最新美国发明专利第2013-02-19期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

Document	Document Title
US08379758B2	Power supply apparatus and power supply method When transmitting an RF signal for power supply or a pulse signal for data transmission, amplification is made in such a manner that the peak power of the RF signal becomes greater than the peak power of the pulse signal. Thus transmitting the RF signal with the greater peak power enables charging of a capacitor 23 of noncontact wireless communication equipment 2 even if the distance to the noncontact wireless communication equipment 2 is long.
US08379757B1	Narrow-band OFDM mode for WLAN Systems and techniques relating to wireless local area network devices include a method involving generating a baseband signal indicative of one or more symbols, modulating the baseband signal at a carrier frequency to produce a modulated signal, transmitting the modulated signal via a wireless channel, and providing a clock signal to control, in the baseband signal, a duration of the one or more symbols. Providing the clock signal can include selectively using a first clock frequency to generate a first baseband signal having a first bandwidth. Providing the clock signal can include selectively using a second, lower clock frequency to generate a second baseband signal having a second, lower bandwidth. The second clock frequency can be used to extend a wireless communication range of the wireless channel.
US08379752B2	Methods and apparatus for multiple-antenna communication of wireless signals with embedded synchronization/pilot sequences Embodiments include methods for determining synchronization/pilot sequences (SPS) to be utilized in conjunction with transmissions by antennas of a multiple-antenna transmitter. The SPS include pilot signals that are positioned at subcarriers that are orthogonal in frequency with subcarriers at which pilot signals of other antennas are positioned. The pilot signals may be unevenly spaced across the in-band subcarriers. The multiple-antenna transmit system generates a plurality of wireless signals, each of which may include an SPS having synchronization information in a first plurality of in-band subcarriers and the pilot signals in a second plurality of in-band subcarriers. The wireless signals are simultaneously radiated over a wireless communication channel using a different antenna. A receiver receives channel-affected versions of the wireless signals, and produces a corrected signal by applying corrections to the received signal based on estimated channel perturbations within the received signal.
US08379748B2	Apparatus and method for reception in multi-input multi-output system Provided are an apparatus and method for reception in a MIMO system. An apparatus for calculating a signal weight, includes: at least two multiplexers configured to receive, a data stream corresponding to a weight inputted and multiplex the received data stream prior to output; a multiplexing control unit configured to control the outputs of the respective multiplexers and provide a clock of a predetermined rate and a clock of a double rate two times higher than the predetermined rate; a first multiplier configured to receive multiplexed data outputted from the respective multiplexers and multiply the multiplexed data; a first storage unit configured to latch the multiplication result of the first multiplier by the double-rate clock prior to output; an adder configured to add the output of the first storage unit and the output of the first multiplier; and a second storage unit configured to latch the addition.
US08379747B2	Spatial sub-channel selection and pre-coding apparatus A spatial sub-channel selection and pre-coding apparatus for being operative in a first communication device, the first communication device being adapted for communicating with a second and a third communication device using MIMO (Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output) radio channels, a first MIMO radio channel extending between the first communication device and the second communication device having at least one spatial sub-channel, a second MIMO radio channel extending between the first communication device and the third communication device having at least one spatial sub-channel, wherein one of the first MIMO radio channel or the second MIMO radio channel has at least two spatial sub-channels.
US08379745B1	Forward channel variation detection in a wireless communication system A method and apparatus for detecting variations in the forward wireless channel in a wireless communication system. A plurality of reverse channel estimates in a reverse wireless channel are monitored, and a rate of change is measured between the plurality of reverse channel estimates in the reverse wireless channel. A rate of change in the forward wireless channel is estimated from the rate of change between the plurality of reverse channel estimates in the reverse wireless channel. If the estimated rate of change in the forward wireless channel exceeds a threshold, an update of a steering matrix is initiated.
US08379742B2	Estimating channel conditions in a MIMO OFDM communication system A method of estimating channel conditions for use in a MIMO communication system includes the steps of, at a receiver: computing a SINR metric for all pre-coding matrices; computing a first capacity metric for the bandwidth from the SINR metrics, and selecting a rank which maximizes the first capacity metric; computing a second capacity metric for each frequency channel from the SINR metrics and the selected rank, and selecting one or more pre-coding matrices which maximize the second capacity metric; computing a third capacity metric from the second capacity metric, selected rank and selected pre-coding matrices for each transmission layer within each frequency channel, and selecting one or more frequency channels which maximize the third capacity metric; and transmitting the selected rank, selected pre-coding matrices and selected frequency channels to the transmitter for use in subsequent data transmissions.
US08379737B2	Interface module for communication with an electronic or an electromechanical device of a medium voltage interruption unit An interface module for communication with at least a first electronic or electromechanical device of a medium voltage interruption unit which comprises at least a power supply port through which the first device receives electric power. The interface module further comprises first interface means that are electrically connected to the power supply port, the first interface means exchanging information with the first device through the power supply port.
US08379734B2	Methods of performing error concealment for digital video Error concealment is used to hide the effects of errors detected within digital video information. A complex error concealment mode decision is disclosed to determine whether spatial error concealment (SEC) or temporal error concealment (TEC) should be used. The error concealment mode decision system uses different methods depending on whether the damaged frame is an intra-frame or an inter-frame. If the video frame is an intra-frame then a similarity metric is used to determine if the intra-frame represents a scene-change or not. If the video frame is an intra-frame, a complex multi-termed equation is used to determine whether SEC or TEC should be used. A novel spatial error concealment technique is disclosed for use when the error concealment mode decision determines that spatial error concealment should be used for reconstruction. The novel spatial error concealment technique divides a corrupt macroblock into four different regions, a corner region, a row adjacent to the corner region, a column adjacent to the corner region, and a remainder main region. Those regions are then reconstructed in that order and information from earlier reconstructed regions may be used in later reconstructed regions. Finally, a macroblock refreshment technique is disclosed for preventing error propagation from harming non-corrupt inter-blocks. Specifically, an inter-macroblock may be ‘refreshed’ using spatial error concealment if there has been significant error caused damage that may cause the inter-block to propagate the errors.
US08379730B2	Method for determining display order of VOPS in decoder end or MPEG image system and device for executing the same Methods and systems for image processing are provided. A particular method includes receiving a video object plane (VOP) at an image processing device and decoding the received VOP. The method also includes storing an order number of the decoded VOP at a P-VOP queue in a memory of the image processing device when the received VOP is a predictive coded VOP (P-VOP). The method further includes storing the order number of the decoded VOP at a first available location of a display ordered read queue in the memory of the image processing device when the received VOP is not a P-VOP.
US08379727B2	Method and apparatus for scalable motion estimation Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for scalable motion estimation. One embodiment of a method for performing motion estimation includes setting a target complexity for a macroblock of a source frame and performing motion estimation for one or more partitions of the macroblock until the target complexity is met.
US08379726B2	Coding apparatus, coding method, decoding apparatus, and decoding method A coding apparatus includes: a storage section that stores information for coding an image area to be currently coded in a direct prediction mode that predicts motion information of an image area to be coded by referring to motion information of a previously coded image area; a deriving section that derives motion information of the image area in the direct prediction mode by referring to the information stored in the storage section; a selecting section that selects a prediction mode for coding the image area to be coded, in accordance with the motion information derived by the deriving section; and a determining section that determines information necessary for the deriving section to derive motion information of an uncoded image area, from coding information applied in the prediction mode selected by the selecting section to the image area to be coded, and stores only information determined necessary into the storage section.
US08379719B2	Video frame encoding and decoding A video frame arithmetical context adaptive encoding and decoding scheme is presented which is based on the finding, that, for sake of a better definition of neighborhood between blocks of picture samples, i.e. the neighboring block which the syntax element to be coded or decoded relates to and the current block based on the attribute of which the assignment of a context model is conducted, and when the neighboring block lies beyond the borders or circumference of the current macroblock containing the current block, it is important to make the determination of the macroblock containing the neighboring block dependent upon as to whether the current macroblock pair region containing the current block is of a first or a second distribution type, i.e., frame or field coded.
US08379708B2	Method and circuit for digitally filtering a signal A method and circuit that gives a sequence pattern that represents directions of positive and negative transitions of the phase that continue over a predetermined number from a certain reference symbol to an adjoining next reference symbol; finds (heuristically) one or more interpolate symbols that meet conditions (such as standards for power spectra) of a predetermined frequency spectrum, i.e., band, and a predetermined (range of) amplitude with reference to the given sequence pattern; and stores the found sequence pattern and a phase value and an amplitude value corresponding to the found one or more interpolate symbols in a memory as a lookup table against the prepared memory area.
US08379706B2	Signal and noise power estimation Techniques for estimating desired signal power and noise power of a signal received over a communications channel. In an aspect, a pilot autocorrelation matrix is derived based on certain assumptions about the time delay profile, Doppler profile, and/or spatial correlation of the channel. The pilot autocorrelation matrix is decomposed into a set of eigenvectors. From the eigenvector decomposition, a set of dominant eigenvectors is selected to estimate the signal power, while a set of non-dominant eigenvectors is selected to estimate the noise power. The techniques may readily be applied to arbitrary pilot patterns and to a wide array of SNR ranges and channel conditions.
US08379705B2	Hierarchical feedback of channel state information for wireless communication Techniques for sending hierarchical feedback of channel state information are described. In one design, a user equipment (UE) determines channel gain information for multiple cells selectable to transmit data to the UE. The UE also determines intra-cell relative phase information for at least one cell among the multiple cells. The UE reports the channel gain information and the intra-cell relative phase information. The channel gain information may include multiple quantized channel vectors for each of the multiple cells. The intra-cell relative phase information may indicate phase errors in the quantized channel vectors for each of the at least one cell. The UE may also determine and report other information. The UE may receive data from one or more cells among the plurality of cells. Each cell may transmit data based on at least one transmit vector determined based on the channel gain information and the intra-cell relative phase information.
US08379695B2	Apparatus and method for receiving signal using rake receiver and equalizer in wireless communication system An apparatus and a method for selecting a receiver for demodulating a reception signal at a reception end having a plurality of receivers are provided. The method includes determining, a mean and a standard deviation of Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNRs) of the receivers are determined, estimating a Doppler frequency, determining a statistical value of a modulation order of subframes received in advance, determining SNR estimation values of the receivers based on the determined mean and standard deviation of the receivers, the estimated Doppler frequency, and the determined statistical value of the modulation order of the received subframes, selecting one receiver having a largest SNR estimation value among the determined SNRs of the receivers, and demodulating a reception signal using the selected receiver.
US08379691B2	Method and apparatus for estimating channel in mobile communication network The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for estimating a channel in a mobile communication network. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of estimating a channel under a channel environment where interference between neighboring base stations exists in a mobile communication network using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) method. In order to estimate a channel, one cluster is divided into two sub-clusters, and pilot sub-carrier signals included in at least one sub-cluster in an OFDM symbol direction are used. Therefore, it is possible to further improve performance as compared to a method of estimating a channel by using pilot sub-carriers included in one cluster.
US08379689B2	Anti-jam communications having selectively variable peak-to-average power ratio including a chaotic constant amplitude zero autocorrelation waveform A spread spectrum communication system includes a channel encoder configured for modulating a carrier signal with data to form an information signal. A spreading sequence generator is configured for generating a spreading sequence having a phase angle dependent upon a chaotic sequence and contiguously distributed over a predetermined range. The chaotic sequence also has a magnitude which is selectively dependent upon the pseudo-random number or chaotic sequence. The invention also includes a multiplier configured for forming a spread spectrum signal by multiplying the information signal by the spreading sequence. The spreading sequence generator is responsive to a magnitude control signal for controlling the selective dependency of said magnitude. The magnitude can be constant to form a constant amplitude zero autocorrelation signal. Alternatively, the magnitude can be allowed to vary in selectively controlled chaotic or pseudo-random manner to vary a peak to average power ratio.
US08379682B2	Nitride semiconductor laser chip and method of fabrication thereof A nitride semiconductor laser chip that operates with reduced electric power consumption and helps achieve cost reduction has: an active layer formed of a nitride semiconductor; a nitride semiconductor layer formed above the active layer; a ridge portion formed in a part of the nitride semiconductor layer; and an electrically conductive film having a light-absorbing property and formed at least in a region outside the ridge portion above the nitride semiconductor layer. The ridge portion has a ridge width of 2 μm or more but 6 μm or less.
US08379679B2	Method and apparatus for reliably laser marking articles The invention is a method and apparatus for creating a color and optical density selectable visible mark on an anodized aluminum specimen. The method includes providing a laser marking system having a laser, laser optics and a controller operatively connected to said laser to control laser pulse parameters and a controller with stored laser pulse parameters, selecting the stored laser pulse parameters associated with the desired color and optical density, directing the laser marking system to produce laser pulses having laser pulse parameters associated with the desired color and optical density including temporal pulse widths greater than about 1 and less than about 1000 picoseconds to impinge upon said anodized aluminum.
US08379678B2	Method and apparatus for reliably laser marking articles The invention is a method and apparatus for creating marks on an anodized aluminum specimen with selectable color and optical density. The method includes providing a laser marking system having a laser, laser optics and a controller operatively connected to said laser to control laser pulse parameters. The laser marking system is directed to produce laser pulses having laser pulse parameters associated with the desired color and optical density in the presence of a fluid directed to the surface of the anodized aluminum specimen while marking.
US08379677B2	System for combining a plurality of video streams and method for use therewith A system for combining a plurality of video streams includes a time stamp adjustment module that generates an adjusted second video stream by adjusting a plurality of time stamps of a second video stream. A video stream concatenation module generates a combined video stream by concatenating the adjusted second video stream to an end of a first video stream.
US08379675B2	Jitter buffering control for controlling storage locations of a jitter buffer, and a method therefor A jitter buffer control apparatus has a buffer for storing data included in an input packet transmitted from a telecommunications network, and a jitter buffer controller for controlling the buffer to store the input data into the buffer and take out the stored data from the buffer on the basis of a sequence number included in the input packet in a processing period. When under-running occurs in the buffer, the jitter buffer controller stores input data into the buffer with a storage location skipped which corresponds to the processing period associated with packet loss due to the under-running.
US08379671B2	Techniques for extracting a control channel from a received signal in a wireless communication system A technique for extracting a control channel from a received signal includes storing interleaved control channel elements of the received signal in a control channel region of a memory. First addresses for first elements that are included in a first control channel are then generated using a first circuit. Finally, the respective first elements are read, using a second circuit, from the control channel region of the memory according to the generated first addresses to provide the first control channel in a deinterleaved form.
US08379669B2	Conversion apparatus A conversion apparatus includes a first interface unit connecting to an asynchronous communication network to receive a packet signal, a signal conversion unit converting the packet signal into an intra-apparatus signal, a packet-discard determination unit determining whether or not any portion of the packet signal is discard, a clock selection unit selecting a reference clock signal, a loss-of-synchronization determination unit determining whether or not a loss-of-synchronization error is occurring in the reference clock signal, an alarm control unit generating one of first, second, and third control signals, a framer generating a frame signal in response to the first control signal, an alarm signal in response to the second control signal, and a synchronous signal in response to the third control signal, and a second interface unit connecting to a synchronous communication network to transmit one of the frame signal, the alarm signal, and the synchronous signal.
US08379665B2	Apparatus and methods for access fairness for a multiple target bridge/router in a fibre channel arbitrated loop system Apparatus and methods improved fair access to a Fiber Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) communication medium through a bridge device. The enhanced bridge device provides for a fair access in a currently open access window for all presently requesting devices coupled through the bridge device to the FC-AL communication medium. Thus all devices on the loop whether coupled directly or through a bridge device can be assured fair access to the loop when there are simultaneous requests during an open access window.
US08379663B2	Time slot allocation method and apparatus This method includes: judging, for each certain combination of the source and destination nodes, for which the number of time slots to be allocated is equal to or greater than 1, whether or not certain time slots exist that are capable of forming a route from the source node to the destination node by unused links; for each certain combination judged, at the judging, that the certain time slots exist that are capable of forming the route by the unused links, identifying, for each certain time slot, a shortest route among routes formed by the unused links, calculating an evaluation value from the number of hops in the shorted route, an allocated priority associated with a corresponding certain combination and the number of used links in the corresponding certain time slot; and identifying a maximum evaluation value among the evaluation values.
US08379661B2	Methods and systems for a customer premise equipment to reverse the upstream speed and downstream speed of a network connection Methods and systems for customer premise equipment (CPE) to reverse the upstream speed and downstream speed of a network connection (e.g., ADSL connection) are described. The CPE is communicating with a network device via the network connection. Originally, the CPE's downstream speed with the network device significantly exceeds the CPE's upstream speed with the network device. A speed reversal signal is forwarded from the CPE to the network device. The signal requests the network device to reverse the CPE's downstream speed and upstream speed with the network device. The network device retrains the CPE. The CPE communicates with the retrained network device with an upstream speed that significantly exceeds the downstream speed.
US08379649B2	Arrangements for constructing a virtual private network (VPN) using forwarding techniques An extranet direct route allowing extranet forwarding to a directly linked device is written in a layer 2-layer 3-integrated forwarding table. The procedure of introducing a layer 3 address-to-layer 2 address correspondence relation table entry into the layer 2-layer 3-integrated forwarding table searches the layer 2-layer 3-integrated forwarding table with a layer 3 address of the correspondence relation table entry and a layer 3 interface as search keys to retrieve any forwarding entry relating to an extranet direct route as a forwarding destination. The procedure subsequently extracts a VRF of each retrieved forwarding entry and introduces the correspondence relation table entry for the extracted VRF into the layer 2-layer 3-integrated forwarding table.
US08379643B2	Method for controlling transmission speed of multi-cast packets A transmission speed controlling method for multi-cast packets includes the steps of calculating a standard time, and recording an accumulated error time; transmitting one of the multi-cast packets, and calculating a transmission time of the transmitted multi-cast packet; calculating a difference between the standard time and the transmission time, recording the difference as a current error time, adding the accumulated error time and the current error time, and recording the add result as a preset sleep time; and performing the following steps when the preset sleep time is greater than an error threshold value, wherein the following steps are sleeping for the preset sleep time; being awaked from sleep, and calculating a practical sleep time; calculating a new accumulated error time by subtracting the practical sleep time from the preset sleep time; and returning to the first step to transmit the next one of the multi-cast packets.
US08379641B2	Light host management protocol on multicast capable router a method for reducing computational and/or bandwidth requirements in a network including a multicast router and a layer 2 network element by efficiently communicating required source state information. The method comprises receiving at the layer 2 network element a source interest list from a host over a multicast network. The layer 2 multicast network element transmits a message to the multicast router, the message formatted to be processed by a multicast routing protocol on the multicast router after a protocol header is removed by a light host management protocol on the multicast router without any additional processing. Responsive to receiving the message at the multicast router, the light host management protocol removes the protocol header and sending the message to the multicast routing protocol to alter a set of multicast sources to be routed to the host.
US08379638B2	Security encapsulation of ethernet frames A technique for encapsulating data packets at a Data Link Layer to provide security functions. The technique first encrypts a payload to provide an encrypted payload. The encrypted payload is inserted in an output encapsulated frame. Also added to the output encapsulated frame is an encapsulation header that includes security information, such as a security packet index (SPI) value used to identify a security association (SA). Because the output encapsulated frame may now be longer than maximum allowed Ethernet Path Maximum Transmission Unit (PMTU), the encapsulation header also preferably includes a fragmentation field. The fragmentation field supports the ability to fragment the encrypted datagrams into smaller pieces.
US08379637B2	Bypassing routing rules during a conversation Communication requests added to a conversation are routed directly to a user without following the pre-configured routing rules for the user during a breakthrough period. The breakthrough period may last for the duration of the conversation or for some other period of time. A conversation may be initiated using any supported type of communication. For example, if a user initially sets up an IM conversation with a remote user, then when a voice call is made to the user from the remote user, the voice call is routed directly to the user without applying the routing rules that are configured for the user. Once the breakthrough period has elapsed, the routing rules become active again and are applied to communications received from the remote user that are directed to the user.
US08379633B2	Concentrator for speech telephones and method of communication over LAN using same Speech telephones are incorporated in a LAN, and, for example, when a voice telephone 5 communicates with another voice telephone 8, call control is performed through exchange of information between a PC 1 and a PC 4, juxtaposed with the voice telephones, respectively, via a LAN hub 10, a LAN switching unit 50, and a LAN hub 20. Speech data of the respective telephones 5, and 8 are packetized in the data block of a MAC frame by concentrators 30, and 40 for voice telephones, respectively, and relayed to LAN-SW interfaces 30a, and 40a. Frames having a function of absorbing fluctuation are applied to the data block of the interfaces 30a and 40a. Respective voice data packetized according to the MAC address of the MAC frame are delivered to the voice telephones 5, and 8, respectively, via the LAN switching unit 50, and the concentrators 30, and 40 for voice telephones.
US08379629B2	Data session handling A method and apparatus to transfer a data session from one device connected to a residential gateway to another. The transfer is completed within the residential gateway, without routing data through the service provider's network. In one embodiment, a native address of a communication device engaged in an active data session is stored in a memory as a temporary device address. A session address in memory is set equal to the stored temporary device address and the temporary device address is associated with the session address in memory. When a request to transfer the data session to another device is received, the temporary device address in memory set to the native address of the new communication device and the session history is sent to the new device. Any new data received in the session, intended for the original device, is routed by a data session handling engine to the new communication device.
US08379626B2	Wireless communication terminal and base station selection method A wireless communication terminal, in accordance with a time division multiple access system, establishes radio-links to multiple base stations and conducts a communication by using slots assigned by the multiple base stations, including: a synchronization information acquisition means generating synchronization information regarding slots used between the wireless communication terminal and multiple base stations that are candidates to which a communication is conducted; and a selection means, based on the synchronization information, classifies the multiple base stations into multiple synchronized base station groups which include the base stations that provides synchronized slots, and selects one of the synchronized base station groups including the bases stations that are candidates to which the radio-link is established.
US08379625B2	Obtaining time information in a cellular network A method, performed by an access point of a cellular network, obtains time information by identifying a control channel cycle boundary; at a beginning of the control channel cycle boundary, sending a request to a time server; receiving a response from the time server, the request including a server time; and obtaining the timing information using the server time. Obtaining the timing information includes using the server time and a first reference time to obtain an integer and a fraction; using the fraction to obtain a time difference; and using the time difference to obtain the timing information.
US08379624B2	Transport for wireless radio access networks A radio access network includes a transport network layer; a radio network layer having a layer 2 network for communicating between entities within the radio network layer by exchanging datagrams having a predetermined format used only within the radio network layer. Accordingly, the present invention provides for a true decoupling at layer 2 between the radio network layer and the transport network layer.Addressing at layer 2 can enable both connectionless and connection oriented using an overlay connectivity model. Layer 2 in the radio network layer is implemented as an Ethernet network.
US08379622B2	Method and apparatus for reusing packet data control assignment bits for resource allocation indications The PDCAB packet (300) and the RRA packet (308) are transmitted together on the F-SCCH. For example, 9 RRA bits (305) are appended to the PDCAB field (303), in place of the pad bits (205), thereby allowing both the PDCAB (303) and RRA (311) messages to be protected against errors by a 16-bit CRC (307). In accordance with the embodiments, a receiver is able to distinguish between the varying PDCAB (303) and RRA (305) message formats and transmitting the packets (300) and (308) together is a normal mode of operation in the embodiments. Therefore, in accordance with the embodiments, when the PDCAB packet (300) and RRA packet (308) are transmitted together, the network replaces the N PDCAB pad bits, such as pad bits (205), with the first N bits from the RRA bitmap (311), in order to use the nominal CRC length for both packets (300) and (308).
US08379617B2	Communication system, communication device, wired communication device, and communication method A communication system includes a wired communication device and a communication device that can communicate with a wireless communication device and the wired communication device. The communication device includes a clock output unit and a modulator. The wired communication device includes a clock extracting unit, a signal extracting unit, and a processing unit. The communication device and the wired communication device are connected to each other by a first connecting line through which a modulated signal is sent from the communication device to the wired communication device, and a second connecting line, which is different from the first connecting line, through which a signal is sent from the wired communication device to the communication device.
US08379615B2	Power saving in a device compatible with cellular and WLAN networks A mobile communication device is able to communicate with wireless local area network and with a cellular network. A communication system is able to route a communication session between the mobile communication device and another communication device either by way of the wireless local area network or the cellular network. The communication system is able to trigger the mobile communication device via the cellular network to search for and attempt to connect to the wireless local area network. The mobile communication device, in response to reception of signaling via the cellular network, is able to activate a wireless local area network interface of the mobile communication device and to establish a connection to the wireless local area network.
US08379607B2	Adjusting link layer control frame to facilitate data throughput A base station subsystem includes logic to change the modulation and coding scheme for radio communications, and logic to communicate with a switching GSM to cause a change in link layer control frame size to reflect the change in modulation and coding scheme.
US08379606B2	Access probe randomization for wireless communication system A method and apparatus for randomizing access probes from co-located mobile terminals in order to reduce collisions is provided. By each mobile terminal or group of mobile terminals computing a random delay between a minimum delay value and a maximum delay value and using the random delay to delay the starting time of access probes, collisions between access probes from different mobile terminals may be reduced.
US08379603B2	Device, system and method of wireless communication Briefly, according to embodiments of the invention, there is provided a wireless communication system and a method to receive by a base station from a first mobile station a first chain of data symbols transmitted by at least two antennas and having a first transmit diversity, to receive from a second mobile station a second chain of data symbols transmitted by at least two antennas and having a second transmit diversity. Both first and second chains of data symbols are transmitted from the first and second mobile stations at the same time, modulated according to an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) scheme and encoded by a space time block codes scheme.
US08379601B2	Method and system for selective use of control channel element based implicit pointing A method for selective use of control channel element (CCE)-based implicit pointing. The method includes the step of determining whether a number of multiple user elements (UE) within a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) group is greater than the number of resource blocks allocated to the MU-MIMO group. If the number of UEs in the MU-MIMO group is greater than the number of resource blocks allocated to the MU-MIMO group, the method further includes transmitting to each of the UEs of the MU-MIMO group acknowledgements on acknowledgement channels within a first acknowledgement bank and acknowledgements on acknowledgement channels within a second acknowledgement bank. A first portion of the UEs of the MU-MIMO group receives the acknowledgements on the acknowledgement channels within the first acknowledgement bank and a second portion of the UEs of MU-MIMO group receives the acknowledgements on the acknowledgement channels within the second acknowledgement bank.
US08379600B2	Method for resource allocation in wireless communication system The present invention provides a method for resource allocation in a wireless communication system. In the method for resource allocation, a scheduler of a base station decides on a modulation scheme and an encoding scheme according to channel quality information (CQI), and decides on a number of allocated resource blocks according to transmission data size referring to a table of resource block allocation. The table of resource block allocation presents a number of allocated resource blocks and a number of transmission bits according to the number of allocated resource blocks.
US08379596B2	Requesting MAC context information from neighbor base stations A technique to reduce the service disruption time of a mobile station (MS) when the MS performs a hard handover (HHO) is provided. An MS receives MAC context information that is necessary to connect to the target base station (BS) through the serving BS during the HHO preparation time instead of HHO execution time. The HHO preparation phase refers to the stage where a handover is initiated but the MS is still connected with the current serving BS. On the other hand, once the HHO execution begins, the MS must disconnect from the serving BS in order to establish the communication with the target BS.
US08379595B2	Method and apparatus for securing quality of service of data communication A method and apparatus for securing a quality of service (QoS) of data communication is provided. The method of securing the QoS of data being received by a mobile terminal at a reception side that performs a handover from a first network to a second network comprises generating a packet including information about the second network, transmitting the packet to a transmission side, and selectively performing the handover according to whether a packet including information in response to the packet is received. When a reception side performs a handover, a transmission side can be informed of information about the second network via the exchange of packets between the reception side and the transmission side, thereby securing a QoS of the data transmission.
US08379591B2	Sequential transmission method Provided is a sequential allocation method which can reduce mutual correlation between different sequential groups while maintaining a number of sequential groups. ST101 sets a sequence length Nb=31 corresponding to an RB number m=3 and a sequence number ub=1. In a first bandwidth from 3RB to 5RB, ST 105 selects a ZC sequence in which a difference from ub/Nb is u/N which is the nearest to 0. In a second bandwidth of 6RB or above, ST106 selects a plurality of sequences in which the difference from ub/Nb is u/N which is near to 0 and 0.5.
US08379589B2	Node apparatus, node quantity adjustment method, and tangible machine-readable medium for a sensor network A node apparatus and an adjusting method of a quantity of nodes for a sensor network and a tangible machine-readable medium thereof are provided. The sensor network comprises a plurality of groups, wherein each group has a plurality of nodes. For each group, one of the nodes is set to be a gate node, and each node within the group transmits at least one data of itself to the corresponded gate node. Each gate node calculates a data aggregation time based on a data length per unit time of received data and a predetermined packet length, so that each gate node is able to adjust the quantity of nodes within the group thereof accordingly.
US08379587B2	Signalling resource allocation in a telecommunications network The present invention provides a method, a radio base station (40) and a mobile terminal (50) for allocating resources in a telecommunications network, where communications between the radio base station (40) and the mobile terminal (50) take place over a plurality of carriers. The method comprises transmitting and receiving a resource allocation message comprising one or more bits. Each of the bits corresponds to a number of resource blocks, where the number is determined from the ratio of the aggregate bandwidth of the plurality of carriers divided by the bandwidth of the carrier over which the resource allocation message is sent.
US08379584B2	Generalized division free duplexing techniques for decreasing rendevous time Provided are methods and systems of using division-free duplexing (DFD) to reduce rendezvous time between two or more cognitive radio devices. The cognitive radio devices may opportunistically use available frequency spectra by communicating over available channels. To communicate, a first device may rendezvous with a second device by transmitting a beaconing signal over a frequency on which the second device is listening. DFD techniques may enable each of the devices to listen to a channel while concurrently transmitting beacon signals over the same channel. As periods of listening and periods of transmitting over the same channel need not be separated due to the transmitter cancelling approach used in DFD techniques, rendezvous time may be significantly reduced. Further, embodiments include a generalized DFD (GDFD) approach wherein devices listen to a broad band of frequencies, thus further reducing rendezvous time.
US08379581B2	Systems and methods for uplink power control A method for uplink power control is described. A user equipment (UE) power class may be determined. An uplink multiple access scheme may also be determined. The maximum transmission power for the UE may further be determined according to the determined uplink multiple access scheme and the UE power class.
US08379579B2	Management method and an apparatus for reverse link in a multicarrier wireless communication system In a reverse link management method in a multicarrier wireless communication system, an access terminal AT sends a Reverse Link Management Message to an access network AN. The Reverse Link Management Message carries information of the reverse link that the AT dropped. The AN sends the Traffic Channel Assignment Message to AT, and assigns a new reverse carrier link according to the received the Reverse Link Management Message. The AT establishes a reverse carrier link (reverse link) based on said Traffic Channel Assignment Message and transmits data on the new reverse carrier link. According to this method, the AT can actively report the number of its containing reverse links to AN and inform the AN of the reverse links it has dropped, without further modifying other messages and steps in terminal connection process.
US08379576B1	Call admission control systems and methods for wireless networks The invention provides new call admission control methods for application in wireless networks such as wireless mesh networks. A separate set of call admission control constraints is applied to access links used to access the network and transit links between network nodes of the network. Both sets of constraints must be satisfied for a call to be accepted.
US08379572B1	Method and system for use of shared data to gain wireless packet data connectivity A method and system to allow wireless devices, such as wirelessly-equipped digital cameras, to gain wireless packet-data connectivity and to interact with a media management server, such as a photo server. A wireless carrier distributes multiple devices all having the same set of radio access data (e.g., mobile identification number and electronic serial number), and all having shared or unique pre-registration data. Any such device can then readily use the shared radio access data to acquire radio connectivity and can then use the pre-registration data to gain access to the media management server. The first time such a device connects with the media management server using the pre-registration data, the server will engage in a online account registration session with the device and provision the device with post-registration data that the device can thereafter use to access the online account.
US08379564B2	System and method for monitoring remote devices with a dual-mode wireless communication protocol The present invention is generally directed to systems and device for monitoring remote device with a wireless, dual-mode communication protocol. As such, a representative embodiment is a system for monitoring and controlling remote devices. The system includes a first and a second remote device; and a first and a second wireless transceiver integrated with the respective remote devices. The wireless transceivers are configured to communicate with at least one of a spread-spectrum communication protocol and a fixed-frequency communication protocol.
US08379560B2	Techniques enabling neighbor location discovery for mmwave WPAN with an out of band control channel An embodiment of the present invention provides a method of neighbor discovery in a wireless personal area network, comprising coordinating communications in the WPAN by a WPAN coordinator, and transmitting beacons by the WPAN coordinator on a control channel of the WPAN that specifies the time slots and the order in which devices operating in the WPAN transmit their omni-directional training sequences on a data channel at the beginning of the next super-frame.
US08379556B2	Method and apparatus for managing power of WLAN module in portable terminal A method and an apparatus for managing power of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) module in a portable terminal are provided. In the method, the WLAN module is operated according to a Power Save Mechanism (PSM). Whether the portable terminal operates in a sleep state is determined. At least one of a beacon interval and a Delivery Traffic Indication Map (DTIM) interval of the PSM is changed depending on whether the portable terminal operates in the sleep state.
US08379555B2	Method and apparatus of awaking a communication device A method of awaking a communication device operating in a sleep mode for a wireless network interface card includes continuously sending a plurality of coupling packets to maintain coupling between the communication device and a remote communication device, receiving a wireless packet from the remote communication device, determining a packet type of the wireless packet according to a packet format corresponding to a wake-up packet, and controlling the communication device to leave the sleep mode when the wireless packet is determined to be the wake-up packet.
US08379551B2	Radio selection in a multi-radio device Techniques for supporting communication by a wireless device having a set of radios and supporting a set of applications are described. In an aspect, radio selection may be performed based on interference information and additional information to obtain good performance. In one design, a plurality of radios available for use on the wireless device may be identified. Interference information indicative of interference between the plurality of radios may be obtained, e.g., from an interference database or a converted interference database. Additional information used for radio selection may also be obtained and may include information for communication profiles, communication preferences, application requirements, radio capabilities, etc. At least one radio may be selected for use for communication from among the plurality of radios based on the interference information and the additional information.
US08379550B2	Location based femtocell device configuration and handoff Methods and apparatus for configuring femtocell devices for performing handoffs in a communication system. The communication system is provided with a plurality of macrocell base stations, a femtocell device, a wireless softswitch and a mobile node. In the communication system, each macrocell base station serves a macro cell, and the femtocell device serves a femto cell and is disposed in one of the plurality of macro cells. The wireless softswitch is communicatively connected with the plurality of macrocell base stations and the femtocell device, and stores geographic coverage area information for each of the plurality of macrocell base stations. The mobile node is originally disposed within the femto cell and moves out of the femto cell. The mobile node transmits a registration message to the femtocell device. The femtocell device forwards the registration message and geographical location information for the femtocell device to the wireless softswitch. The wireless softswitch determines which one of the plurality of macrocell base stations covers the macro cell where the femtocell device is disposed, in dependence upon the received geographical location information for the femtocell device and the stored geographic coverage area information for each of the plurality of macrocell base stations. Then, the wireless softswitch forwards the registration message to the macrocell base station determined.
US08379548B1	Architecture for simultaneous transmission of multiple protocols in a wireless device A wireless device that simultaneously transmits first wireless signals according to a first protocol and second wireless signals according to a second protocol. The wireless device may comprise an antenna, first wireless protocol circuitry, second wireless protocol circuitry, a switch, and at least one gain element. The first wireless protocol circuitry sends first signals according to the first wireless protocol. The second wireless protocol circuitry sends second signals according to the second wireless protocol. The switch comprises a combiner. The switch receives the first signals and the second signals, combines the first signals and the second signals to produce third signals having aspects of the first signals and the second signals, and sends the third signals to a gain element. The gain element amplifies the third signals and sends the amplified third signals to the antenna. The antenna wirelessly transmits the amplified third signals.
US08379545B2	Communication method, communication apparatus, and communication system A method for exchanging channel information between a transmitter and a receiver each including antennas. A request frame including a first preamble, second preamble, and channel information feedback request is transmitted to the receiver, wherein the first preamble is transmitted from one of the antennas of the transmitter, the second preamble is transmitted from each of the antennas, and the channel information feedback request is transmitted from the one of the antennas. The request frame is received at the receiver, and the channel information feedback request is detected by a decoding based on the first preamble. Channel information is estimated using the second preamble, and a notification frame including the estimated information is constructed and transmitted to the transmitter.
US08379544B2	Communications A method and system for establishing a conference call is presented. The method uses the Session Initiation Protocol for transporting conference information to a conference server, wherein the conference is represented in a markup language.
US08379542B2	Method and apparatus for sharing cell-ID between sites and determining cell-ID for site in cooperative communication A method and an apparatus for sharing a cell-ID between sites and determining a cell-ID of a site in cooperative communication includes: obtaining a synchronization sequence set, where the synchronization sequence set is used to determine a cell-ID (Cell-ID); and allocating synchronization sequences in the same synchronization sequence set to multiple sites, where the synchronization sequences in the same synchronization sequence set are used to determine antenna unit IDs (AU-ID) of respective sites. Through the embodiments, a system overhead may be decreased.
US08379540B2	System for synchronous and asynchronous gaming modes A system is disclosed for switching between synchronous and asynchronous network connections for implementing a turn-based multiplayer game. A network connection manager handles client device connections to set the connection to either an asynchronous network connection or a synchronous network connection. The connection manager may switch between the asynchronous and synchronous network connection modes based on a variety of triggering criteria.
US08379536B2	Downlink control information for efficient decoding Certain aspects of the present disclosure present techniques for generating a downlink control information (DCI) message which may be transmitted with a particular organization of a downlink control channel and techniques for receiving the same. The DCI message may support uplink enhancements such as single-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO) and clustered DFT-S-OFDM, and may limit blind decoding operations at a user equipment.
US08379533B2	Universal plug and play method and apparatus to provide remote access service Provided are a universal plug and play (UPnP) method and an apparatus thereof to provide remote access service, where the method includes receiving external inputs of an identifier of a remote access server (RAS) to generate a credential and a session initiation protocol (SIP) identifier of the RAS, generating a payload of a SIP packet written in extensible markup language (XML), which includes a credential ID generated based on the identifier of the RAS and remote access transport agent (RATA) capability information, and transmitting the SIP packet to the RAS identified by the SIP identifier, where the payload of the SIP packet includes multipurpose internet mail extensions (MIME)-type information to be identified as information used to provide remote access service.
US08379529B2	Distributed spectrum allocation scheme for cognitive radio A technique (300) and apparatus for sharing frequency spectrum amongst cognitive radios is provided. By maintaining an unoccupied spectral quantum between each CR device, the channel technique ensures that a device just beginning transmissions in the CR frequency band will have spectrum from which to start growing. The growth can continue up to the maximum the spectrum can support, when the bandwidth of each device has been reduced to one spectral quantum, and there are no available spectral quanta left.
US08379528B1	Transfer of messages to user devices of a wireless local area network access point What is disclosed is a method of operating a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point. The method includes providing the WLAN for a user device to access a packet network, where the user device receives requested content transferred over the packet network through the WLAN access point. The method also includes receiving a message for delivery to the user device from a local interface of the WLAN access point, and in response to receiving the message for delivery to the user device, inhibiting transfer of the requested content received over the packet network to the user device. The method also includes transferring the message to the user device using addressing information associated with the requested content, and in response to receiving a confirmation of the message from the user device, resuming transfer of the requested content to the user device.
US08379527B2	System and method for second order multi-layer traffic grooming for optical network optimization A method of planning a network is disclosed. The method includes estimating a first cost of forming a direct connection between an origination central office and a destination central office. The method also includes estimating a second cost of forming a spoke connection between the origination central office and a hub node. The spoke connection is to carry residual data traffic. The method also includes determining whether to implement the direct connection based on whether the estimated first cost exceeds the estimated second cost.
US08379523B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting a coded video signal A method and apparatus for transmitting a digitally encoded video image in real time via a data network wherein the video image is digitally encoded using a compression algorithm having a variable bit rate, e.g., JPEG2K, to provide an encoded data stream, the encoded data stream is fed into a buffer of known size, and the data is read from the buffer via a streamer with a controllable bit rate to provide a bit stream at a desired stream bit rate for transmission via the network. The bit rate of the encoded data stream from the encoder is monitored by a predictor and predicts a future bit rate of the encoded data stream; and, the bit rate of at least one of the encoder and the streamer is adjusted to provide the desired streaming bit rate.
US08379520B2	Group based packet scheduling algorithm A system comprises a base station, a plurality of mobile stations, and a packet scheduling algorithm that operates on the base station. The packet scheduling algorithm groups the plurality of mobile stations into a plurality of groups based on average throughput with the base station. The packet scheduling algorithm selects one of the plurality of groups for applying a scheduling metric.
US08379517B2	Call admission and preemption for multiple bit-rate applications Embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing a method and system for call admission control and preemption of multiple bit-rate applications in a digital communication system. Multiple bit-rate applications such as streaming video can specify a Quality of Service (QoS) profile having multiple levels. When there are insufficient resources in the network to support an incoming multiple bit-rate call, the system determines whether, by reducing the bit-rate of the incoming call or by preemption of lower priority components of existing calls, enough resources can be recovered to support the incoming call.
US08379513B2	Method for recovery of a controlled failover of a border gateway protocol speaker A method and apparatus for recovering from a controlled failover of a BGP speaker is provided. A user sends, to a network element, a request to switch a designation of an active Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) speaker of the network element from a first BGP speaker to a second BGP speaker. After receiving the request, the network element pauses operation of a transport for BGP. Routing data, which describes a state of a first routing information base (RIB) maintained by the active BGP speaker, is transferred from the first BGP speaker to the second BGP speaker. Thereafter, the first BGP speaker may instruct the second BGP speaker to become the active BGP speaker. After the second BGP speaker becomes the active BGP speaker, the second BGP speaker resumes operation of the BGP transport.
US08379512B2	Using identifier mapping to resolve access point identifier ambiguity Ambiguity (e.g., confusion) associated with access point identifiers may be resolved by querying candidate target access points and/or by using historical records indicative of one or more access points that the access point has previously accessed. For example, messages may be sent to access points that are assigned the same identifier to cause the access points to monitor for a signal from an access terminal that received the identifier from a target access point. The target access point may then be identified based on any responses that indicate that a signal was received from the access terminal. In some aspects the access points subject to being queried may be selected using a tiered priority. In addition, it may be determined based on prior handoffs of a given access terminal that when that access terminal reports a given identifier, the access terminal usually ends up being handed-off to a particular access point. Accordingly, a mapping may be maintained for that access terminal that maps the identifier to that access point so that the mapping may be used to resolve any future confusion associated with the use of that identifier by that access terminal.
US08379507B2	Allocation and logical to physical mapping of scheduling request indicator channel in wireless networks A method for allocating resources for a scheduling request indicator (SRI) is disclosed. An SRI cycle period for use by user equipment (UE) within a cell is transmitted from a NodeB in a cell to UE within the cell. The NodeB transmits a specific SRI subframe offset and an index value to the particular UE within the cell. The specific SRI subframe offset and the index value enable the UE to determine a unique combination of cyclic shift, RS orthogonal cover, data orthogonal cover, and resource block number for the UE to use as a unique physical resource for an SRI in the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).
US08379504B2	Information storage medium, reproducing method, and recording method According to one embodiment, an information storage medium includes an organic dye material which records information with a light beam having a wavelength equal to or smaller than 620 nm.
US08379502B2	Recording head, method of manufacturing recording head, and information recording and playback apparatus A near-field light generating element has a core that guides a laser light in a direction of a disk while reflecting the laser light, and a cladding that encapsulates the core in an inner portion, and lengths of a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction of an incident side end surface of the laser light in the core are formed so as to match the lengths of a long axis direction and a short axis direction of the laser light that is entered to the core.
US08379500B2	Optical information recording apparatus, optical information recording method, optical information reproducing apparatus and optical information reproducing method An optical information recording/reproducing apparatus and an optical information recording/reproducing method that record information using holography, wherein the optical information recording/reproducing apparatus includes a signal generation unit that generates two-dimensional data by a two-dimensional encoding method in which a lower-limit value of a number of continuous ON/OFF pixels in an array in one direction of pixels in a two-dimensional spatial light modulator is K(K≧2, K: natural number); and a pickup that records the two-dimensional data, generated by the signal generation unit, on a hologram disc.
US08379497B2	Optical disk apparatus Analog components whose characteristics greatly differ from one another are removed as much as possible from an optical disc drive. Provided are means 38, 39 for changing the sampling frequency of a pulsed read signal to a different frequency, means 40, 41 for changing the modulation clock frequency by the same ratio as the sampling frequency, and means for automatically setting the sampling frequency changing means and the modulation clock changing means based on the channel clock.
US08379496B2	Recording device, recording method and program Provided are a recording device, a recording method and a program capable of recording a plurality of types of data files and reproducing, even when data recording is interrupted, data that have been recorded before the interruption. The recording device includes a recording medium control unit 170 for controlling recording and reproduction of data on a recording medium 150 including a data area in which data rows can be recorded as files and a specific area in which management information for the files can be recorded, and a recording control unit 110 for time-divisionally recording, through the recording medium control unit 170, a first data row as a first file and a second data as a second file. The recording control unit 110 reserves an area in the data area and records the first data row in the reserved area in sequence, and when switching from the first data row to the second data row for recording, the recording control unit 110 rewrites the management information corresponding to the end of the first file recorded in the reserved area immediately before the switching such that the first file ends at the end and records the second data row from a location subsequent to the end of the first file in the reserved area.
US08379494B2	Laser-in slider light delivery for heat assisted magnetic recording An apparatus includes a light source for producing a beam of light, a coupler for coupling the light into a slider waveguide, a beam expander for expanding the beam of light from the waveguide to produce an expanded beam, a collimator for collimating the expanded beam, and a focusing device for concentrating the collimated beam to a focal point. A method of delivering light to a focal point is also described.
US08379493B2	Spring loaded driving member for timepiece movement A driving member for a timepiece movement comprises two superimposed coaxial barrels (1, 11) coupled in series, each barrel including a spring provided in a cylindrical housing rotatingly mounted on a common shaft (20). The respective housings (2, 12) of the barrels are positioned opposite each other and do not include a lid, and the springs (7, 17) are separated only by a separation washer (26) or a gap. This arrangement can be used for increasing the height (H) of the springs, and thereby the amount of energy and the power reserve of the watch for an identical global volume of the driving member, or for reducing the total height of the driving member. Such a driving member is particularly intended for watches with a high power reserve.
US08379491B2	Timepiece with dynamic, analogue display of the time A timepiece with a dynamic, analogue display of the time. The timepiece has a first hand which rotates at a first speed and a second hand which rotates at a second speed, wherein the time is displayed with respect to a time unit when the two hands coincide in that the angular position of the coincidence indicates the current time of the time unit viewed on a dial.
US08379488B1	Smart-watch including flip up display A smart-watch can include a wristband, a base, and a flip up portion. The base can be coupled to the wristband and include a housing, a processor, a wireless transceiver, and a tactile user interface. The wireless transceiver can be configured to connect to a wireless network. The tactile user interface can be configured to provide interaction between a user and the smart-watch. The flip up portion can be displaceable between an open position exposing the base and a closed position concealing the base. Further, the flip up portion can include: a top display exposed when the flip up portion is in the closed position, and an inside display opposite the top display. The inside display can be concealed when the flip up portion is in the closed position and be exposed when the flip up portion is in the open position.
US08379487B2	Bottom referenced vibratory sources for shallow water acquisition The described invention relates to seismic acquisition means for use in shallow water marine environments, comprising: (a) a vessel (1) having at least one hull (25); (b) one or more shaker (13) and baseplate (12) assemblies affixed to the vessel by two or more rigid supporting elements (11) adapted to be capable of lowering said assemblies from the vessel hull to a shallow water bottom (14) and of raising said assemblies from the shallow water bottom to the hull; and, wherein each of said assemblies comprise one or more vibrator units mounted on a baseplate that is adapted to rest upon the shallow water bottom and to transmit vibratory signals from the vibrator units into said water bottom. The described invention provides a high-amplitude, broadband seismic signal, provides high data-production rates, couples energy directly into the earth and minimizes damage to the water bottom.
US08379486B2	System and method for detecting bats and their impact on wind facilities The present invention relates to a system and method for detecting bats from a remote location. In one aspect the invention provides a bat detection system comprising an upper detection unit connected to a base computer unit. The upper detection unit can be positioned on a vertical structure, and a second lower detection unit, or additional detection units, can also be positioned on the vertical structure. Each detection unit comprises a housing which is connected to, and contains, an audio detector. The base computer unit is enclosed by a housing and comprises a data processor, a data storage device, and a remote communication interface device. The data processor is operatively connected to the data storage device, remote communication interface device, and the audio detectors of any detection units positioned on the vertical structure. The base computer unit communicates with a remote computer transferring information regarding the bat sounds detected by the detection units.
US08379483B2	Method and apparatus for determining radial shear velocity variation from dipole acoustic logging A radial shear velocity profile of an earth formation is obtained by using dipole and/or cross-dipole measurements. The non-uniqueness in the inversion is addressed by using a constraint based on the fact that high-frequency dipole shear waves are mostly sensitive to the near-borehole shear velocity.
US08379472B2	Semiconductor device and control method of the same The present invention is a semiconductor device including: a resistor R11 (first resistor part) and an FET 15 (second resistor part) connected in series between a power supply Vcc (first power supply) and ground (second power supply); an output node N11 provided between the resistor R11 and FET 15 and used for outputting a reference voltage; a feedback node N12 provided between the power supply Vcc and the ground; and a voltage control circuit (19) that maintains a voltage of the feedback node N12 at a constant level by using the reference voltage of the output node N11 and the voltage of the feedback node N12. The present invention can provide a semiconductor device having a reference voltage generating circuit capable of generating the reference voltage that does not greatly depend on a power supply voltage and its control method.
US08379470B2	Semiconductor memory devices, controllers, and semiconductor memory systems A semiconductor memory system includes a controller and a memory device that are optical-interconnected. The controller includes a control logic configured to generate a control signal for controlling the memory device and a transmitter configured to convert the control signal into an optical signal, and output the optical signal. The memory device includes a receiving unit filter configured to convert the optical signal into an electric signal, and the electric signal based on a supply voltage corresponding to a period of the optical signal or the electric signal.
US08379468B2	Word line fault detection In a memory having a word line driver and a ROM having N bit positions and a plurality of rows in which each row is coupled to a corresponding word line of the word line driver and stores a unique N bit value, a method includes activating, by the word line driver, a selected word line, and, for each bit position, determining whether a value of a true bit line of the bit position is at a same logic state as a value of a complementary bit line of the bit position when the word line driver activates the selected word line. In response to determining that a value of the true bit line is at the same logic state as the value of the complementary bit line for any of the N bit positions, providing a multiple word line fault indicator indicating that multiple word lines are activated simultaneously.
US08379464B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit device A semiconductor device includes a booster circuit and a detector. The booster circuit is configured to boost an input voltage and output an output voltage, and the detector is configured to output the output voltage, which is output from the booster circuit, and control the booster circuit to generate a plurality of different voltages in accordance with an operating mode.
US08379463B2	Bit line precharge voltage generation circuit for semiconductor memory apparatus Various embodiments of a bit line precharge voltage generation circuit for a semiconductor memory apparatus are disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, a bit line precharge voltage generation circuit may include a voltage division block for dividing an internal voltage to generate a first division voltage and a second division voltage, wherein a level of the second division voltage is higher than a level of the first division voltage; a pull-up amplification block for comparing the level of the first division voltage with a level of a bit line precharge voltage on a bit line precharge voltage line, to raise the level of the bit line precharge voltage; and a pull-down amplification block for comparing the level of the second division voltage with the level of the bit line precharge voltage to lower the level of the bit line precharge voltage.
US08379462B2	Memory device having reduced standby current and memory system including same A memory device includes a plurality of banks, a first generator generating standby current in response to a standby signal, and a switching circuit supplying the standby current to at least one of the plurality of banks in response to a plurality of active signals.
US08379457B1	Auto calibration of storage memory controller A flash memory controller includes a controllable delay circuit configured to receive a read strobe signal from a flash memory device and to delay the read strobe signal, a data latch, coupled to the controllable delay circuit, configured to receive the delayed read strobe signal, and to capture data from the flash memory device using the delayed read strobe signal, and a calibration circuit coupled to the controllable delay circuit, configured to instruct the controllable delay circuit to delay the read strobe signal at one of a plurality of delay settings, to receive the captured data from the data latch, to determine an accuracy of the captured data, and to determine an adjustment factor for the controllable delay circuit based on the accuracy of the data captured at the data latch.
US08379456B2	Nonvolatile memory devices having dummy cell and bias methods thereof Provided are nonvolatile memory devices and methods of operating thereof. The nonvolatile memory devices include: dummy cells connected to a dummy bit line; and a dummy bit line bias circuit providing a dummy bit line voltage to the dummy bit line during a program operation, wherein, due to the dummy bit line voltage, at least one of the dummy cells is programmed with a threshold voltage lower than the top programmed state and higher than an erased state during the program operation.
US08379454B2	Detection of broken word-lines in memory arrays Techniques and corresponding circuitry are presented for the detection of broken wordlines in a memory array. An “inter-word-line” comparison where the program loop counts of different word-lines are compared in order to determine whether a word-line may be defective. The number of programming pulses needed for the cells along a word-line WLn is compared to the number needed for a preceding word-line, such as WLn or WL(n−1), to see whether it exceeds this earlier value by a threshold value. If the word-line requires an excessive number of pulses, relative the earlier word-line, to complete programming, it is treated as defective.
US08379453B2	Trench MONOS memory cell and array The MONOS vertical memory cell of the present invention allow miniaturization of the memory cell area. The two embodiments of split gate and single gate provide for efficient program and erase modes as well as preventing read disturb in the read mode.
US08379451B2	Semiconductor memory device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of memory cells, a logic gate chain, and a counter. The memory cells are capable of retaining data and are associated with the columns. The logic gate chain includes a plurality of logic gates associated with the columns. Each of the logical gates outputs a logical level to a next-stage logical gate in the series connection. The logic level indicates presence or absence of verify-failure in the associated column. The counter counts the number of output times of the logic level indicating the presence of the verify-failure in a final-stage logic gate of the series connection. A content indicated by the logic level output from each of the logic gates is inverted at a boundary of the logic gate associated with the column having the verify-failure in the logic gate chain.
US08379448B2	Memory with interleaved read and redundant columns Apparatus and methods are disclosed, such as those involving a flash memory device. One such apparatus includes a memory block including a plurality of columns. Each of the columns includes a bit line and a plurality of memory cells on the bit line. The plurality of columns include a plurality of groups of regular columns and a plurality of groups of redundant columns. The apparatus also includes a plurality of data latches. Each of the data latches is configured to store data read from a respective one group of regular columns. The apparatus further includes a plurality of redundant data latches. Each of the redundant data latches is configured to store data read from a respective one group of redundant columns. The apparatus also includes a multiplexer configured to selectively output data from the plurality of data latches and the plurality of redundant data latches.
US08379444B2	Semiconductor memory device capable of accurate reading even when erasure level changes According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array and a controller. The memory cell array includes first, second, and third memory cells each of which stores k-bit data (where k is a natural number not smaller than 1). The first and second memory cells are adjacent to each other, and the second and third memory cells are adjacent to each other. Data is stored into the memory cells in an order of the first, second, and third memory cells. When reading data from the second memory cells, the controller reads data from the first and third memory cells, and changes read conditions for the second memory cell in accordance with the read data.
US08379436B2	Semiconductor memory device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of memory cells each of which is arranged at the intersection position between a pair of complementary bit lines and a word line, and stores data between a first power supply voltage applied to a first node and a voltage applied to a virtual ground node, and a control circuit which changes the amount of current of the pair of bit lines in accordance with the amplitude of the pair of bit lines for each column in a memory macro, that is formed by arranging the plurality of memory cells in a matrix, in the data read operation of each of the plurality of memory cells.
US08379426B2	Solid state device products, intermediate solid state devices, and methods of manufacturing and testing the same Example embodiments of the inventive concept are directed to solid state device products, intermediate solid state devices, and methods of manufacturing and testing the same, with removable test terminals, which may permit in situ testing of one or more components of the solid state device products.
US08379425B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit device Efficient reduction in power consumption is achieved by combinational implementation of a power cutoff circuit technique using power supply switch control and a DVFS technique for low power consumption. A power supply switch section fed with power supply voltage, a circuit block in which a power cutoff is performed by the power supply switch section, and a level shifter are formed in a DEEP-NWELL region formed over a semiconductor substrate. Another power supply switch section fed with another power supply voltage, a circuit block in which a power cutoff is performed by the power supply switch section, and a level shifter are formed in another DEEP-NWELL region formed over the semiconductor substrate. In this arrangement, there arises no possibility of short-circuiting between different power supplies via each DEEP-NWELL region formed over the semiconductor substrate.
US08379423B2	Power factor correction circuit and driving method thereof The present invention relates to a power factor correction circuit and a driving method thereof.The power factor correction circuit includes: an inductor for receiving an input voltage and supplying output power; a power switch connected to the inductor to control an inductor current flowing through the inductor; an auxiliary conductor coupled to the inductor with a predetermined turn ratio; and a power factor correction controller that controls the output power by controlling the switching operation of the power switch and determines whether or not the output voltage of the output power is an over-voltage. The power factor correction controller generates an input peak voltage corresponding to the peak of the input voltage by using a clamping current for maintaining an auxiliary voltage, which is the both-end voltage of the auxiliary inductor, at a predetermined clamping voltage during the turn-on period of the power switch so as to prevent the auxiliary voltage from becoming a negative voltage, generates a duty voltage corresponding to the duty of the power switch, and determines whether or not the output voltage is an over-voltage according to a result of comparison between the input peak voltage and the duty voltage.
US08379418B2	Power converter start-up circuit A power converter arrangement configured to convert a direct voltage into an alternating voltage to be supplied to a grid includes a photovoltaic generator configured to generate the direct voltage, a voltage intermediate circuit, a main power converter connected in series with a bypass switch, a maximum power point controller configured to set a maximum power point voltage, and at least one voltage-limited additional circuit configured to be active during a start-up phase of the photovoltaic generator. The at least one voltage-limited additional circuit and the main power converter are configured as a voltage divider in parallel with the photovoltaic generator. The at least one voltage-limited additional circuit is configured as a capacitive voltage divider having a first capacitor and an intermediate circuit capacitor connected in series.
US08379411B2	Piezoelectric converter with primary regulation and associated piezoelectric transformer The present invention relates to voltage transformers, comprising multi-layer structures of piezoelectric ceramics, so-called piezoelectric transformers. The present invention further relates to switched mode power supplies, comprising such a piezoelectric transformer as part of a piezoelectric converter. The piezoelectric transformer according to the invention comprises a primary-side electrode arrangement (102) that can be connected to the primary-side voltage, a secondary-side electrode arrangement (104) on which the secondary-side voltage can be tapped, and an auxiliary electrode arrangement (106) for creating an auxiliary electrode voltage proportional to the secondary-side voltage, wherein the auxiliary electrode arrangement (106) is formed by at least two plane electrodes located opposite one another. A circuit arrangement for a switched mode power supply having at least one such piezoelectric transformer (100) comprises a control circuit (114), wherein the auxiliary electrode voltage is added to the control circuit (114) as a control variable for controlling the output voltage of the switched mode power supply.
US08379409B2	Touch panel A touch panel is characterized in that one side of a top panel protrudes beyond a side of a bottom panel, signals of sensing areas or conductive layer on the top panel for sensing capacitive variation or voltage variation are transmitted to a bottom surface of the protruded side, signals of sensing areas or conductive layer on the bottom panel for sensing capacitive variation or voltage variation are transmitted to a bottom surface of the top panel through conductive adhesives and to the bottom surface of the protruded side, and the top panel has a flexible PCB formed on the bottom surface of the protruded side to receive those signals. As the flexible PCB is not sandwiched between the top and bottom panels, all layers of the touch panel can be uniformly and tightly bonded and touch insensitivity caused by air penetration into the touch panel can be prevented.
US08379408B2	Electromagnetic shield structure, wireless device using the structure, and method of manufacturing electromagnetic shield Provided are an electromagnetic shield structure capable of reducing the contamination of electromagnetic noise which is radiated from a digital device into a wireless device, and a wireless apparatus using the electromagnetic shield structure. This structure has a shield function to reduce the influence of the noise radiated from an LSI (102), by a first shield (3) and a second shield (4). An open face (4g) of a first L-shaped structure portion (4a) and an open face (4h) of a second L-shaped structure portion (4b) are opposed to each other. Accordingly, even if the first L-shaped structure portion (4a) and the second L-shaped structure portion (4b) are excited by the LSI (102), the electromagnetic fields radiated from the open faces (4g and 4h) cancel each other out to reduce the radiation of noise from the first L-shaped structure portion (4a) and the second L-shaped structure portion (4b).
US08379403B2	Spacer-connector and circuit board assembly A spacer-connector and connection arrangements between daughter boards and motherboards are disclosed. Assemblies may include a daughter board one or more spacer-connectors spacing the daughter board above a motherboard and conductive elastomers providing electrical connections between the daughter board and spacer-connector and between the spacer-connector and the motherboard. The spacer-connector may include ground, power, digital and/or controlled impedance RF pathways to conduct signals between the daughter board to the mother board.
US08379402B2	Wiring board having lead pin, and lead pin A wiring board having a lead pin is provided. The wiring board having the lead pin includes a connecting pad which is formed on the wiring board, and to which the lead pin is bonded through a conductive material. The lead pin includes: a shaft portion; a head portion which is provided on one end of the shaft portion; a protruded portion which is formed on a surface side of the head portion opposed to the connection pad; and a first taper portion which is formed between the head portion and a base part of the shaft portion.
US08379393B2	Semiconductor memory card with controller chip A semiconductor memory card includes a semiconductor memory, a controller, input/output terminals, resistive elements, first wires, and second wires. The semiconductor memory is mounted on one surface of a substrate. The controller is mounted on the other surface of the substrate and controls the semiconductor memory. The input/output terminals input and output signals to and from the semiconductor memory via the controller. The resistive elements electrically connect input/output terminals to the controller. The first wires connect one-side ends of each of the resistive elements to the controller and each of which has a wire length of 4.0 mm or less. The second wires connect the other-side ends of each of the resistive elements to the input/output terminals.
US08379390B2	Package substrate A package substrate includes a circuit board, an electronic component, an electromagnetic shield cover, and a heat conducting member. The electronic component is disposed on the circuit board. The electromagnetic shield cover is fixedly coupled to the circuit board. The electromagnetic shield cover houses the electronic component within an inside space defined between the electromagnetic shield cover and the circuit board. The heat conducting member is disposed between the electronic component and the electromagnetic shield cover within the inside space. The heat conducting member contacts both of the electronic component and the electromagnetic shield cover such that the heat conducting member establishes a thermal connection between the electronic component and the electromagnetic shield cover.
US08379386B2	Electronic apparatus An electronic apparatus includes the following: a heat dissipation chamber that is formed by liquid tightly separating the inside of a main unit case with a partition, has an inlet air vent and an outlet air vent in the partition, and includes a heat dissipation portion; a cooling fan that is located in the heat dissipation chamber; an inlet that is provided in the main unit case to introduce outside air into the heat dissipation chamber through the inlet air vent; and an outlet that is provided in the main unit case to exhaust an air flow sent from the cooling fan to the outside through the outlet air vent. An air channel that extends from the inlet air vent through a side wall of the main unit case to communicate the heat dissipation chamber with the inlet is liquid tightly sealed from the internal space of the main unit case with a sealing wall. A plurality of plate-shaped ribs are provided in the air channel so as to extend in a flow path direction and arranged in a lateral direction of the inlet air vent. The rigidity of the main unit case can be ensured sufficiently while maintaining the liquid tightness between the inside of the main unit case and the heat dissipation chamber.
US08379383B2	Electronic apparatus According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus includes a housing, a circuit board in the housing, a cooling unit includes a radiator unit on the circuit board, and a cooling fan connected to the radiator unit and supported outside the circuit board in a floating state, a keyboard on a top wall of the housing, opposed to the circuit board and the cooling fan, a first supporting member disposed between the cooling fan and the keyboard and configured to support the keyboard when a key is depressed, and a second supporting member disposed between the cooling fan and a bottom wall of the housing and configured to support the cooling fan when a key is depressed. At least one of the first and second supporting members is formed of an elastic material.
US08379382B2	Docking station A holder for an oblong-shaped device is provided. The holder can be a docking station for a media device and a keyboard. The holder can include a mounting tray and a mounting bracket assembly arranged on the mounting tray. The mounting bracket assembly can be configured such that the oblong-shaped device is securable to the mounting tray in both (i) a first position where a longitudinal axis of the oblong-shaped device extends substantially horizontally, and (ii) a second position where the longitudinal axis of the oblong-shaped device extends substantially vertically while the mounting tray is kept in a substantially upright position.
US08379379B2	Fixing mechanism and electronic device having the same A fixing mechanism includes a positioning frame for mounting a data access device thereto and including two opposite sidewalls each having two spaced-apart through holes, a plurality of shockproof elements each extending through and being retained in a respective through hole and including a passage, and two positioning rods for positioning the data access device therebetween. The passages of the shockproof elements are adapted to correspond in position with the positioning holes. Each positioning rod includes a main body portion, and two insert portions formed respectively at two opposite ends of the main body portion. Each insert portion extends through the passage of one of the shockproof elements, and is adapted to extend into a respective positioning hole. The shockproof elements are adapted to abut against the data access device when the data access device is positioned between the positioning rods.
US08379377B2	Electronic device with at least one extendable display section An electronic device (1) is described that comprises a flexible display (9) with at least two extendable display sections (6,7), each display section being movable to an extended position and supported by an associated hold out mechanism (3,4). The electronic device comprises a further display section (9a) and a main body (2), with a window area (5) supporting part of the display (9), in the extended position. The display sections (6,7) extend outwardly from the main body (2) from different sides of the window area (5) and form one continuous wide screen display panel (9) with the further section (9a).
US08379375B2	Power source circuit shut off device A power source circuit shut off device includes a plug having a terminal metal fitting and a housing to which the terminal metal fitting is attached, and a plug attachment section having a second terminal metal fitting and a second housing to which the second terminal metal fitting is attached. The housing has a second opening section at its side face perpendicular to its bottom face at a second housing side, the second opening section being adapted for attaching the terminal metal fitting to the housing. The terminal metal fitting and the second terminal metal fitting are connected to the second housing. The second housing has a closing wall which closes the second opening section in a state that the housing is positioned at the terminal contact position at which the housing is not yet accommodated in the second housing.
US08379370B2	Composite material, capacitor using the same, and their production methods A composite material (A) includes a porous sintered body (12) and an insulation film (2) which covers the porous sintered body (12). The porous sintered body (12) is made of a combination of a metal element (12a) which has a melting temperature not lower than 1600° C., and a nonmetal element (12b, 12c). The insulation film (2) includes the nonmetal element (12b, 12c) and N.
US08379365B2	Metal oxide metal capacitor with slot vias A capacitor includes the first electrode including the first conductive lines and vias. The first conductive lines on the same layer are parallel to each other and connected to a first periphery conductive line. The first conductor lines are aligned in adjacent layers and are coupled to each other by the vias. The capacitor further includes a second electrode aligned opposite to the first electrode including second conductive lines and vias. The second conductive lines on the same layer are parallel to each other and connected to a second periphery conductive line. The second conductor lines are aligned in adjacent layers and are coupled to each other by the vias. The capacitor further includes oxide layers formed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The vias have rectangular (slot) shapes on a layout. In one embodiment, the conductive lines and vias are metal, e.g. copper, aluminum, or tungsten.
US08379362B2	Electrical circuit having a means for signaling Indicating apparatus for indicating the operating state of a component of an electrical load protection system, including a housing containing a longitudinal chamber, an indicating member mounted for longitudinal displacement in the chamber, a resilient device normally biasing the indicating member toward a first end of the housing, a catch arrangement for retaining the indicating member in a retracted position adjacent the housing second end; and a release device responsive to a trouble voltage pulse for operating the catch arrangement to a released condition, thereby to release the indicating member for displacement toward an indicating position adjacent the housing first end. At least the first end of the housing is transparent, thereby to provide a visual indication when the indicating member is in the indicating position. Switch contacts are operable between open and closed conditions when the indicating member is displaced between the indicating and retracted positions.
US08379357B2	Resistance determining system for over voltage protection circuit A resistance determining system for an over voltage protection (OVP) circuit, includes an external power source, a microcontroller, a digital rheostat and a display unit. The external power source supplies an external voltage to the OVP circuit. The microcontroller stores an over voltage value. The microcontroller is connected to the external power source and configured to detect the external voltage and compare the external voltage with the over voltage value. The digital rheostat is connected to the microcontroller and includes a first rheostat having two connection terminals respectively connected to two first connection ends of the OVP circuit. The microcontroller adjusts the first rheostat to be a first resistance value to activate the OVP circuit when the external voltage is substantially equal to the over voltage value. The display unit is connected to the microcontroller and configured to display the first resistance value.
US08379353B2	Method for detecting earth-fault conditions in a motor controller The present invention relates to a method for determining the existence of an earth-fault on-the-fly and thereby protecting a motor controller having a high- and a low-side DC-link, and having high- and low-side switching elements, the high- and low-side switching elements being operatively connected to the high- and low-side DC-link buses, respectively, the method comprising the steps of generating a fault signal, generating at least one test vector in response to the fault signal by switching at least one of the switching elements on, and measuring, while the at least one switching element is on, the magnitude of a current flowing in that DC-link operatively connected to the conducting switching element in order to detect an earth-fault. The present invention further relates to additional methods for on-the-fly determination of earth-faults.
US08379352B1	Thermagnonic spin-torque oscillator(STO) and sensor utilizing same to detect shifts in the free layer magnetization oscillation frequency A “thermagnonic” spin-torque oscillator (STO) uses heat flow alone to cause the spin-torque (ST) effect and generate the persistent oscillation of the free layer magnetization. In addition to the conventional free and reference layers, the thermagnonic STO also includes a magnetic oxide layer having a fixed in-plane magnetization, a ferromagnetic metallic layer on one surface of the magnetic oxide layer, a nonmagnetic electrically conductive layer between the free layer and the metallic layer, and an electrically resistive heater on the other surface of the magnetic oxide layer. Due to the thermagnonic effect, heat flow from the magnetic oxide layer through the metallic layer, conductive layer and free layer ultimately results in a spin transfer torque (STT) to the free layer. Electrical sense current flowing in the opposite direction as the heat flow is used to monitor the frequency of oscillation of the free layer magnetization.
US08379351B2	Magneto-resistance effect element, and method for manufacturing the same An example magneto-resistance effect element includes a fixed magnetization layer of which a magnetization is substantially fixed in one direction; a free magnetization layer of which a magnetization is rotated in accordance with an external magnetic field and which is formed opposite to the fixed magnetization layer; and a spacer layer including a current confining layer with an insulating layer and a conductor to pass a current through the insulating layer in a thickness direction thereof and which is located between the fixed magnetization layer and the free magnetization layer. A thin film layer is located on a side opposite to the spacer layer relative to the free magnetization layer and a functional layer containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Si, Mg, B, Al is formed in or on at least one of the fixed magnetization layer, the free magnetization layer and the thin film layer.
US08379350B2	CPP-type magnetoresistive element including spacer layer An MR element includes a first ferromagnetic layer, a second ferromagnetic layer, and a spacer layer disposed between the first and second ferromagnetic layers. The spacer layer includes a nonmagnetic metal layer, a first oxide semiconductor layer, and a second oxide semiconductor layer that are stacked in this order. The nonmagnetic metal layer is made of Cu, and has a thickness in the range of 0.3 to 1.5 nm. The first oxide semiconductor layer is made of a Ga oxide semiconductor, and has a thickness in the range of 0.5 to 2.0 nm. The second oxide semiconductor layer is made of a Zn oxide semiconductor, and has a thickness in the range of 0.1 to 1.0 nm.
US08379348B2	Fly capable slider test socket The present application is directed to a slider supporting apparatus for flying a slider of a hard disk drive in the manufacturing process to provide electrical performance characteristics. The present invention discloses an integrated design including the electrical interconnect, the gimballing mechanism, the preload mechanism and the slider supporting mechanism integrated into a single supporting structure.
US08379347B2	Perpendicular shield pole writer with tapered main pole and tapered non-magnetic top shaping layer A PMR writer with a tapered main pole layer and tapered non-magnetic top-shaping layer is disclosed that minimizes trailing shield saturation. A second non-magnetic top shaping layer may be employed to reduce the effective TH size while the bulk of the trailing shield is thicker to allow a larger process window for back end processing. A sloped surface with one end at the ABS and a second end 0.05 to 0.3 microns from the ABS is formed at a 10 to 80 degree angle to the ABS and includes a sloped surface on the upper portion of the main pole layer and on the non-magnetic top shaping layer. An end is formed on the second non-magnetic top shaping layer at the second end of the sloped surface followed by forming a conformal write gap layer and then depositing the trailing shield on the write gap layer and along the ABS.
US08379345B2	Spindle motor having dynamic pressure fluid bearing for use in a storage disk drive A spindle motor includes a stationary portion and a rotating portion. The stationary portion preferably includes a shaft portion, an upper thrust portion, and an outer tubular portion. The rotating portion preferably includes an inner tubular portion, a flange portion, an upper hub annular portion, and a lower hub annular portion. The flange portion includes a communicating hole. An upper surface of a lubricating oil is located in a fifth gap defined between an upper thrust portion and an upper hub annular portion, while a lower surface of the lubricating oil is located in a sixth gap defined between an outer tubular portion and a lower hub annular portion. The communicating hole and a space extending from the fifth gap to the sixth gap through a fourth gap, a first gap, a second gap, and a third gap are continuously filled with the lubricating oil.
US08379343B2	Tape storage slot A slot for releasably storing a tape cartridge is disclosed. The slot comprises an enlargeable receiving portion for releasable insertion of the tape cartridge and a plate for supporting the tape cartridge in the slot. At least a portion of the plate is moveable for enlarging the receiving portion.
US08379342B2	Magnetic recording disk drive with rotational vibration compensation having adaptive optimization of vibration sensor gains A disk drive and a method for operating the disk drive compensates for rotational vibration (RV) by adaptively modifying the gains of two separate linear vibration sensors so the sensor gains are optimal under any given condition. The two sensors provide two signals S1, S2, respectively, to the disk drive's servo control processor that generates the control signal to the voice coil motor (VCM) actuator that controls the positioning of the read/write head. The processor uses S1, S2 and the head position error signal (PES) as inputs to run an adaptive RV feedforward (RVFF) algorithm. The adaptive RVFF algorithm takes the PES and sensor outputs S1 and S2 as inputs, mathematically determines the required correction to the sensor gain factors k1 and k2, respectively, and then adjusts the gain factors k1 and k2 accordingly. Each signal S1, S2 is then modified by its adjusted gain factor k1, k2, respectively. The difference in the modified S1, S2 signals is the RVFF signal that is summed with the control signal to generate the RV-compensated control signal to the VCM actuator.
US08379330B2	Lens frame radially-displacing mechanism of retractable photographic lens A lens frame radially-displacing mechanism of a retractable photographic lens, includes a photographing optical system; a linearly advancing/retreating ring guided linearly in an optical axis direction; a radially-displaceable support frame pivoted parallel to the optical axis, supports a radially-displaceable optical element and rotates between an on-axis position and an off-axis displaced position when the retractable photographic lens moves between the ready-to-photograph state and the retracted state; a rear support frame supporting a rear optical element; and a distance controller which controls approaching positions of the displaceable support frame and the rear support frame. The distance controller includes an approaching-position limiter which limits movements of the displaceable support frame and the rear support frame to a predetermined distance when the displaceable support frame moves rearward, and a distance extender which extends the predetermined distance when the displaceable support frame rotates toward the off-axis displaced position.
US08379322B2	Integrated asphere design for display A projection display system and method is provided. One or more light sources, such as solid state lasers, generates light of various colors that is modulated by a spatial light modulator, such as a digital micro-mirror device. The projection optics of the system include a telecentric rear group of lenses followed by a pair of aspheric lenses formed of a continuous piece of material. A folding mirror, such as a single-piece or multi-piece angular mirror, is disposed along the optical path between the aspheric lenses, to reduce the depth of the enclosure, and an aspheric mirror projects the image onto a projection screen. A folding mirror may be used after the aspheric mirror to further reduce the depth of the enclosure.
US08379319B2	Zoom lens, optical apparatus and method for manufacturing zoom lens The zoom lens Z1 having, in order from an object, a first lens group G1 having positive refractive power, a second lens group G2 having negative refractive power, a third lens group G3 having positive refractive power, and a fourth lens group G4 having positive refractive power, wherein the conditional expression 2.70
US08379317B2	Zoom lens system, imaging device and camera A zoom lens system comprising: a front unit having negative optical power as a whole and including a first lens unit located closest to the object side; and a rear unit having positive optical power as a whole, wherein at least the front unit moves along an optical axis in zooming, the first lens unit is composed of at most three lens elements, the rear unit includes a lens unit having an aperture diaphragm between lens elements, an air space between which is not varied in zooming, a sub lens unit comprising a part of a lens unit constituting the rear unit moves in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, and the condition: 0.172°, FNOW<2.9, BF is a back focal length of the entire system at a wide-angle limit, fW is a focal length of the entire system at a wide-angle limit, ωW is a view angle at a wide-angle limit, FNOW is an F-number at a wide-angle limit) is satisfied; an imaging device; and a camera are provided.
US08379306B2	Magnification-varying optical device The invention relates to improving optical properties of optical instruments with variable magnification, such as zoom binoculars, reducing the weight thereof, and enabling the user to change magnifications quickly. The invention provides an optical instrument with a focal length-varying lens 4 disposed on the optical axis between an objective lens 7 and an eyepiece 3, further having an adjusting lens 5 for adjusting optical properties when the focal length-varying lens is in an area to provide high magnification. The adjusting lens is supported so that it is capable of moving between a location on the optical axis and a location off the path of light beams. Interlocked with a magnification-varying mechanism that controls the position of the focal length-varying lens, the adjusting lens is moved to the on-the-axis location when the focal length-varying lens is in an area to provide high magnification, and to the off-the-axis location when low magnification.
US08379305B2	Observation unit The observation unit according to the present invention comprises an observation device observing a sample, a placing table on which the sample is placed, a drive device moving the placing table to an observation position where the sample is observed by the observation device, and a casing sealing a first space extending in a vertical direction. The first space and the placing table are arranged so as to be displaced from each other in a horizontal direction, and the drive device is arranged in the first space.
US08379304B2	Dark field microscope and its adjusting method A dark field microscope is capable of providing illumination with a long focal distance condenser lens having a low numerical aperture without the need for a diaphragm for an objective lens. A method is provided for effectively adjusting its optical axis. In particular embodiments, the dark field microscope includes; a light source for emitting illumination light; a light collecting optical system including a light collecting side condenser lens for collecting the illumination light from the light source to illuminate an observation sample; and an image forming optical system including an objective lens for receiving scattered light from the observation sample to form a magnified image of the sample, the light collecting side condenser lens is a long focal distance lens, and a light shielding member for shielding the illumination light is provided on a back focal plane or at an image forming center of it in the image forming optical system.
US08379303B2	Microscope system and observation control method An electric zoom consecutively changes a magnification for a sample within a magnification changeable range. An electric revolver switches an objective lens placed in an observation optical path to intermittently change the magnification for the sample. A control section calculates a total magnification based on the magnification provided by the electric zoom and the magnification of the objective lens currently placed in the observation optical path. The control section controls the electric revolver such that the objective lens placed in the observation optical path is switched when the magnification changed in response to the operation of causing the magnification of the electric zoom to be changed falls outside the magnification changeable range of the electric zoom.
US08379302B2	Infrared light distribution pattern control using object detection and electrowetting devices A system for controlling an infrared light distribution pattern that includes an electrowetting lens arranged proximate to an infrared light source, and operable to vary a distribution pattern of infrared light from the infrared light source into an area; an electrowetting shutter overlaying the electrowetting lens, and operable to an opaque state where infrared light from the infrared light source is blocked from projecting into at least a portion of the area, and operable to a transparent state where infrared light passes through the electrowetting shutter; an object detector configured to detect an object in the area; and a controller configured to receive a detection signal from the object detector, and operate the electrowetting lens and the electrowetting shutter in order to control the infrared light distribution pattern based on a location of the object. The pattern may be uniform or may be customized for the object being heated.
US08379300B2	Wavelength-variable light source with dual resonator loop circuit A wavelength-variable light source according to the present invention includes 2×2 3-dB directional coupler 3, closed loop-type optical circuit 5, at least two resonators 1 and 2, and optical amplifier 4. The closed loop-type optical circuit 5 is formed by connecting ends of the two output paths of 3-dB directional coupler 3. The resonators 1 and 2 have different resonance wavelength periods. One end of optical amplifier 4 is optically connected to one input path end 6 of 3-dB directional coupler 3. Lasing light is output from the other end of the optical amplifier 4. A non-reflecting structure is formed at the other input path end 7 of the 3-dB directional coupler. The wavelength-variable light source configured as described above includes an element configured to vary the resonance wavelength of the resonator 1 or 2.
US08379297B2	Wavelength swept light source and filter based on sweep function, and its method of operation Methods and apparatus for the active control of a wavelength-swept light source used to interrogate optical elements having characteristic wavelengths distributed across a wavelength range are provided.
US08379293B2	Method and apparatus for modulating light An apparatus for modulating light includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a sealed enclosure. The first electrode includes a frequency selective surface operable to reflect light having a first wavelength, and the second electrode is spaced apart from the first electrode. The sealed enclosure stores electrophoretic fluid and at least a portion of the sealed enclosure is positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode. A plurality of particles are suspended in the electrophoretic fluid. The particles are capable of absorbing light having the first wavelength. In addition, the first electrode is capable of attracting the particles towards the frequency selective surface when an electrical bias is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode.
US08379292B2	Digital binary MEMS wavefront control A phase screen, i.e., an opto-electronic device that can convert a distorted incoming optical wavefront into a plane wave or, conversely, transform a plane wave into a prescribed varying output wavefront. Binary all-digital MEMS interferometer configurations that can be used to create controlled and arbitrary optical wavefront using only 0,1 amplitude changes followed by differential propagation distances to convert these amplitude variations into controllable and/or continuous phase variations. Clustered pixel notions, such as Floyd-Steinberg, Stucki or other algorithms useful in digital half-tone printing, are simultaneously employed to create controllable grey-level variations as well as continuous phase variations. Desired grey-levels can be obtained wherein each pixel is formed by, e.g., a 3×3 or 5×5 cluster of mirrors. Both the filling-in of the outputs of the binary mirror (0,1) and the grey-levels are accomplished simply by spatial averaging over a short propagation distance.
US08379289B2	Rearview mirror assembly for vehicle An electrochromic interior reflective element for an interior rearview mirror assembly of a vehicle includes front and rear substrates and an electrochromic medium sandwiched between the front and rear substrates. The electrochromic medium is disposed in an interpane cavity established between a third surface of the rear substrate and a second surface of said the substrate, and the electrochromic medium is bounded by a perimeter seal. A conductive layer is disposed at a fourth surface of the rear substrate. A non-conductive layer covers a covered portion of the conductive layer and leaves an exposed portion of the conductive layer exposed. An electronic circuitry component is disposed at the fourth surface of the rear substrate. The electronic circuitry component is electrically connected to the exposed portion of the conductive layer.
US08379285B1	Radio frequency self-regenerated locked optical oscillator Apparatus, systems, and methods to construct and operate a radio frequency self-regenerated locked optical oscillator can be used in a variety of applications. Stable synchronization of an optical oscillator can be achieved by driving an amplitude modulator with a radio frequency (RF) signal regenerated from the cavity of the optical oscillator. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
US08379277B2	Adjusting the speed of a scanner motor in an image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes a scanner motor and a rotary polygonal mirror which is driven by the scanner motor to rotate, and reflects a modulated beam emitted from a light source by a plurality of reflection surfaces. The image forming apparatus includes a rotation and carrier unit which, while rotating, carries an image formed on the basis of a laser beam reflected by the rotary polygonal mirror, a speed detection unit which detects a rotation speed of the rotation and carrier unit. The image forming apparatus includes a tracking characteristic detection unit which detects a tracking delay of the scanner motor from a target rotation speed and a control unit which controls, on the basis of the rotation speed detected by the speed detection unit and a tracking characteristic detected by the tracking characteristic detection unit, a rotation speed of the scanner motor that drives the rotary polygonal mirror.
US08379274B2	Image processing apparatus and its method An unnatural color change which occurs when combining trapping and spatial filter processing is suppressed. When image data is input, it is determined whether to perform trapping at the position of the pixel of interest of the input image data, and trapping is performed for the input image data. In addition, spatial filter processing is performed for the pixel of interest of the input data, an output of the trapping and that of the filter processing are weighted, and image data to be output is calculated.
US08379273B2	Image processing apparatus and image processing method In a halftone image after halftone processing, significant dot values within a reference window that encompasses a pixel of interest are accumulated, and by referring to a conversion table based on the accumulated values, a multilevel pixel value that corresponds to that pixel of interest is restored. At this time, the size of the reference window is determined such that a product of a bit depth in the halftone processing and the number of pixels within the reference window becomes a minimum value that exceeds the number of tones in a multilevel image after restoration.
US08379272B2	Image processing device, image processing method and remote-scan image processing system using the same In the image processing device, method and system of the present invention, a destination identifier of an image file is stored, the destination identifier indicating one of a plurality of external stations as a destination station which receives the image file from the image processing device through a network. At least one of a sender identifier of the image file, a subject identifier of the image file and a scan condition of the image file is stored. The image file is transmitted, together with at least one of the sender identifier, the subject identifier and the scan condition, through the network to one of the external stations indicated by the stored destination identifier.
US08379269B2	Image forming apparatus and image forming method for correcting registration deviation Since a less-than-one-pixel-basis correction and a one-pixel-basis correction are constantly performed on an image after halftoning, unevenness in density disadvantageously occur depending on a halftoning method. According to the halftoning method, whether the less-than-one-pixel-basis correction is performed on a continuous tone image or the one-pixel-basis correction is performed on a halftone image is switched. The one-pixel-basis correction is constantly performed on the halftone image.
US08379268B2	Image enlargement method, image enlargement apparatus, and image forming apparatus Virtual pixels not included in input image data are arranged before a first input pixel and after a last input pixel of an input pixel array, respectively. A position of a first output pixel is determined so that a difference between a position of the first input pixel and the position of the first output pixel equals a difference between a position of the last input pixel and a position of a last output pixel. Pixel data of an output pixel before the first input pixel is interpolated based on pixel data of the virtual pixel before the first input pixel and pixel data of the first input pixel. Pixel data of an output pixel after the last input pixel is interpolated based on pixel data of the virtual pixel arranged after the last input pixel and pixel data of the last input pixel.
US08379267B2	Method to retrieve a gamut mapping strategy What is disclosed is a novel system and method for retrieving a gamut mapping for a color device. A ray-based model is derived from a system estimation of either a seed profile or a seed device. The model is hard coded inside a run-time ICC profile creation algorithm. The runtime profile generation code can be optimized for a variety of gamut mapping scenarios. The generated profile is provided to an imaging system wherein out-of-gamut colors are mapped to the color gamut of the host device. The present method provides an accurate way to reproduce colors of images by retrieving the gamut mapping from profiles or from the color device that use destination profiles for rendering images.
US08379262B2	Method, apparatus, and program for generating bitmap data In image processing including a PDL processing in which a display list is generated from PDL data described in a page description language (PDL), and a RIP processing in which bitmap data is generated by rendering the display list, before starting the PDL processing on the PDL data, it is determined to generate a display list with overlap removed in the PDL processing when a prediction of the load on the RIP processing is larger than that on the PDL processing, and to generate a display list without overlap removed when the prediction of the load on the PDL processing is larger than that on the RIP processing. According to the present invention, it is possible to quickly and easily balance the load of PDL processing and the load of RIP processing, thereby realizing efficient pipeline processing.
US08379257B2	System operating under web environment and method of controlling the same In a system operating under a Web environment in which a service providing server controls the provision of services with operating a Web server and a client apparatus provides service with operating a Web browser are connected via a network. The service providing server stores the history of a job with a reference destination address, and determines the status when a job status has changed, determines differing reference destination addresses to be included in the history based on the determined status, creates a file to be used to distribute updated information including the reference destination address from the history, and transmits the file to the Web browser. This arrangement enables the system providing a service in a browser-based environment and on the WWW platform to operate under a Web environment where it is possible to notify a user of an error independently of the status of a job.
US08379254B2	Image communication apparatus, image communication method, and computer program product An image-data receiving unit receives image data from other image communication apparatus. A storing unit stores therein the image data. An output unit outputs the image data stored in the storing unit. A reading unit reads the image data output by the output unit. An extracting unit extracts a difference between the image data read by the reading unit and the image data stored in the storing unit. A determining unit determines whether the difference extracted by the extracting unit satisfies a predetermined condition. A control unit controls a transmission of a message to other image communication apparatus based on a result of determination by the determining unit.
US08379252B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium for storing program An information processing apparatus configured to generate a print job to execute bookbinding printing is provided. The information processing apparatus includes an identifying unit configured to identify a position of a pre-printed sheet where a page to be arranged on a background image of the pre-printed sheet is printed at the time of execution of the bookbinding printing, a selecting unit configured to select the pre-printed sheet to be used in the bookbinding printing from a plurality of different pre-printed sheets set in the printer so that data indicating content of the page to be arranged on the background image of the pre-printed sheet is printed at the position identified by the identifying unit, and a generating unit configured to generate the print job so that the printer prints the data using the pre-printed sheet selected by the selecting unit.
US08379251B2	Image forming system and image forming apparatus An image forming system for obtaining a counter value of a requested event comprises an image forming apparatus storing counter reference sequence data and counter values and a terminal apparatus specifying event types for the counter values using the counter reference sequence data and obtaining the counter value of the requested event type.
US08379240B2	Information processing apparatus, printing apparatus, information processing system, print processing method, storage medium, and program When a printer starts a printing operation using a rolled sheet having IC chips, it is determined whether an error occurred while an IC chip writing device writes information to the IC chips. First page information specifying a page region in which an error occurred and second page information specifying a page region which has been subjected to the printing operation using the printer at a time of occurrence of the error are transmitted to a host computer. Then, recovery information generated using the host computer is obtained, and a print restarting position of a recording medium is controlled so that an information writing position at the time of occurrence of the error corresponds to a position in which the printing operation is restarted. Thereafter, the printing operation is restarted from the printing restarting position in accordance with the recovery information.
US08379234B2	Document data and recommended information processing apparatus, document data and recommended information processing system and recording medium A document data processing apparatus comprising: an obtaining portion for obtaining transmitted document data; a giving portion for giving the obtained document data multiple pieces of recommended information to recommend an operation when outputting; and a transmitting portion for transmitting document data to a destination, the document data carrying multiple pieces of given recommended information.
US08379231B2	Display-integrated image forming apparatus A display apparatus that has a display screen visible from a back face or a side face of an image forming apparatus is disposed on at least one side face of an image forming apparatus case.
US08379228B1	Apparatus for measuring thin film refractive index and thickness with a spectrophotometer A device is provided that can be inserted into a spectrophotometer, in order to measure the thickness and refractive index of a thin film that is on a sample plate. A pair of identical parallelogram prisms diverts the spectrophotometer beam to measure the attenuated total reflection, and returns an output beam that is in the original beam path, independent of wavelength and rotation angle. The attenuated total reflection of the thin film sample plate is measured in a prism coupling geometry, as a function of wavelength and angle. From this data, combined with normal incidence transmission data, the thickness and refractive index can be extracted.
US08379226B2	Optical position detection apparatus and display apparatus having position detection function An apparatus for optically detecting an object position includes: position detection light sources irradiating light onto the object; a light guide plate receiving the light and emitting it onto a detection area to form an intensity distribution in the detection area; a light detector having light receiving portions receiving the light reflected by the object; and a signal processing portion detecting the object position based on the intensity distribution, wherein light incident portions receiving the light and side portions except for the light incident portions are provided on outer periphery side portions of the light guide plate, a light emission surface emitting the light incident from the light incident portions toward the detection area is provided on a plane portion of the light guide plate, and at least a portion of the side portions is an anti-reflection surface.
US08379224B1	Prismatic alignment artifact A prismatic alignment artifact includes an artifact body having a prismatic shape.
US08379220B2	Imaging and measuring apparatus for surface and internal interface of object The present invention provides an imaging and measuring apparatus for the surface and the internal interface of an object, which comprises a broadband wave source, a wave-splitting structure, a wave-delaying device, a reflecting component, and a sensor. The broadband wave source transmits a broadband incident wave. The wave-splitting structure splits the broadband incident wave into a first incident beam, a second incident beam, and a third incident beam. The first incident beam is illuminated on an object under test, which reflects a measuring beam. The wave-delaying device receives the second incident beam and reflects a reference beam. The reflecting component receives the third incident beam and reflects a calibration beam. The sensor receives a first interference signal of the measuring beam and the reference beam, and a second interference signal of the reference beam and the calibration beam. By means of the broadband incident wave, the morphologies of the surface and the internal interface of the object can be imaged and measured in a non-destructive way. In addition, by means of the calibration beam, the accuracy of imaging and measuring the surface and the internal interface of the object can be improved.
US08379219B2	Compound interferometer with monolithic measurement cavity A compound common-path interferometer including first and second measurement arms for measuring a test object is arranged so that a reference optic of the first measurement arm is disconnected from a remainder of the first measurement arm and a coupling between the reference optics of the first and second measurement arms forms a monolithic measurement cavity for maintaining reference surfaces of the reference optics at a fixed spacing and orientation. Separate supports are provided for the monolithic measurement cavity and the remainder of the first measurement arm.
US08379218B2	Fiber-based interferometer system for monitoring an imaging interferometer Apparatus include a microscope including an objective and a stage for positioning a test object relative to the objective, the stage being moveable with respect to the objective, and a sensor system, that includes a sensor light source, an interferometric sensor configured to receive light from the sensor light source, to introduce an optical path difference (OPD) between a first portion and a second portion of the light, the OPD being related to a distance between the objective lens and the stage, and to combine the first and second portions of the light to provide output light, a detector configured to detect the output light from the interferometric sensor, a fiber waveguide configured to direct light between the sensor light source, the interferometric sensor and the detector, a tunable optical cavity in a path of the light from the sensor light source and the interferometric sensor, and an electronic controller in communication with the detector, the electronic controller being configured to determine information related to the OPD based on the detected output light.
US08379213B2	Analytic device with 2D scanning mirror reader This invention provides methods of array reading and readers of assay result arrays wherein light can be scanned onto analytical region array members from a light source and/or light can be scanned from array members to a detector. One or more mirrors can have one of more pivotable axes enabling scanning light paths to be established between assay result arrays and other components of an analytical device.
US08379212B2	Plasmonic droplet, method and apparatus for preparing the same, detection method using plasmonic droplet Disclosed herein is an innovative plasmonic droplet including a droplet of fluid, a detection-target material which is in the droplet of fluid, and a nanoplasmon probe which is on a surface of the droplet of fluid and/or in the droplet of fluid. The plasmonic droplet may be applied for plasmon based optical sensing techniques, for example, for ultrasensitive analysis of bacteria, pathogen, etc.
US08379211B2	Apparatus for sensing precipitation density of sludge in waste water treatment tank and method therefor The present invention relates to an apparatus for sensing precipitation density of sludge in a wastewater treatment tank, more particularly to an apparatus and method for precisely taking density of sludge precipitated in a wastewater treatment tank without being contaminated by sludge. The present invention of an apparatus for sensing precipitation density of sludge in a waste water treatment tank comprises a container which is tube-shaped with a bottom thereof open and submerged in wastewater as filled with gas therein; and a sensor which is installed in the space in the container, and senses sludge density as not directly contacting with wastewater.
US08379207B2	Method and apparatus for estimating a fluid property Apparatus and method for estimating a fluid property include an optic member having a material within the optic member responsive to the fluid property. A detector is operably associated with the optic member that detects a change in the material, the change being indicative of the fluid property.
US08379205B2	Optical arrangement for determining the concentration of a substance in a fluid An arrangement for determining concentration of substances in a fluid comprising a light source for generating primary light pulses within a wavelength interval, a light pulse splitter adapted to split up the primary light pulses into a predetermined number of secondary light pulses to be transmitted through the fluid, the secondary light pulses being separated in time as well as wavelength to be differently absorbed upon passage of the fluid depending on the concentration of the substances, a detector for detecting intensity of the differently absorbed secondary light pulses, and a comparator for comparing the intensities of the differently absorbed secondary light pulses with different reference intensities corresponding to different substances to thereby determine the concentration of the substances in the fluid.
US08379204B1	System and method for automatic laser beam alignment A method makes a discrete adjustment to static alignment of a laser beam in a machine for selectively irradiating conductive links on or within a semiconductor substrate using the laser beam. The laser beam propagates along a beam path having an axis extending from a laser to a laser beam spot at a location on or within the semiconductor substrate. The method generates, based on at least one measured characteristic of the laser beam, at least one signal to control an adjustable optical element of the machine affecting the laser beam path. The method also sends said at least one signal to the adjustable optical element. The method then adjusts the adjustable optical element in response to said at least one signal so as to improve static alignment of the laser beam path axis.
US08379197B2	Spectroscopic systems and methods for classifying and pharmaceutically treating cells A system and method to distinguish normal cells from cells having undergone a biochemical change. A pre-determined vector space is selected where the vector space mathematically describes a first plurality of reference spectral data sets for normal cells and a second plurality of reference spectral data sets for cells having undergone a biochemical change. A sample is irradiated to generate a target spectral data set based on photons absorbed, reflected, emitted, or scattered by the sample. The target spectral data set is transformed into a pre-determined vector space. A distribution of transformed data is analyzed in the pre-determined vector space. Based on the analysis, the sample is classified as containing normal cells, cells having undergone a biochemical change, and combinations thereof. The method includes treating the sample with a pharmaceutical agent prior to irradiating the sample and using the classification to assess the efficiency of the pharmaceutical agent.
US08379191B2	Scanner system and method for registering surfaces The invention relates to a method for registering surfaces, using a scanner system comprising a radiation source for emitting electromagnetic radiation (ES), a scanning device for guiding the radiation over the surface in order to scan the latter and a receiver for receiving the radiation (RS) that is reflected by the surface. According to the invention, the radiation is spectrally separated to analyze the surface characteristics and a distance measuring unit is used to derive distance information in parallel from the received radiation.
US08379190B2	Resonant scanner for 3D mapping A system, apparatus, and method are disclosed for a resonant scanner for three-dimensional (3D) mapping. The system, apparatus, and method employ a small, lightweight articulating device that performs as a 3D Laser Detection and Ranging (LADAR) laser from a moving scanner platform in a way that provides geolocation and takes advantage of mechanical resonance to amplify motion in the tilt axis. The device is used to map terrain in 3D space. The disclosed method involves resonating the scanner platform of the device with a spring about a pivot. The method further involves determining with a position sensor the tilt position and/or resonance rate of the scanner platform. Further, the method involves applying torque with an actuator to the scanner platform, and controlling with a controller the resonance of the scanner platform.
US08379189B2	Stage device, exposure apparatus, exposure method and device manufacturing method A stage apparatus includes a table member which holds a first object; a liquid recovery port which is provided on the table member and via which a first liquid is recovered; a first flow passage which is formed in the table member, which is connected to the liquid recovery port, and through which a second liquid flows to adjust a temperature of the table member; and a pressure-adjusting device which adjusts a pressure of the first flow passage. The stage apparatus is capable of suppressing the temperature change which would be otherwise caused by the heat of vaporization. An exposure apparatus including the stage apparatus is provided.
US08379186B2	Pattern formation apparatus, pattern formation method, and device manufacturing method When a segmented region SAi of a sheet S is scan-exposed, a stage SST1 adsorbs, at a standby position at the +X end portion of a scan region AS, a rear surface portion corresponding to the segmented region SAi of the sheet S onto a holding surface of a sheet holder SH1, and moves in the X axis direction (the −X direction) with a predetermined stroke in synchronization with a mask (a mask stage). At this time, illumination beams corresponding to the parts of a pattern of the mask are irradiated onto the sheet S via projection optical systems. Thereby, the pattern is transferred (formed). After scan-exposure on the segmented region SAi, a stage SST2 moves to a standby position within the XY plane. After the stage SST2 adsorbs a rear surface portion corresponding to the next segmented region SAi+1 of the sheet S onto a holding surface of a sheet holder SH1, an exposure is performed by the scan-exposure method similarly to the above, to thereby form the pattern.
US08379185B2	Liquid crystal display device with repairable structure The present invention discloses a liquid crystal display device with repairable structure, including a glass substrate; a wire structure formed on the glass substrate, wherein the wire structure includes one or a plurality of through holes formed therein; a dielectric layer formed on the wire structure and the glass substrate; and a plurality of pixel electrodes formed on the dielectric layer, wherein one or more gaps are formed between the plurality of pixel electrodes and the position of the gaps aligns with the position of the through holes.
US08379175B2	Interconnection structure between signal line and thin film transistor A liquid crystal display device achieving high aperture rate and high definition is disclosed. The liquid crystal display device comprises a plurality of scanning lines 12, an insulating film 21 covering the plurality of scanning lines, a plurality of signal lines 13 having an intersection 13D with each of the scanning lines 12, pixel electrodes formed adjacent to the scanning line and the signal line, a plurality of thin film transistors, each of which having a gate electrode, drain electrode 14b, and source electrode 14a, a gate electrode connected to a semiconductor layer, a gate insulating film, and the scanning lines, a drain electrode 14b or a source electrode 14a connected to the signal lines, the other of the drain and the source electrodes connected to the pixel electrode, the drain electrode and the source electrode are linearly disposed along the signal lines, and a plurality of relay electrodes 17 in which a first overlapped portion 17a overlaps the intersection 13D and a second overlapped portion 17c overlaps one of the electrodes, thus connecting that electrode to the signal lines. The first overlapped portion of the relay electrode has a length sufficient to cover the stepped portions 13E, 13D of the insulating film 21 corresponding to the both ends 12b, 12c of the scanning line 12 in a width direction.
US08379173B2	Liquid crystal display having particular front face plate A liquid crystal display device with a front face plate having a first section, a second section, and a third section is disclosed. The first section has a light transmissive section and the second section being a light shielding section. The third section may be arranged between the first section and the second section. The third section has a transmittance value which is lower than that of the first section and higher than that of the second section. A method for forming a front face plate assembly of a liquid crystal display device, which may include a front face plate, is also disclosed.
US08379171B2	Fringe field switching mode liquid crystal display device and method for fabricating the same Discussed are an FFS mode LCD device capable of enhancing a transmittance ratio by including a color filter of a three-dimensional pattern structure having a transmissive pattern for selectively transmitting light of a specific wavelength by using a surface plasmon phenomenon, and a method for fabricating the same. The metal layer using a surface plasmon is utilized as a common electrode of the array substrate, and the pixel electrode having slits is formed on the metal film, thereby generating a fringe field. This may simplify the entire processes, and remove color filter processing lines, thereby reducing the installation costs.
US08379170B2	Methods for manufacturing pixel unit, liquid crystal display panel, and electro-optical apparatus A pixel unit having a display area is provided. The pixel unit includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a liquid crystal layer, and at least one ultraviolet light (UV) absorption pattern. The second substrate is disposed in parallel to the first substrate, and the liquid crystal layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The UV absorption pattern is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. A part of the display area overlaps the UV absorption pattern to define at least one first alignment area, while the part of the display area which does not overlap the UV absorption pattern defines at least one second alignment area. The liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer present different pre-tilt angles in the first alignment area and the second alignment area.
US08379169B2	Optical display device having polarizing film Provided is an optical display device using a polarizing film which has a thickness of 10 μm or less and exhibits high optical characteristics. The optical display device comprises a continuous web of polarizing film which is made of a polyvinyl alcohol type resin having a molecularly oriented dichroic material, and formed through stretching to have a thickness of 10 μm or less and satisfy conditions expressed by the following formulas: P>−(100.929T-42.4−1)×100 (where T<42.3); and P≧99.9 (where T≧42.3), wherein T is a single layer transmittance, and P is a polarization rate. The polarizing film may be prepared by subjecting a laminate comprising a non-crystallizable ester type thermoplastic resin substrate and a polyvinyl alcohol type resin layer formed on the substrate to by 2-stage stretching consisting of preliminary in-air stretching and in-boric-acid-solution stretching.
US08379166B2	Planar light-emitting device and liquid crystal display apparatus A planar light-emitting device having a plurality of light units each including a light source and a lightguide member that guides light received from the light source through an end surface serving as a light-entrance surface disposed to face the light source and that emits the light from an upper surface and two mutually opposing side surfaces after changing the optical path of the light, and further has a reflecting member having a light-reflecting surface on which the light units are disposed. The lightguide member has an elongated shape. The light units are disposed in linear arrays each in which the light units are linearly disposed in series in the elongated direction of the lightguide member. The linear arrays extend in the elongated direction of the respective lightguide members. The linear arrays extend in parallel with each other and are spaced from each other in a width direction perpendicularly intersecting the elongated direction of the lightguide members.
US08379154B2	Key-frame extraction from video Techniques that enable flexible key-frame extraction from video. Key-frame extraction according to the present teachings includes segmenting a video into a set of shots each having a set of video frames and selecting a set of key-frames from the shots in response to an image quality of the corresponding video frames. The present techniques include a set of user selectable modes that enable key-frame extraction to be adapted to an underlying platform.
US08379153B2	Video signal processing device and a display apparatus In the video signal processing device, the first color space converting section performs color space conversion on an input video signal, to generate a converted video signal configured of H, S and V signals. The first high-frequency separating section separates a high-frequency component from the luminance signal in the input video signal, to generate high-frequency luminance signals. The combining section performs a combining process based on the V signal or the S signal or both, and the high-frequency luminance signal, to generate a combined V signal or a combined S signal or both. The second color space converting section performs color space conversion on a video signal, configured of the H signal, the S signal or the combined S signal, and the V signal or the combined V signal, to generate an output video signal defined in RGB color space.
US08379138B2	Imaging apparatus, imaging apparatus control method, and computer program An imaging apparatus includes: a control unit configured to move a focusing lens, and detect a focus position; wherein the control unit executes auto-focus (AF) scan processing in which only a part of a range of movement of the focusing lens is set as a scan range, as first scan processing, and executes auto-focus (AF) scan processing in which a region including a region differing from the scan region of the first scan processing is set as a scan range, as second scan processing, in the event that a focus point is not detected in the first scan processing.
US08379133B2	Photographic device and holder thereof A holder is disclosed, wherein the holder is situated on a circuit board and is used for connecting with an electronic component. The holder comprises an upper surface, a lower surface, and an opening. The upper surface comprises a recess used for laying a flat component, wherein the recess comprises at least one rough area; the lower surface comprises a protruding edge, wherein the protruding edge is connected with the circuit board with glue, and the protruding side and the circuit board delimit a space; and the opening penetrates the upper surface and the lower surface, whereby the gas generated from heating the glue will accumulate in the enclosed space, and the gas will then escape through the opening and out through at least one of the rough areas.
US08379131B2	Image capturing apparatus and control method thereof using amplification ratio based on current accumulated exposure time An image capturing apparatus including: an image sensor generating an image signal; a photographing control section performing a photographing operation in which an exposure of the image sensor is divided into a plurality of exposures in accordance with a predetermined exposure time; an addition section adding sequentially the image signals obtained at each exposure; an amplification ratio calculation section calculating an amplification ratio of the added image signal on the basis of the predetermined exposure time; an amplification section amplifying the added image signal by using the amplification ratio to compensate for insufficient exposure for the predetermined exposure time; and a display control section displaying information related to the amplified image signal; wherein the photographing control section ends the photographing operation when instructed by a user, and determines that the amplified image signal is a captured image obtained by performing the photographing operation with the predetermined exposure time.
US08379129B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium including display of an image card An information processing apparatus includes: display means; operation input receiving means; and display control means for making a display control of allowing an image to correspond to an image card as an object imitating a real card, displaying a check image, which indicates a shape in which a plurality of the image cards overlap, on the display means, displaying one of an image corresponding to a specific image card and information indicating the image in a partial or overall area of the specific image card when a check operation indicating an instruction to check the specific image card is received, and changing a display state of the display means from a first state where the checking image is displayed to a second state where the image corresponding to the specific image card is displayed when a selection operation indicating that the specific image card is selected is received.
US08379120B2	Image deblurring using a combined differential image A method for determining a deblurred image comprising: receiving a blurred image of a scene; receiving a blur kernel; initializing a candidate deblurred image; determining a plurality of differential images representing differences between neighboring pixels in the candidate deblurred image; determining a combined differential image by combining the differential images; repeatedly updating the candidate deblurred image responsive to the blurred image, the blur kernel, the candidate deblurred image and the combined differential image until a convergence criterion is satisfied; and storing the final candidate deblurred image in a processor-accessible memory system.
US08379110B2	Image sensing apparatus and system An image sensing apparatus which senses the optical image of an object using a lens unit having a movable lens can reduce the influence of noise generated upon driving the lens from the first sound signal, based on the first sound signal obtained by the first microphone unit for collecting an object sound, and a second sound signal obtained by the second microphone unit for collecting noise. The second microphone unit is arranged at a position where the relative positional relationship with the generation source of noise generated upon driving the lens does not change even if the lens is moved.
US08379104B2	Camera device and method for capturing non-blinking images of people In a method for capturing non-blinking images of people using a camera device, the camera device includes an image capturing unit and a storage system. The image capturing unit captures a series of digital images of a group of persons. A face feature value and an eyes feature value of people are predefined, and are stored in the storage system. The number of faces is detected from each of the digital images according to the face feature value, and the number of eyeballs is detected from each of the face area according to the eyes feature value. The method calculates the ratio of the number of faces and the number of eyeballs, and selects the digital image of which the ratio of the face number and the eyeball number is 1:2 as a non-blinking image of the a group of persons.
US08379098B2	Real time video process control using gestures Method and apparatus of interaction with and control of a video capture device are described. In the described embodiments, video are presented at a display, the display having contact or proximity sensing capabilities. A gesture can be sensed at or near the display in accordance with the video presented on the display, the gesture being associated with a first video processing operation. The video are modified in accordance with the first video processing operation in real time.
US08379097B2	Image processing apparatus and method thereof Upon correcting blur of image capture data of an image capturing device by coded exposure processing, an exposure time and aperture value, which are set by a photometry unit of the image capturing device according to an object, are input, and the exposure time or aperture value is adjusted based on a ratio of shutter open periods in an opening and closing pattern of a shutter used in the coded exposure processing. Then, a gain adjustment value of the image capture data corresponding to a deficiency of an exposure amount by the adjusted exposure time or aperture value is set, image capture by an image capturing unit of the image capturing device is controlled based on the opening and closing pattern, exposure time, and aperture value.
US08379093B2	Recording and reproduction apparatus and methods, and a recording medium storing a computer program for executing the methods Apparatuses and methods for recording and reproducing RAW image data to more precisely correct for hand tremble in response to an electronic hand tremble correction when an image is recorded. The recording apparatus includes an image developing processor performing an image developing process on raw data sequentially output from an image sensor in frames and generating completely developed image data in frames, an electronic hand tremble correction unit performing an electronic hand tremble correction process on the completely developed image data and generating completely electronic hand tremble correction processed image data, a moving quantity data obtaining unit obtaining data of moving quantity in frames used for the electronic hand tremble correction process performed by the electronic hand tremble correction unit, and a storage medium recorder sequentially recording in frames the RAW data, the completely developed image data, and the data of moving quantity to a storage medium per frame.
US08379088B2	Method and system for evaluating brightness values in sensor images of image-evaluating adaptive cruise control systems A method and a system for evaluating sensor images of an image-evaluating adaptive cruise control system on a moving support, especially a vehicle which moves on a roadway, are disclosed. Irregularities, especially tar strips or tar joints on the roadway are evaluated due to their geometric shapes, their brightness, their contrast and/or their reflectivity to distinguish them from markings relating to the predetermined trajectory.
US08379081B2	Appearance inspection apparatus and appearance inspection method Visibility of defects is improved for inspection of structures and the like, by generating an image having higher resolution than pixel resolution of a TV camera itself. An appearance inspection apparatus is provided with a TV camera; a camera driving device for making the TV camera scan an inspection object; an image capture device for capturing the image in the TV camera as a digital image; a camera motion measuring device for measuring scanning motion of the TV camera; a high definition image generating device, which generates a high definition image having a higher pixel resolution than that of the TV camera, based on the digital images captured by the image capture device and the TV camera scanning motion data measured by the camera motion measuring device; and a recording device which records and stores positional information of the inspection object.
US08379079B2	Holographic reconstruction system with a tracking device for the reconstruction A holographic reconstruction system having spatial light modulators, an eye finder and a position control orients a propagating spatially modulated light wave field toward at least one eye position of an observer's eye, thereby reconstructing a scene in a three-dimensional manner and tracking the same during a position change of the eye position. Unobstructed lateral and axial movement of the observer head to arbitrary eye positions in a tracking region is enabled. The use of additional, planar optical components, which bring about optical aberrations during a position change of observer eyes, are prevented.
US08379072B2	Apparatus and method for realtime remote interpretation The most preferred embodiments of the present invention are configured to allow a foreign language interpreter to remotely monitor, control, and interpret various legal proceedings for one or more remote locations, such as courtrooms. The interpreter will use a computer-based system to monitor and control the audio-video functions and communications that take place in one or more remote locations and to pass audio and/or video signals to and from the interpreter and the remote locations, including the people in the remote location that need interpretation services. This system allows the interpreter to monitor facial characteristics of the speakers, route the audio to isolated headsets when interpreting into the foreign language, route the audio to sound reinforcement speakers when interpreting from the foreign language, and interpret a “private” conversation between multiple parties speaking different languages. The various unique features and configurations provided by the various preferred embodiments of the present invention allow for the implementation of a comprehensive Distance Court Interpretation (DCI) system.
US08379071B2	Linerless label roll-up preventing device of thermal printer A linerless label roll-up preventing device for a thermal printer that prevents roll-up of the linerless label 3 on the platen roller 13. A roll-up preventing plate 23 is applied to a slit (22) formed in the outer surface of the platen roller (13), and protrudes to form a roll-up preventing edge (29) at a portion of the roll-up prevention plate (23). A roll-up preventing plate 23 being fixed to a slit (22), formed in the radial surface of the platen roller (13), relatively to the platen roller (13), and formed with a roll-up preventing projection edge, at a portion of the roll-up preventing plate (23), projecting out slightly from the outer circumferential surface of the platen roller (13) and capable of contacting the back surface of the linerless label (3).
US08379070B2	Thermal head, manufacturing method therefor, and printer A thermal head includes a support substrate having a concave portion formed in its front surface, and an upper substrate bonded in a stacked state to the front surface of the support substrate. A heating resistor is provided on the front surface of the upper substrate at a position corresponding to the concave portion. A pair of electrodes are provided on opposite sides of the heating resistor, and a convex portion is formed in the front surface of the upper substrate between the pair of electrodes. The heating resistor has a heating portion disposed between and not overlapped by the electrodes, and the heating portion directly overlies the concave portion. The convex portion has a width dimension smaller than that of the heating portion.
US08379069B2	Thermal printing apparatus and control method thereof A thermal printing apparatus includes a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements arranged in a line. The thermal printing apparatus may further includes a control unit configured to determine conduction times of the heating elements based on print rates respectively assigned to the plurality of heating elements. The control unit may be further configured to compensate each of the determined conduction times based on the conduction times of the heating elements other than the respective heating element to determine a plurality of compensated conduction times. The control unit may control each of the plurality of heating elements based on the respective one of the plurality of compensated conduction times to enable the thermal head to perform printing on a recording medium.
US08379064B2	Pulse width modulation algorithm In display systems employing spatial light modulators, the OFF-state light from OFF-state pixels of the spatial light modulator can be captured and directed back to the pixels of the spatial light modulator so as to recycle the OFF-state light in the display system. Bitplanes derived from the desired image to be produced are calibrated to include the recycled off-state light to properly produce the desired image using the display system.
US08379063B2	Fine brightness control in panels or screens with pixels Techniques and devices use panels or screens with pixels for display or illumination applications to achieve dithered pixel brightness beyond pixel brightness levels set by a digital to analog conversion (DAC) circuit module with a preset DAC resolution between two adjacent DAC levels. In one implementation, when a pixel is to be dictated by a digital pixel signal to operate within an unstable brightness region, a control mechanism is provided to control the DAC circuit module to operate the pixel in the block at a DAC level below the unstable brightness region or at a different DAC level above the respective unstable brightness region, to achieve a perceived brightness level within the respective unstable brightness region.
US08379062B2	Electro-optical device and electronic apparatus An electro-optical device includes: a plurality of pixel circuits, each of which is disposed at a position corresponding to each intersection position between a plurality of scanning lines and signal lines; and an initialization line which supplies an initialization potential to the plurality of pixel circuits, wherein each of the plurality of pixel circuits includes: an electro-optical element which has a gray scale in accordance with a current amount of a driving current; a storage capacitor of which a voltage across opposite ends is set in accordance with a potential of the signal line; an initializer which initializes the voltage across opposite ends of the storage capacitor by electrically connecting the initialization line to the storage capacitor; a driving transistor which controls the current amount of the driving current in accordance with the voltage of the storage capacitor; a first conductor which is electrically connected to a gate of the driving transistor and overlaps with the initialization line; and a second conductor which is interposed between the first conductor and the initialization line.
US08379061B2	Packet-based digital display system An all-digital display system includes an electronic processor that is operable to receive an internet protocol video packet and to generate a control signal based at least in part on the internet protocol video packet. In one particular embodiment, the electronic processor includes at least a header processor, a CPU electronic processor, and a display processor unit. The all-digital display system also includes one or more light sources capable of generating one or more optical signals and one or more light modulating chips. The one or more light modulating chips are operable to receive the one or more optical signals and to modulate the one or more optical signals based at least in part on the control signal. The all-digital display system further comprises one or more display screens operable to receive the modulated signals communicated from the light modulating chips.
US08379060B2	Device, system, and method of display calibration Device, system, and method for display calibration. For example, an apparatus includes: one or more color sensors, embedded within a body of a mobile device, to measure one or more color attributes of a visual element displayed by a display unit of the mobile device when a lid of the mobile device is in a closed position; and a color calibrator to calibrate one or more parameters of the display unit based on the one or more color attributes measured by the one or more color sensors.
US08379058B2	Methods and apparatuses to arbitrarily transform windows Exemplary embodiments of methods and apparatuses to arbitrarily transform windows are described. Data associated with a first transformation may be obtained. The first transformation may be applied to a first window. The first transformation may relate a first texture point of the first window to a first arbitrary point. The first transformation may include a non-linear transformation. A second transformation is created to a second window based on the first transformation. The second window may be associated with the first window. The second transformation may relate a second texture point of the second window to a second arbitrary point.
US08379056B2	Device and method for providing a video signal of a virtual image A device for providing a video signal of a virtual image based on a real image of a camera, the real image having an object, includes a processing device. One piece of positional information each is associated with the camera and the object. The processing device generates the video signal of the virtual image based on the real image, the positional information of the camera and the positional information of the object. The virtual image includes an illustration of the object or object information with regard to the object.
US08379055B2	Electronic layout generation based on visual context An electronically implemented method is disclosed for generating a layout for a composite image. The method starts with the steps of receiving (210) at least one content element to be included within the composite image and an external environment context image (220) indicative of the intended external environment of the composite image. The external environment context image is captured by an image capture device. Data is also received indicating the size of the composite image and/or the location of the composite image within the external environment context image. Based on the received data layout styles are generated (250) for the at least one content element based on features of the at least one content element, features of the external environment context image and the provided location of the composite image. Finally, based on the generated layout styles, the composite image (260) is generated comprising the at least one content element.
US08379054B2	Image synthesis method, image synthesis apparatus, and storage medium An image synthesis method includes a placement information obtaining step of obtaining placement information about a plurality of images in which adjacent images have a common subject region, and a synthesis step of combining the images using a mapping mode in accordance with the placement information. Prior to performing mapping transformation of the input images, coordinate-space transformation parameters for transforming the coordinate space of one image among the images into the coordinate space of another image are generated. The images are combined based on a given mapping mode and the coordinate-space transformation parameters.
US08379050B2	Rendering apparatus, method and medium A rendering method, medium and apparatus for sequentially performing one or more third raster operations to test whether a fragment can be displayed as a pixel after sequentially performing one or more second raster operations to test whether the fragment can be displayed as the pixel, so as to provide efficient power consumption and rapid completion of rendering.
US08379049B2	Structure-preserving clone brush The invention provides tools and techniques for clone brushing pixels in an image while accounting for inconsistencies in apparent depth and orientation within the image. The techniques do not require any depth information to be present in the image, and the data structure of the image is preserved. The techniques allow for color compensation between source and destination regions. A snapping technique is also provided to facilitate increased accuracy in selecting source and destination positions.
US08379042B2	Target display for gamma calibration User interfaces are provided that allow for the display of a target element that may be used to adjust a gamma value of a display device. The target element includes three layers. These layers include a bottom static layer, a gray static layer, and a progressive layer that gradually changes from a fully transparent are to an opaque area. Additionally, a manipulation area is provided, which may be a sliding mechanism. The user may adjust the gamma to a higher value when the fully transparent area appears lighter than the opaque area, and may adjust the gamma to a lower value when the fully transparent area appears darker than the opaque area.
US08379033B2	Method and system for improving data coherency in a parallel rendering system A method and system for improving data coherency in a parallel rendering system is disclosed. Specifically, one embodiment of the present invention sets forth a method for managing a plurality of independently processed texture streams in a parallel rendering system that includes the steps of maintaining a time stamp for a group of tiles of work that are associated with each of the plurality of the texture streams and are associated with a specified area in screen space, and utilizing the time stamps to counter divergences in the independent processing of the plurality of texture streams.
US08379032B2	System and method of mapping shader variables into physical registers The present disclosure includes system and method of mapping shader variables into physical registers. In an embodiment, a graphics processing unit (GPU) and a memory coupled to the GPU are disclosed. The memory includes a processor readable data file that has a register file portion. The register file portion has a rectangular structure including a plurality of data items. At least two of the plurality of data items corresponding to data elements of a shader program. The data elements have different data storage types.
US08379030B1	Computer graphics variable transformation interface A transformation region is displayed around a selection of knots defining one or more computer graphics variable curves. The transformation region includes transformation handles enabling the modification of the transformation region shape. The transformation region defines an envelope of the curves. Modifying the shape of the transformation region defines a new envelope of the curves. The input and/or output values of knots are scaled to match the modified envelope so that the computer graphics variable remains a function of its input variables. Associated tangent handles of the knots are scaled proportional to the knot value. The transformation region can include a retiming curve specifying a remapping of input variable values. Points on the retiming curve below this diagonal remap associated knots to lower input values. Point on the retiming curve above the diagonal remap associated knots to higher input values.
US08379029B2	Looping motion space registration for real-time character animation A method for generating a looping motion space for real-time character animation may include determining a plurality of motion clips to include in the looping motion space and determining a number of motion cycles performed by a character object depicted in each of the plurality of motion clips. A plurality of looping motion clips may be synthesized from the motion clips, where each of the looping motion clips depicts the character object performing an equal number of motion cycles. Additionally, a starting frame of each of the plurality of looping motion clips may be synchronized so that the motion cycles in each of the plurality of looping motion clips are in phase with one another. By rendering an animation sequence using multiple passes through the looping motion space, an animation of the character object performing the motion cycles may be extended for arbitrary length of time.
US08379028B1	Rigweb In various embodiments, techniques are provided for collaborating and developing a body of knowledge for animation rigging for use in CGI and computer-aided animation. In an embodiment, a computer system may be used to facilitate the creation of rigging for computer-generated models. Using one or more graphical user interfaces, a user can provide the computer system with information defining a set of controls for a computer-generated model. The user can provide the computer system with information providing a description of each control in the set of controls. The user can also provide the computer system with information providing an example of use of each control in the set of controls. A body of knowledge for a standard rig can be created based on the information defining the set of controls, the description of each control, and the example of use of each control using the computer system. A user or group of users can interact with the body of knowledge to formalized definitions of artistic or technical content.
US08379020B2	Image processing device using selective neighboring voxel removal and related methods An image processing device may include a memory, and a controller. The controller may cooperate with the memory for determining N nearest neighbors for each voxel among a plurality thereof, and determining a respective distance between each voxel and its N nearest neighboring voxels. The controller may also cooperate with the memory for selectively removing each given voxel if a respective distance to an Mth nearest neighboring voxel is greater than a first threshold, and with M being less than or equal to N. Optionally, the controller may also cooperate with the memory for selectively removing each other given voxel if a respective distance to an Lth nearest neighboring voxel is less than a second threshold, with the second threshold being less than the first threshold and with L being less than M.
US08379019B2	Fast triangle reordering for vertex locality and reduced overdraw Presented are systems and methods that change the order in which triangles are rendered, to improve post-transform vertex cache efficiency and reduce view-independent overdraw. The resulting triangle orders are orders magnitude faster to compute compared to previous methods. The improvements in processing speed allow such methods to be performed on a model after it is loaded (i.e., when more information on the host hardware is available). Also, such methods can be executed interactively, allowing for re-optimization in case of changes to geometry or topology, which happen often in CAD/CAM applications.
US08379017B2	Method for improving the performance in processing an interprocess digital mockup A method for improving the performance in developing an interprocess digital mockup. Product data elements are compiled from a digital mockup, wherein the product data elements contain geometry data elements and meta data elements. The geometry data elements are addressed and assigned to a geometry structure. The meta data elements are addressed and assigned to a meta structure. The geometry structure and the meta structure are subsequently linked by a communication protocol such that bidirectional interaction between the geometry structure and the meta structure is realized.
US08379014B2	System and method for 3D object recognition The present invention provides a system and method for recognizing a 3D object in a single camera image and for determining the 3D pose of the object with respect to the camera coordinate system. In one typical application, the 3D pose is used to make a robot pick up the object. A view-based approach is presented that does not show the drawbacks of previous methods because it is robust to image noise, object occlusions, clutter, and contrast changes. Furthermore, the 3D pose is determined with a high accuracy. Finally, the presented method allows the recognition of the 3D object as well as the determination of its 3D pose in a very short computation time, making it also suitable for real-time applications. These improvements are achieved by the methods disclosed herein.
US08379009B2	Booster power supply circuit that boosts input voltage A first control switch is connected between a first terminal to which one terminal of a first boosting capacitor element is connected and a supply node of an input voltage. A second control switch is connected between a second terminal to which the other terminal of the first boosting capacitor element is connected and the supply node of the input voltage. A first switch element is connected between a third terminal to which one terminal of a second boosting capacitor element is connected and at which an output voltage is generated and the first terminal. A second switch element is connected between a node of a reference voltage side of the input voltage and the second terminal. A control circuit detects the output voltage and controls the first and second control switches to obtain the desired output voltage on the basis of a detection result.
US08379007B2	Plasma display device and method for driving plasma display panel A method for driving a plasma display panel that includes a plurality of discharge cells including a display electrode pair composed of a scan electrode and a sustain electrode. One field period includes a plurality of subfields each including an initializing period, an address period and a sustain period. The method includes applying at least two kinds of sustain pulses to one electrode of the scan electrode and the sustain electrode in the sustain period, the two kinds of sustain pulses including a first sustain pulse as a reference and a second sustain pulse rising more steeply and falling more gently than the first sustain pulse. In the method, a drive waveform voltage applied to the one electrode includes a last drive waveform voltage in the sustain period and a predetermined number of the second sustain pulses continuously disposed immediately before the last drive waveform voltage.
US08379001B2	Liquid crystal display device A liquid crystal display device includes first and second display panels each including scan lines arranged in a row direction, signal lines arranged in a column direction, and pixels arranged in a matrix at intersections of the first scan lines and the first signal lines. The first display panel and the second display panel are set in a non-display mode and in a display mode, respectively. Shift registers and buffer circuits connected to respective groups of scan lines sequentially drive respective group of scan lines in the first display panel during a vertical blanking time of the second display panel. The pixels of the first display panel are driven to refresh by writing an image signal for a black display in the first display panel.
US08378993B2	Capacitive touch display panel A capacitive touch display panel includes a first substrate, a second substrate, an opaque pattern, a plurality of transparent conductive sensor pads, and a plurality of non-transparent conductive patterns. The first substrate and the second substrate are disposed oppositely. The transparent conductive sensor pads are disposed on the second substrate. The non-transparent conductive patterns are disposed on the second substrate, and the non-transparent conductive patterns and the transparent conductive sensor pads are electrically connected and overlapping. The conductivity of the non-transparent conductive patterns is higher than that of the transparent conductive sensor pads, and the non-transparent conductive patterns are corresponding to the opaque pattern.
US08378992B2	Touch panel, and movable contact unit and switch using the same touch panel A touch panel includes multiple belt-like lower electrodes formed on a light transparent base sheet and multiple belt-like upper electrodes placed away from the lower electrodes with a predetermined distance therebetween and in a direction crossing with the lower electrodes at right angles. The lower and upper electrodes are made of light transmissive and electrically conductive resin, so that they can be formed in a simple way such as printing. The foregoing structure thus allows obtaining the touch panel manufactured in a simple way at a lower cost.
US08378991B2	Method of detecting a touch position and touch panel for performing the same A method of detecting a touch position and a touch panel for performing the method are disclosed. In the above-mentioned method, a plurality of scan signals is sequentially supplied to a plurality of first sensor lines arranged in a first direction. Then, at least one of the scan signals is analyzed based on touch events, which is transferred from the first sensor lines to a plurality of second sensor lines arranged in a second direction substantially across to the first direction, and then at least one of touch positions is detected. Therefore, a plurality of scan signals is sequentially applied to the first sensor lines in the first direction, so that a plurality of touch events is simultaneously detected so that a plurality of touch positions may be detected.
US08378987B2	Sensing method and circuit for a capacitive touch panel A sensing method for a capacitive touch panel includes charging a measure capacitor, setting the voltage across a mutual capacitor at the intersection of two traces of the capacitive touch panel, and then injecting partial charges of the measure capacitor into the mutual capacitor. When the intersection is touched, the capacitance value of the mutual capacitor is changed, and consequently the amount of charges injected into the mutual capacitor is changed. Hence, the voltage of the measure capacitor could be detected to determine whether or not the intersection is touched.
US08378986B2	Passive touch system and method of detecting user input A passive touch system includes a passive touch surface and at least two cameras associated with the touch surface. The at least two cameras acquire images of the touch surface from different locations and have overlapping fields of view. A processor receives and processes images acquired by the at least two cameras to detect the existence of a pointer therein and to determine the location of the pointer relative to the touch surface. Actual pointer contact with the touch surface and pointer hover above the touch surface can be determined.
US08378983B2	Touch panel and touch panel type display apparatus A touch panel X in accordance with the present invention includes a first base body 10 including a first resistive film 12, a second base body 20 including a second resistive film 22 and a wiring electrodes 23 and 24, and a conductive adhesive member 30 configured to electrically connect the first base body 10 and the wiring electrodes 23 and 24, and bond the first base body 10 and the second base body 20 so that the first resistive film 12 and the second resistive film 22 face each other. The conductive adhesive member 30 defines an internal space S1 and an opening portion M. The wiring electrodes 23 and 24 include connection portions 23a and 24a. The connection portions 23a and 24a are formed in an area corresponding to the opening portion M.
US08378979B2	Electronic device with haptic feedback Haptic feedback may be provided to a user of an electronic device, such as an electronic book reader device, to confirm receipt of user input or otherwise convey information to the user. The haptic feedback may be provided more quickly than a display update time of a display of the electronic device. Different patterns, durations, and/or intensities of haptic feedback may be used in response to different events.
US08378976B2	Method for scroll bar control on a touchpad In a method for scroll bar control on a touchpad, the fingers touching on the touchpad are detected to start up and terminate a scroll bar control function. In the scroll bar control function, the movement of the finger or fingers touching on the touchpad is detected for scrolling on a window, and the vertical distance and the horizontal distance of the movement are evaluated for determining the scrolling amount of a vertical scroll bar or a horizontal scroll bar of the window.
US08378975B2	Touch pad and electronic device having the same A touch pad with a simple structure to enable an electronic device to be manufactured more slimly and with low manufacturing costs. The touch pad includes a cover having a plurality of function icons a cover frame to support the cover, the cover frame including a plurality of light guide hollows, and a board, which is engaged with the cover frame and includes touch sensors and luminous elements to illuminate the function icons mounted thereon, the touch sensors and luminous elements being respectively mounted at positions on the board corresponding to the plurality of function icons.
US08378974B2	Method and system for detecting touch events based on magnitude ratios A method for detecting a touch event on a touch panel comprises obtaining at least first and second signals from at least two sensors where the at least first and second signals are responsive to a touch event. A first amplitude magnitude associated with the first signal is calculated and a second amplitude magnitude associated with the second signal is calculated. A magnitude ratio is determined between the first and second amplitude magnitudes, and a touch location is identified based on the magnitude ratio.
US08378969B2	Remote control apparatus for vehicle A remote control apparatus mountable on a vehicle includes an operation input device operable to point a position in a predetermined operation area, a lighting device for illuminating the operation input device, and a controller for controlling a brightness of the lighting device. The remote control apparatus has a self-diagnostic mode for diagnosing a fault in the operation input device. The controller controls the brightness of the lighting device such that the lighting device produces a illumination pattern corresponding to the position pointed by the operation input device, when the self-diagnostic mode is set.
US08378963B2	Photosensors for displays and related devices An electronic device may include a liquid crystal display, a photosensor, a light, and a controller. The liquid crystal display may have first and second transparent substrates and a liquid crystal material between the first and second transparent substrates. The photosensor may be on a portion of the first transparent substrate so that the first transparent substrate is between the photosensor and the second transparent substrate, and the light may be configured to provide illumination for the electronic device. The controller may be coupled to the photosensor and the light, and the controller may be configured to vary an intensity of the illumination from the light responsive to an intensity of light incident of the photosensor. Related displays are also discussed.
US08378962B2	LCD backlight driving device with an isolating transformer An LCD backlight driving device with an isolating transformer comprises a DC power supply, a square wave generator, a square wave controller, said isolating transformer and a driver transformer; wherein said isolating transformer has a primary side connected to said square wave generator and a secondary side connected to said driver transformer, since said isolating transformer is placed between said square wave generator and said driver transformer, it helps to effectively shorten a safety distance required for setting up said driver transformer; the present invention uses said isolating transformer to shorten the safety distance required than that of using said driver transformer directly and to decrease an area in implementing a circuit board and to cut cost of said device.
US08378954B2	Active matrix liquid crystal device An active matrix liquid crystal device comprises an active matrix substrate (1) and a counter electrode substrate separated by a layer of liquid crystal material. A temperature sensing capacitor (11) comprises electrodes on the substrates separated by the liquid crystal layer, which thus forms the dielectric of the capacitor. A reference capacitor (CREF) and a calibration capacitor (CCAL) are also provided and have nominally the same capacitance. These capacitors form part of charge-transfer capacitance measuring branches (25, 26, 30) within a sample/hold circuit (12). During a calibration cycle, the sample/hold circuit (12) provides a signal dependent on the difference between the capacitances of the calibration capacitor (CCAL) and the reference capacitor (CREF) and this is supplied to an analog/digital converter (20-22, 31, 32), which forms a reference voltage. During subsequent parts of the measurement cycle, the converter converts the output of the sample/hold circuit using the reference voltage in order to improve the accuracy of measurement of the liquid crystal capacitor (11), and hence the temperature of the liquid crystal material. This temperature measurement may be used, for example, to compensate the AMLCD for the effects of temperature variation in the liquid crystal properties.
US08378953B2	Display device compensating primary image data to increase a response speed of the display An image display device includes an image signal source unit to provide primary image data and selected compensation data to compensate the primary image data, and a display unit to display images using compensated image data obtained by compensating the primary image data with the selected compensation data. The selected compensation data is selected from a set of compensation data in response to variation of ambient temperature of the display device. The image display device also includes a temperature sensor to detect the variation of the ambient temperature of the display device and provide temperature data corresponding to the variation of the ambient temperature. The image display device also includes a frequency sensor to detect frequency variation in a vertical synchronizing signal of the display unit, wherein the selected compensation data is selected from a set of compensation data in response to the variation of the ambient temperature and the frequency variation.
US08378950B2	Display device The present invention provides a display device which displays a black image by periodically inserting the black image, wherein after the display of the black image, a first period in which a video signal different from a video signal for the black image is outputted to video signal lines is made different from a succeeding period in length.
US08378946B2	Display device A display device includes a plurality of thin-film transistors formed on a substrate on which a display area is formed. The display device also includes a gate electrode, a gate insulating film formed so as to cover the gate electrode, an semiconductor layer in an island shape formed on an upper surface of the gate insulating film so as to superimpose the gate electrode without protruding from the gate electrode when viewed planarly, an insulating film formed so as to cover the semiconductor layer, and a pair of electrodes electrically connected to the semiconductor layer respectively through a pair of through holes that are formed at the insulating film. The semiconductor layer is formed by sequentially laminating a crystalline semiconductor layer and an amorphous semiconductor layer. The pair of electrodes is respectively formed by sequentially laminating a semiconductor layer doped with impurities and a metal layer.
US08378945B2	Liquid crystal display device A liquid crystal display device includes a pair of substrates, a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix and a static memory formed on the substrates. A bit signal corresponding to an image data is written and held in a static memory in the pixel. The polarity of the input bit signal is controlled. A liquid crystal voltage supplied to a liquid crystal layer arranged between the pair of substrates is generated by the bit signal. The polarity of the bit signal is controlled to alternate the liquid crystal voltage, and a transmittance of the liquid crystal layer is changed by supplying the alternated liquid crystal voltage.
US08378944B2	Array substrate for in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display device An array substrate for an in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display device includes a first TFT in a pixel region and connected to a gate line and a first data line; a second TFT in the pixel region and connected to the gate line and a second data line; a first pattern connected to the first TFT and extending along the gate line; a plurality of first electrodes connected to the first pattern; a second pattern extending to be parallel to the first pattern; a second electrode extending along the first data line; a third electrode connected to the second pattern and extending along the second data line, the third electrode connected to the second TFT; and a plurality of fourth electrodes connected to the second pattern and alternately arranged with the plurality of first electrodes, wherein the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of fourth electrodes are disposed between the second and third electrodes.
US08378943B2	Signal processing device for liquid crystal display panel and liquid crystal display including the signal processing device A liquid crystal display system including a signal processing device uses interpolation to generate an intermediate image frame using previous image frame data and present image frame data. The system converts data of the intermediate image frame into transposed image data that is to be used to drive a liquid crystal display panel and display a corresponding image. The transposed image data and the present image data are subjected to a prespecified DCC process (dynamic capacitance compensation process) to thereby generate respective first and second compensation image data. Since the first compensation image data is generated based on the transposed image data and the transposition is configured to prevent over-compensation by the DCC process, over-compensation by the dynamic capacitance compensation process can be reduced or prevented.
US08378941B2	Liquid crystal display device and method of driving the same A liquid crystal display device includes a power consumption reduction portion that analyzes a histogram of first image data of an image and generates second image data and a first luminance control signal, wherein, when the image includes an irrelevance region which is substantially irrelevant to degradation of display quality, the power consumption reduction portion analyzes a histogram of first image data of other region of the image except for an excluded region, and wherein the excluded region includes at least the irrelevance region; a timing controller that is supplied with the second image data and the first luminance control signal and generates gate control signals, data control signals and a second luminance control signal; a gate driving portion that generates gate voltages using the gate control signals; a data driving portion that generates data voltages using the second image data and the data control signals; a liquid crystal panel that displays the image using the gate voltages and the data voltages; a backlight control portion that generates a backlight control signal using the second luminance control signal; and a backlight unit that supplies light according to the backlight control signal.
US08378936B2	Display apparatus and method of driving the same In a display apparatus and a driving method thereof, image data corresponding to plural different positions of a display panel are added to each other, and a sum of the image data of a present frame is compared with a sum of the image data of a previous frame to determine whether an image displayed on the display panel is a still image or not. While a still image is displayed, brightness of the display panel is gradually lowered. Accordingly, the display panel may prevent occurrence of afterimages and deterioration of organic electroluminescent light emitting devices, as well as reduce power consumption.
US08378935B2	Display device having a plurality of subframes and method of driving the same In a display device in which one frame is divided into a plurality of subframes and a gray scale is expressed by a time gray scale method, there is a problem of pseudo contour. A gray scale is expressed by sequentially adding a weight of each subframe (light emission period, light emission time, and the like). Further, an erasing diode is provided in a pixel. By turning this erasing diode on, the signal stored in the pixel is erased, thereby a non-light emission period is provided. Accordingly, subframes with different light emission periods can be easily formed.
US08378927B2	Apparatus for driving electrochromic device and method thereof An apparatus for driving an electrochromic device (ECD) includes a driving volt age output unit for selectively applying a coloring or decoloring voltage between upper and lower electrodes of an ECD; a timer for counting an applying time of the coloring or decoloring voltage in a memory type driving mode and then outputting a voltage application completion signal after the counted time exceeds a preset time, the timer bypassing the counting operation in a non-memory type driving mode; and a driving controller for selectively inputting a coloring or decoloring signal to the driving voltage output unit such that the driving voltage output unit is controlled to output a coloring or decoloring voltage corresponding to the signal, the driving controller receiving the voltage application completion signal to stop the input of the coloring or decoloring signal. Thus, memory type and non-memory type ECDs may be driven automatically using only one apparatus.
US08378925B2	Video display device When headphone housings are tilted such that their upper portions are separated from side faces of the user's head and their lower portions are near the side faces, an arm of the display section is horizontal. Generally, the human head at ear portions is formed in a shape that is large at the upper portion and small at the lower portion. Accordingly, when the headphone housings are installed at the ear portions, the headphone housings are installed according to the shape and the arm is horizontal. This means that the arm is horizontal in a natural installation state. Adjustment of the display section is not complex and the display section has a well-balanced appearance.
US08378922B1	System and method for position or range estimation, tracking and selective interrogation and communication A method of estimating an arc-position of a distal transmitter is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes: (1) receiving radio frequency signals from said distal transmitter into an antenna having an array of feed horns and a Luneberg lens portion and (2) estimating an arc-position of said distal transmitter based on signal strengths provided by ones of said feed horns.
US08378916B2	Systems and methods for providing a reconfigurable groundplane Systems and methods for providing a reconfigurable groundplane are provided. In one embodiment, the invention relates to an antenna assembly having a reconfigurable groundplane, the assembly including a radio frequency (RF) feed, a plurality of radiating elements, a plurality of interconnects, each coupling one of the plurality of radiating elements to the RF feed, a first groundplane positioned between the RF feed and the plurality of radiating elements, a second groundplane positioned between the RF feed and the plurality of radiating elements, the second groundplane including at least one cavity for enclosing a liquid metal.
US08378915B2	Antenna assembly An antenna assembly and a method of mounting such an assembly are disclosed. A first and a second assembly portion are joined together, wherein the assembly portions each comprise a elongated reflector body serving as a reflector for electromagnetic power radiated by the antenna assembly portion, and a set of antenna element receiving means located in a linear row along a longitudinal direction of the reflector body for respectively receiving an antenna element, and side portions along the long sides of the said reflector body. The assembly method comprises the step of fastening the first and second assembly portions to each other along a respective side portion of the said assembly portions so as to form a dual array antenna assembly.
US08378914B2	Dipole antenna A dipole antenna includes a first radiating body and a second radiating body. The first radiating body has a first radiating part and a second radiating part. The area of the second radiating part is larger than that of the first radiating part. The second radiating body is disposed opposite to the first radiating body and has a third radiating part and a fourth radiating part. The area of the third radiating part is larger than that of the first radiating part. The area of the second radiating part is larger than that of the fourth radiating part. The first radiating part or the third radiating part has a feeding point. The second radiating part or the fourth radiating part has a ground point. The first radiating part is electrically connected to the third radiating part. The second radiating part is electrically connected to the fourth radiating part.
US08378909B2	Antenna and wireless communication apparatus In an antenna, a first type radiation electrode and a second type radiation electrode are provided on the surface of a dielectric base, which has a predetermined external shape, or embedded in the dielectric base. The first type radiation electrode is provided with an open terminal at one end thereof and a feeding terminal at the other end thereof so as to constitute a monopole type antenna. The second type radiation electrode is provided with a capacitive-coupling feeding electrode at one end thereof and a ground connection terminal at the other end thereof so as to constitute a capacitive feed antenna. The one end of the first type radiation electrode is located opposite to the feeding electrode of the second type radiation electrode when viewed in the direction of the length of the dielectric base.
US08378904B1	Antenna for high temperature thermal protection system An antenna is provided for use with a vehicle that includes a body that is encased by a thermal protection system (TPS). An opening extends through the TPS and the vehicle body, and an antenna assembly and a seal member are positioned within the opening. The seal member extends about the antenna assembly and is radio frequency (RF) opaque. A window extends across the opening to retain the antenna assembly and seal member within the opening. The window is RF transparent.
US08378900B2	Antenna arrangement An antenna arrangement operable at a first resonant frequency f having a corresponding resonant wavelength λ the antenna arrangement comprising: an antenna comprising a feed; a ground plane coupled to the antenna comprising a first region and a second region; and a grounded conductive structure coupled to the first region of the ground plane, wherein the second region of the ground plane is configured such that, at the first resonant frequency f the current flows predominantly in the grounded conductive structure compared to the second region of the ground plane.
US08378899B2	Wireless communication terminal with a multi-band antenna that extends between side surfaces thereof A wireless communications terminal can include a housing having an interior surface that is configured to enclose at least a controller circuit, a transceiver circuit, and a RF feed circuit and to at least partially enclose a display device and a user input interface. The housing extends between opposing top and bottom surfaces, between opposing first and second side surfaces, and between opposing front and back surfaces. A first radiator line is connected on distal ends to a feed node and to a ground node and extends in a loop across at least a majority of a width of the housing between the first and second side surfaces. The first radiator line resonates in a first frequency range responsive to first electromagnetic radiation coupled to the feed and ground nodes. A second radiator line is connected to the feed node and extends away from an adjacent portion of the first radiator line, and resonates in a second frequency range responsive to second electromagnetic radiation coupled to the feed and ground nodes. A third radiator line is connected to the first radiator line at a branch node that is spaced apart from the feed node and the ground node, and extends away from an adjacent portion of the first radiator line and resonates in a third frequency range responsive to third electromagnetic radiation coupled to the feed and ground nodes.
US08378893B2	Patch antenna According to one embodiment, a patch antenna includes a radiating layer coupled to a feed line. The radiating layer has at least one radiating element disposed on an opposite side from the feed line. The radiating layer has a moat around its perimeter forming an inner perimeter sidewall and an outer perimeter sidewall. A conductive coating may be disposed on the inner perimeter sidewall or the outer perimeter sidewall.
US08378892B2	Antenna component and methods An antenna component (200) with a dielectric substrate and two radiating antenna elements. The elements are located on the upper surface of the substrate and there is a narrow slot (260) between them. The antenna feed conductor (241) is connected to the first antenna element (220), which is connected also to the ground by a short-circuit conductor (261). The second antenna element (230) is parasitic; it is galvanically connected only to the ground. The component is preferably manufactured by a semiconductor technique by growing a metal layer e.g. on a quartz substrate and removing a part of it so that the antenna elements remain. In this case the component further comprises supporting material (212) of the substrate chip. The antenna component is very small-sized because of the high dielectricity of the substrate to be used and mostly because the slot between the antenna elements is narrow. The efficiency of an antenna made by the component is high.
US08378889B2	Calculating navigation system time in a satellite navigation system A satellite navigation system receiver that includes a counter and a controlling unit is described. The counter may be driven by a reference clock signal having a reference clock frequency. The controlling unit can calculate a correction value indicative of a corrected reference clock frequency by comparing an increment of the counter values during a time period with an increment of the navigation system times during the time period. The controlling unit can generate a calculated navigation system time according to the correction value.
US08378887B2	Systems and methods for synthesizing GPS measurements to improve GPS location availability There are situations where GPS signals are received from less than four satellites. In order to improve the GPS location availability, disclosed here are systems and methods for synthesizing GPS measurements, which, together with fewer than four available real GPS signals, can be used to calculate a position fix. In particular, GPS range measurements for lost satellites, which are satellites that were previously tracked but are now not tracked, are synthesized to improve GPS signal availability. The synthesized measurements are used along with real measurements to enable accurate position fix even when GPS satellite availability is poor. Different synthesized measurement generation schemes, depending on whether an INS/DR aiding system is available, are further described herein.
US08378885B2	Device and method for locating a mobile approaching a surface reflecting electromagnetic waves Device and a method for locating a mobile object approaching a surface reflecting electromagnetic waves. The location device includes an emission antenna and a reception antenna. The emission antenna has one or more emission positions emitting a detection signal toward the mobile object. The reception antenna has at least one column of one or more reception positions, receiving a signal transmitted by the mobile object. An emission of the detection signal is activated on each emission position. An emission position that produces a detection by the reception antenna, of the signal of maximum energy transmitted by the mobile object, is selected to track the mobile object. One or more signals of maximum energy, received by one or more reception positions, are used to angularly locate the mobile object. The invention can be used to determine the position of an aircraft in the final landing phase for a guidance device.
US08378883B2	Device and method of detecting a target object for motor vehicle A device and method for correcting a position of at least one target point relative to a motor vehicle depending on a movement of the motor vehicle over a given number of cycles; starting from at least one target point, forming a first group with adjacent target points depending on a first given characteristic; verifying if the first group is homogeneous depending on a second given characteristic; and calculating a position of a formed group relative to the motor vehicle over the given number of cycles, a formed group corresponding to a target object.
US08378878B2	Creating and processing universal radar waveforms A new approach to radar imaging is described herein, in which radar pulses are transmitted wi th an uneven sampling scheme and subsequently processed with novel algorithms to produce images of equivalent resolution and quality as standard images produced using standard synthetic aperture radar (SAR) waveforms and processing techniques. The radar data collected with these waveforms can be used to create many other useful products such as moving target indication (MTI) and high resolution terrain information (HRTI). The waveform and the correction algorithms described herein allow the algorithms of these other radar products to take advantage of the quality Doppler resolution.
US08378872B2	Dynamically adjusted A/D resolution A process variable transmitter is used to measure a process variable, and, in doing so, dynamically changes the resolution of the A/D converter based upon the measured value of the analog input signal. This can be done by automatically adjusting the configurable resolution gain adjustment based on the value of the analog signal being measured, by normalizing the input signal being measured so that it is centered in an optimal resolution window of the A/D converter, or by adjusting a voltage reference provided to the A/D converter.
US08378870B1	Mismatch shaping for DAC The present invention provides a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) capable of generating a transfer function having a notch for reducing an error signal level in a desired frequency band.The DAC of the present invention includes a switch bank to which at least two reference signals are inputted and which selects any of these signals and outputs the selected signal through a plurality of paths, and an amplitude-phase control section which controls a reference signal selection operation of the switch bank on the basis of an input signal.
US08378868B2	Systems and methods for analog to digital converter charge storage device measurement Systems and methods for analog to digital conversion charge storage device measurement are presented. In multi-cell charge storage device monitoring systems, accurate measurement of cell voltages is used for protection of the multi-cell device. The disclosed cell referenced solution converts the cell voltage to a digital representation referenced at the cell voltage. The digital representation referenced to the cell voltage is then level shifted to a ground referenced signal suitable for digital post processing. This processing may be used for fault detection of over-voltage, under-voltage, open cell, and similar fault conditions and cell capacity measurements. An example embodiment implements a sigma delta modulator to perform the signal transformation from analog to digital. The disclosed systems and methods may be differential and stackable for multiple cells.
US08378864B2	Apparatuses and methods for reducing errors in analog to digital converters Successive approximation Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and related methods are disclosed. A successive approximation ADC includes a comparator with a comparator output and inputs coupled to a common model signal and a compare input. Control logic generates one or more control signals responsive to the comparator output. A capacitor array includes first sides of capacitors operably coupled to an array output. The capacitor arrays selectively couples each of second sides of the capacitors to an analog input signal and one or more input reference signals responsive to the one or more control signals. A voltage limiter is operably coupled between the array output and the compare input of the comparator and limits a voltage on the compare input to within a predefined range relative to the array output. The successive approximation ADC may also be configured differentially with a second comparator and a second voltage limiter.
US08378860B2	Method and system for generating high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) codewords using a TMDS encoder/decoder Encoding and decoding of video and non-video information may include creating a second symbol from a first codeword. TERC4, TMDS and/or a guard band symbols may be generated from a portion or all of the second symbol during transmission. The TMDS symbol and/or the guard band symbol may be encoded so that they may be combined within a single symbol. At least a portion of the first codeword may be TMDS encoded to generate a TMDS symbol for transmission. TMDS encoding of at least a portion of the second symbol may also generate a TERC4 symbol and/or a guard band symbol for the transmitted signal. The second symbol and the first codeword may be generated from a portion or all of a received signal. The first codeword may be a 4-bit pre-TERC4 codeword, while the second symbol may be an 8-bit pre-TMDS symbol.
US08378859B2	Memory compression technique with low latency per pixel In an embodiment, a compression unit is provided which may perform compression of images with low latency and relatively little hardware. Similarly, a decompression unit may be provided which may decompress the images with low latency and hardware. In an embodiment, the transmission of compressed coefficients may be performed using less than two passes through the list of coefficients. During the first pass, the most significant coefficients may be transmitted and other significance groups may be identified as linked lists. The linked lists may then be traverse to send the other significance groups. In an embodiment, a color space conversion may be made to permit filtering of fewer color components than might be possible in the source color space.
US08378857B2	Illumination of input device Input devices having backlighting for associated input mechanisms. The backlighting may be supplied by a light source coupled to a light guide. Both the light guide and light source may be located completely beneath the input mechanism and above a mechanical support for the mechanism. Each input mechanism generally has its own dedicated light guide and light source.
US08378855B2	Control device A control device includes a sensor, an analysis unit, and a control unit. The sensor includes a stationary member and a rotatable member. The stationary member includes a first electrode and at least two second electrodes. The rotatable member includes a third electrode and a fourth electrode. The first electrode electrically contacts the third electrode and each second electrode electrically contacts the fourth electrode in sequence when the stationary member is rotated. The analysis unit is configured for determining which second electrode electrically contacts the fourth electrode. The control unit is configured for executing a corresponding command based upon the determination of the analysis unit.
US08378850B2	Vehicle park assist system and method for parking a vehicle using such system A park assist system for parking a vehicle in a target parking space includes a first sensing system which determines whether there is a sufficient slot length in a target parking space in which to park the vehicle. A second sensing system determines whether an obstacle is located in a predetermined clearance zone on a side of the vehicle opposite the target parking space. A decision regarding whether to recommend parking the vehicle in the target parking space sensed by the first sensing system is dependent upon a determination that an obstacle located in the clearance zone may be avoided by executing a first steering trajectory provided by the park assist system in order to avoid the obstacle before executing a second steering trajectory provided by the park assist system in order to park the vehicle into the target parking space.
US08378845B2	Energy consumption measurement A system for measuring energy consumption including a plurality of devices of which at least a subset includes a communication unit for supplying operating status information indicating an actual operating status with respect to an actual energy consumption of the associated one of the plurality of devices. A meter measures a total energy consumption of the plurality of devices. A controller calculates an individual energy consumption of a particular one of the plurality of devices from a change of the total energy consumption occurring at a change of the operating status of the particular one of the plurality of devices.
US08378844B2	Utility meter with external signal-powered transceiver An arrangement for use in a utility meter includes a non-volatile memory and an RF transceiver. The non-volatile memory has a first and a second port, the first port configured to obtain commodity consumption data. The radio frequency (RF) transceiver is configured to receive an RF signal from an external source and obtain energy from the RF signal and provide the energy to a bias voltage input of the non-volatile memory. The RF transceiver is further operable to perform a data transfer operation responsive to the received RF signal, the data transfer operation including a transfer of meter-related data between the non-volatile memory and the RF transceiver using the second port of the non-volatile memory.
US08378841B2	Tracking of oil drilling pipes and other objects Identification and tracking of hollow pipes at a site where the hollow pipes are to be stored or interconnected, such as an oil drilling site where the aforesaid hollow pipes are to be connected and the drillstring of pipes is to be inserted into a drilled hole on solid ground or under a deepsea drilling platform is achieved. Each hollow pipe is provided with a low frequency radio frequency identification (RFID) tag attached to the pipe's outer surface. The RFID tag is operable at a low radio frequency not exceeding 1.0 megahertz and may be disposed within a recess in the pipe's outer surface. A tracking system provides communication be the tags and a reader.
US08378840B2	Surface communication device and method for downhole tool A device for communicating with a downhole measurement tool includes a processor module comprising a set of commands and configured to issue a command from the set to the downhole tool and receive a corresponding reply from the downhole tool. The set of commands includes at least one of a command to switch the downhole measurement tool between a sleep mode and an active mode and a command to download data from the downhole measurement tool. The device includes a transceiver module coupled to the processor module and an antenna coupled to the transceiver module. The antenna and transceiver module are configured to transmit commands and replies between the processor module and the downhole measurement tool.
US08378839B2	Methods for clock synchronization in wellbore instruments A method for synchronizing a clock in a device at the Earth's surface with a device disposed in a wellbore includes generating a time datum for a signal generated at at least one of the surface and in the wellbore proximate an end of the pipe string. A time delay is determined between detection of the signal at the at least one repeater and retransmission of the signal from the at least one repeater. The time datum is appended with a signal corresponding to the time delay. The retransmitted signal is detected at the other of proximate the end of the pipe string and at the surface.
US08378836B2	Magnetic field strength threshold alarm A magnetic field strength threshold alarm that includes sensing means responsive to a magnetic field and actuating in response to field strength above a predetermined threshold, the sensing means being configured to be operational and able to actuate without consumption of energy; and alarm means for outputting an alarm responsive to the sensing means actuation, the alarm means being configured not to consume energy prior to actuation of the sensing means and only consuming energy subsequent to actuation of the sensing means. So, energy is not consumed by the alarm means prior to actuation. The alarm may be considered to include energy storage means for providing electrical energy, wherein the sensing means, the alarm means and energy storage means being operatively connected such that the electrical energy from the energy storage means is provided only when the sensing means is actuated.
US08378834B1	Kitchen hood assembly with fire suppression control system including multiple monitoring circuits A kitchen exhaust hood assembly having a fire suppression system with built-in redundancy and monitoring capabilities is presented. The fire suppression system includes one or more fire suppression devices associated with the kitchen hood for extinguishing a fire within the vicinity of the exhaust hood. The fire suppression devices can be triggered by a series of manual actuators or fire sensors. A switching circuit including a plurality of switches operatively connected to the manual actuators or fire sensors triggers the fire suppression devices by enabling either a first or second actuating circuit. The switching circuit and first and second actuating circuits are configured such that a break in the electrical connection between the switches and actuating circuits does not cause a failure in the operation of the fire suppression system. A supervision module is included in the assembly for monitoring the elements of the fire suppression system. The supervision module includes a plurality of monitoring circuits for monitoring the integrity of the electrical connections and the correct physical placement of various fire suppression system devices. The supervision module also includes a means of alerting appropriate personnel in the event that a fault is detected.
US08378833B2	Automatic delivery/drain detection using a level monitoring system A system for monitoring a level of product in a tank to detect one of a delivery and a drain operation is provided. The system comprises a monitor and a data center. The monitor is operably coupled to the tank and adapted to detect the level of product in the tank at a first rate and at a second rate. The data center is in communication with the monitor and adapted to receive a user inputtable threshold level of change. The monitor detects the level of product in the tank at the first rate until the threshold level of change is detected. Thereafter, the monitor detects the level of product in the tank at the second rate. The data center generates an alarm signal to indicate that one of the delivery and the drain has occurred.
US08378832B2	Breathing disorder treatment system and method The breathing disorder treatment system is a continuous monitoring and an actuated stimulation system for the treatment of breathing disorders, such as sleep apnea. The system includes computer readable memory in communication with a processor, and a threshold blood oxygen saturation (BOS) level is recorded therein. A BOS sensor is provided for continually measuring the blood oxygen saturation level in the patient. The BOS sensor is in communication with the processor, such that the measured BOS level is continually compared with the threshold BOS level. A timer is in communication with the processor, so that if a series of measured BOS levels are less than or equal to the threshold BOS level, a time of apnea or low BOS occurrence is recorded in the memory, and an alarm is actuated according to a calculated moving average period based upon the times of occurrence.
US08378830B2	Intelligent hydration systems and methods A hydration system comprising a dispenser portion adapted to allow a drinking fluid to flow therethrough, a sensor unit positioned to take a measurement of a flow of the drinking fluid through said dispenser portion and to output said measurement, a logic unit in communication with the sensor portion to receive said measurement output, to set a target consumption over time based on a multidimensional profile of a user's physical body information, and to determine if the user's consumption meets the target consumption based upon the measurement.
US08378828B2	Radio frequency identification device with visual indicator An RFID device includes a chip, an antenna operatively coupled to the chip, and a visual indicator operatively coupled to the chip. The visual indicator provides a visual indication of an operative state of the device. The visual indication may be human readable and/or machine readable, and may provide visual indication that is dependent on a change in an operative state of the device. The operative state that triggers the visual indication may include a state in which the chip has temporarily or permanently been rendered inoperative or disabled, that is, in which the chip no longer responds to, or otherwise interacts with, ordinary incoming RF signals such as from a device reader. The visual indicator may be included in a display that functions by any of a variety of suitable mechanisms, such as by use of electrochromic materials, thermochromic materials, liquid crystals, or chemically-reactive materials.
US08378822B2	Cable theft monitoring system There is a cable theft monitoring system and method configured to protect electrical cables from theft during non-operation hours. The system includes a power circuit configured to provide power. The system also includes a motor coil configured to receive and utilize power. The system further includes a power supply line configured to facilitate power conduction through the motor coil. The system includes a sensor module configured to monitor a characteristic of the power supply line. The sensor module is configured to send an electrical current through the power supply line to the motor coil to detect electrical connection thereto. The system additionally includes an onsite control module configured to provide onsite controls to the cable theft monitoring system. The system also includes an isolation module configured to isolate the sensor module from strong power sources. Furthermore, the system includes a communication module configured to transmit information.
US08378821B2	Pluggable security device A pluggable security device for protecting an electronic device, such as a laptop, is disclosed. The pluggable security device has a battery, a siren, and an optional accelerometer. The security device is triggered by unplugging from the electronic device, or by sensing acceleration, or by disconnecting the electronic device from AC power or from a network. Once the security device is triggered and its internal siren is activated, it can only be deactivated by reinserting the pluggable security device into the electronic device it has been disconnected from and by entering a password in the electronic device.
US08378820B2	Infrared motion sensor system and method An infrared motion sensor system has an infrared (IR) sensor having a predetermined field of view, a target positioned within the field of view of the sensor which emits a spatially or temporally non-uniform pattern of IR radiation, and a processor which receives an output signal from the IR sensor, compares the received output signal to a signature temperature profile signal corresponding to the non-uniform pattern of IR radiation emitted by the target, and detects deviation of the sensor output signal from the signature temperature profile signal, indicating intervention of an object in a monitored volume between the target and sensor. The size of the target may be of the order of human size.
US08378819B2	Electrostatic occupant detection apparatus and method for detecting failure of the same A main electrode is located in a vehicle seat. A guard electrode is located between a grounded vehicle body and the main electrode. A detection unit selectively applies an alternating voltage signal to the main electrode and the guard electrode, sets the main electrode and the guard electrode to be in an open state or a grounded state, detects an electric current of one of the main electrode and the guard electrode, converts the selected electric current into a voltage value, and detects an overcurrent in the main electrode and the guard electrode. A control unit determines the main electrode and the guard electrode to be an open failure, a power supply short failure, a grounded failure, or a short failure with the guard electrode, according to one or a combination of the voltage value and detection or non-detection of an overcurrent.
US08378815B1	Asset tracking with error adaptive boundary Systems and methods for tracking assets from central stations using tracking devices enabled to receive GPS coordinates or site identities broadcast from transmitters at fixed locations within a wireless network. Plural position fixes are taken over time and forwarded to the central station. The position fixes are compared to establish a likelihood that apparent excursions from a predetermined boundary area are valid or not, prior to generating an alert signal that the asset has moved from the boundary area.
US08378810B2	Communication device In a signal shaper circuit provided between a VICS antenna, which receives a VICS signal and outputs reception input data signal, and a navigation CPU for signal processing, a low pass filter of a resistor and a capacitor is provided. The cutoff frequency of the low pass filter is set to pass light modulation noise included in the input data signal but cut off the input data signal, which is higher in frequency than the light modulation noise. The input data signal is compared with the filter-processed signal used as a reference signal by a comparator. As a result, a final output data signal is outputted in a waveform-shaped form and without loss of data.
US08378809B2	Network with switching control unit for disconnecting terminals from network voltage The invention relates to a network with a number of terminals connected by lines. Data and a supply voltage for power supply of the terminals may be transmitted via said lines. At least one switching control unit and at least one switch device with a switch means are provided therefor. The switch means of the switch device may be activated or deactivated by means of operating the switch control unit. With activated switch means a terminal allocated to the switch device is switched on by being connected to a network voltage. With deactivated switch means a terminal allocated to the switch device is switched off by being disconnected from the network voltage.
US08378806B2	Pseudo non-addressable alarm system A pseudo non-addressable alarm system that uses addressable notification appliances and/or detectors is disclosed. In one aspect, the addressable notification appliances and/or detectors may be entirely automatically (or partially automatically) grouped. One manner of automatic grouping is to use the wiring of the pseudo non-addressable system in order to automatically form the groupings of notification applications, such as grouping the notification appliances based on the signal line circuit to which they are connected. In another aspect, labels for the notification appliances and/or detectors in the pseudo non-addressable system may be entirely automatically (or partially automatically) generated. The labels may be automatically generated based on wiring of the pseudo non-addressable system and/or based on grouping information (such as grouping based on the particular signal line circuit to which the notification appliance is connected).
US08378805B2	Automatic signaling system for vehicles An automatic signaling system for a vehicle having a turn signal light, includes a sensor configured for sensing at least a portion of a lane, and a processor coupled to the sensor, wherein the processor is configured to activate the turn signal light of the vehicle based at least on a signal received from the sensor. A method for activating a turn signal light of a vehicle includes sensing at least a portion of a lane in which the vehicle is traveling, and automatically activating a turn signal light of the vehicle based at least on the sensed portion of the lane.
US08378804B2	Active acoustic control apparatus An active acoustic control apparatus includes an alert sound signal generator configured to generate an alert sound signal. An alert sound output device is configured to output an alert sound to an outside of a vehicle. A cancellation sound signal generator is configured to generate a cancellation sound signal representing a cancellation sound to cancel the alert sound, which has been transferred from the outside of the vehicle to an inside of the vehicle, at a sound cancellation target position inside the vehicle. A cancellation sound output device is configured to output the cancellation sound to the sound cancellation target position. The cancellation sound signal generator is configured to detect change of a transfer characteristic from the alert sound output device to the sound cancellation target position and to vary an output characteristic of the cancellation sound depending on the change of the transfer characteristic.
US08378797B2	Method and apparatus for localization of haptic feedback In an embodiment, a haptic feedback system includes a plurality of actuators to provide tactile feedback associated with an input surface. Each actuator is adapted to be activated independently of the other actuators. The system further includes a controller to activate a first actuator of the plurality of actuators to induce a first vibration at a selected input location of the input surface and to activate one or more additional actuators to induce at least a second vibration to localize the first vibration at the selected input location.
US08378795B2	Method and apparatus for distributing haptic synchronous signals A haptic signal distribution system capable of distributing haptic synchronous signals includes a master haptic device and groups of slave haptic devices. In one embodiment, the master haptic device is configured to distribute haptic synchronous signals to slave haptic devices. The haptic synchronous signals, for instance, may include information relating to a tempo for a piece of music. A haptic signal distribution system, for example, allows a master wearable haptic device to selectively distribute haptic synchronous signals to one or more groups of slave wearable haptic devices via a wireless communications network. Upon receipt of the haptic synchronous signals, each slave wearable haptic device generates a series of haptic feedback having a rhythm of beats in response to the haptic synchronous signals.
US08378793B1	Verbally prompting indicator device using verbal humanlike voices in connection with scuba tanks, dive computers and other dive equipment for improved underwater diving performance Improvements to existing diving tanks and dive computers are achieved through the use of an electronic device which employs audible, verbal, simulated, humanlike words or phrases to inform a user while underwater of dive information, including, but not limited to, gas volumes present in the tank, ascent rates, water temperature, depth levels, remaining time in the water, etc. In one embodiment a microcontroller can be used to facilitate the different settings and information that the talking tank or dive computer supplies. The electronic assembly of the present invention can be in communication with the existing pressure gauges, sensors, and valves associated with the talking tank or dive computer.
US08378785B2	Image display device and method for controlling the same A disclosed image display device includes a display part; a user identifying part configured to perform personal identification to identify personal identification information; a detecting part configured to detect whether the image display device is held by hand; and a control part configured to display an image on the display part upon a display request when the user identifying part identifies personal identification information obtained upon the display request as personal identification information of an authorized user, to continue displaying the image on the display part as long as the detecting part detects that the image display device is held by hand, and to erase the image on the display part when the user identifying part fails to identify the personal identification information of the authorized user by a personal identification performed upon detecting by the detecting part that the image display device is not held by hand.
US08378783B1	Remote control systems A system that allows a user to install a remote control transmitter to transmit a control signal in response to the driver flashing the high-beam headlights in a vehicle without cutting and splicing wires in the vehicle electrical system. Pluggable light system components such as the light bulb housing, the light bulb socket, and/or the headlight fuse are structured and arranged to contain a radio frequency transmitter that draws power from the existing electrical circuits. A method of use is also disclosed.
US08378780B2	Connected sensor system, network unit, and sensor unit The present invention provides a connected sensor system which can be easily used by the user and which can give an external input to each sensor unit without making the wiring complicated, and also provides a network unit and a sensor unit used for the connected sensor system. A cyclic communication memory of a network unit is arranged with an external input request region, and an external input signal is stored to a corresponding memory in a host control apparatus. By performing cyclic communication between the network unit and the host control apparatus, the external input signal is stored to the cyclic communication memory of the network unit. Accordingly, the external input signal is transmitted to each sensor unit connected to the network unit, and each sensor unit executes the external input function.
US08378779B2	Facility equipment cooperation system, equipment control method, and agent apparatus An apparatus communicating with a gateway apparatus on a control system network for facility equipment, via an information system network, includes a unit which stores not less than one piece of virtual point information defining a virtual point combined with not less than one piece of facility equipment, a user authentication unit which performs user authentication for a user associated with a client, a unit which receives a request for control on one virtual point from the client, a unit which creates a remote control command for the facility equipment associated with the request based on the virtual point information when the request has been received and the user authentication has succeeded, and a unit which transmit the remote control command to the gateway via the information system network when tenant authentication for a tenant associated with the agent apparatus which is performed by the gateway has succeeded.
US08378775B2	Planar transformer with boards Transformers (1) for transforming primary signals into secondary signals comprise primary and secondary parts that comprise boards (11-14, 21-23) with turns. By introducing distances larger than zero between for example any pair of neighboring boards (11-14, 21-23), parasitic capacitances of the transformers (1) are reduced, and the secondary signals may comprise relatively fast/high voltage pulses having rise times >1 kV/μsec. To reduce proximity effects and any resulting losses, the primary and secondary boards (11-14, 21-23) may be stacked in interleaved ways. Such sandwich constructions reduce leakage inductances. In a particular direction, distances between subsequent primary boards (11-14, 21-23) and distances between subsequent combinations of primary and secondary boards (11-14, 21-23) are to be increased to further reduce capacitive losses in that particular direction. Relatively low voltage differences may be present between relatively close boards (11-14, 21-23), and relatively high voltage differences may be present between boards (11-14, 21-23) that are relatively far away from each other.
US08378770B2	Inductor assembly An inductor assembly includes a base and an inductor component. When the inductor component is disposed on the base, the distance between the inductor component and a nearby electronic component is increased by a connecting element or a carrying element of the base, and the inductor component is prevented from contacting the nearby electronic component by a spacing element of the base.
US08378769B2	Magnetic field generator for a magnetocaloric thermal appliance and process for assembling such generator A magnetic field generator (1) for a magnetocaloric thermal appliance comprising at least one magnetising structure (2) creating a constant magnetic field in at least one air gap (3) in which at least one magnetocaloric element (4) is arranged. The magnetising structure (2) comprises first (5) and second (6) magnetic poles arranged facing each other on each side of a symmetry plane (P) and each made up of an assembly of permanent magnets (7, 8) and of a ferromagnetic element (9). The magnetic field generator is characterised in that the ferromagnetic element (9) presents a face (F1) protruding with respect to the assembly forming the magnetic pole (5, 6) and the two ferromagnetic elements (9) of the magnetising structure (2) are arranged face to face with a distance forming the at least one air gap (3, 13, 23) of the magnetising structure (2).
US08378767B2	Electromagnetic contact device Two electromagnetic contact devices 1a, 1b are arranged adjacently, a reversible unit 2 is detachably mounted on these electromagnetic contact devices, and two auxiliary contact point units 4a, 4b are detachably mounted on the reversible unit. In addition, two surge absorption units 3a, 3b are detachably mounted on the electromagnetic contact devices.
US08378762B2	Compact filtering structure An electromagnetic band gap (EGB) structure includes a substrate made of an isolating material. A plurality of identical planar transmission line segments are formed one under another in conductor layers embedded in the substrate. Vertical transitions connect one by one the plurality of planar transmission line segments. Adjacent ones of the vertical transitions are equally spaced on a predetermined distance in a direction parallel to the transmission line segments, thereby the vertical transitions serve as periodical inclusions forming the EBG structure.
US08378756B2	Drive loop for MEMS oscillator Some embodiments regard a method comprising: generating a current according to a movement of the MEMS device; the movement is controlled by a control signal; generating a peak voltage according to the current; and adjusting the control signal when the peak voltage is out of a predetermined range.
US08378755B2	Oscillation circuit An oscillation circuit has a first inverter connected to an external piezoelectric resonator, a first feedback resistor disposed between input/output terminals of the first inverter, first/second variable capacitive elements connected to input/output of the first inverter, a charging circuit supplying input/output terminal with a reference current to charge the capacitive element, a comparator comparing a charging voltage of input/output with a reference voltage, and a control circuit that, in a calibration operation, at a first time, causes the charging circuit to start supply the reference current to the input terminal or the output terminal, and, at a second time after the first time, generates the control signal for setting a capacitance value of the first or second variable capacitive element so that the charging voltage becomes close to the reference voltage according to a comparison result of the comparator.
US08378753B2	Oscillator with frequency determined by relative magnitudes of current sources An oscillator circuit includes a circuit loop and multiple current sources. The circuit loop includes an output having the oscillating signal. The multiple current sources are turned on independently of a phase of the oscillating signal. The current sources control magnitudes of both charging current and discharging current at nodes of the circuit loop, including the output. Relative magnitudes of different current sources determine a frequency of the oscillating signal.
US08378750B2	Class AB amplifiers A class AB amplifier includes a first inductor having a first terminal in communication with a voltage source terminal. A first transistor has a drain terminal in communication with a second terminal of the first inductor. A second transistor has a source terminal in communication with a source terminal of the first transistor. A second inductor has a first terminal in communication with a drain terminal of the second transistor and a second terminal in communication with a reference potential. The drain terminals of the first transistor and the second transistor are capacitively coupled together.
US08378745B2	Current sensing A switching amplifier comprising: an output driving circuit (400) including a pair of switching transistors (M1, M2) connected in series between a pair of supply voltage lines (VP, gnd); a switch driver circuit (204a) configured to drive the switching transistors (M1, M2) with first and second respective PWM signals dependent on an input signal (101); an output connection between the pair of transistors (M1, M2) for driving an output load (403); and an output current sensing circuit for measuring a current through the output load, the output current sensing circuit comprising: a current sensing resistor (401a) connected between a first one (M2) of the pair of transistors and an adjacent supply voltage line (gnd); and a voltage sense circuit (404) connected across the current sensing resistor, wherein the voltage sense circuit is configured to sample a voltage across the current sensing resistor (401a) at a midpoint of successive corresponding portions of one of the PWM signals.
US08378744B2	Multi-mode power amplifier There is provided a multi-mode power amplifier operable in a low power mode having a preset power range and in a high power mode having a power range higher than the power range of the low power mode. The multi-mode power amplifier includes: a high power amplifying unit including at least one cascode amplifier to amplify an input signal to a high power level having a preset power range; a low power amplifying unit sharing a common source node of the at least one cascode amplifier to amplify the input signal to a low power level having a power range lower than the high power level; and a coupling unit coupling a transfer path of a signal output from the high power amplifying unit and a transfer path of a signal output from the low power amplifying unit to each other.
US08378743B2	Reducing pulse error distortion A class D amplifier that includes circuitry to apply a non-linear correction to pulse error distortion. The amplifier includes an output voltage controlling circuit, comprising at least two switches, controlled by a modulator; an output inductor, coupling the switching circuit to an output terminal; and correction circuitry to provide to the modulator a correction signal characterized by a non-linearity. The correction circuitry includes a current sensor that senses the current from the output inductor to the output terminal.
US08378742B2	Driver for a semiconductor chip A driver for a semiconductor chip, the driver having a drain wire with a first end and a second end and p and n-type transistors each with a source, gate and drain. The source of the p-type transistors connected to a positive power supply line, the source of the n-type transistors connected to a ground power supply line. The gates of the p and n-type transistors connected to a first and second input signals respectively. The drains of the p and n-type transistors connected to the drain wire. The p and n-type transistors arranged so that a difference between a number of n-type transistors connected to the drain wire and a number of p-type transistors connected to the drain wire between the first end of the drain wire and all distances along the drain wire being less than two.
US08378738B1	Adaptive voltage scaling using a delay line In one embodiment, a method includes determining, for an integrated circuit chip, a delay measurement corresponding to a first number of stages in a delay line. A power supply voltage measurement is also determined. The method determines a second number of stages correlated to the power supply voltage measurement. The second number of stages correspond to a desired timing delay. It is determined if a power supply voltage should be adjusted using a comparison based on the first number of stages and the second number of stages. A control signal is output for adjusting the power supply voltage when it is determined the power supply voltage should be adjusted.
US08378736B2	Low noise charge pump method and apparatus A charge pump method and apparatus is described having various aspects. Noise injection from a charge pump to other circuits may be reduced by limiting both positive and negative clock transition rates, as well as by limiting drive currents within clock generator driver circuits, and also by increasing a control node AC impedance of certain transfer capacitor coupling switches. A single-phase clock may be used to control as many as all active switches within a charge pump, and capacitive coupling may simplify biasing and timing for clock signals controlling transfer capacitor coupling switches. Any combination of such aspects of the method or apparatus may be employed to quiet and/or simplify charge pump designs over a wide range of charge pump architectures.
US08378735B2	Die temperature sensor circuit A die temperature sensor circuit (200) includes an amplifier (203) that has first and second stages of amplification and that has bipolar transistors (201 and 202) as an input differential pair. The bipolar transistors have different current densities. A difference between base-emitter voltages of the bipolar transistors is proportional to absolute temperature of the bipolar transistors. The bipolar transistors also provide amplification for the first stage of amplification. Multiple feedback loops maintain a same ratio between the current densities of the bipolar transistors over temperature by changing collector currents that bias the bipolar transistors. A feedback loop includes a second stage of amplification and such feedback loop cancels effect that base currents of the bipolar transistors have on an output signal of the die temperature sensor circuit.
US08378732B2	Octave-range, watt-level, fully-integrated CMOS switching power mixer array for linearization and back-off-efficiency improvement Power mixer arrays for providing watt-level power in mobile systems. In one embodiment, a fully-integrated octave-range CMOS power mixer that occupies only 2.6 mm2 using a 130 nm semiconductor process has been demonstrated. The power mixer provides an output power of +31.5 dBm into an external 50 Ω load with a power added efficiency (PAE) of 44% at 1.8 GHz and a full power gain compression of only 0.4 dB.
US08378726B2	Clock signal duty correction circuit A clock signal duty correction circuit includes: a first transition timing control unit configured to generate a first control signal for controlling a rising timing of a duty correction clock signal by using a clock signal; a second transition timing control unit configured to generate a second control signal for varying a falling timing of the duty correction clock signal by using the clock signal according to a code signal; and a differential buffer unit configured to generate the duty correction clock signal, whose rising time or falling time is adjusted, in response to the first control signal and the second control signal.
US08378720B2	Signal processing arrangement A signal processing arrangement comprises a series of latches (XDL, L1, L2) arranged as a clocked delay line (CDL) having a data input and a data output that are coupled to each other so as to form an inverting loop. An enable circuit (ACDL) allows or prevents a latch (L2) in the series of latches from changing state depending on whether, one clock cycle ago, the latch concerned received a given binary value or the inverse of that given binary 5 value, respectively, from the preceding latch (L1) in the series of latches. Such a circuit configuration allows a low-cost frequency division by an odd number with relatively small duty cycle errors.
US08378718B2	Dynamic switch driver for low-distortion programmable-gain amplifier A switching circuit for switching a time-varying input signal, the switching circuit comprising: at least one switch including a N-channel MOSFET and a P-channel MOSFET, each having a gate configured to receive a drive signal to change the ON/OFF state of the switch; and a drive circuit configured and arranged so as to selectively apply a pair of drive signals to change the ON/OFF state of the switch, the drive circuit being configured and arranged to generate the drive signals as a function of (a) a pair DC signal components sufficient to change the ON/OFF state of the switch and (b) a pair of time-varying signal components as at least a partial replica of the signal present on the source terminal of each MOSFET so that when applied with the DC signals to the gates of the n-channel MOSFET and p-channel MOSFET respectively, the drive signals will be at the appropriate level to maintain the ON/OFF state of the switch and keep the gate-source voltages of each MOSFET within the gate-source breakdown limit of the MOSFETs.
US08378717B1	High-speed BiCMOS double sampling track-and-hold amplifier circuit A high-speed BiCMOS double sampling track-and-hold amplifier circuit, comprising an input buffer, two front-end switches, two sampling capacitors, two intermediate buffers, two feedback buffers, two back-end switches and an output buffer. The present invention forms a hold circuit featuring BiCMOS double sampling through the aforementioned components so as to reduce complexities in designing the sampling circuit and the output buffer within the BiCMOS track-and-hold amplifier circuit by means of double sampling, thereby increasing the effective sampling rate to two times. Additionally, the high-speed BiCMOS double sampling track-and-hold amplifier circuit according to the present invention further employs the linearization technology to enhance the linearity of the input buffer in the BiCMOS double sampling track-and-hold amplifier circuit in order to improve the dynamic response of the integral BiCMOS double sampling track-and-hold amplifier circuit.
US08378715B2	Method to construct systems A method to construct first and second configurable systems including: providing a first configurable system including a first die and a second die, where the first die is diced from a first wafer and the second die is diced from a second wafer and the first die is connected to the second die using at least one through-silicon-via (TSV); providing a second configurable system including a third die and a fourth die, where the third die is diced from a third wafer and the fourth die is diced from a fourth wafer and the third die is connected to the fourth die using at least one through-silicon-via (TSV); where processing the first wafer and the third wafer utilizes a majority of masks that are substantially same; and where the first die is larger than the third die.
US08378713B2	Digital filter circuit According to one embodiment, a digital filter circuit includes an EXOR circuit, a clock gating circuit, a reset control circuit, a counter, a filter time setting circuit, a comparator, and a decoder. The clock gating circuit outputs a clock gating signal. The reset control circuit generates a first signal. The counter generates a count signal. The filter time setting circuit latches the count signal when the first signal is in the enable state, and outputs a latched count value as a second signal. The comparator receives the count signal and the second signal, and outputs a third signal of the enable state when the value of the count signal and the value of the second signal match each other.
US08378712B2	Integrated circuit with crosslinked interconnect networks The present invention provides in a first aspect a programmable interconnect network for an array of logic blocks, which comprises a plurality of switch boxes being connected in a tree-based hierarchical architecture and providing selection and connection for the logic blocks, switch boxes located at the lowest level of the tree structure are connected to the logic blocks; wherein said network comprises a crosslink established between two of said plurality of switch boxes. The present invention helps implement functions with more area and timing efficiency and/or placement-friendliness.
US08378703B2	Container, a method for disposing the same, and a measurement method The present invention restrains adverse effects caused by refraction of a terahertz wave by a device under test when the terahertz wave is fed to the device under test for measurement. A container 10 contains at least part of a device under test 1 to be measured by a terahertz wave measurement device. The container 10 includes a gap portion 11 that internally arranges at least a part of the device under test 1, and an enclosure portion 12 that includes a first curved surface portion S1, and a second curved surface portion S2, and arranges the gap portion 11 between the first curved surface portion S1 and the second curved surface portion S2, thereby enclosing the gap portion 11. Moreover, a relationship n1
US08378702B2	Non-contact testing of printed electronics Apparatus and methods for non-contact testing of electronic components printed on a substrate (3) are provided. Test circuits (11) are printed on the substrate (3) at the same time as the desired electronic component. The test circuits (11) are all optical and include a first portion (13) for providing electrical energy for the test circuit (11) and a second portion (15) for generating a detectable optical signal that is indicative of at least one electrical property of the electronic component. The test circuits are used in real time and minimize the production of unusable scrap in the printing of such products as ePaper.
US08378695B2	Determining the dead time in driving a half-bridge A circuit arrangement for determining a temporal change of an output voltage of a half-bridge circuit during a dead time. In one embodiment, the circuit arrangement includes a first input for applying the output voltage. A capacitive network is provided having a first and a second circuit node capacitively coupled to the input, and having a terminal for a reference potential. A recharging circuit is configured, during the switched-on phase of one of a first and second switching elements, to adjust electrical potentials of the first and second nodes, the electrical potentials each being different from the reference potential. A comparator arrangement is provided that is configured during the dead time to determine a time difference between such times at which the electrical potentials at the first and second node each assume a given potential value, the time difference being a measure for the change with time of the output voltage.
US08378693B2	Vector network analyzer (VNA) on a chip A front end of a vector network analyzer (VNA) on an integrated circuit includes a clock generator and two ports. The VNA couples to a device under test (DUT) using the two ports. Each port may include a plurality of receivers and a VSWR bridge, and can be configured as either an input or an output. The clock generator can generate a stimulus signal, an in-phase I clock signal, and a quadrature-phase Q clock signal. The output port provides the stimulus signal to the DUT and measures both reference and reflected power from the DUT, such as by utilizing two receivers by using direct conversion and the I and Q clock signals. The input port measures transmitted power through the DUT using a second VSWR bridge and one of its receivers by using direct conversion along with the I and Q clock signals. The VNA IC can provide S-parameter measurements to a processing unit for further processing and/or analysis to compute the DUT S-parameters.
US08378690B1	Test cable device for detecting an electrical fault A test cable device comprising a main cable with a standard trailer connector; at least seven inner wires in the main cable, the first ends of each inner wire extending from the first end of the main cable, the first inner wire being a ground wire; a first clamp operatively connected to the first end of the first inner wire; and a second clamp operatively connected to each of the first ends of the second, third, fourth, and fifth inner wires; wherein the first ends of the sixth and seventh inner wires are operatively connected to a first flasher relay, the first flasher relay can be operatively connected to a port of a relay unit; wherein the device can be operatively connected to a power source via the first and second clamp, power is directed through the device and to the trailer via the trailer connector.
US08378687B2	Method of measuring characteristics regarding safety of battery A measuring method of a battery includes the step of measuring frequency characteristics of an internal impedance of the battery by an AC impedance method, and determining a parameter of an element representing ease of mobility of charges on a surface of a positive electrode of the battery and that of an element representing the ease of mobility of charges on the surface of a negative electrode.
US08378681B2	Multiple-frequency RF trap and MRI system A multiple-frequency RF trap and an MRI system including a multiple-frequency RF trap. The multiple-frequency RF trap being tuned to block RF energy at two frequencies.
US08378671B1	Deployable magnetometer Cost-effective compact magnetometers can be deployed across large ocean areas to record magnetic field strengths. Each magnetometer has a canister containing a magnetometer sensor at its upper end to detect magnetic field strengths of magnetic influence sweep systems and provide representative data signals. Each magnetometer also has sensors to collect data representative of the orientation of the magnetometer as well as temperature and depth to aid in post operational evaluation of the gathered magnetic strength data. A computer processor connected to the sensors controls receipt of the data signals and stores them in a memory device. Batteries at the canister's lower end supply power for the sensors, processor, and memory. An anchor release mechanism causes an anchor to separate from the canister, allowing it to float to the surface for recovery or to transmit data via a UHF transceiver.
US08378666B2	Multi-turn sensor Techniques are provided for measuring angles of rotation of a rotatable body, and, in particular, for measuring angles of rotation of a rotating member that can rotate greater than 360 degrees. One example of these techniques is multi-turn angular position sensor that includes a main gear configured to couple to and rotate, in response to rotation of a rotation member, over a main gear rotation range, a first sensor gear engaged with the main gear and configured to experience more angular rotation than the main gear in response to rotation of the main gear, and a second sensor gear engaged with the main gear and configured to experience more angular rotation than the main gear and less angular rotation than the first sensor gear in response to rotation of the main gear.
US08378661B1	Solar simulator A solar simulator which uses a honeycomb structure for providing highly collimated light for testing one or more photovoltaic cells.
US08378660B2	Programmable integrated circuit device to support inductive sensing An integrated circuit device inductive touch analog front end excites selected ones of a plurality of inductive touch sensors and provides analog output signals representative of voltages across the coils of the plurality of inductive touch sensors. Various characteristics of the inductive touch analog front end are programmable. A digital processor controls selection of each one of the plurality of inductive touch sensors and receives the respective analog output voltage signal from the inductive touch AFE. The digital processor may program the characteristics of the inductive touch analog front end. When a sufficient change in the coil voltage is determined by the digital processor, that inductive touch sensor is assumed to have been actuated and the digital processor takes action based upon which one of the plurality of inductive touch sensors was actuated (touched).
US08378659B2	Structural health monitoring system/method using electroactive polymer fibers A method for monitoring the structural health of a structure of interest by coupling one or more electroactive polymer fibers to the structure and monitoring the electroactive responses of the polymer fiber(s). Load changes that are experienced by the structure cause changes in the baseline responses of the polymer fiber(s). A system for monitoring the structural health of the structure is also provided.
US08378651B2	LDO with distributed output device A method and apparatus for supplying independently switched, regulated power to a plurality of loads is disclosed.
US08378650B2	Way out of balance (WOB) current correction for use with a multi-phase DC-DC converter Provided herein are circuits, systems and methods that monitor for way out of balance (WOB) conditions within a multi-phase DC-DC converter, and adjust a balance between currents through channels of the DC-DC converter, in dependence on detected WOB conditions.
US08378648B2	Linear regulator with automatic external pass device detection A power regulator circuit automatically disables an internal pass transistor when a detection circuit detects the presence of an external pass device. The internal pass transistor is made in an integrated circuit along with a detection circuit and a switch for disabling the internal pass transistor. The detection circuit detects a presence of an external pass device external to the integrated circuit. The switch automatically disables the internal pass transistor when the detection circuit detects the presence of the external pass device. The detection circuit has a comparator for comparing a signal on an outside connection of the integrated circuit and a latch to operate the switch. The comparator compares a voltage on an outside connection of the integrated circuit against a reference after power up of the regulator and can delay operation of the comparison until a predetermined time after power up. An integrated circuit can contain the power regulator circuit and the internal pass transistor. The power regulator circuit can be used on a power supply with a DC power source.
US08378645B2	Method for monitoring an electrodynamic machine A method for monitoring an electrodynamic machine a stator and a rotor arrangement mounted along a rotatable shaft. The rotor arrangement is disposed within the stator and forms an air gap between the rotor arrangement and the stator. At least one sensor is disposed in the air gap and/or within the stator. Measurement signals are detected that are dependent on a magnetic field produced by the electrodynamic machine. The measurement signals are used as a basis for detecting oscillations of the shaft.
US08378641B2	Electric power generating system with boost converter/synchronous active filter A method of startup of an electric start electrical power generating system (EPGS) is provided. The EPGS includes a generator configured to power a direct current (DC) load via a DC bus. The method includes: disconnecting the DC load from the DC bus; connecting a battery to a boost converter, the boost converter being connected to the generator; powering the generator using the battery via the boost converter; when the generator reaches a minimum speed: disconnecting the battery from the boost converter; deactivating the boost converter; and activating a synchronous active filter, the synchronous active filter being connected to the DC bus; bringing up a voltage on the DC bus by the generator; and when the voltage on the DC bus reaches a predetermined level, connecting the DC load to the DC bus.
US08378634B2	Power management circuit The present invention discloses a power management circuit, including: a first voltage regulator, which converts an input voltage to an output voltage; a second voltage regulator coupled between the output voltage and a battery; and a voltage difference control circuit, which receives the output voltage and a voltage of the battery, and outputs a voltage difference control signal to control the first voltage regulator. The voltage difference control circuit includes: a battery reference voltage determination circuit, which generates a battery reference voltage related to the battery voltage, and an error amplifier, which receives the output voltage and the battery reference voltage and generates the voltage difference control signal.
US08378630B2	Video game controller charging system having a docking structure A video game controller charging system is provided. The video game controller charging system includes a base; at least one structure on the base for providing physical support to at least one video game controller while it is being charged; and at least one DC port on the base configured to couple to and provide DC power to a power input port of the at least one video game controller. The video game controller charging system may also include a current detector, a charging status indicator, at least one docking bay, and/or an AC-to-DC converter adapted to convert externally supplied power to the DC power provided to the power input port of at least one video game controller. The base of a charging station may include a recess having at least one electrical contact and a power input for connection to a power supply.
US08378628B2	Plug conversion adaptor A conversion adaptor enables utilization of a standardized charge cable used when a power storage device mounted on an electrically-powered vehicle is charged by a power source provided outside of the vehicle as a universal cable for transmitting electric power to electric loads having different plug shapes that are respectively standardized from one region to another. Conversion adaptor includes a primary side connector unit configured to be connectable to a connector of charge cable, a secondary side connector unit configured so as to have a plug of an electric load, such as a home electric appliance, connected thereto, and a manipulating unit for manipulating a CCID of charge cable so that relays are switched off when connector of charge cable is connected to first connector unit.
US08378627B2	Electric supply controller, electric supply system and method for controlling electric supply to charger and vehicle Chargers are connectable with vehicles. An electric supply controller controls a switching circuit to connect an electric power supply line to one of the chargers. A storage unit of the electric supply controller associates information on a priority to each of the vehicles and stores the associated information therein. When the vehicles are simultaneously connected to different chargers, a control unit of the electric supply controller controls the switching circuit to connect the electric power supply line preferentially to one of the different chargers. The one of the different chargers is connected to one of the vehicles assigned with a highest priority.
US08378625B2	Mobile electronic device AC charger mount A device for mounting a mobile electronic device to an alternating current charger is provided. The mount allows the user to charge a mobile electronic device with the alternating current charger provided by the original equipment manufacturer of the mobile electronic device. The mount also protects the mobile electronic device from damage.
US08378622B2	Energy and power management integrated circuit device Provided is an energy and power management integrated circuit (IC) device. The energy and power management IC device includes a plurality of energy conversion devices for harvesting energy from respective energy conversion sources and converting the energy into electric energy, an energy management IC (EMIC) for converting the electric energy converted by the energy conversion devices into stable energy, a storage device for storing the energy or power converted by the EMIC, a power management IC (PMIC) for receiving and distributing the power stored in the storage device, and a plurality of output load devices for consuming the power distributed by the PMIC. Accordingly, it is possible to harvest energy in an environmentally friendly way and semi-permanently use the energy without changing a battery.
US08378621B2	Integrated systems for harnessing solar and wind energy An energy farm system that harnesses energy from the environment has an integrated energy collector that harnesses solar light radiation, solar heat radiation, and harnesses wind energy. Some embodiments of the collector may be used for powering lights on a pole, communication equipment outdoors, and be suitable for powering homes and buildings. The collector harnesses wind energy by a horizontal axis rotation wind mill, harnesses solar light radiation by using a system of lenses that focus light to the center to the photovoltaic cells, and harnesses solar heat radiation by using a system of lenses that focus heat to the center to a heat exchanger. The collector mounted on a pole receives solar energy from the sun rays, as the sun travels from east to west. The lens elements focus light and heat radiation towards the center of the collector to a solar cell array and a solar energy collector.
US08378619B2	Motor start circuit for an induction motor A motor start circuit for an induction motor includes a start switch device serving the purpose of interrupting the current or voltage flow through the start winding after the start of the motor. The motor includes a main winding and a start winding, which are supplied with alternating current or voltage from a mains power supply.
US08378615B2	Motor controller There are provided: a plurality of notch filters which are arranged inside a control system for feedback-controlling a moving operation of a moving section of a motor and attenuate signal components having near frequencies with a notch frequency at a center in an input signal; a plurality of oscillation extracting filters which are set with different frequency bands as being corresponded to the respective notch filters and extract oscillating components in the set frequency bands from a speed detection signal; and a plurality of notch controlling sections which are arranged with respect to the respective oscillation extracting filters and control the notch frequencies of the corresponding notch filters so as to decrease amplitudes of the oscillating components extracted by the oscillation extracting filters.
US08378614B2	Fan control circuit A fan control circuit includes a first switch element, a second switch element, and a fan connector. A first control terminal of the first switch element is connected to a fan control terminal to receive a pulse width modulation signal. A first terminal of the first switch element is connected to a first voltage source. A second control terminal of the second switch element is connected to the first terminal of the first switch element. A fourth terminal of the second switch is connected to a second voltage source via a NTC resistor. A first pin of the fan connector is connected to ground. A second pin of the fan connector is connected to a third terminal of the second switch element. A third pin of the fan connector is connected to a signal receiving terminal. The third pin is configured to receive a feedback signal indicating a rotating speeding of the fan.
US08378613B2	Debris sensor for cleaning apparatus A piezoelectric debris sensor and associated signal processor responsive to debris strikes enable an autonomous or non-autonomous cleaning device to detect the presence of debris and in response, to select a behavioral mode, operational condition or pattern of movement, such as spot coverage or the like. Multiple sensor channels (e.g., left and right) can be used to enable the detection or generation of differential left/right debris signals and thereby enable an autonomous device to steer in the direction of debris.
US08378612B2	Control system and method of operating a massage device A control system for a massage device. The massage device has a base, a carriage movably engaged with the base, a plurality of kneading heads mounted on the carriage, and a motor operative to drive the plurality of kneading heads to produce a kneading effect on a body of a user and to drive the carriage up and down relative to the base such that various areas of the body can be massaged. In one embodiment, the control system includes: an on-off switch for a user to activate or deactivate the massage device; a mode selector for a user to select one of a plurality of operating modes, wherein the plurality of operating modes includes at least two of (i) full range massage, (ii) shoulder area massage, (iii) upper back massage, (iv) lower back massage, (v) waist area massage, and (vi) any combination of (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v); and a motor controller configured to start the motor in response to the user's activating the on-off switch to drive the plurality of kneading heads and to drive the carriage up and down relative to the base in a range according to the operating mode selected by the user.
US08378611B2	Computer fan alarm circuit A circuit for alarming abnormal state of a computer fan includes a detection circuit coupled to the computer fan, a controller coupled to the detection circuit and the computer fan, an alarm unit coupled to the controller. The detection circuit detects a power source and a speed control signal received by the computer fan, the controller determines the work state of the computer fan according to the power source, the speed control signal, and a speed signal received from the computer fan and raises an alarm through the alarm unit if the computer fan is not working normally.
US08378610B2	Linear actuator A linear actuator includes a housing with a reversible DC-motor, which through a transmission can displace an activation element between two end positions, where an further switch located in the longitudinal direction of the spindle is activated and deactivated when a spindle nut passes during its travel on the spindle and provides information for a calculation model which continuously calculates the position of the spindle nut on the spindle so that the calculation model in the positions where the further switch is activated by the spindle nut is calibrated to show an absolute position which is entered as a reference point in the control.
US08378606B2	Synchronized minimum frequency pulse width modulation drive for sensorless brushless direct current motor Drive voltages to a sensorless brushless DC motor are regulated by varying the width of a single drive pulse (PWM pulse) centered in each of the commutation periods. Switching losses are thereby cut to an absolute minimum because there are only two transitions (on and off) in each drive commutation period. Back EMF zero-cross detectors determine the electrical timing relationships during each electrical cycle. Since the PWM drive pulses are always centered in each of the commutation periods, there will always be back EMF available for measurement of “zero-crossings.” A digital device controls power switching transistors to produce one single PWM pulse during each of the commutation periods.
US08378603B2	Method and system for controlling an electric motor using zero current offset value cancellation Methods and systems for controlling an electric motor are provided. The electric motor includes at least one winding. A winding current flowing through the at least one winding is monitored. The winding current has an oscillating component and an offset component. The offset component of the winding current is isolated from the oscillating component of the winding current. The electric motor is controlled based on the offset component of the winding current.
US08378602B2	System and method for aligning a rotor to a known position A system and method are presented for aligning a rotor in a motor. The motor may include the rotor and a plurality of pairs of electromagnets. One or more pairs of electromagnets may be excited at a first excitation level. The one or more pairs of electromagnets may be less than all of the plurality of pairs of electromagnets. The excitation of the one or more pairs of electromagnets may be increased to a second excitation level over a first period of time. The excitation of the one or more pairs of electromagnets may be decreased to a third excitation level over a second period of time. Exciting the one or more pairs of electromagnets, increasing the excitation, and decreasing the excitation may cause the rotor to stop in a known position.
US08378600B2	Electric power tool An electric power tool “A” operates a working part 5 by repeating rotation of a motor 4 in a normal direction and in a reverse direction one or more times. The motor 4 includes a brushless motor. Sensors H for detecting a position of a rotor 15 are provided on the motor 4 so as to be advanced by an electrical angle of 30°±θ° from an intermediate position between respective stator teeth 16 in a direction of the normal rotation of the rotor 15. A control part 20 for controlling the rotation of the motor 4 controls a driving signal of the motor 4 based on the results of detection by the sensors H. Moreover, the control part 20 selects a detection signal of the sensors H so that relation between the rotor 15 and the detection signal of the sensors H is equivalent in either of the normal rotation and the reverse rotation of the rotor 15.
US08378591B2	Light output device A light output device comprises a power supply and a plurality of light source device arrangements arranged in a line extending from a power connection, with adjacent light source device arrangements in the line connected together with an electrical connector arrangement. Each light source device arrangement is associated with a control circuit from the plurality of control circuits for providing independent control of the light source device arrangement output based on the control signal. The device can be reduced in length by disconnecting the connector arrangement between an adjacent pair of light source device arrangements and the remaining light source device arrangements extending from the power source are independently controlled by the control signal.
US08378590B2	Method for detection of non-zero-voltage switching operation of a ballast of fluorescent lamps, and ballast A method for use in a lamp ballast includes obtaining a measurement signal representative of a voltage at an output of a half-bridge circuit. The half-bridge circuit includes first and second semiconductor switching elements, a resonant circuit connected to the half-bridge circuit, and a snubber capacitance connected in parallel with one of the semiconductor switching elements. The method also includes providing a comparison signal by comparing the measurement signal with a reference value. The method further includes detecting one of a first type of non-zero-voltage switching operation and a second type of non-zero-voltage switching operation based on evaluations of the comparison signal, wherein the evaluations of the comparison signal occurs in each case before the first semiconductor element is switched on and in each case before the second semiconductor element is switched on.
US08378588B2	Circuits and methods for driving light sources A driving circuit for driving a light source includes a converter and a dimming controller. The converter coupled to a power source is operable for receiving power from the power source and for providing regulated power to the light source according to control signals. The dimming controller coupled to the converter is operable for monitoring a power switch coupled between the power source and the converter, for receiving a color change signal indicating a first set of operations of the power switch and a dimming request signal indicating a second set of operations of the power switch, for controlling the control signals to change the color of the light source in response to the color change signal, and for controlling the control signals to adjust the brightness of the light source in response to the dimming request signal.
US08378587B2	Lamp having self-regulated lighting A portable electric lamp comprises a lighting module with LEDs and user control means connected to an electronic control circuit to define different lighting modes. An optic sensor is housed in the casing near the light-emitting diode LED to transmit to the control circuit a signal representative of the lighting induced by the lamp to automatically regulate the power of the LED according to a predefined threshold.
US08378583B2	Feedforward control of semiconductor light sources A control method for a semiconductor light source may include operating the semiconductor light source with short, powerful pulses by an operating device; storing the characteristic light decrease of the semiconductor light source depending on the power introduced into the semiconductor light source in the operating device; and altering power introduced during the pulse in such a way that the emitted quantity of light of the semiconductor light source substantially remains constant over the pulse duration.
US08378582B2	Plasma lighting system A plasma lighting system is disclosed. Interference with an electronic device using the same band as that of the plasma lighting system can be avoided by changing the shape of vanes constituting a magnetron, and a filament current of the magnetron at an initial starting stage and that in a normal state are adjusted to be different, thus avoiding interference with a wireless LAN and attenuating noise, and a resonator has a mash form to increase efficiency. Because a rectangular waveguide is bent substantially at a right angle, and the magnetron and the resonator are disposed at one side on the basis of a waveguide space of the waveguide, thus reducing the size and an installation space of the plasma lighting system.
US08378577B2	Liquid crystal display with ambient light sensor A liquid crystal display includes a main body, a screen positioned on the main body, a backlight module positioned in the main body and supplying light for the screen, a controller for controlling the brightness of the backlight module and an ambient light sensor positioned on the main body. The ambient light sensor includes a barrel, an optical sheet positioned at an end of the barrel and a photosensitive unit positioned at the other end of the barrel. The photosensitive unit creates a signal according to the ambient light received via the optical sheet, and sends the signal to the controller. The controller adjusts the brightness of the backlight module. The optical sheet includes a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface and a plurality of V-shaped micro structures formed on the first surface.
US08378576B2	Ion beam generator [Objection of the invention]An ion beam generator, a thermal distortion in a grid assembly is reduced. [Structure to solve the objection]Thermal expansion coefficients αP, αM and αG, for a sidewall (1A) of a discharge chamber, mounting platform (40) and extraction grid electrode assembly (20) are selected to have a relation: αP>αM≧αG. For example, the material of discharge chamber sidewall is stainless steel o aluminum, the material of grids is Mo, W or C and the material of platform is Ti or Mo.
US08378572B2	Plasma display panel and method for manufacturing the same A plasma display panel includes: a front plate; a rear plate having barrier ribs; a sealing member that seals a peripheral edge of the front plate and a peripheral edge of the rear plate; and a bonding layer that bonds at least part of the barrier ribs and the front plate to each other. The sealing member has a first glass member. The bonding layer has a second glass member. A deformation point of the second glass member is lower than a softening point of the first glass member. A softening point of the second glass member is higher than the softening point of the first glass member.
US08378563B2	Apparatus, method to change light source color temperature with reduced optical filtering losses The efficiency and color temperature of a lighting device may be improved by using wavelength shifting material, such as a phosphor, to absorb less desired wavelengths and transmit more desired wavelengths. A reflective filter (e.g., dichroic or dielectric mirror material) may pass desired wavelengths while returning or reflecting less desired wavelengths away from an optical exit back toward wavelength shifting material which may either be disposed in the optical path or on the periphery of the light source.
US08378562B2	Hybrid compact fluorescent lamp fixing method A lamp assembly provides both instant light through use of an incandescent/halogen lamp source and an energy saving type light provided by a compact fluorescent lamp source. Both light sources are fixed within the assembly by a fixing mechanism that spaces the lights sources from each other such that heat from one source does not negatively affect the second light source or any other portion of the assembly.
US08378561B2	Electron emitter and field emission device provided with electron emitter An electron emitter includes a guard electrode 13 on the outer circumferential side of a carbon film structure 10 which is formed on a substrate 7 by plasma CVD method. This guard electrode 13 includes a curved surface portion (a curved surface portion that curves from top toward a side opposite to the film-forming direction) 13a convex in a film-forming direction of the carbon film structure 10. A curvature radius R1 of an outer-circumferential-side portion of the curved surface portion 13a is larger than or equal to a curvature radius R2 of a carbon-film-structure-side portion of the curved surface portion 13a.
US08378559B2	LED bulb for high intensity discharge bulb replacement The disclosed system includes a two-phase cooling apparatus configured for cooling an array of LED dies.
US08378558B2	Thermoelectric generator A thermoelectric generator including, between first and second walls delimiting a tightly closed space, a layer of a piezoelectric material connected to output terminals; a plurality of openings crossing the piezoelectric layer and emerging into first and second cavities close to the first and second walls; and in the tight space, drops of a liquid, the first wall being capable of being in contact with a hot source having a temperature greater than the evaporation temperature of the liquid and the second wall being capable of being in contact with a cold source having a temperature smaller than the evaporation temperature of the liquid.
US08378554B2	Multi-layer piezoelectric element and injection apparatus using the same A multi-layer piezoelectric element of high durability wherein external electrodes do not peel off the surface of a stack even when operated continuously over a long period of time under a high electric field and a high pressure, a method for manufacturing the same and an injection apparatus using the same are provided. The multi-layer piezoelectric element comprises a stack 10 consisting of a plurality of piezoelectric layers 1 and a plurality of metal layers 2 which are stacked alternately one on another and external electrodes (covering member) 4 that cover at least a part of the side faces of the stack 10, wherein at least one metal layer 2a among the plurality of metal layers 2 is a porous metal layer 2a which has more voids than the metal layers 2b that adjoin the metal layer 2a on both sides thereof in the stacking direction, and a part of the external electrodes 4 infiltrates between two piezoelectric layers 1, 1 which adjoin the porous metal layer 2a in the stacking direction.
US08378553B1	Buried idt SAW filter having low propagation loss A SAW resonator with improved temperature characteristics includes a single crystal piezoelectric substrate of symmetry 3 m, providing propagation of leaky waves with quasi-shear horizontal polarization and squared electromechanical coupling coefficient exceeding 5%. A SiOx overlay having a flattened surface covers the electrode pattern. Electrode thicknesses range from about 0.1% to about 10% of an acoustic wavelength and the SiOx thickness ranges between zero and 30% of an acoustic wavelength of a surface acoustic wave excited on the surface of the substrate. The piezoelectric substrate has an orientation defined by Euler angles (0±3°, μ, 0±3°), with angle μ=90°−μ′ and rotation angle μ′, which depends on material of a piezoelectric substrate and thicknesses of electrodes and SiOx overlay. Such orientations simultaneously combined with optimized thicknesses of electrodes and SiOx overlay provide for improved performance in RF applications with improved temperature characteristics.
US08378541B2	Magnetic radial bearing and magnetic bearing system having a three-phase controller A magnetic radial bearing and a bearing system for supporting a rotating shaft are disclosed. The bearing has a number of electromagnets circumferentially arranged around a rotating shaft. Each of the electromagnets has a coil which is electrically connected so as to generate both a magnetic bias and a rotating three-phase field. First terminals of opposing coils are connected in common to a corresponding phase of a three-phase controller for generating the rotating field, whereas second terminals of the coils not connected to the same phase are connected at corresponding star points. The star points are connected to DC power for generating the magnetic bias.
US08378534B2	Liquid cooling arrangement for electric machines A liquid cooling arrangement for electric machines uses a continuous cooling tube associated with a heat storing element. The cooling tube has a serpentine configuration and the heat storing element includes longitudinal slots starting from both longitudinal ends of the heat storing element. Accordingly, it is possible to slightly deform the heat storing element to properly position it into the internal stator of an electric machine. An internal biasing assembly may be used to force the external surface of the heat storing element to the internal surface of the stator.
US08378531B2	Actuator apparatus of active accelerator pedal The present invention relates to an actuator apparatus of an active accelerator pedal, which can provide a driver with a pressing-force rise mode or a vibration mode in accordance with the operational condition of the accelerator pedal and the traveling condition of the vehicle; therefore, it is possible to improve fuel efficiency and also help safe traveling. An actuator apparatus of an active accelerator pedal of the present invention includes: an actuator housing fixed to a pedal arm housing; a stator fixed to the actuator housing and electromagnetized by current transmitted though the control of an ECU; a carrier having one end disposed in a stator and the other end disposed toward the pedal arm through the actuator housing, and applying pressing-force to the pedal arm while protruding from the stator when current is applied to the stator; and a position sensor disposed in the actuator housing and detecting the amount of rotation of the pedal arm to determine the amount of current applied to the stator through the control of the ECU.
US08378521B2	Energy storage systems Different types of energy storage systems are described, in particular hydro-pneumatic storage systems. In one, energy is stored by compressing gas in a chamber (44,45,54,55) with a liquid piston and released by gas expansion. A spray head or grid at the top of the chamber (44,45,54,55) supplies liquid as a shower through the gas being compressed or expanding in the cylinder (11,12) to maintain an isothermal condition. In another, energy is stored from an array of solar cells connected to an array of supercapacitors forming an auxiliary storage, and a main energy storage device such as a hydro-pneumatic storage system, for supply to an AC or DC network. The efficiency is improved by connecting the solar cells via the array of supercapacitors to the AC or DC network. An immersed hydro-pneumatic storage device for off-shore/on-shore power generation systems comprises a cylinder that is immersed in a liquid mass, wherein energy is stored by compressing gas with a liquid piston and energy is released by gas expansion. The mass of liquid maintains an isothermal condition in the cylinder during compression and expansion.
US08378514B2	Phase-angle offsettng converter to minimize damaging effects of sudden phase changes due to network disturbance A system for a wind energy installation. The wind energy installation feeds electrical power into a power supply system. A phase control device can include a power supply system fault detector, a phase angle detector, and a signal processing module. When a power supply system fault is detected, a phase error signal can be determined. A preset angle signal can be determined based on the phase error signal. The preset angle signal can be provided to a converter which can emit electrical power having a phase angle corresponding to the preset angle signal into the power supply system. Accordingly, an undesirable sudden surge in power output resulting from a phase change occurring at the end of the power supply system disturbance can be avoided.
US08378513B2	Method and device for harvesting energy from ocean waves A method and device for generating electric power from ocean waves is described. The device includes at least one magnetostrictive element and at least one buoy. When the buoy is deployed in a body of liquid subject to wave motion, the buoy remains partially submerged during normal wave motion. The buoy is coupled to the magnetostrictive element to continuously exert a varying force on the magnetostrictive element during the normal wave motion.
US08378508B2	Integrally molded die and bezel structure for fingerprint sensors and the like A biometric sensor device, such as a fingerprint sensor, comprises a substrate to which is mounted a die on which is formed a sensor array and at least one conductive bezel. The die and the bezel are encased in a unitary encapsulation structure to protect those elements from mechanical, electrical, and environmental damage, yet with a portion of the sensor array and the bezel exposed or at most thinly covered by the encapsulation or other coating material structure.
US08378505B2	Semiconductor substrate structure and semiconductor device A semiconductor substrate structure includes an electrode pad formed on a semiconductor substrate, a protective film formed on the semiconductor substrate with a distance from the electrode pad, and a bump formed on the electrode pad. The protective film has a barrier portion surrounding the electrode pad. The barrier portion has a height different from a height of a part of the protective film other than the barrier portion.
US08378497B2	Contact structures and semiconductor devices including the same Methods of forming a contact structure in a semiconductor device include providing a semiconductor substrate including active regions and word lines crossing the active regions. A first interlayer dielectric layer is formed on the semiconductor substrate. Direct contact plugs are formed extending through the first interlayer dielectric layer to contact selected ones of the active regions. Bit line structures are formed on the first interlayer dielectric layer and crossing the word lines that are coupled to the selected ones of the active regions by the direct contact plugs. A second interlayer dielectric layer is formed on the semiconductor substrate including the bit line structures. Barrier patterns are formed extending in parallel with bit line structures and into the second interlayer dielectric layer. Mask patterns are formed overlying an entirety of top surfaces of the direct contact plugs on the second interlayer dielectric layer and the bit line structures. The second and first interlayer dielectric layers are etched using the mask patterns, the barrier patterns and the bit line structures as an etching mask to form buried contact holes and buried contact plugs are formed in the buried contact holes.
US08378494B2	Method for fabrication of a semiconductor device and structure A semiconductor device comprising: a first single crystal silicon layer comprising first transistors, first alignment mark, and at least one metal layer overlying said first single crystal silicon layer, wherein said at least one metal layer comprises copper or aluminum more than other materials; a second layer overlying said at least one metal layer, said second layer comprising second transistors, second alignment mark, and a through via through said second layer, wherein said through via is a part of a connection path between said first transistors and said second transistors, wherein alignment of said through via is based on said first alignment mark and said second alignment mark and effected by a distance between said first alignment mark and said second alignment mark.
US08378490B2	Semiconductor apparatus including a metal alloy between a first contact and a second contact A method of integrated circuit fabrication is provided, and more particularly fabrication of a semiconductor apparatus with a metallic alloy. An exemplary structure for a semiconductor apparatus comprises a first silicon substrate having a first contact comprising a silicide layer between the substrate and a first metal layer; a second silicon substrate having a second contact comprising a second metal layer; and a metallic alloy between the first metal layer of the first contact and the second metal layer of the second contact.
US08378488B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same A semiconductor device has an interlayer insulating film that is formed on a semiconductor substrate and has a trench formed therein; a first diffusion barrier film formed on an inner surface of the trench; a Cu wiring layer buried in the trench with the first diffusion barrier film interposed between the Cu wiring layer and the inner surface of the trench; a second diffusion barrier film formed on top of the interlayer insulating film and the Cu wiring layer; an alloy layer primarily containing Cu formed at a first interface between the Cu wiring layer and the second diffusion barrier film; a first reaction layer that is formed at a second interface between the interlayer insulating film and the second diffusion barrier film; and a second reaction layer that is formed on the alloy layer and the first reaction layer.
US08378487B2	Wafer level chip package and a method of fabricating thereof Wafer level chip packages including risers having sloped sidewalls and methods of fabricating such chip packages are disclosed. The inventive wafer level chip packages may advantageously be used in various microelectronic assemblies.
US08378486B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a protective insulating film, an opening formed in the protective insulating film, an electrode pad located within the opening, a bump formed on the protective insulating film, and an interconnect. The bump includes a bump core and a conductive film. The bump core includes an insulating resin layer and a conductive resin layer located on the insulating resin layer. The conductive film is formed on at least the upper surface of the bump core. The interconnect connects the conductive film of the bump and the electrode pad.
US08378484B2	Semiconductor device, method for manufacturing semiconductor device, and electronic appliance having the semiconductor device In order to connect a semiconductor device including an integrated circuit to an external circuit typified by an antenna, the shape of the contact electrode to be formed in the semiconductor device is devised, so that bad connection between the external circuit and the contact electrode is not easily caused and the contact electrode with high reliability is provided. The contact electrode is formed by a screen printing method using a squeegee having a chamfered corner or having a wedge shape. The contact electrode has a peripheral portion and a central portion. The peripheral portion has a tapered portion with its film thickness gradually decreasing from the central portion toward the end portion, and the central portion has a projection portion that continues from the tapered portion.
US08378482B2	Wiring board A wiring board between which and a chip to be mounted a resin is filled includes: a substrate body on which a conductor portion to be connected to an electrode terminal of the chip is formed; and an insulating protection film formed on the substrate body and having an opening portion formed therein to expose the conductor portion. The opening portion is formed in such a manner that the edge thereof is positioned along and outside the outer shape of the chip except for a specific corner portion, and that the edge in the specific corner portion is positioned on a side of or inside the outer shape of the chip.
US08378480B2	Dummy wafers in 3DIC package assemblies A package structure includes a first die, and a second die over and bonded to the first die. The second die has a size smaller than a size of the first die. A dummy chip is over and bonded onto the first die. The dummy chip includes a portion encircling the second die. The dummy chip includes a material selected from the group consisting essentially of silicon and a metal.
US08378477B2	Integrated circuit packaging system with film encapsulation and method of manufacture thereof A method of manufacture of an integrated circuit packaging system includes: providing a package substrate having a substrate bottom side and a substrate top side opposite the substrate bottom side; mounting an integrated circuit over the package substrate, the integrated circuit having an inactive side and an active side opposite the inactive side; connecting stack connectors to the substrate top side; applying a multi-layer film over the substrate top side, the integrated circuit, and the stack connectors, the multi-layer film having a base film layer, a penetrable film layer, and a penetrable adhesive; removing the base film layer and the penetrable film layer to expose the penetrable adhesive and exposed portions of the stack connectors; and forming an adhesive film layer by hardening the penetrable adhesive.
US08378470B2	Semiconductor device that performs signal transmission using induction coupling, method of said manufacturing semiconductor device, and lead frame thereof A first semiconductor chip and a second semiconductor chip are overlapped with each other in a direction in which a first multilayer interconnect layer and a second multilayer interconnect layer are opposed to each other. When seen in a plan view, a first inductor and a second inductor are overlapped. The first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip have non-opposed areas which are not opposed to each other. The first multilayer interconnect layer has a first external connection terminal in the non-opposed area, and the second multilayer interconnect layer has a second external connection terminal in the non-opposed area.
US08378466B2	Wafer-level semiconductor device packages with electromagnetic interference shielding Described herein are wafer-level semiconductor device packages with EMI shielding and related methods. In one embodiment, a semiconductor device package includes: (1) a semiconductor device; (2) a package body covering lateral surfaces of the semiconductor device, a lower surface of the package body and a lower surface of the semiconductor device defining a front surface; (3) a set of redistribution layers disposed adjacent to the front surface, the set of redistribution layers including a grounding element that includes a connection surface electrically exposed adjacent to at least one lateral surface of the set of redistribution layers; and (4) an EMI shield disposed adjacent to the package body and electrically connected to the connection surface of the grounding element. The grounding element provides an electrical pathway to ground electromagnetic emissions incident upon the EMI shield.
US08378465B2	Method and apparatus for optical modulation The present invention is a method and an apparatus for optical modulation, for example for use in optical communications links. In one embodiment, an apparatus for optical modulation includes a first silicon layer having one or more trenches formed therein, a dielectric layer lining the first silicon layer, and a second silicon layer disposed on the dielectric layer and filling the trenches.
US08378460B2	Method of batch trimming circuit elements Multiple wafers that each has multiple high-precision circuits and corresponding trim control circuits are batch trimmed in a process where each wafer is formed to include openings that expose trimmable circuit elements that are internal to the circuitry of the high-precision circuits. The high-precision circuits and trim control circuits are electrically activated during the trimming phase by metal traces that run along the saw streets. The method attaches a wafer contact structure to each wafer to electrically activate the metal traces. The method places the wafers with the wafer contact structures into a solution where the exposed trimmable circuit elements are electroplated or anodized when the actual output voltage of a high-precision circuit does not match the predicted output voltage of the high-precision circuit.
US08378453B2	Devices including composite thermal capacitors Embodiments of the present disclosure include devices or systems that include a composite thermal capacitor disposed in thermal communication with a hot spot of the device, methods of dissipating thermal energy in a device or system, and the like.
US08378452B2	Wafer level package having cylindrical capacitor and method of fabricating the same Disclosed is a wafer level package having a cylindrical capacitor, which is capable of increasing electrostatic capacity thanks to the use of a cylindrical capacitor structure and which includes a wafer chip having a bonding pad formed thereon and an insulating layer formed thereon and exposing the bonding pad, a redistribution layer connected to the bonding pad and extending to one side of the insulating layer, a cylindrical outer electrode connected to the redistribution layer and having a center opening therein, a cylindrical inner electrode formed in the center opening of the outer electrode so as to be separated from the outer electrode, a dielectric layer formed between the outer electrode and the inner electrode, and a resin sealing portion formed on the insulating layer to cover the redistribution layer, the inner electrode, the outer electrode and the dielectric layer and having a first recess for exposing an upper surface of the inner electrode. A method of fabricating the wafer level package having a cylindrical capacitor is also provided.
US08378451B2	Capacitor and a method of manufacturing a capacitor A device comprises a substrate (22); a first MiM capacitor (10,20,11) disposed over the substrate; and a second MiM capacitor (10′,20′,11) disposed over the first MiM capacitor. The first MiM capacitor and the second MiM capacitor are electrically connected in parallel. The two MiM capacitors are vertically stacked one above the other.Each MiM capacitor comprises an interconnection layer (10,10′) of the CMOS process as one plate and a thinner conductive layer (11,11′) as the second plate, with an insulating layer (20,20′) disposed therebetween. This allows each MiM capacitor to be formed between two CMOS process interconnection layers.The second plate of the second MiM capacitor is substantially co-extensive with the second plate of the first MiM capacitor, and is disposed substantially directly over the second plate of the first MiM capacitor. The same mask may be used to pattern the second plate of the second MiM capacitor and the second plate of the first MiM capacitor. This minimizes the number of masks required, and so minimizes the mask investment cost.
US08378450B2	Interdigitated vertical parallel capacitor An interdigitated structure may include at least one first metal line, at least one second metal line parallel to the at least one first metal line and separated from the at least one first metal line, and a third metal line contacting ends of the at least one first metal line and separated from the at least one second metal line. The at least one first metal line does not vertically contact any metal via and at least one second metal line may vertically contact at least one metal via. Multiple layers of interdigitated structure may be vertically stacked. Alternately, an interdigitated structure may include a plurality of first metal lines and a plurality of second metal lines, each metal line not vertically contacting any metal via. Multiple instances of interdigitated structure may be laterally replicated and adjoined, with or without rotation, and/or vertically stacked to form a capacitor.
US08378446B2	Semiconductor device isolation structures Structures and methods are disclosed for the electrical isolation of semiconductor devices. A method of forming a semiconductor device may include providing a second integrated device region on a substrate that is spaced apart from a first integrated device region. An isolation region may be interposed between the first integrated device region and the second integrated device region. The isolation region may include an isolation recess that projects into the substrate to a first predetermined depth, and that may be extended to a second predetermined depth.
US08378444B2	Photodiode and method of fabricating photodiode A light-absorbing layer is composed of a compound-semiconductor film of chalcopyrite structure, a surface layer is disposed on the light-absorbing layer, the surface layer having a higher band gap energy than the compound-semiconductor film, an upper electrode layer is disposed on the surface layer, and a lower electrode layer is disposed on a backside of the light-absorbing layer in opposition to the upper electrode layer, the upper electrode layer and the lower electrode layer having a reverse bias voltage applied in between to detect electric charges produced by photoelectric conversion in the compound-semiconductor film, as electric charges due to photoelectric conversion are multiplied by impact ionization, while the multiplication by impact ionization of electric charges is induced by application of a high-intensity electric field to a semiconductor of chalcopyrite structure, allowing for an improved dark-current property, and an enhanced efficiency even in detection of low illumination intensities, with an enhanced S/N ratio.
US08378443B2	Area sensor and display apparatus provided with an area sensor An area sensor of the present invention has a function of displaying an image in a sensor portion by using light-emitting elements and a reading function using photoelectric conversion devices. Therefore, an image read in the sensor portion can be displayed thereon without separately providing an electronic display on the area sensor. Furthermore, a photoelectric conversion layer of a photodiode according to the present invention is made of an amorphous silicon film and an N-type semiconductor layer and a P-type semiconductor layer are made of a polycrystalline silicon film. The amorphous silicon film is formed to be thicker than the polycrystalline silicon film. As a result, the photodiode according to the present invention can receive more light.
US08378441B2	Manufacturing method and structure of a wafer level image sensor module with package structure The present invention discloses a manufacturing method and structure of a wafer level image sensor module with package structure. The structure of the wafer level image sensor module with package structure includes a semi-finished product, a plurality of solder balls, and an encapsulant. The semi-finished product includes an image sensing chip and a wafer level lens assembly. The encapsulant is disposed on lateral sides of the image sensing chip and the wafer level lens assembly. Also, the manufacturing method includes the steps of: providing a silicon wafer, dicing the silicon wafer, providing a lens assembly wafer, fabricating a plurality of semi-finished products, performing a packaging process, mounting the solder balls, and cutting the encapsulant. Accordingly, the encapsulant encapsulates each of the semi-finished products by being disposed on the lateral sides thereof.
US08378436B2	Electromechanical transducer and method of manufacturing the same An electromechanical transducer includes a plurality of devices each including at least one cell including a first electrode and a second electrode facing each other across a gap, and an outer frame extending along an outer periphery of the plurality of devices. The first electrode of each of the devices includes a plurality of portions formed by electrically separating a device substrate with grooves, and the outer frame includes a part of the device substrate surrounding the plurality of portions and electrically separated from the plurality of portions by the grooves. The first electrodes each including the plurality of portions are respectively bonded to a plurality of conductive portions of another substrate via a plurality of electrode connection portions, and the outer frame is bonded to a corresponding portion of the another substrate via a circular outer frame connection portion which surrounds the electrode connection portions.
US08378433B2	Semiconductor device with a controlled cavity and method of formation A semiconductor device includes a first cap wafer having a first opening extending through the first cap wafer, and a second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer, wherein the second cap wafer has a second opening extending through the second cap wafer, and wherein the first opening is misaligned with respect to the second opening. The second cap wafer is bonded to a device wafer, wherein a cavity is formed between the device wafer and the second cap wafer, and wherein the device wafer comprises at least one semiconductor device in the cavity. A vacuum sealing layer is formed over the first cap wafer, wherein the sealing layer vacuum seals the first opening.
US08378428B2	Metal gate structure of a semiconductor device The applications discloses a semiconductor device comprising a substrate having a first active region, a second active region, and an isolation region having a first width interposed between the first and second active regions; a P-metal gate electrode over the first active region and extending over at least ⅔ of the first width of the isolation region; and an N-metal gate electrode over the second active region and extending over no more than ⅓ of the first width. The N-metal gate electrode is electrically connected to the P-metal gate electrode over the isolation region.
US08378426B2	Semiconductor memory device and fabrication process thereof A SRAM includes a first CMOS inverter of first and second MOS transistors connected in series, a second CMOS inverter of third and fourth MOS transistors connected in series and forming a flip-flop circuit together with the first CMOS inverter, and a polysilicon resistance element formed on a device isolation region, each of the first and third MOS transistors is formed in a device region of a first conductivity type and includes a second conductivity type drain region at an outer side of a sidewall insulation film of the gate electrode with a larger depth than a drain extension region thereof, wherein a source region is formed deeper than a drain extension region, the polysilicon gate electrode has a film thickness identical to a film thickness of the polysilicon resistance element, the source region and the polysilicon resistance element are doped with the same dopant element.
US08378423B2	Dual-gate transistor and pixel structure using the same A dual-gate transistor includes a first gate formed on a substrate, a first dielectric layer covering the first gate and the substrate, a semiconductor layer formed on the first dielectric layer, first and second electrodes formed on the semiconductor layer and spaced with an interval in order to separate each other, a second dielectric layer covering the first and second electrodes, and a second gate formed on the second dielectric layer, in which at least one of the first and second gates is non-overlapped with the second electrode.
US08378420B2	Vertical trench LDMOS transistor A vertical trench LDMOS transistor includes a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type; a first trench formed in the semiconductor layer and filled with a trench dielectric and a trench gate is formed in the first trench; a body region of a second conductivity type formed in the semiconductor layer adjacent the first trench; a source region formed in the body region and adjacent the first trench; a planar gate insulated from the semiconductor layer by a second gate dielectric layer and overlying the body region; and a drain drift region formed in the semiconductor layer. The planar gate forms a lateral channel in the body region between the source region and the drain drift region, and the trench gate in the first trench forms a vertical channel in the body region along the sidewall of the first trench between the source region and the semiconductor layer.
US08378417B2	Semiconductor device including a well potential supply device and a vertical MOS transistor A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate; a well of a first conductivity type in the semiconductor substrate; a first element; and a first vertical transistor. The first element supplies potential to the well, the first element being in the well. The first element may include, but is not limited to, a first pillar body of the first conductivity type. The first pillar body has an upper portion that includes a first diffusion layer of the first conductivity type. The first diffusion layer is greater in impurity concentration than the well. The first vertical transistor is in the well. The first vertical transistor may include a second pillar body of the first conductivity type. The second pillar body has an upper portion that includes a second diffusion layer of a second conductivity type.
US08378411B2	Power semiconductor devices integrated with clamp diodes having separated gate metal pads to avoid breakdown voltage degradation A structure of power semiconductor device integrated with clamp diodes having separated gate metal pads is disclosed. The separated gate metal pads are wire bonded together on the gate lead frame. This improved structure can prevent the degradation of breakdown voltage due to electric field in termination region blocked by polysilicon or gate metal.
US08378409B2	Non-volatile memory device and method for fabricating the same A non-volatile memory device includes a semiconductor substrate having a peripheral circuit region and a cell region, wherein the cell region of the semiconductor substrate is lower in height than the peripheral circuit region of the semiconductor substrate, a control gate structure disposed over the cell region of the semiconductor substrate and comprising a plurality of inter-layer dielectric layers that are alternately stacked with a plurality of control gate electrodes, a first insulation layer covering the cell region of the semiconductor substrate where the control gate structure is formed, a selection gate electrode disposed over the first insulation layer, and a peripheral circuit device disposed over the peripheral circuit region of the semiconductor substrate.
US08378406B2	Multilayer stacked type nonvolatile semiconductor memory device A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes: a substrate; a memory multilayer body with a plurality of insulating films and electrode films alternately stacked therein, the memory multilayer body being provided on a memory array region of the substrate; a semiconductor pillar buried in the memory multilayer body and extending in stacking direction of the insulating films and the electrode films; a charge storage film provided between one of the electrode films and the semiconductor pillar; a dummy multilayer body with a plurality of the insulating films and the electrode films alternately stacked therein and a dummy hole formed therein, the dummy multilayer body being provided on a peripheral circuit region of the substrate; an insulating member buried in the dummy hole; and a contact buried in the insulating member and extending in the stacking direction.
US08378404B2	Semiconductor structure of a display device and method for fabricating the same A semiconductor structure of a display device and the method for fabricating the same are provided. The semiconductor structure is formed on a substrate having a TFT region and a pixel capacitor region thereon. A TFT, including a gate electrode, a source electrode, a drain electrode, a channel layer, and a gate insulating layer, is formed on the TFT region of the substrate. A pixel capacitor is formed on the pixel capacitor region, wherein the pixel capacitor comprises a bottom electrode formed on a bottom dielectric layer, an interlayer dielectric layer formed on the bottom electrode, a top electrode formed on the interlayer dielectric layer, a contact plug passing through the interlayer dielectric layer and electrically connected to the top and bottom electrodes, a capacitor dielectric layer formed on the top electrode, a transparent electrode formed on the capacitor dielectric layer and electrically connected to the drain electrode.
US08378398B2	Photodetector isolation in image sensors Shallow trench isolation regions are disposed in an n-type silicon semiconductor layer laterally adjacent to a collection region of a photodetector and laterally adjacent to a charge-to-voltage conversion region. The shallow trench isolation regions each include a trench disposed in the silicon semiconductor layer and a first dielectric structure disposed along an interior bottom and sidewalls of each trench. A second dielectric structure is disposed over the pinning layer. The dielectric structures include a silicon nitride layer disposed over an oxide layer. An n-type isolation layer is disposed along only a portion of the exterior bottom of the trench and the exterior sidewall of the trench immediately adjacent to the photodetector. The n-type isolation layer is not disposed along the remaining portion of the bottom or the opposing exterior sidewall of the trench.
US08378392B2	Trench MOSFET with body region having concave-arc shape A trench Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor with improved body region structures is disclosed. By forming the inventive body region structures with concave-arc shape with respect to epitaxial layer, a wider interfaced area between the body region and the epitaxial layer is achieved, thus increasing capacitance between drain and source Cds. Moreover, the invention further comprises a Cds enhancement doped region interfaced with said body region having higher doping concentration than the epitaxial layer to further enhancing Cds without significantly impact breakdown voltage.
US08378387B2	Field effect transistor and method of manufacturing the same A field effect transistor according to the present invention includes A field effect transistor, comprising: a nitride-based semiconductor multilayer structure, at least including, a drift layer formed of n-type or i-type AlxGa1-xN (0≦X≦0.3), a barrier layer formed of i-type AlYGa1-Y (Y>X), an electron supply layer formed of n-type AlYGa1-YN, and a channel layer formed of i-type GaN or InGaN, that are epitaxially grown on a substrate in this order, from the side of the substrate, a suitable buffer layer being interposed between the substrate and the nitride-based semiconductor multilayer structure; a gate electrode formed in a part of a front surface of the channel layer with an insulating film interposed therebetween; an n+type connection region in which n-type impurities are doped with the density of 1×1018 cm−3 or more, in a range from at least a part of a channel layer to a part of the drift layer, adjacent to one side in a planer direction of an area where the gate electrode is formed; a source electrode formed on a front surface of the semiconductor layer in the opposite side of the n+type connection region with respect to the gate electrode; and a drain electrode formed on a back surface of the substrate.
US08378385B2	Methods of preparing flexible photovoltaic devices using epitaxial liftoff, and preserving the integrity of growth substrates used in epitaxial growth There is disclosed methods of making photosensitive devices, such as flexible photovoltaic (PV) devices, through the use of epitaxial liftoff. Also described herein are methods of preparing flexible PV devices comprising a structure having a growth substrate, wherein the selective etching of protective layers yields a smooth growth substrate that us suitable for reuse.
US08378384B2	Wafer and method for producing a wafer A wafer includes a wafer frontside surface and a region adjacent to the wafer frontside surface. The region includes oxygen precipitates and the wafer frontside includes a predetermined surface structure to form thereon a device with a desired property.
US08378383B2	Semiconductor device and method of forming a shielding layer between stacked semiconductor die A semiconductor device has a first semiconductor die with a shielding layer formed over its back surface. The first semiconductor die is mounted to a carrier. A first insulating layer is formed over the shielding layer. A second semiconductor die is mounted over the first semiconductor die separated by the shielding layer and first insulating layer. A second insulating layer is deposited over the first and second semiconductor die. A first interconnect structure is formed over the second semiconductor die and second insulating layer. A second interconnect structure is formed over the first semiconductor die and second insulating layer. The shielding layer is electrically connected to a low-impedance ground point through a bond wire, RDL, or TSV. The second semiconductor die may also have a shielding layer formed on its back surface. The semiconductor die are bonded through the metal-to-metal shielding layers.
US08378381B2	GaN-based semiconductor light emitting device There is provided a GaN-based semiconductor light emitting device including: a substrate; and an n-type GaN-based semiconductor layer, an active layer and a p-type GaN-based semiconductor layer sequentially deposited on the substrate, wherein the active layer includes: a first barrier layer including AlxInyGa1-x-yN, where 0
US08378379B2	Substrate for mounting light-emitting element and light-emitting device A substrate for mounting a light-emitting element, containing a substrate main body having a mounting surface on which a light-emitting element is to be mounted, a reflection layer formed on a part of the mounting surface of the substrate main body and containing silver to reflect light emitted from the light-emitting element, and a vitreous insulating layer formed on the reflection layer, wherein the vitreous insulating layer contains a glass containing SiO2, at least one of Al2O3 and B2O3, and at least one member selected from Li2O, Na2O and K2O, wherein (Li2O+Na2O+K2O)—Al2O3 is from −20 to 1.5% and Si02+3×Al2O3 is at most 90% calculated using the mol % of each of said SiO2, Al2O3 B2O3, Li2O, Na2O and K2O in said glass.
US08378377B2	Light emitting device According to one embodiment, a light emitting device includes a light emitting chip, an external terminal made of a metal material, and a circuit board. The light emitting chip is mounted on the circuit board via the external terminal. The light emitting chip includes a semiconductor layer, a first electrode, a second electrode, an insulating layer, a first interconnection layer, a second interconnection layer, a first metal pillar, a second metal pillar and a resin layer. The circuit board includes an interconnection bonded to the first metal pillar and the second metal pillar via the external terminal, and a heat radiation material provided on an opposite side of the interconnection and connected to the interconnection.
US08378374B2	Semiconductor light emitting device packages including submounts A submount for a solid state lighting package includes a support member having upper and lower surfaces, a first side surface, and a second side surface opposite the first side surface, a first electrical bondpad on the upper surface of the support member and having a first bonding region proximate the first side surface of the support member and a second bonding region extending toward the second side surface of the support member, and a second electrical bondpad on the upper surface of the support member having a die mounting region proximate the first side surface of the support member and an extension region extending toward the second side surface of the support member. The die mounting region of the second electrical bondpad may be configured to receive an electronic device. The submount further includes a third electrical bondpad on the upper surface of the support member and positioned between the second side surface of the support member and the die mounting region of the second electrical bondpad.
US08378370B2	LED package structure A LED package structure includes a substrate, a LED chip and a colloid. The substrate includes a first surface and a second surface. An opening is shaped from the first surface toward the second surface. A phosphor layer is coated on the bottom surface with two opposite parts of the bottom surface respectively neighboring to two opposite side walls of the opening exposed. A metal layer is coated on the two exposed opposite parts of the bottom surface, the two opposite side walls and the first surface. The LED chip is received in the opening and configured on the phosphor layer. The LED chip includes a pair of conductive pads electrically connecting to the metal layer. The colloid is filled between the LED chip and the metal layer to attach the substrate to the LED chip.
US08378368B2	Light-emitting diode structure A light-emitting diode structure is provided. The light-emitting diode structure includes a light-emitting diode chip, a lead frame for electrically connecting and supporting the light-emitting diode chip, and a lens covering the light-emitting diode chip and to partially cover the lead frame. A recess disposed on the upper portion of the lens has a ladder-like inner wall formed of an upper inclined wall portion, a lower inclined wall portion, and a connecting wall portion connected to the upper and lower inclined wall portions. The slope of the upper inclined wall portion is greater than that of the lower inclined wall portion, and the slope of the connecting wall portion is greater than the upper and lower inclined wall portions.
US08378366B2	Electromagnetic radiation emitting optoelectronic component and method for manufacturing an optoelectronic component An optoelectronic component is specified that emits a useful radiation. It comprises a housing having a housing base body with a housing cavity, and a light-emitting diode chip arranged in the housing cavity. At least one base body material of the housing base body has radiation-absorbing particles admixed in a targeted manner to reduce its reflectivity. According to another embodiment of the component, the housing additionally or alternatively has a housing material transmissive for the useful radiation that has radiation-absorbing particles admixed in a targeted manner to reduce its reflectivity. In addition, a method for manufacturing such a component is specified.
US08378365B2	Light emitting diode package and projection apparatus A light emitting diode (LED) package including a carrier, at least one LED chip, and a light guide element is provided. The LED chip is disposed on the carrier. The light guide element including a light transmissive body, a light integration part, a reflective film, and a support part is disposed on the carrier and above the LED chip. The light integration part connected to the light transmissive body and disposed between the light transmissive body and the LED chip has a light incident surface facing the LED chip and at least one side. The side connects the light transmissive body and the light incident surface. The reflective film is disposed on the side. The support part leaning on the carrier is connected to the light transmissive body and surrounds the light integration part. The light transmissive body, the light integration part, and the support part are integrally formed.
US08378364B2	Multi-chip light emitting diode and method for fabricating the same Multi-chip light emitting diodes and method for fabricating the same are provided. The multi-chip light emitting diode includes a lead frame including a carrier part. A plurality of chips is disposed on the carrier part, wherein the plurality of chips includes a first chip and a second chip. A first scattering layer is conformally covering the first chip to expose electrodes thereof, wherein the first scattering layer consists of a first scattering material. A second scattering layer is conformally covering the second chip to expose electrodes thereof, wherein the second scattering layer consists of a second scattering material.
US08378362B2	Organic light emitting diode display and method of manufacturing the same An organic light emitting diode display and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The organic light emitting diode display includes a substrate, a first electrode positioned on the substrate, an organic light emitting layer positioned on the first electrode, and a second electrode positioned on the organic light emitting layer. The organic light emitting layer includes an inorganic oxide layer between a light emitting layer and a common layer.
US08378358B2	Light emitting device A light emitting device includes a carrier, a light emitting element electrically connected to the carrier, a transparent plate having at least one through hole formed therein and including a flat-portion and a lens-portion and a permeable membrane structure disposed on a surface of the transparent plate. The lens-portion covers the light emitting element and has a light incident surface, a light emitting surface, a first and a second side surfaces. A first partial beam of the light beam passes through the light incident surface and leaves from the light emitting surface. A second partial beam of the light beam passes through the light incident surface and is transmitted to the first or the second side surface. The first or the second side surface reflects at least a part of the second partial beam of the light beam to be passed through the light emitting surface.
US08378352B2	Organic light-emitting display device and manufacturing method of the same An organic light-emitting display device and a method of manufacturing the organic light-emitting display device are disclosed. The organic light-emitting display device includes a bottom capacitor electrode that is formed over the same plane as an active layer of a thin film transistor and includes a semiconductor doped with ion impurities, a pixel electrode, and a top capacitor electrode formed over the same plane as a gate electrode, wherein a contact hole entirely exposing the pixel electrode and the top capacitor electrode is formed.
US08378351B2	Thin film transistor, display device, and electronic unit A thin film transistor using oxide semiconductor for a channel, which may be controlled such that threshold voltage is positive and may be improved in reliability is provided. The thin film transistor includes a gate electrode, a pair of source/drain electrodes, an oxide semiconductor layer forming a channel and provided between the gate electrode and the pair of source/drain electrodes, a first insulating film as a gate insulating film provided on the oxide semiconductor layer on a side near the gate electrode, and a second insulating film provided on the oxide semiconductor layer on a side near the pair of source/drain electrodes. One or both of the first insulating film and the second insulating film includes an aluminum oxide having a film density of 2.70 g/cm3 or more and less than 2.79 g/cm3.
US08378348B2	Semiconductor element and method for manufacturing the same A semiconductor device 101 includes: a substrate 1; an active layer 4 provided on the substrate 1 and including a channel region 4c, and a first region 4a and a second region 4b that are respectively located on opposite sides of the channel region 4c; first and second contact layers 6a and 6b respectively in contact with the first and second regions 4a and 4b of the active layer 4; a first electrode 7 electrically coupled to the first region 4a via the first contact layer 6a; a second electrode 8 electrically coupled to the second region 4b via the second contact layer 6b; and a gate electrode 2 provided such that a gate insulating layer 3 is interposed between the gate electrode 2 and the active layer 4, the gate electrode 2 being configured to control a conductivity of the channel region 4c. The active layer 4 contains silicon. The semiconductor device further includes an oxygen-containing silicon layer 5 between the active layer 4 and the first and second contact layers 6a, 6b. The layer 5 contains oxygen at a concentration higher than the active layer 4 and the first and second contact layers 6a, 6b.
US08378347B2	LED package According to one embodiment, an LED package includes first and second lead frames spaced from each other, and an LED chip. Each of the first and second lead frames includes a base portion and a plurality of extending portions extending from the base portion. A part of a lower surface of the base portion, side surfaces of the base portion, lower surfaces of the extending portions and side surfaces of the extending portions are covered by resin. A remaining part of the lower surface of the base portion and tip surfaces of the extending portions are not covered by resin. The part of the lower surface of the base portion includes a first edge of the first lead frame and a second edge of the second lead frame. The first edge and the second edge are opposed each other.
US08378346B2	Circuit architecture for the parallel supplying during electric or electromagnetic testing of a plurality of electronic devices integrated on a semiconductor wafer A circuit architecture provides for the parallel supplying of power during electric or electromagnetic testing of electronic devices integrated on a same semiconductor wafer and bounded by scribe lines. The circuit architecture comprises a conductive grid interconnecting the electronic devices and having a portion external to the devices and a portion internal to the devices. The external portion extends along the scribe lines; and the internal portion extends within at least a part of the devices. The circuit architecture includes interconnection pads between the external portion and the internal portion of the conductive grid and provided on at least a part of the devices, the interconnection pads forming, along with the internal and external portions, power supply lines which are common to different electronic devices of the group.
US08378343B2	Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof A semiconductor device is provided in which a pixel portion and a driver circuit each including a thin film transistor are provided over one substrate; the thin film transistor in the pixel portion includes a gate electrode layer, a gate insulating layer, an oxide semiconductor layer having an end region with a small thickness, an oxide insulating layer in contact with part of the oxide semiconductor layer, source and drain electrode layers, and a pixel electrode layer; the thin film transistor in the pixel portion has a light-transmitting property; and source and drain electrode layers of the thin film transistor in the driver circuit portion are formed using a conductive material having lower resistance than a material of the source and drain electrode layer in the pixel portion.
US08378342B2	Oxide semiconductor and thin film transistor including the same Provided are an oxide semiconductor and an oxide thin film transistor including the oxide semiconductor. The oxide semiconductor may be formed of an indium (In)-zinc (Zn) oxide in which hafnium (Hf) is contained, wherein In, Zn, and Hf are contained in predetermined or given composition ratios.
US08378341B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing semiconductor device A semiconductor device of the present invention has a first interconnect layer formed over the semiconductor substrate, and a semiconductor element; the first interconnect layer has an insulating layer, and a first interconnect filled in a surficial portion of the insulating layer; the semiconductor element has a semiconductor layer, a gate insulating film, and a gate electrode; the semiconductor layer is positioned over the first interconnect layer; the gate insulating film is positioned over or below semiconductor layer; and the gate electrode is positioned on the opposite side of the semiconductor layer while placing the gate insulating film in between.
US08378338B2	Conjugated compound, nitrogenated condensed-ring compound, nitrogenated condensed-ring polymer, organic thin film, and organic thin film element According to the first invention group there are provided conjugated compounds having two or more groups represented by the following formula (I) or the following formula (II): wherein one of Ar and Ar′ represents a C6 or greater divalent aromatic hydrocarbon group and the other represents a C4 or greater divalent heterocyclic group, wherein the groups each may have a substituent, with the proviso that the groups as a whole contain no fluorine atoms, R1 and R2 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or a monovalent group, and Ar″ represents a trivalent aromatic hydrocarbon or trivalent heterocyclic group; when the conjugated compound has two or more groups represented by formula (I), the portion excluding these groups contain no fluorine atoms. According to the second group of the present invention there are provided nitrogen-containing fused-ring compounds represented by the following formula (α-I): in formula (α-I), R21 and R22 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or an optionally substituted monovalent group, and Z21 and Z22 each independently represent any one of the groups represented by the following formulas (α-i)-(α-ix); wherein R23, R24, R25 and R26 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or a monovalent group, and R23 and R24 may bond together to form a ring, the left side and the right side of the group represented by formula (α-viii) may be interchanged.
US08378336B2	Liquid crystalline organic semiconductor material and organic electron device A liquid crystalline organic semiconductor material, having a compound having at least one bonding form selected from the group consisting of (p-type organic semiconductor compound residue)-(n-type organic semiconductor compound residue)-(p-type organic semiconductor compound residue), and (n-type organic semiconductor compound residue)-(p-type organic semiconductor compound residue)-(n-type organic semiconductor compound residue).
US08378328B2	Phase change memory random access device using single-element phase change material A phase change memory cell with a single element phase change thin film layer; and a first electrode and a second electrode coupled to the single element phase change thin film layer. A current flows from the first electrode to the single element phase change thin film layer, and through to the second electrode. The single element phase change thin film layer includes a single element phase change material. The single element phase change thin film layer can be less than 5 nanometers thick. The temperature of crystallization of the single element phase change material can be controlled by its thickness. In one embodiment, the single element phase change thin film layer is configured to be amorphous at room temperature (25 degrees Celsius). In one embodiment, the single element phase change thin film layer is comprised of Antimony (Sb).
US08378324B2	Handheld portable multi purpose sterilizing wavelength transforming converter An apparatus and a method, in a handheld portable multi purpose device, for producing multiple and variable wavelength distributions of UV radiation, or visible radiation, comprising a primary UV radiation source, and a system of wavelength transforming (WT) materials that allows selecting at will between UV A, UV B, UV C radiation (individual selections or various combinations,) and visible radiation, whereby the apparatus provides for UV sterilization of food, fluid, air, fluids, and surfaces; while also providing a means to emit visible light. Additionally, an apparatus and method, in a handheld portable multi purpose device, for enabling production and emission of UV radiation selectable between UV A, UV B, UV C radiation (individual selections or various combinations,) and visible radiation in a small form factor device embodied in a handheld portable flashlight, or lamp, type device.
US08378323B1	Sterilizing toybox apparatus The sterilizing toybox apparatus addresses illness risk, especially with children, by providing UV light sterilization within. UV lighting is offered both above and beyond toys within the apparatus. A time-release latch ensures exposure for a time determined to be optimal for UV exposure of contents. The apparatus provides UV lighting both in the bottom of the chest and in the lid. The clear shelf above the lower UV bulbs is in communication with the vibrator that jostles any toys so that full UV exposure is ensured. Reflective material distributed fully within the chest further guarantees full exposure of contents to sterilization. Additionally, the optional mesh basket is selectively suspended within the chest.
US08378318B1	Fixed mask design improvements A mask or set of masks is disclosed in which outward projections are placed on either side of at least one aperture. An ion beam is then directed through the mask toward a workpiece. An ion collecting device or an optical system is then used to measure the alignment of the mask to the ion beam. These projections serve to increase the sensitivity of the system to misalignment. In another embodiment, a blocker is used to create a region of the workpiece that is not subjected to a blanket implant. This facilitates the use of optical means to insure and determine alignment of the mask to the ion beam.
US08378313B2	Uniformity of a scanned ion beam One embodiment relates to an ion implanter. The ion implanter includes an ion source to generate an ion beam, as well as a scanner to scan the ion beam across a surface of a workpiece along a first axis. The ion implanter also includes a deflection filter downstream of the scanner to ditheredly scan the ion beam across the surface of the workpiece along a second axis.
US08378312B1	System, apparatus and method for deflecting a particle beam A variety of systems, apparatus and methods for deflecting a particle beam are described. An apparatus comprises at least six electromagnetic portions disposed on a plane. Each of the at least six electromagnetic portions is aligned with a radius emanating from an axis normal to the plane and is distanced from the axis to form a volume about the axis. At least six coils are configured for affecting a dipole magnetic field in the volume in response to electrical currents applied to physically opposing coils where a particle beam entering the volume is deflected. Each of the at least six coils is disposed about a one of the at least six electromagnetic portions. A yoke structure is configured for returning a generated magnetic flux.
US08378311B2	Synchrotron power cycling apparatus and method of use thereof The invention comprises a charged particle cancer therapy system or synchrotron system using one or more switches to introduce a corresponding one or more resistors into a circuit linking a power supply to a magnet or an inductor during an applied power recovery phase between acceleration cycles of the synchrotron, which reduces time of reduction in power from an active applied power to a power suitable for use with a subsequent injection of charged particles into the synchrotron.
US08378310B2	Image quality in photon counting-mode detector systems The current invention applies to photon counting silicon x-ray detectors with energy discriminating capabilities and applications in x-ray imaging systems. The overall image quality produced by such a system is improved by the presented novel methods for optimally using the energy information in Compton events and making selective use of counts induced from charges collected in neighboring pixels. The pile-up problem during high-flux imaging regimes is reduced by a novel method for signal reset, which improves the count efficiency by reducing the risk of losing event due to signal pile-up in the read out electronics chain.
US08378302B2	Bidirectional optical scanner assisting in mammography A bidirectional optical scanner assisting in mammography is revealed. The optical scanner that calculates functional images obtained by diffuse optical tomography, used in combination with a mammography machine can reduce the number of mammograms taken and the dose exposure. The bidirectional optical scanner includes a compression module, a first optical detection module, and a second optical detection module. The same test position of the tested breast can be detected twice in different directions by the first and the second optical detection modules. No matter where the tumor is located, the tumor can be detected. Besides structural images provided by the mammography machine, functional tomographic images of the breast are obtained by the bidirectional optical scanner. Thus diagnostic accuracy in the detection of breast cancer is improved.
US08378297B2	Method and apparatus to produce steady beams of mobility selected ions via time-dependent electric fields A method to select ions based on their electrical mobility is described. Ions are separated in space, and a continuous flow of mobility filtered ions is produced at the outlet of the device, as in Differential Mobility Analyzers (DMAs). Yet, no high fluid velocity field is required, avoiding limitations associated in DMAs to flow unsteadiness. Instead, separation relies on the use of time-dependent electric fields. Separation is based on synchronizing the period of the field with the flight time of an ion from an inlet to an outlet for a particular electrical mobility.Unlike FAIMS, the new invention separates ions according to their absolute mobility within one or a few characteristic times for field variation, rather than via many tiny separation steps over many periods of field variation producing separation according to non-linearities in the mobility. Unlike conventional pulsating ion mobility spectrometry, a steady flow of ions is produced.
US08378291B2	Metal volume source calibration phantom and calibrating method thereof A metal volume source calibration phantom includes a container, a plurality kinds of metal plates stacked up inside the container, and at least one slab of radioactive source, each of which is disposed between the adjacent metal plates and includes a plurality of radionuclides. By means of inserting different numbers of the plurality kinds of metal plates inside the container, it is capable of obtaining the metal volume source calibration phantoms with different densities. In addition, a method for calibrating the metal volume source calibration phantom is also provided, which starts by the step of providing the metal calibration phantoms with different densities by inserting different numbers of a plurality kinds of metal plates and at least one slab of radioactive source into the container, and then detecting counting efficiency with respect to the metal volume calibration phantoms having different densities by a waste curie monitor so as to establish the correlation between density and counting efficiency.
US08378290B1	Sensor calibration systems and methods for infrared cameras Systems and methods directed to calibration techniques for infrared cameras are disclosed for some embodiments. For example, a method of determining infrared sensor calibration information, in accordance with an embodiment, includes performing a calibration operation on an infrared sensor to obtain calibration information, wherein the infrared sensor is not within an infrared camera core, and storing the calibration information.
US08378287B2	Optical sensor module including a diode laser and a substrate transparent to radiation emitted by the diode laser and a method for manufacturing an optical sensor module The invention relates to an optical sensor module (1) for a measuring device. Said module comprises at least one optical sensor (2) including a diode laser (3) having a laser cavity for generating a measuring beam, the diode laser being attached to a substrate (12), converging means (5) (such as a lens). During measuring, such converging means (5) converges the measuring beam in an action plane and converges in the laser cavity the measuring beam radiation that has been back-scattered by an object to generate a self-mixing effect and means for measuring the self-mixing effect. Later means comprise a photo diode (4) and an associated signal processing circuitry. According to an essential aspect of the invention, that the diode laser (3) is configured to emit laser radiation of a wavelength for which the substrate (12) being attached to the diode laser (3) is transparent. This configuration leads to an essentially simple (and therefore cheap) sensor module.
US08378281B2	Terrestrial solar tracking photovoltaic array with offset solar cell modules Terrestrial solar tracking photovoltaic arrays that may include a modular design that is sized and weighted to facilitate installation with a small amount of manpower. The array may further be adapted to be adjusted during or after installation to accommodate the necessary power requirements. The terrestrial solar tracking photovoltaic array may include a torque tube that may be constructed of discrete sections. A drive may be connected to the torque tube to rotate the torque tube. A number of solar cell modules may be connected to the torque tube. The modules may be positioned at offsetting angular orientations depending upon their distance away from the drive. This offset positioning compensates for twisting distortion of the torque tube caused by the drive rotating the torque tube. At one point of rotation, each of the solar cell modules may be substantially aligned in a common plane.
US08378280B2	Integrated solar energy receiver-storage unit Receivers for use in solar energy collector systems and solar-powered electrical energy generating plants are provided. The receivers comprise a solar radiation absorbing core that converts absorbed solar radiation to thermal energy. The core comprises a refractory material to allow the receivers to operate continuously at high temperatures reached by absorbing concentrated solar radiation. The thermal energy so generated in the core may be stored in the receiver for a transitory period, or for a more extended period. Receivers may comprise one or more fluid channels in and/or around the core for conveying a working fluid to facilitate extraction of stored thermal energy from the core.
US08378277B2	Optical impact control system An optical impact system controls munitions termination through sensing proximity to a target and preventing effects of countermeasures on false munitions termination. Embodiments can be implemented on in a variety of munitions such as small and mid caliber that can be applicable in non-lethal weapons and in weapons of high lethality with airburst capability for example and in guided air-to-ground and cruise missiles. Embodiments can improve accuracy, reliability and lethality of munitions depending on its designation without modification in a weapon itself and make the weapon resistant to optical countermeasures.
US08378276B2	Time-to-go missile guidance method and system A method and apparatus for guiding a vehicle to intercept a target is described. The method iteratively estimates a time-to-go until target intercept and modifies an acceleration command based upon the revised time-to-go estimate. The time-to-go estimate depends upon the position, the velocity, and the actual or real time acceleration of both the vehicle and the target. By more accurately estimating the time-to-go, the method is especially useful for applications employing a warhead designed to detonate in close proximity to the target. The method may also be used in vehicle accident avoidance and vehicle guidance applications.
US08378274B2	Induction heating device An induction heating device includes a top plate, a thermo-sensitive device, a temperature detector, a coil, a controller, and a light-emitting section. The top plate places thereon a cooking utensil containing material to be cooked. The thermo-sensitive device changes its electrical characteristics with the temperature of the cooking utensil. The temperature detector detects the temperature of the cooking utensil based on the electrical characteristics of the thermo-sensitive device. The coil heats the cooking utensil. The controller controls the coil based on the temperature information of the temperature detector, thereby controlling an amount of the electric heating power to be supplied to the cooking utensil. The light-emitting section emits visible light to the area over the thermo-sensitive device. The light from the light-emitting section illuminates the area over the thermo-sensitive device through the top plate.
US08378272B2	Heat treatment apparatus, heat treatment method and storage medium Disclosed is a heat treatment apparatus for performing a heat treatment on an object to-be-processed by a heater, which can inhibit variation in thermal histories among the objects to-be-processed. The heat treatment apparatus includes, among others, a correction part to correct a power control signal output from an adjusting unit so that a conduction rate of an AC voltage applied to a heater is decreased. Specifically, the correction is performed based on a value obtained by multiplying a first correction value with a second correction value, where the first correction value is generated according to a ratio of the voltage detection value of AC power source to a predetermined reference voltage, and the second correction value is generated according to a ratio of the resistance value of the heater to a predetermined reference resistance value.
US08378264B2	Heater for piping A heater for piping includes a plurality of shells connected via hinges. The shells are adapted to be mounted on an outer circumferential wall of piping having a circular cross section to enclose the piping and form a polyhedron along the piping. Thermal insulators are disposed over entire surfaces of inner walls of the shells. A plurality of molds are disposed at the inner walls and are adapted to abut on the outer circumferential wall of the piping in the mounted state. A plurality of heating elements are disposed at the inner walls of the shells so that the heating elements are positioned in a space formed between corners of the polyhedron and the outer circumferential wall of the piping and extend in the longitudinal direction of the piping in the mounted state.
US08378261B2	Automated assembly method for a motor vehicle A method of automated assembly for a motor vehicle is disclosed. The method includes a step of automatically determining weld characteristics according to weld location information. The method further includes a step of generating an automated weld program according to the weld characteristics and a step of controlling a welding robot according to the automated weld program.
US08378259B2	Eliminating head-to-head offsets along common chuck travel direction in multi-head laser machining systems The embodiments disclosed herein provide systems and methods for correcting a head-to-head offset in a laser machining system with two or more processing heads. A focusing lens is associated with each processing head, and is configured to receive an incident laser beam along an incident beam axis of propagation. The incident beam axis of propagation is offset from the primary axis of the focusing lens. The focusing lens is further configured to rotate about the incident beam axis of propagation in order to steer the incident laser beam's path with respect to a workpiece.
US08378257B2	Laser processing apparatus A laser processing apparatus including a detecting unit. The detecting unit includes a white light source for emitting white light, a focusing lens for focusing the white light to the workpiece, a first optical fiber for guiding the white light emitted from the white light source to the focusing lens, a detector for detecting the intensity of reflected light from the workpiece, and a second optical fiber for guiding the reflected light to the detector. Accordingly, the white light to be focused to the workpiece can be easily handled and only a wavelength component focused on the workpiece can be stably propagated.
US08378248B2	System and method for heat treating a weld joint A system for heat treating a weld joint includes a beam generator that produces a beam directed at the weld joint. A beam splitter between the beam generator and the weld joint diverts a portion of the beam along a path. A reflector receives the diverted portion of the beam and directs it to a point at the weld joint. A modulator in the path controls passage of the diverted portion of the beam. A method for heat treating a weld joint includes directing a beam at the weld joint, diverting a portion of the beam, and reflecting the diverted portion of the beam in the direction of the weld joint. The method further includes modulating the diverted portion of the beam to control the passage of the diverted portion of the beam.
US08378241B1	Self-locking connector clip A clip for connecting a conductor to a circuit interrupter in an electrical device is generally U-shaped and self-locking. The clip has a generally arcuate body and two generally linear legs. The legs extend vertically from the body. The legs have beveled edges that together with the generally arcuate body of the clip and a flat portion of the clip, allow an interlock to be formed between the clip and the conductor when the clip is in close contact with the conductor.
US08378235B2	Electric junction box Vertical bus bars are mounted on a first surface of a box main body. A connection terminal of the vertical bus bars projects inside a fitting peripheral wall of a connector fitting portion provided to a second surface of the box main body. A retainer is provided off of the electrical component connection portion, the retainer holding the vertical bus bars disengageably from the first surface.
US08378234B2	Housing for an electrical device A case for an electric device has a case part with sidewalls and a cover connected to the sidewalls, wherein the sidewalls and the cover enclose an explosion-protected interior in which electric and/or electronic components are accommodated. A case reinforcement is disposed in the sidewalls and in the cover.
US08378225B2	Printed circuit board and method for fabricating the same The invention provides a printed circuit board and method for fabricating the same. The printed circuit board includes a substrate having an internal circuit structure. An additional circuit structure is disposed on the substrate, electrically connected to the internal circuit structure. A solder mask insulating layer having an opening is disposed on the additional circuit structure. A conductive bump pattern is disposed in the solder mask insulating layer, wherein the conductive bump pattern extends into the opening horizontally, wherein a side, a portion of an upper surface and a portion of a lower surface of the conductive bump pattern are exposed from the opening. A solder ball is formed in the opening, wherein the solder ball is electrically connected to the additional circuit structure.
US08378222B2	Method of reducing solder wicking on a substrate This invention relates to a substrate with via and pad structure(s) to reduce solder wicking. Each via and pad structure connects a component to conductive layers associated with the substrate. The substrate includes one or more plated vias, solder mask(s) surrounding the plated vias, and a conductive pad with a conductive trace connected to each plated via. The conductive pad extends beyond the terminal sides to increase solder formation and the solder mask reduces solder formation at the terminal end of the component. The via and pad structure is suitable for a variety of components and high component density. The invention also provides a computer implemented method for calculating the maximum distance of a conductive pad extending beyond the terminal side of a component.
US08378220B2	Electronic device, washer and method for manufacturing washer An electronic device includes, a circuit board including a through hole, a member including a screw hole, a screw including a screw body having an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the through hole and a screw head having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the through hole, wherein the screw body penetrates through the through hole to engage with the screw hole and the screw head is disposed on an opposite side of the circuit board to the member, and a first washer provided between the screw head and the circuit board, the first washer including a first washer body and a plurality of first washer legs extending from the first washer body toward the circuit board, the first washer legs being in contact with the circuit board and having a characteristic of reducing stress on the circuit board upon being heated.
US08378219B2	Nesting dielectric insulators A bus assembly and bus assembly connector include one or more insulated members that have axial sleeves that fit within one another during assembly to form a nesting arrangement. The nesting arrangement of the axial sleeves allow reduction of the overall size of the bus assembly connector while satisfying power rating standards and dielectric clearances as well as allowing bolting of the bus assembly to thereby clamp and secure the bus assembly. The axial sleeves can be distinctively designed such that the phase members must be assembled in a predetermined order, with no components being omitted, to form the bus assembly connector or clamp the bus assembly.
US08378213B1	Adjustable floor bracket articles and methods A support bracket article for enabling the adjustable positioning of an electrical box enclosure relative to the bottom of a framing member, and the supporting thereof in an interior wall section of a wall system under construction. The article is able to guide the adjustable positioning of the electrical box enclosure. It is also able to accommodate the supporting and adjustable positioning of the electrical box enclosure in a variety of framing studs and wall systems.
US08378207B2	System and method for using pre-equilibrium ballistic charge carrier refraction A method and system for using a method of pre-equilibrium ballistic charge carrier refraction comprises fabricating one or more solid-state electric generators. The solid-state electric generators include one or more of a chemically energized solid-state electric generator and a thermionic solid-state electric generator. A first material having a first charge carrier effective mass is used in a solid-state junction. A second material having a second charge carrier effective mass greater than the first charge carrier effective mass is used in the solid-state junction. A charge carrier effective mass ratio between the second effective mass and the first effective mass is greater than or equal to two.
US08378203B2	Simulated percussion instrument Embodiments of an electronic instrument simulating a percussion instrument using capacitive touch sensitive sensors are described herein. Embodiments described comprise an art layer, a sensor layer, a shielding layer, an electronics package and a speaker. The art layer has depictions of one or more percussion instruments. The sensor layer is deposed under the art layer. The sensor layer has one or more instrument sensors, each comprising one or more capacitive touch sensors. Instrument sensors are positioned underneath one of the depicted percussion instruments in the art layer so that a finger tapping the depicted instrument will trigger the sensor. The capacitive touch sensors are electrically connected to the electronics package configured to detect changes in capacitance when a particular capacitive touch sensor is touched, causing the electronics package to play on the speaker a sound sample of an percussion instrument associated with that capacitive touch sensor.
US08378200B1	Source-dependent acoustic, musical and/or other instrument processing and feedback system The Source-Dependent Instrument is a signal processing and signal generation system that uses one or more signal event generators that can be functionally activated and controlled by the analysis of an external input signal. These output generators and signal processors can be set to re-synthesize aspects of the input or synthesize a more complex or perceptually shifted output based on the input.
US08378196B2	Sonically controlled wind-up motor A sonically controlled motor has a rotating shaft and an escapement selectively allowing or denying rotation there-of. An acoustic element cooperates with the escapement such that selective operation of the acoustic element selectively allows or denies rotation of, or controls the rotational speed of the shaft. A machine, such as a toy, having one or more moving elements may be controlled by the motor such that selective operation of the acoustic element selectively allows or denies movement of the machine. Alternation of the volume and/or frequency of the acoustic element may be used to alter the operation of the motor, or the motor may be operated according to the beat and qualities of music. The motor may be operated by remote control of the acoustic element.
US08378194B2	Composition device and methods of use A system for creating a musical score may be provided. The system may include a composition tool application that is configured to provide a plurality of instrument interfaces to a user. The instrument interfaces may include a keyboard interface, a stringed instrument interface, and a percussion interface. The plurality of instrument interfaces may each include a representation of an instrument and a score section for illustration of the musical score. The composition tool application may be configured to provide the user with the ability to select a portion of the representation of the instrument. In response to the selection of the portion of the representation of the instrument, the composition tool application may be configured to provide a representation of a note for the instrument in the score section.
US08378193B2	Contoured finger pick for stringed instruments A pick worn on the finger or thumb of a player of a stringed instrument to aid in the plucking of the strings. The pick rests comfortably like a saddle upon the upper surface of the finger because it's large inner surface mimics the unique contour of the finger or thumb, enabling the pressure required to secure it to be distributed equally on the finger. It has a picking edge that is placed at a point on the finger where the string naturally first contacts the finger, making for a very natural playing experience. The angle of orientation of the picking edge allows the string to move easily and quietly across the striking surface, reproducing the sound of a traditional flat pick. It's unique design holds it place without slipping using wide and thin elastic band which also eliminates unwanted noise from inadvertently contacting adjacent strings.
US08378190B2	Piano construction A piano frame including a main plate having a first major surface for supporting piano strings and an opposite second major surface for supporting a soundboard. First, second, third and fourth elongate anchor zones are located on the first major surface for anchoring, respectively, first end (upper, tuneable end) and second end (lower, hitched end) of bass strings and first end (upper, tuneable end) and second end (lower, hitched end) of treble strings. A plurality of openings are provided in the main plate between the third anchor zone and the fourth anchor zone. A truss defined by a plurality bracing members integrally formed in the main plate extends between the third anchor zone and the fourth anchor zone. The bracing members are located wholly between a plane extending between the third and fourth anchor zones and a plane defined by the second major surface of the main plate.
US08378188B1	Maize variety hybrid X95A921 A novel maize variety designated X95A921 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof, produced by crossing Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. proprietary inbred maize varieties. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprises crossing hybrid maize variety X95A921 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X95A921 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X95A921, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X95A921. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X95A921.
US08378185B2	Soybean variety XB14H11 A novel soybean variety, designated XB14H11 is provided. Also provided are the seeds of soybean variety XB14H11, cells from soybean variety XB14H11, plants of soybean XB14H11, and plant parts of soybean variety XB14H11. Methods provided include producing a soybean plant by crossing soybean variety XB14H11 with another soybean plant, methods for introgressing a transgenic trait, a mutant trait, and/or a native trait into soybean variety XB14H11, methods for producing other soybean varieties or plant parts derived from soybean variety XB14H11, and methods of characterizing soybean variety XB14H11. Soybean seed, cells, plants, germplasm, breeding lines, varieties, and plant parts produced by these methods and/or derived from soybean variety XB14H11 are further provided.
US08378181B2	Soybean variety A1023729 The invention relates to the soybean variety designated A1023729. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety A1023729. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety A1023729 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety A1023729 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US08378177B2	Canola cultivar DN051493 The present invention relates to a new and distinctive canola cultivar, designated DN051493. Also included are seeds of canola cultivar DN051493, to the plants, or plant parts, of canola DN051493 and to methods for producing a canola plant produced by crossing the canola DN051493 with itself or another canola cultivar, and the creation of variants by mutagenesis or transformation of canola DN051493.
US08378175B2	Pea line EX 08250826 The invention provides seed and plants of the pea line designated EX 08250826. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of pea line EX 08250826, and to methods for producing a pea plant produced by crossing a plant of pea line EX 08250826 with itself or with another pea plant, such as a plant of another line. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of a plant of pea line EX 08250826, including the seed, pod, and gametes of such plants.
US08378173B2	Transcription factor gene OsNACx from rice and use thereof for improving plant tolerance to drought and salt The present invention relates to an isolated polynucleotide capable of giving a plant tolerance to drought and/or salt stress, which comprises a polynucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO:1, and to a promoter capable of giving a plant tolerance to drought and/or salt stress. The present invention also relates to an expression vector comprising the said polynucleotide and/or the said promoter, and to a host cell transformed or transfected by the said expression vector. The present invention further relates to a use of the said polynucleotide or promoter sequence in improvement of plant tolerance to drought and/or salt stress.
US08378170B2	High yielding soybean plants with low linolenic acid The invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing methods for marker assisted selection to create plants of a soybean variety that exhibit a mid/low linolenic acid content with a commercially significant yield and an agronomically elite phenotype. The invention also provides derivatives and plant parts of these plants. Further provided by the invention are methods for the use of these plants. The invention is significant in that oil with decreased linolenic acid exhibits numerous beneficial characteristics yet prior art varieties with decreased linolenic acid also exhibited decreased yield and poor agronomic quality.
US08378168B2	Article having a lotioned topsheet A feminine hygiene garment containing a liquid pervious topsheet coated with a nonuniform pattern of a lotion composition is disclosed. The lotion composition is semi-solid or solid at 20° C. and is partially transferable to the wearer's skin. The lotion composition is applied to the article in a nonuniform manner, preferably such that there are regions on the article's topsheet that are not coated with lotion. In one embodiment the nonuniform pattern is a plurality of stripes of lotion that are separated by a plurality of stripes having no lotion.
US08378165B2	Array of absorbent articles having functional enhancement indicators An array of feminine hygiene articles for placement in an undergarment having a crotch portion bounded on opposite sides by portions of curved leg openings. Each feminine hygiene article of the array has a body-facing surface, a first end region and a second end region, the array of feminine hygiene articles comprising at least first and second the feminine hygiene articles differing in at least one functional characteristic. The first and second feminine hygiene articles each comprise a functional enhancement indicator visible from the body-facing surface, the functional enhancement indicator of the first and second feminine hygiene articles being visibly different to distinguish the first feminine hygiene article from the second feminine hygiene article.

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