable between a first topology in which the low noise amplifier circuit includes a degeneration inductance whereby the low noise amplifier circuit operates as an inductively degenerated low noise amplifier, and a second topology in which the low noise amplifier circuit includes a feedback resistance whereby the low noise amplifier circuit operates as a resistive feedback low noise amplifier.
US08319553B1 Apparatus and methods for biasing amplifiers
Apparatus and methods for biasing amplifiers are provided. In certain implementations, a bias circuit is provided for controlling the drain-source voltage of input transistors electrically connected to the inputs of a transconductance amplification circuit. For example, the bias circuit can maintain a relatively constant drain-source voltage in the input transistors by using a feedback loop that includes a feedback amplifier for adjusting the bias current of the input transistors based upon a difference between the drain and source voltages of the input transistors. In certain implementations, the feedback amplifier has an offset voltage equal to about the desired value of the drain-source voltage, and the feedback amplifier is configured to adjust the bias current until the difference between the inputs of the feedback amplifier is equal to about the offset voltage.
US08319552B1 Rail-to-rail output stage with balanced drive
An amplifier having an imbalance between pull-up and pull-down sections may include a counterpart section to balance the output sections and/or enable them to be driven by balanced drive signals. In one embodiment, a rail-to-rail output stage may include a current minor to drive one side of the circuit. The other side may be driven by a transistor having a counterpart transistor to balance the circuit. A drive section may include a balance point to facilitate balancing the drive signals.
US08319550B2 Switched-capacitor programmable-gain amplifier
A programmable-gain amplifier has a first input node coupled to receive a first input signal and a control input coupled to receive a gain select signal. The programmable-gain amplifier includes a differential amplifier having a first input and a first output and a plurality of capacitors. A first terminal of each of the plurality of capacitors is coupled to the first input of the differential amplifier, and a second terminal of each of the plurality of capacitors is coupled to the first input node during a sampling phase of the programmable-gain amplifier and selectively coupled to the first output of the differential amplifier, based on the gain select signal, during a gain phase of the programmable-gain amplifier.
US08319549B2 Self-healing power amplifier: methods and apparatus
An integrated power amplifier includes a divider and a combiner. The integrated power amplifier also includes two or more amplifiers. Each of the amplifier input terminals is electrically coupled to a divider output terminal and each of the amplifier output terminals is electrically coupled to a combiner input terminal. At least one power sensor is configured to provide a power amplifier performance metric. The divider and the combiner include a plurality of actuators. Each actuator has at least one actuator control terminal which is configured to provide an actuator setting. The actuators are configured via the actuator control terminals to optimize the power amplifier performance metric. Methods to simulate the operation of a self-healing power amplifier and a process for the operation of a self-healing circuit are also described.
US08319547B1 Self biased low noise high PSRR constant GM for VCO
A system and method for voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) biasing in low voltage circuits including low resistance elements that are especially susceptible to noise. In one embodiment, a poly resistor and triode resistor is used to cancel or offset the effects that temperature variations have on the circuit. The triode resistor is powered by a voltage source that uses a pair of diodes coupled to a constant transconductance (gm) circuit to generate a reduced noise voltage that is independent of the power supply noise. The size of the triode resistor and poly resistors can be varied.
US08319544B2 Determining and using dynamic voltage scaling mode
A mode determination apparatus in a semiconductor apparatus includes a first condition detection block configured to generate a first condition signal in response to a clock enable signal activated when the semiconductor apparatus enters a dynamic voltage scaling mode, a second condition detection block configured to generate a second condition signal in response to an external high voltage in the dynamic voltage scaling mode, the external high voltage having a voltage level in the dynamic voltage scaling mode different from a voltage level in a normal mode, and a signal processing block configured to generate a dynamic voltage scaling mode signal in response to the first condition signal and the second condition signal.
US08319543B2 Differential amplifier on semiconductor integrated circuit
A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a cascode circuit having a transistor, a detector circuit and a bias generator circuit. A bias is applied to a substrate of the transistor. The detector circuit generates a signal related to a threshold voltage of the transistor. The bias generator circuit generates the bias based on the signal generated by the detector circuit.
US08319536B2 Integrated circuit device, electronic equipment and control method
An integrated circuit device includes a first rectangular wave signal generation section that outputs a first rectangular wave signal when an amplitude of an oscillation signal inputted is greater than a first amplitude, and a second rectangular wave signal generation section that outputs a second rectangular wave signal when the amplitude of the oscillation signal is greater than a second amplitude that is greater than the first amplitude, and that controls the power supply voltage of an oscillation circuit by the first and second rectangular wave signals so as to maintain an appropriate potential difference with respect to a stop voltage against changes in the oscillation stop voltage associated with changes in a temperature condition.
US08319534B2 Phase-locked loop
A phase-locked loop comprising; an oscillator configured to output an oscillating signal in dependence on the control signal at an input of the oscillator; a phase detector and loop filter configured to output a low frequency compensation signal in dependence on the output of the oscillator and a reference signal; a correlator configured to frequency correlate an interferer signal and the low frequency compensation signal, and in dependence on that correlation generate a correlation signal; and an adaptive filter configured to adapt the interferer signal in dependence on the correlation signal to output a high frequency compensation signal; and a summation unit configured to combine the low frequency compensation signal and the high frequency compensation signal to form a control signal to drive the input of the oscillator.
US08319524B1 Deglitch circuit removing glitches from input clock signal
An apparatus, method, and system for removing glitches from a clock signal, including a duty cycle lock loop (DCLL) circuit. A glitch, which may produce errors in the clock signal, may occur when a read channel transitions from an acquired clock signal to an adjusted clock signal. In one embodiment of the inventive deglitch circuit, a first capacitor is charged and discharged in response to an input clock signal, and an output clock signal is provided depending upon the first capacitor's voltage. The output clock signal further charges and discharges a second capacitor whose ratio of charge to discharge currents provides a signal to bias the discharge current of the first capacitor. A second DCLL circuit may be provided to restore the output clock signal duty cycle to the original clock signal duty cycle.
US08319522B2 Data transfer circuit, solid-state imaging device and camera system
A data transfer circuit includes: plural transfer lines transferring data; plural data output units connected to end portions of the respective transfer lines, detecting and outputting data transferred through the transfer lines with drive performance in accordance with a control signal; plural data transmission units arranged in parallel, transferring data to the corresponding transfer lines in response to selection signals; a selection control unit generating selection signals and outputting the selection signals to the corresponding data transmission units; and a control unit generating the control signal for controlling drive performance of the data output units to adjust data transfer delay and outputting the control signal to the respective output units. The transfer lines are arranged in the arrangement direction of the data transmission units and connected to the corresponding data output units. The control unit generates the control signal in accordance with the length of the data transfer distance.
US08319520B2 On-die termination circuit
An on-die termination circuit includes a reference period signal generation circuit that generates a reference period signal according to a level of a reference voltage, a first period signal generation circuit that generates a first period signal according to a voltage level of a pad, a period comparison circuit that compares a period of the first period signal with a period of the reference period signal and count a plurality of driving signals, and a driver circuit that drives the pad in response to the plurality of driving signals.
US08319517B2 Generator tester
An example generator test assembly includes a testing module operative to test a generator according to a test procedure. At least one connector is configured to couple the generator to the testing module. The generator has a generator identifier. The test module is configured to select the test procedure from a plurality of potential test procedures based on the generator identifier.
US08319509B1 Testing circuit for an analog to digital converter
A testing circuit configures an analog to digital converter (ADC) to receive a test signal instead of a live input signal. The testing circuit compares an output test value from the ADC to an expected test value for the test signal. The testing circuit provides an expected live output value to a digital circuit instead of the output test value, thereby preventing the ADC from providing a value to the digital circuit not based on the live input signal.
US08319508B2 Method and apparatus to detect and locate roof leaks
A leak in a membrane on top of a horizontal roof deck is located by applying conductive wires on the membrane underneath the aggregate in a grid pattern. A measuring and switching circuit generates voltage having a positive attached to the roof deck and a negative attached to the wires. The circuit has a relay for each wire which can be switched between a current sensor system and the negative potential. The sensor system is arranged to sense at each of the wires in turn the current flowing from the roof deck through any leak in the membrane to the wire. A micro-processor operates the relays in turn to connect all the other wires to the negative as a shield while each wire is sensed. From the output of the grid the changes in current in the x and y directions are analyzed to locate the leak in the membrane.
US08319505B1 Methods and circuits for measuring mutual and self capacitance
Capacitance measurement circuits for measuring self and mutual capacitances are described. In one embodiment the capacitance measurement circuit includes: a first electrode capacitively coupled with a second electrode; a first plurality of switches coupled with the first electrode; and a second plurality of switches coupled with the second electrode, wherein, during a first operation stage, the first plurality of switches is configured to apply a first initial voltage to the first electrode and the second plurality of switches is configured to apply a second initial voltage to the second electrode, and wherein, during a second operation stage, the first plurality of switches is configured to connect the first electrode with a measurement circuit, and the second plurality of switches is configured to connect the second electrode with a constant voltage.
US08319504B2 Tuner characterization methods and apparatus
Embodiments include methods and apparatus for characterizing a tuner. For a given tuner, a processing system is adapted to measure scattering parameters for a plurality of characterization points that are non-uniformly distributed across a Smith chart, and to store the scattering parameters in a tuner characterization file. Interpolation and extrapolation processes are performed to determine additional scattering parameters for a plurality of additional characterization points, which are also stored in the tuner characterization file.
US08319502B2 RF calibration device and method
A measurement device is presented being configured to be connectable to an analyzer unit (including a network analyzer). The measurement device includes a measuring unit and a calibration and control unit connected to and integral with the measuring unit. The calibration and control unit is configured to enable connection of the measuring unit to the analyzer unit. The calibration and control unit includes a number of terminals of known RF reflection coefficients respectively and includes a memory utility carrying recorded data indicative of said RF reflection coefficients and recorded data indicative of RF transfer coefficients of the calibration and control unit. This configuration enables calculation of the RF response of the measuring unit while remaining integral with the calibration and control unit.
US08319498B2 Microresistivity imaging at multiple depths of investigation
A microresistivity logging tool includes a dual function electrode deployed between a guard electrode and a return electrode. A drive circuit enables the electrical potential of the dual function electrode to be independently controlled so as to control a depth of investigation of a microresistivity measurement. The depth of investigation tends to increase with increasing electrical potential of the dual function electrode.
US08319497B2 Marine sensor streamer having pressure activated stiffness enhancement
A marine sensor streamer includes a jacket covering an exterior of the streamer. At least one strength member extends the length of the jacket. At least one stiffener element extends inside the length of the jacket. The at least one stiffener element includes a gas filling the interior of a flexible, compressible tube and filler elements disposed in the gas. The filler elements have exterior shape and surface roughness such that upon compression of the gas, the filler elements are urged into contact with each other, causing the streamer to become substantially rigid.
US08319496B2 Magnetic resonance method and apparatus for reducing RF heating in the patient
In a magnetic resonance data acquisition method and system for acquiring data from a patient who carries, either intracorporeally or extracorporeally, a foreign object at least partially composed of electrically conductive material, RF heating to the patient due to the presence of the foreign object is minimized by radiating the patient with RF energy by an RF coil that has a coil design. The sequence of pulses to which the patient is subjected to acquire magnetic resonance data from the patient is configured, in combination with the coil design of the RF coil to steer or modify the electric field that arises in the patient so that RF heating in the patient due to the presence of the foreign object is minimized.
US08319494B2 Pipeline inspection tool with double spiral EMAT sensor array
A pipeline inspection tool includes two pole magnets oriented at an oblique angle relative to the central longitudinal axis of the tool body. An array of sensor coil sets is located between opposing edges of the two pole magnets and oriented perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis. Each sensor coil set includes a transmitter coil and two opposing pairs of receiver coils that are gated to receive reflections from the wall of a tubular member. Because the line of sensor coils is rotated relative to the magnetic bias field, the receiver coils are in-line with, and have the same angular orientation as, the transmitter coil. The tool provides improved sensitivity to small defects, substantial decrease in RF pulser power requirements, full circumferential coverage, self-calibration of the transmitted signals, and less interference between transmitter coils caused by acoustic ring around.
US08319492B2 Rotary encoder
A rotary encoder comprising a magnet, AMR or GMR sensors and an evaluation means. The AMR or GMR sensors are arranged to generate two signals that unambiguously encode the rotary position of the magnet within a predetermined range of rotary positions and a direction of rotation of the magnet. The evaluation means is arranged to derive single-turn and multi-turn information solely from the signals. The encoder is arranged to be switched to a power saving state for a predetermined period of time, to be at least partially reactivated thereafter and to compare a current value derived from the signals with a stored previous value derived from the signals.
US08319489B2 Power transfer device, power supply device and power receiving device
A power transfer device includes: a transformer that couples a primary circuit and a secondary circuit and has a coupling constant of less than 1; and capacitances that are respectively provided in the primary circuit and the secondary circuit, and connected in series with coils that form the transformer. Circuit constants of the primary circuit and the secondary circuit are set so that the primary circuit and the secondary circuit resonate at the same frequency and a product of the square of the coupling constant, a Q value of the primary circuit and a Q value of the secondary circuit is 1. The primary circuit transfers power to the secondary circuit by means of the transformer, using a carrier wave having the resonance frequency.
US08319488B2 Momentarily enabled electronic device
A method and apparatus for providing intermittent or interruptible power to an electronic device. The circuit may provide power upon user initiation and interrupt that power in response to a user command, fault state, period of inactivity and so forth. As one example, interruptible power may be initially provided to activate or “power up” an electronic device and constant power provided after the initial activation. The initial powering up of the device may be facilitated by closing two contacts. The circuit may continue to provide power after the button is released through a monitoring and/or feedback mechanism.
US08319487B2 Non-isolated current-mode-controlled switching voltage regulator
A novel voltage regulator includes an indictor, a switching transistor, a rectifier, an error amplifier circuit, a first voltage comparator circuit, a second voltage comparator circuit, an oscillator circuit, and a driver circuit. The first voltage comparator circuit outputs a modulation signal. The second voltage comparator circuit activates an enable signal when the error voltage exceeds the second reference voltage. The oscillator circuit outputs a clock signal with a fixed frequency according to the enable signal. The oscillator circuit enters a first state when the enable signal is activated and deactivated within a period of time shorter than a threshold time, and enters a second state when the enable signal remains activated during a period of time longer than the threshold time. The driver circuit generates the switching control signal based on the clock signal and the modulation signal.
US08319480B2 Apparatus and method of power control
The present disclosure is related to a power control apparatus and a method for controlling power, more specifically to a power control apparatus that controls the risk of overcurrent in a power generator when the voltage in the power grid is low. In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a power control apparatus that controls power in a power generation system including a generator generating power can include a current comparator, which calculates an error current by using a difference between a current measured at the generator and a rated current of the generator, a controlling unit, which calculates a real power value by receiving the error current and outputs a switch driving signal corresponding to the calculated real power value, a switch, which is operated by the switch driving signal, and a resistance device, which is coupled to the switch to consume the error current.
US08319475B2 Battery pack identification system
A control module is included in a battery charger that is adapted to charge a plurality of battery packs of different types or a power tool that is adapted to be powered by at least one of the battery packs. The control module includes a remote sensing module that communicates remotely with one of the battery packs. The control module also includes a battery pack connection module that determines that the one of the battery packs is in electrical communication with at least one of the battery charger and the power tool. The control module also includes a battery pack identification (ID) module that determines a first type of the battery pack based on remote sensing module signals. The control module also includes a charge control module that determines at least one of a charge setting and a discharge setting for the battery pack based on the first type.
US08319474B2 Non-contact type power feeder system for mobile object
Provided is a noncontact type power feeder system for feeding an electric power to a mobile object, which enables a quick charge and transmission of a high electric power and in which a power feeder and a power receiver can be readily manufactured at low cost, comprising a power feeder arranged along a running road surface for the mobile object 1, and a power receiver mounted to the mobile object, the power feeder and the power receiver being opposed face-to-face to each other for feeding an electric power, wherein the power feeder is secured on the running road surface for the mobile object and characterized in that magnets are mounted to the upper surface of the power feeder which is accommodated in a recess formed in the running road surface and which is supported by resilient springs.
US08319470B2 Stand alone solar battery charger
A portable solar battery charger comprises a photovoltaic array, a power regulator, a controller, and a battery. In one embodiment, the controller is configured to increase the charging current provided by the power regulator to the battery over time using discrete current levels. A comparator can compare the voltage of the photovoltaic array to a threshold, and provide the result to the controller. The controller can be configured to decrease the current to a previously selected level when the comparator indicates the voltage of the photovoltaic array is below a threshold, thereby improving the efficiency of the current delivery to the battery.
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