| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US08687368B2 |
Heat-dissipating module and assembled structure of heat-dissipating module and integrated circuit chipset
An assembled structure includes an integrated circuit chipset and a heat-dissipating module. The heat-dissipating module includes a heat sink, a locking member and at least one elastic element. The heat sink includes a base and a plurality of fins. The locking member includes a rectangular frame with at least one sustaining part. Two first lateral plates are downwardly extended from a first side and a second side of the rectangular frame, respectively. The first side and the second side are opposed to each other. In addition, at least one hook is formed on an inner surface and a lower edge of each first lateral plate. The elastic element has a first part sustained against the base of the heat sink and a second part sustained against the sustaining part of the rectangular frame. The hooks are engaged with a bottom surface of the substrate of the integrated circuit chipset. |
| US08687367B2 |
Rotatable latch for compressing thermal interface material between a heat generating electrical component and a cooling electrical component
Apparatuses for compressing a thermal interface material between a heat generating electrical component and a cooling electrical component are provided. Embodiments include a draw rod coupled at one end to the cooling electrical component, the draw rod passing through the heat generating electrical component; wherein the draw rod includes a pin on the end opposite the end coupled to the cooling electrical component; and a rotatable latch coupled to the heat generating electrical component, the rotatable latch including a hook at one end; wherein when the rotatable latch is in an engaged position, the hook of the rotatable latch engages the pin of the draw rod such that the thermal interface material adhered to the heat generating component is coupled to the cooling electrical component. |
| US08687362B2 |
Portable briefcase office
A portable briefcase office comprises of a computer unit, a storage unit, and a supplies and devices unit. It integrates a computer, printer, projector, storage space, battery, and other office supplies in one easily transported briefcase. It is not a case for devices, but a compact apparatus that incorporates these devices as it would appear in an entire office. |
| US08687356B2 |
Storage device testing system cooling
A storage device testing system that includes at least one rack, test slots housed by each rack, and at least one air mover in pneumatic communication with the test slots. Each test slot includes a test slot housing having an entrance and an exit, with the entrance configured to receive a storage device. The at least one air mover is configured to move air exterior to the racks into the entrance of each test slot housing, over the received storage device, and out of the exit of each test slot housing. |
| US08687354B2 |
Dual shaft hinge with angle timing shaft mechanism
A hinge is provided that permits a user to use a computer system either as a laptop computer or a tablet computer. The hinge may comprise a hinge block and an inhibitor stopper. The hinge block may have a first hinge member and a second hinge member. The inhibitor stopper may be disposed between the first hinge member and the second hinge member. The inhibitor stopper may have a first wing and a second wing. The inhibitor stopper may be attached to the hinge block. The first and second wings may be rotatable around an axis. |
| US08687345B2 |
Chip-type electronic component
A chip-type electronic component with high reliability, which is able to suppress and prevent fatal damage to a ceramic body due to cracking even if a substrate with the chip-type electronic component mounted thereon undergoes a deflection. The chip-type electronic component includes a ceramic body having internal electrodes; resin electrode layers formed in a region including at least end surfaces of the ceramic body, and connected to the internal electrodes directly or indirectly and connected with the ceramic body; and plating metal layers covering the resin electrode layers, wherein the adhesion strength between the ceramic body and the resin electrode layer is higher than the adhesion strength between the resin electrode layer and the plating metal layer. |
| US08687340B2 |
Actuation and protection utilizing active material activation during lightning strikes and similar events
A method of and actuator/device for passively actuating or protecting a system, body or circuit during a lightning strike or other high voltage/current generation event, utilizing an active material element activated by the spike in current or voltage potential, and preferably a barrier connected in series to the element and configured to be overcome by the voltage/current event, so that the element is activated only during the event. |
| US08687339B2 |
Safety control structure for heater wire
A safety control structure for heater wire comprises a switch, a first heating wire, a second heating wire, and an over-current protection element, which are sequentially connected in series connection. An insulation and fusible layer is interposed between the first heating wire and the second heating wire. Accordingly, under normal condition, the switch is triggered by triggering the circuit, so as to have the first heating wire and the second heating wire then be heated up within a preset temperature range. When the first heating wire and the second heating wire produce exceptionally high temperatures to fuse the insulation and fusible layer, the current is increased instantaneously because the first heating wire and the second heating wire are short-circuited. Therefore, the circuit is interrupted by the over-current protection element to show a broken circuit status in order to stop heating up. |
| US08687336B2 |
Over-current protection device and battery protection circuit assembly containing the same
An over-current protection device is disposed on a circuit board and configured to protect a battery. The over-current protection device includes a resistive device, at least one insulation layer and a weld electrode layer. The resistive device exhibits positive temperature coefficient behavior. The insulation layer has a thickness of at least 0.03 mm. The weld electrode layer is configured to weld a strip interconnect member to electrically coupled to the battery, and has a thickness of at least 0.03 mm. The insulation layer and the resistive device are disposed between the weld electrode layer and the circuit board. The circuit board, the resistive device and the weld electrode layer are electrically coupled in series. The association of the resistive device and the weld electrode layer has a thermal mass capable of withstanding welding the strip interconnect member without significant damage to the over-current protection device. |
| US08687333B2 |
Overcurrent limiting for high side solenoid switch controls
An overcurrent protection circuit for a high side solenoid switch includes a primary bias circuit and a secondary bias circuit. The secondary bias circuit is operable to alter a source to gate bias voltage of the high side solenoid switch during an overcurrent. |
| US08687331B2 |
Protection to avoid abnormal operation caused by a shorted parameter setting pin of an integrated circuit
For a system to avoid abnormal operation caused by a shorted parameter setting pin of an integrated circuit, a protection apparatus and method apply a buffered reference voltage to the parameter setting pin to define an internal parameter of the integrated circuit by the buffered reference voltage and an external element connected to the parameter setting pin, and detect the rapid variation of the internal parameter to trigger a shutdown signal or slow down the speed of the variation of the internal parameter reflected to an adjustable signal of the integrated circuit. |
| US08687329B2 |
Anti-lightning protection for telephone connection
A structure for protecting a circuit connected to first and second rails of a telephone connection against overvoltages, including: first and second diodes in anti-series between the first and second rails; a first capacitor in parallel with a first resistor between a first node common to the first and second diodes and a low voltage reference node; and a protection element capable of removing fast overvoltages between any of the rails and the low reference voltage node when these overvoltages exceed a first threshold associated with the voltage of the first node. |
| US08687327B2 |
Electronic system for converting DC voltage into AC voltage
An electronic system has IGBT, on driving FET and off driving FET connected with the gate of the IGBT, and a control circuit. The on driving FET in an on state supplies electric charge to the IGBT gate. The off driving FET in an on state releases the charge from the GET gate. The control circuit controls each of the on FETs according to a driving signal to be set in the on and off states every switching period of time and to control the voltage at the IGBT gate. When on-failure occurs in the on driving FET set in the on state so as to keep the on driving FET in the on state in spite of control of the control circuit, the control circuit controls a controlled element other than the off driving FET to set the IGBT in the off state. |
| US08687320B2 |
Magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording having a pole layer including a plurality of stacked magnetic films
A magnetic head includes a pole layer accommodated in a groove. The pole layer has a track width defining portion and a wide portion. The pole layer includes a plurality of magnetic films stacked. At least one of the plurality of magnetic films includes a first portion included in the track width defining portion, a second portion included in the wide portion, and a third portion coupling the first and second portions to each other. In a cross section passing through the center of the pole layer taken in the track width direction, the second portion is smaller than the first portion in thickness and the top surface of the third portion is inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to a medium facing surface. |
| US08687315B2 |
Data storage system using a media mobility unit (MMU), the MMU, and methods of use thereof
In one embodiment, a media mobility unit includes a media cartridge holding portion for storing media cartridges, a sensing mechanism for sensing at least an approximate location of the holding portion in relation to other objects, a drive mechanism for moving the holding portion from a source media library to a destination media library, and a power source electrically coupled to at least one of the sensing mechanism and the drive mechanism for providing current to the at least one of the drive mechanism and the sensing mechanism. |
| US08687308B1 |
Zone servo write with multi-frequency self-spiral write
In one aspect, systems, apparatuses and techniques obtain, through read circuitry, timing information for a machine-readable medium to determine head position; and write, by write circuitry, a first set of spiral servo reference tracks at a first frequency on a first zone of the medium and a second set of spiral servo reference tracks at a second, different frequency on a second zone of the medium. The second zone may be different from the first zone. Further, at least one of the first and second sets of spiral servo reference tracks may be written to the medium based on at least the timing information. |
| US08687303B2 |
Shingle-written magnetic recording (SMR) device with hybrid E-region
SMR disk drives with hybrid E-regions that include a nonvolatile solid state memory E-region in addition to the magnetic media E-regions on disk are described. The memory E-region can be used in operations that will be referred as destaging and/or restaging to sequentialize sets of exception records to reduce the time and energy spent in executing seeks in the disk E-region. The ratio of the size of the solid state memory E-region to the total E-region capacity on the disks can be optimized for selected applications according to the invention using tradeoffs between performance and cost. For example, an embodiment with a memory E-region size that is 10% of the total disk E-region capacity achieves substantial performance enhancement over a disk-only E-region implementation and also results in smaller costs than would be required in a NAND-only memory E-region. |
| US08687301B1 |
Parallel no-sync-mark retry
The disclosure is directed to detection of a sync mark location for at least one data sector of a disk by processing a first sector and at least a second sector in parallel. A first set of data samples from the first sector is reframed according to one or more sync mark locations based upon a first selected sync mark location, and a second set of data samples from the second sector is reframed according to one or more sync mark locations based upon a second selected sync mark location. The first set of data samples and the second set of data samples are iteratively reframed and decoded until the first sector or the second sector converges or until all possible sync mark locations have been attempted. |
| US08687291B2 |
Optical system and image pickup apparatus
An optical system includes a first lens unit fixed during a focusing operation and having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit moving in an optical axis direction during the focusing operation and having a negative refractive power, a third lens unit positioned at the image side relative to the second lens unit and having a positive or negative refractive power, the first lens unit is configured by first, second, and third partial lens units, the first partial lens unit is configured by two positive lens components, the second partial lens unit is configured by one cemented lens having a negative combined refractive power, the third partial lens unit is positioned between the second partial lens unit and the second lens unit and has a positive refractive power as a whole, and each lens unit is configured so as to meet an appropriate condition. |
| US08687290B2 |
Variable filter compensation for high-aperture camera lenses
The present invention relates to a lens or objective for a camera, more particularly for a digital camera, comprising a housing, an actuating element arranged on the housing, and a lens element system that can be set into a plurality of settings, wherein the lens element system is embodied in such a way that in at least one setting an f-number is F≦3. The lens element system is furthermore embodied in such a way that an actuation of the actuating element brings about a movement of two optical elements relative to one another, such that an intersection length difference of the lens element system can be set. |
| US08687288B2 |
Driver vision field extender
A driver vision field extender uses flexible vinyl Fresnel-type prism lens material with substantially parallel horizontal straight linearly extending prism lines. The parallel lines permit wide side by side views without substantial distortion. As the driver vision field extender is intended to be positioned contiguously along the windshield, the driver vision field extender after installation preferably exhibits a concave shape acting to focus the light defining and delineating overhead objects towards front-seated passengers such as the driver. |
| US08687282B2 |
Focus module and components with actuator
A focus module containing a boundary element and a focus element. The focus element includes a fluid and a deformable membrane, with the fluid being entrapped between the boundary element and the deformable membrane. The focus module also includes a pressure element, which is capable of deforming the focus element by pressing on the deformable membrane in the direction of the boundary element. |
| US08687280B2 |
Liquid meniscus lens including meniscus wall with microchannels
The present invention relates generally to an arcuate liquid meniscus lens with a meniscus wall. Some specific embodiments include a liquid meniscus lens with a meniscus wall essentially in the shape of a conical frustum, additional embodiments may include a cylindrical wall, each with microchannels. Embodiments may also include a lens of suitable size and shape for inclusion in a contact lens. |
| US08687277B2 |
Stacked-grating light modulator
A “Stacked-Grating Light Modulator” (“SGLM”) comprises two diffraction grating elements, a reflection grating and a transmission grating, in close parallel proximity. An incident beam transmits through the transmission grating and is reflected by the reflection grating back through the transmission grating. The relative lateral position of the two gratings is varied to modulate the beam's zero-order reflectance. |
| US08687274B2 |
Short-wavelength polarizing elements and the manufacture and use thereof
While gold wire grids have been used to polarize infrared wavelengths for over a hundred years, they are not appropriate for shorter wavelengths due to their large period. With embodiments of the present invention, grids with periods a few tens of nanometers can be fabricated. Among other things, such grids can be used to polarize visible and even ultraviolet light. As a result, such wire grid polarizers have a wide variety of applications and uses, such as, e.g., in the fabrication of semiconductors, nanolithography, and more. |
| US08687273B2 |
Image display device, electronic device, and parallax barrier element
In an image display device having a parallax barrier element, a bright display with a broad viewing range can be realized.The image display device according to the present invention includes: a display panel having a first group of pixels for displaying a first image and a second group of pixels for displaying a second image; and a parallax barrier element for separating display light emitted from the first group of pixels and display light emitted from the second group of pixels, the parallax barrier element including a plurality of light-shielding portions and a plurality of light-transmitting portions which are alternately positioned within the same plane. The parallax barrier element includes converging elements respectively provided for the plurality of light-transmitting portions. |
| US08687271B2 |
N-modulation displays and related methods
A display has a light source, a spatial light modulator and an intermediate spatial light modulator. The display may be a front projection display or a rear-projection display. The spatial light modulator is illuminated with light from a light source. The intermediate spatial light modulator is located in a light path between the light source and the spatial light modulator. The light source may comprise an array of controllable light-emitters. The display may provide a high dynamic range. |
| US08687267B2 |
Optical wavelength tunable filter
An acousto-optical tunable filter is disclosed. The filter includes a medium having one or more indices of refractions alterable by the application of acoustic waves to the medium. The filter also includes an acoustic transducer coupled to the medium to generate the acoustic waves Altering the frequency of the acoustic wave selects among the different wavelengths in the incident light ray. The device also includes an optical mirror for reflecting a wave diffracted by the medium back to the medium so that it can again be diffracted. The first diffracted wave has its frequency shifted in one direction by the frequency of the acoustic wave while the second diffracted wave has its frequency shifted in the opposite direction, thereby compensating for the first shift. The result is an output ray with little or no frequency shift. |
| US08687261B2 |
Electrochromic nickel oxide simultaneously doped with lithium and a metal dopant
An electrochromic device comprising a counter electrode layer comprised of lithium metal oxide which provides a high transmission in the fully intercalated state and which is capable of long-term stability, is disclosed. Methods of making an electrochromic device comprising such a counter electrode are also disclosed. |
| US08687260B2 |
Solid-state optical modulator
A spatial light modulator comprises a solid-state chiral material disposed between electrodes such that the polarization direction of the polarized light incident thereto can be controlled through an electrical field established between the electrodes. |
| US08687255B2 |
Method for manufacturing a micromechanical component, and micromechanical component
A method for manufacturing a micromechanical component is described, including the steps of: forming a first etch stop layer on a base substrate, the first etch stop layer being formed in such a way that it has a first pattern of through-cutouts; forming a first electrode-material layer on the first etch stop layer; forming a second etch stop layer on the first electrode-material layer, the second etch stop layer being formed in such a way that it has a second pattern of through-cutouts differing from the first pattern; forming a second electrode-material layer on the second etch stop layer; forming a patterned mask on the second electrode-material layer; and carrying out a first etching step in a first direction and a second etching step in a second direction counter to the first direction in order to etch at least one first electrode unit out of the first electrode-material layer and to etch at least one second electrode unit out of the second electrode-material layer. Also described are micromechanical components. |
| US08687241B2 |
Method for security printing
Method for security printing. A digital model of a feature for printing is received, wherein the feature is for authentication by an external device. Deviation from the digital model is compensated for, to a printed instance of the feature. |
| US08687240B2 |
Image processing apparatus and control method for performing screen processing
This invention obtains a high-quality output image in which a jaggy or a disconnection of a thin line hardly stands out. An edge detection unit detects whether the pixel of interest is an edge pixel or a non-edge pixel. A screen processing unit performs screen processing for the pixel of interest to determine the output value of the N-level tone. A calculation unit performs filtering processing having a preset visual sense characteristic for an area including the pixel of interest to calculate the target value of the pixel of interest, and corrects the value of the pixel of interest so as to come close to the target value, thereby determining the output value of the N-level tone. The selector selects, according to the detection result by the edge detection unit, either the result from the calculation unit or that from the screen processing unit. |
| US08687238B2 |
Determine modified printer profile by selectively changing color saturation to balance ink usage
A printing method includes obtaining an initial printer profile corresponding to a printing system having a plurality of ink colors, identifying a remaining ink parameter corresponding to each of the ink colors, and determining whether the remaining ink parameter of each of the ink colors are approximately equal to each other such that: performing a print job using the initial printer profile when the remaining ink parameter determination is that the remaining ink parameter of each of the ink colors are approximately equal to each other, and determining a modified printer profile by selectively changing color saturation for one or more of the ink colors to balance ink usage and performing the print job using the modified printer profile when the remaining ink parameter determination is that the remaining ink parameter of each of the ink colors are not approximately equal to each other. |
| US08687233B2 |
Print preview apparatus and recording medium recording a program
Disclosed is a print preview apparatus including: an output control section which outputs an adjustment chart with a plurality of print color sample images formed based on a color data value of a color space depending on a print device adjusted to a color gamut reproducible by the print apparatus; a conversion section which converts each color data value of the color space depending on the print device to a color data value of a color space depending on a display device; a display section which displays a plurality of display color sample images corresponding to each of the plurality of print color sample images; and an adjustment section which presents the plurality of display color sample images displayed on the display section and which adjusts a color data value indicating a color of the presented display color sample image based on color adjustment information. |
| US08687231B2 |
Decoloring device, method of determining decoloring success or failure and computer-readable recording medium recording decoloring success or failure determining program
There is provided a decoloring device including a decoloring unit, a first sheet conveying unit, a pre-decoloring reading unit, a type determining unit, a second sheet conveying unit, a post-decoloring reading unit, a decoloring success or failure determining unit, and a determination criterion setting unit. The type determining unit determines the type of image on the sheet conveyed to the decoloring unit based on the reading result in the pre-decoloring reading unit. The post-decoloring reading unit reads an image on the sheet after the decoloring, which is conveyed by the second sheet conveying unit. The decoloring success or failure determining unit determines whether or not the decoloring in the decoloring unit is successful based on the reading result in the post-decoloring reading unit. The determination criterion setting unit sets a determination criterion in the decoloring success or failure determining unit, based on the type of image, which is determined by the type determining unit. |
| US08687230B2 |
Image processor
An image processor includes an acquiring unit that acquires a plurality of image files each corresponding to an image; a correction unit that corrects each image by conforming a characteristic quantity of each image to a reference characteristic quantity, the characteristic quantity representing image characteristic of each image; and an output control unit that outputs the corrected images on a same output plane. |
| US08687228B2 |
Application function extension method, system, and program
According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a plug-in of a general use application, sheet size information and margin information set by the application are calculated by using a scaling factor at the time of an expansion or reduction printing. The calculated sheet size information and margin information are reconfigured into the application. |
| US08687215B2 |
Image forming system, information management server, and computer readable medium storing program having multiple authentication units to create a secure printing system
An image forming system includes an information management unit, a determining unit, and at least one image forming unit. The information management unit stores and manages print information. The determining unit determines whether or not execution of a printing process regarding the print information is allowed. Each image forming unit prints and outputs print information acquired from the information management unit on a recording medium in accordance with a determination result of the determining unit. The determining unit includes a first authenticating unit and a second authenticating unit. The first authenticating unit performs authentication to determine whether or not execution of processing before printing and outputting the print information on a recording medium is allowed. The second authenticating unit performs authentication after completion of the authentication performed by the first authenticating unit to determine whether or not printing and output of the print information on the recording medium is allowed. |
| US08687214B2 |
Image forming apparatus communicating with an information processing processing apparatus and a mobile terminal
Provided are an image forming apparatus capable of communicating with an information processing apparatus and a mobile terminal, and a control method of controlling the image forming apparatus. Wireless communication is enabled between the mobile terminal and the image forming apparatus owing to receipt of print data and account information, which is for placing the image forming apparatus in a state in which wireless communication is possible, from the information processing apparatus. After wireless communication is enabled, the image forming apparatus receives authentication information from the mobile terminal and, if this authentication information corresponds to the account information, start printing based upon the print data received from the information processing apparatus. |
| US08687213B2 |
Data filtering for print service providers
Systems and methods of data filtering for a print service provider (PSP) are disclosed. An exemplary method includes receiving a plurality of print service parameters. The method also includes filtering the plurality of print service parameters, wherein a portion of the received plurality of print service parameters are retained in machine readable format. The method also includes saving the filtered print service parameters for enhancing automatic and manual print production processes. |
| US08687207B2 |
Method and device for optimizing a job change
A method for determining the optimum procedure for a job change on a printing-material processing machine (10) with at least one control computer. The data of a first machine job is compared to the data of a subsequent machine job using a control computer, and the comparison is used to establish an order of the operations to be carried out during the job change. Also provided is a device for determining the optimum procedure for a job change on a printing-material processing machine (10) with at least one control computer. The control computer is intended to compare the data of a first machine job to the data of a subsequent machine job, and to use the comparison to establish an order of the operations to be carried out during the job change. |
| US08687205B2 |
Optical detection device, display device, and electronic apparatus
An optical detection device includes: a first emitting unit that emits first emitting light in a radial pattern and having an intensity that differs in accordance with an emitting direction; a second emitting unit that emits second emitting light in a radial pattern and having an intensity that differs in accordance with an emitting direction; a light receiving unit that receives first reflection light acquired by reflecting the first emitting light emitted from the first emitting unit off an object and second reflection light acquired by reflecting the second emitting light emitted from the second emitting unit off the object; and a detection unit that detects a position of the object based on a result of the light reception in the light receiving unit. |
| US08687203B2 |
Method and apparatus for determining a shape of an optical test surface
A method of determining a shape of an optical test surface (14) includes: with adaptation optics (20), adapting a wavefront of a measuring beam (30) to a desired shape of the optical test surface (14), interferometrically measuring the shape of the optical test surface (14) with the adapted measuring beam, irradiating the adapted measuring beam at different angles of incidence onto the optical test surface and respectively measuring the wavefront of the measuring beam after the interaction of the measuring beam with the optical test surface (14), establishing the effect of the adaptation optics (20) upon the interferometric measurement result from the wavefronts measured for the individual angles of incidence, and determining the shape of the optical test surface (14) by removing the established effect of the adaptation optics (20) from the interferometric measurement result. |
| US08687199B2 |
Deflection measuring device according to the interferometer principle
An interferometer type deflection measuring device having a radiation source, a first fiber-optic means forming a first light path, a second fiber-optic means forming a second light path, a deflection body and an evaluation circuit, the first and second fiber-optic means receiving radiation from the radiation source on an input side, and radiation guided in the first and second fiber-optic means, respectively, being brought together on an output side with interference radiation being conveyed to the evaluation circuit for evaluation. The first fiber-optic means and the second fiber-optic means are arranged only on the deflection body, at least one of the first and second fiber-optic means being connected on the input side to the beam source with a single feed optical fiber and at least one of the first and second fiber-optic means being connected on the output side to the evaluation circuit by a single evaluation optical fiber. |
| US08687194B2 |
Small particle sensor
A sensor having a housing with a first member connected to a second member to form a circular central opening. A plurality of photoelectric transmitters and receivers are placed between the first member and the second member such that each receiver is within a liner-of-sight of each transmitter across the central opening and the signals sent between the receivers and transmitters fills an area of detection. |
| US08687193B2 |
Color measurement device
A color measurement device includes a light pipe and a light source. The light pipe is oriented length-wise towards a color sample surface along a first axis that is non-perpendicular to the surface. A color sample is positioned on the surface. The light pipe has a near opening, a far opening, and a face at the far opening. The near opening is closer to the color sample than the far opening. The light source is positioned near the far opening of the light pipe, and is to output light along a second axis and into the light pipe at the far opening. The light reflects off the surface after exiting the light pipe at the near opening. The second axis is non-perpendicular to the face of the light pipe at the far opening. The light non-uniformly illuminates the color sample after exiting the light pipe at the near opening. |
| US08687191B2 |
Detection system and method for aerosol delivery
An apparatus comprises a detector, a pressure sensor and a processor. The detector is operable to detect light that is scattered by an aerosol that is associated with a pressure. The pressure sensor is operable to measure the pressure. The processor is coupled to the detector and to the pressure sensor, and is configured to receive at least a signal from the detector and the pressure sensor. The processor is further configured to use the received signals to calculate a volume of the first aerosol, and to output an output signal associated with the calculated volume. The various measurements can be repeated and compared, and the output signal can be a feedback signal for metering subsequent amounts of the aerosol, based on the comparison. |
| US08687190B2 |
Fine particle detector and light emitting apparatus
A fine particle detector includes a light emitting system letting light from a light source pass through a phase difference element and focusing the light on a sample flow through which fine particles flow. When the direction of the sample flow is an X-axis direction, the light is emitted to the sample flow in a Z-direction, and a ZX-plane is orthogonal to a Y-direction, then the phase difference element has a plurality of regions divided in the Y-axis direction and causes a phase difference between wavefronts of the light passing through the plurality of regions. |
| US08687183B2 |
Imprint apparatus, detection method, article manufacturing method, and foreign particle detection apparatus
The present invention provides an imprint apparatus for performing an imprint process of transferring a pattern onto a substrate by curing a resin on the substrate while the resin is in contact with a mold, and removing the mold from the cured resin, including a detection unit configured to detect a foreign particle existing on the substrate, wherein the detection unit includes an obtaining unit configured to irradiate a surface of the substrate with light, and obtain light from the surface of the substrate, and a specification unit configured to specify a shot region where a foreign particle existing on the substrate is positioned, based on the light obtained by the obtaining unit. |
| US08687175B2 |
Fluid flow velocity and temperature measurement
A method is provided for monitoring velocity of a fluid flow through a predetermined fluid flow space. A fiber optic conductor includes a flow measurement portion defining an elongated dimension extending across a portion of the fluid flow space. The fluid flow in the fluid flow space causes the measurement portion of the fiber optic conductor to flex in a direction transverse to the elongated dimension. Optical radiation is supplied to the fiber optic conductor, and optical radiation is received from the fiber optic conductor after the supplied optical radiation has passed through the measurement portion. The received optical radiation is analyzed to effect a determination of a flow velocity of the fluid flow. |
| US08687174B2 |
Unit pixel, photo-detection device and method of measuring a distance using the same
A unit pixel included in a photo-detection device, the unit pixel including a floating diffusion region in a semiconductor substrate, a ring-shaped collection gate over the semiconductor substrate, a ring-shaped drain gate over the semiconductor substrate, and a drain region in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the collection gate and the drain gate are respectively arranged between the floating diffusion region and the drain region. |
| US08687172B2 |
Optical digitizer with improved distance measurement capability
Systems and methods improve the accuracy of spatial coordinate measurements by optical digitizers by obtaining a separate distance measurement, which may be via direct ranging rather than triangulation, and combining the distance measurement with the spatial coordinate measurements to improve the accuracy of the three-dimensional spatial coordinate measurement. |
| US08687169B2 |
Optical aperture device
An optical module includes an aperture device and a support structure supporting the aperture device. The aperture device defines an aperture edge and an aperture plane. The aperture edge is adapted to define a geometry of a light beam passing the aperture device along an optical axis. The support structure is adapted to hold the aperture device in a defined manner when the aperture plane is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane. A temperature distribution prevails within the aperture device and at least one of the aperture device and the support structure is adapted to maintain at least one of a relative position of the aperture edge with respect to the optical axis and a geometry of the aperture edge substantially unaltered upon an introduction of a thermal energy into the aperture device, where the thermal energy being adapted to cause an alteration in the temperature distribution. |
| US08687166B2 |
Lithographic apparatus having an encoder position sensor system
A lithographic apparatus is disclosed that includes an encoder type sensor system configured to measure a position of a substrate table of the lithographic apparatus relative to a reference structure. The encoder type sensor system includes an encoder sensor head and an encoder sensor target and the lithographic apparatus comprises a recess to accommodate the encoder sensor target. |
| US08687162B2 |
Liquid crystal display device and method for fabricating the same
The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device for reducing line resistance of an line on glass (LOG) type signal line, and a method for fabricating the same. The liquid crystal display device includes signal lines formed at a picture display part, and an LOG type signal line formed at a peripheral region of the picture display part to have a width greater than the signal line and a plurality of first openings spaced at regular intervals for supplying a required driving signal to a drive IC to drive the signal lines. |
| US08687161B2 |
TFT arrangement for display device
A new TFT arrangement is demonstrated, which enables prevention of TFT to be formed over a joint portion between the adjacent SOI layers prepared by the process including the separation of a thin single crystal semiconductor layer from a semiconductor wafer. The TFT arrangement is characterized by the structure where a plurality of TFTs each belonging to different pixels is gathered and arranged close to an intersection portion of a scanning line and a signal line. This structure allows the distance between regions, which are provided with the plurality of TFTs, to be extremely large compared with the distance between adjacent TFTs in the conventional TFT arrangement in which all TFTs are arranged in at a regular interval. The formation of a TFT over the joint portion can be avoided by the present arrangement, which leads to the formation of a display device with a negligible amount of display defects. |
| US08687158B2 |
IPS LCD having a first common electrode directly extending from the common line and a second common electrode contacts the common line only through a contact hole of the gate insulating layer
An array substrate for an in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display device includes: a gate line on a substrate; a data line crossing the gate line to define a pixel region on the substrate; a common line parallel to and spaced apart from the gate line; a gate electrode connected to the gate line; a semiconductor layer disposed over the gate electrode, wherein an area of the semiconductor layer is less than an area of the gate electrode; a source electrode connected to the data line, and a drain electrode spaced apart from the source electrode, the source and drain electrodes disposed on the semiconductor layer; a plurality of pixel electrodes integrated with the drain electrode and extending from the drain electrode in the pixel region; and a plurality of common electrodes connected to the common line and alternately arranged with the plurality of pixel electrodes, wherein each of the source electrode, the drain electrode, the data line and the plurality of pixel electrodes are comprised from a first conductive material layer and a second conductive material layer, wherein the second conductive material layer is disposed on the first conductive material layer. |
| US08687156B2 |
Liquid crystal display panel
Provided is a liquid crystal display panel which allows high quality display by suppressing a disturbance of liquid crystal molecule alignment caused by formation of liquid crystal alignment control protrusions. The liquid crystal display panel of the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel including a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the pair of substrates, one of the pair of the substrates including a colored layer, a light-shielding layer, and walled liquid crystal alignment control protrusions projecting toward the other substrate, the liquid crystal alignment control protrusions including a main protrusion and a secondary protrusion lower than the main protrusion, the secondary protrusion being provided on the colored layer along a borderline between the colored layer and the light-shielding layer, and the light-shielding layer having a narrower width in a region adjacent to the secondary protrusion. |
| US08687153B2 |
Substrate, and display panel provided with substrate
A substrate for use in a display panel includes a transparent substrate and a light blocking layer which includes two layers of different optical densities. A low optical density layer that is one of the two layers of different optical densities which has a lower optical density is interposed between a high optical density layer that is the other one of the two layers which has a higher optical density and the transparent substrate. The sum of the optical density of the low optical density layer and the optical density of the high optical density layer is not less than 3.0. According to the present invention, a substrate which includes a low-reflectance light blocking layer is provided, the substrate being suitably used as a color filter substrate of a display device which has a low reflection structure, such as a low reflection film. |
| US08687146B2 |
Reflective plate and liquid crystal display apparatus having the same
The invention provides a reflective plate that includes a first reflective part having a predetermined surface roughness and a second reflective part having a surface roughness that is less than the predetermined surface roughness of the first reflective part. The invention also provides a reflective plate that is capable of supplying a liquid crystal panel with substantially uniform light. |
| US08687138B2 |
Coupling means and display device using the same
A display module includes: upper and lower supporting means facing and spaced apart from each other; a display device between the upper and lower supporting means; a middle supporting means surrounding the display device; and a plurality of coupling means combining the upper, middle and lower supporting means to fix and support the display device, wherein each of the plurality of coupling means includes a hook and each of the upper and lower supporting means has a through hole corresponding to the hook. |
| US08687134B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
In one embodiment, a liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate having a pixel electrode and a second substrate having a counter electrode. The pixel electrode includes a first pixel electrode portion in a belt-like shape extending in a first direction and a second pixel electrode portion connected with one end of the first pixel electrode portion and extending in a second direction orthogonally crossing the first direction. The counter electrode includes a first counter electrode portion in a belt-like shape extending in the first direction to form a lateral electric field between the first counter electrode portion and the first pixel electrode portion. A liquid crystal layer is held between the first substrate and the second substrate. The lateral electric field is applied to the liquid crystal layer. |
| US08687133B2 |
Stereoscopic display device with polarized backlights from single light source and display panel having alternating two visible images
A stereoscopic display device includes a display panel, two different polarized backlights and a synchronization module. The display panel is used to alternately generate first visible images and second visible images. The two different polarized backlights are to alternately illuminate the display panel so as to output the first visible images and second visible images, respectively. The synchronization module is used to synchronize the first visible images and second visible images with illumination periods of the respective polarized backlights. |
| US08687130B2 |
Remote controller, and system and method for remotely controlling digital television
A remote controller (100) and a system and method for remotely controlling a digital TV are disclosed. A memory card (110) is mounted in the remote controller (100), and the remote controller (100) receives video or audio data inputted from the memory card (110) and transmits the received data to a TV body (300). The remote controller (100) receives the video or audio data from the memory card (110) modulates the received data into a wireless signal and transmits the modulated wireless signal, and the TV body (300) receives the wireless signal transmitted from the remote controller (100), demodulates the received wireless signal into the video or audio data and reproduces the demodulated video or audio data. Therefore, the user can remotely control the TV body (300) without personally inserting the memory card (110) into the TV body (300). As a result, the user does not need to move to a place where the TV body (300) is located resulting in convenience in use. |
| US08687128B2 |
System and method of navigating previously viewed channels
The disclosure is directed to systems and methods of navigating previously viewed channels. In a particular embodiment, a method may include maintaining a channel list in a memory, the channel list comprising multiple previously viewed channels. The method may also include receiving a first signal to select a first selected channel in the channel list. The method may also include tuning a channel tuner to the first selected channel. |
| US08687125B2 |
Image processing system and display device for carrying out subtraction or addition of a pixel value of a target pixel in accordance with a value equivalent to a noise quantity
An image processing system for processing a target pixel to be processed, which target pixel corresponds to inputted image data, a plurality of pixels including the target pixel being arranged in a matrix manner, includes an NR circuit (106). The NR circuit (106) includes a signal processing process circuit (114) for carrying out subtraction or addition, with respect to a pixel value Aij of the target pixel, of a value equivalent to a noise quantity Er calculated in advance, in a case where the pixel value Aij of the target pixel is larger or smaller, respectively, than a first couple of estimated values Bij and Cij for the pixel value Aij of the target pixel, the first couple of estimated values Bij and Cij being estimated from pixel values of respective pixels adjacent to the target pixel, centered at the target pixel, in a temporal axis or in a spatial axis. It is therefore possible to provide an image processing system which further reduces noise and is less likely to blur a video as compared with a conventional noise reduction process. |
| US08687123B2 |
Video signal processing
A video signal processing apparatus for processing a video signal comprises a receive unit (101, 103, 105) which receives the video signal comprising a sequence of pictures. A processing unit (107) applies a picture noise changing algorithm to the sequence of pictures and a variation unit (113) varies a spatial noise reduction setting for the picture noise changing algorithm between at least some consecutive pictures of the sequence of pictures in response to a predetermined variation rule. Specifically a set of picture manipulation processes (203, 205) with different spatial noise reduction characteristics may be provided and the variation unit (113) may select different picture manipulation processes in consecutive pictures. The approach may introduce high frequency noise flickering which is less perceptible to a viewer thereby reducing the perceived noise. The invention may in particular be applied to upconverted high picture rate video signals for hold type displays, such as Liquid Crystal Displays displays. |
| US08687114B2 |
Video quality adaptation based upon scenery
Operating on video frames includes determining a frame set backdrop of a set of video frames that is a characterization of the relative difference in content of the set of video frames. Decreasing video quality of the set of video frames when the frame set backdrop is relatively higher indicating relatively greater content difference among video frames of the set of video frames and increasing/leaving quality of the set of video frames when the frame set backdrop is relatively lower indicating relatively lesser content difference among video frames of the set of video frames. Alteration of video quality of the set of video frames includes altering a frame rate, altering a pixel resolution, and/or altering color resolution of the set of video frames and/or altering a ratio of independent frames to predictive frames of the set of frames. |
| US08687112B2 |
Adjustment device and method thereof
The present invention discloses an adjustment device and method thereof which are applied for adjusting a photosensitive element. The adjustment device comprises a first platform, a second platform, a third platform and a cover. The first platform comprises a curved surface body and a positioning elastic element. The second platform, having a recess corresponding to each curved surface body and having a loading support portion, is arranged on a side of the first platform. The third platform is arranged on the other side of the first platform, and when the third platform, moves in an axial direction, the first and second platform moves together with the third platform. The cover compresses the photosensitive element against the second platform. When the inclination of photosensitive element is adjusted by the adjustment device, each curve surface body and each recess keep in contact due to the expansion of each positioning elastic element. |
| US08687111B2 |
Optical payload with folded telescope and cryocooler
A compact optical payload for an unmanned aircraft includes two infrared cameras for wide and narrow field viewing, a daylight color camera, a laser pointer and a laser range finder. |
| US08687110B1 |
Intelligent power management for actively-cooled cameras
In one embodiment, a camera is provided that includes: an image sensor configured to provide an image signal; an automatic gain control (AGC) unit configured to determine an AGC control signal for controlling a gain applied to the image signal; a cooler configured to cool the image sensor; and a thermal control circuit configured to compare the AGC control signal to a threshold, wherein the thermal control circuit is further configured to turn on the cooler if the comparison indicates that the AGC control signal exceeds the threshold. |
| US08687109B2 |
Image capturing device having pulsed LED flash
An image capturing device employing as illumination source(s) (flash apparatus(es)) a plurality of light emitting diodes emitting light of different colors; wherein such light emitting diodes are respectively made to emit light in pulsed fashion in turn by emitted color during exposure time(s). Furthermore, during exposure time(s), such light emitting diodes may be made to sequentially emit light in pulsed fashion in turn by emitted color, and/or such light emitting diodes may be made to sequentially emit light in pulsed fashion in turn by emitted color over multiple iterations. |
| US08687107B2 |
Photographing device, photographing method, and playback method
A photographing device according to the present invention comprises: an imaging section that captures a subject image and outputs image data; a motion picture recording section that records a motion picture based on the image data; a parameter setting section that sets a photographing parameter to change a photographing state; and a parameter control section that automatically changes the photographing parameter during the recording of the motion picture regardless of the set photographing parameter. |
| US08687100B2 |
Solid-state imaging device, method of driving the device, and camera system with varied timing of sampling period for sampling a bias voltage during pixel readout
A solid-state imaging device includes: a pixel section formed by pixels performing photoelectric conversion arranged in a matrix; a pixel signal readout section capable of column-parallel processing including an A/D conversion function for reading out a pixel signal from the pixel section and performing analog-digital conversion of the signal, the pixels being read in groups; a voltage sampling section sampling a bias voltage generated by an internal or external voltage generating circuit for a period in accordance with a control signal and supplying the sampled bias voltage to the pixel signal readout section; and a control section controlling the signal readout operation of the pixel signal readout section and the voltage sampling operation of the voltage sampling section. The pixel signal readout section includes a functional portion. The control section exercises control such that the voltage sampling operation is performed in a period other than at least either of a period in which an analog signal is read out or in which A/D conversion is carried out. |
| US08687097B2 |
Solid-state image-pickup device, method for driving solid-state image-pickup device, and image-pickup apparatus
A CMOS image sensor in which column-parallel ADCs are mounted. Reference voltages Vref1 to Vref4 having slopes with different gradients and a reference voltage Vref5 are used. Additionally, a comparison circuit that compares an output voltage Vx of a unit pixel with any one of the reference voltages Vref1 to Vref4, and a comparison circuit that compares the one of the reference voltages Vref1 to Vref4 with the reference voltage Vref5 are included in a column processing circuit. High-resolution AD conversion is performed at a high speed by respective operations of the comparison circuits and an up/down counter. |
| US08687091B2 |
Image capturing systems and methods utilizing customizable look management
An image capturing apparatus that includes an image capture unit, an interface unit, a processing unit, and a display unit, wherein the image capture unit captures an image, the memory unit stores the image, the interface unit loads one or more look transforms into the image capturing apparatus, the processing unit converts color signals of the image from values of the image capturing apparatus into an output rendering space using a device-independent color space, automatically applies the look transform(s) to the image, and generates a rendered image, which is then displayed by the display unit. |
| US08687090B2 |
Method of removing audio noise and image capturing apparatus including the same
A method of removing an audio noise and an image capturing apparatus providing the same includes storing a specified audio signal included in a captured image as a noise signal, receiving an input audio signal included in an image, and removing a noise included in a transformed audio signal through a comparison between the input audio signal and the noise signal. Accordingly, the audio noise included in the input audio signal is removed, and thus the sound that is not desired by a user can be easily removed. |
| US08687087B2 |
Digital camera with selectively increased dynamic range by control of parameters during image acquisition
A parameter of a digital camera or other digital image acquisition device is adjusted to maintain the resulting digital signal within a range carried by a digital processing path that carries a limited number of bits. The magnitude of the parameter is then also used to represent the image. Examples of the parameter include analog signal gain and exposure time. This is a cost effective way to increase the dynamic range of a digital camera, instead of increasing the width of its digital processing path. The digital data may be processed to obtain either tone mapped images, which are compatible with current cameras and other equipment, or to obtain images with a greater dynamic range for use with suitable displays and the like. |
| US08687080B2 |
Image pickup apparatus and signal processor
An image pickup apparatus a camera 100 includes an image pickup element 105 including a plurality of imaging pixels 106 which perform a photoelectric conversion of an image formed by a light beam from an image pickup optical system and a plurality of focus detection pixels 107 which perform a photoelectric conversion of an image formed by a divided light beam of the light beam, a focus detector 113 which performs a focus detection of the image pickup optical system based on an output of the focus detection pixels 107, an aperture controller 104 which performs a control so that an aperture value of the image pickup optical system is equal to or less than a predetermined value when the focus detector 113 perform the focus detection, and an exposure controller 110 which adjusts an exposure condition in accordance with the aperture value controlled by the aperture controller 104. |
| US08687079B2 |
Imaging apparatus, imaging method, recording medium, and program
An imaging method, a recording medium, and a program which are capable of processing imaging data of a high rate in a manner similar to that of a normal frame rate. Image data captured by a solid-state imaging element capable of performing imaging at a high resolution and a high frame rate is supplied to a memory control unit. The memory control unit, at the same time as writing the imaging data input from the imaging element in a frame memory, reads preceding frames of imaging data that are recorded on the frame memory, and sequentially respectively outputs them in parallel, as video image data items for each frame, to respective camera signal processing units. Then, in the camera signal processing units, a video output unit, a viewfinder output unit, codec units, and recording units, processing similar to that in the case of a frame rate that is ¼ the imaging frame rate is executed. |
| US08687078B2 |
Face recognition using face tracker classifier data
A face recognition technique includes using a multi-classifier face detector to determine above a threshold probability that region of an image includes a face. Further probability values are determined for a set of classifiers for the region to provide a recognition profile. Face detection and recognition probabilities are determined for at least one classifier of the set. The recognition profile is compared against a predetermined recognition profile to determine a degree of match. |
| US08687076B2 |
Moving image photographing method and moving image photographing apparatus
A moving image photographing apparatus that recognizes the shape of a speaker's mouth, and/or recognizes the speaker's voice to detect a speaker area, and selectively performs image signal processing with respect to the detected speaker area, and a moving image photographing method using the moving image photographing apparatus. The moving image photographing apparatus may selectively reproduce a moving image by generating a still image including the speaker area and using the still image as a bookmark. |
| US08687075B2 |
Imaging apparatus and information display method for imaging apparatus
An imaging apparatus, which is capable of recording a still image during a moving image recording operation, includes a display unit, an operation unit configured to receive an instruction from a user, and a controller configured to control the display unit to display information about a number of recordable still image data, when the operation unit receives a predetermined instruction during a moving image recording operation. |
| US08687074B1 |
Camera arrangements with backlighting detection and methods of using same
The present invention relates to camera arrangements with backlighting detection. The camera arrangements are capable of simultaneously capturing real scene data from various viewpoints. This data may include illumination data impinging the scene. The illumination data may then be utilized to alter the apparent illumination of a second image, either real or virtual, which is to be superimposed over the real scene so that the illumination across the entire superimposed scene is consistent. The camera arrangements may utilize combinations of umbilical cables and light tubes to expand or contract the field of capture. The camera arrangements may also include in-line signal processing of the data output. |
| US08687072B2 |
System and method for creating composite images by utilizing an imaging device
A system and method for creating composite images by utilizing a camera comprises a cradle device that transports the camera across a target area during a scanning procedure that captures and stores image data. During the scanning procedure, a motion detector captures and provides scan motion data to a scanning manager from the camera. The scanning manager may then responsively utilize the scan motion data to accurately extract still frames corresponding to the target area from the captured image data at pre-determined time intervals. A stitching software program may then access and combine the still frames generated by the scanning manager to thereby create composite images. |
| US08687071B2 |
Composite image creating method as well as program, recording medium, and information processing apparatus for the method
In an aspect of the composite image creating method according to the present invention, an information processing apparatus executes the steps of: inputting material candidate images which are images composed of frames of a moving image and/or a plurality of still images that were taken by an image-taking apparatus; detecting a movement of the image-taking apparatus at image-taking time points of all or some of the material candidate images or analysis time points that are time points in a neighborhood of the image-taking time points; determining a condition for generating a composite image from among the material candidate images based on the movement of the image-taking apparatus detected; and creating a composite image based on the material candidate images and on the condition determined. |
| US08687067B2 |
Camera device, camera system and camera calibration method
An object of the present invention is to simplify a calibration operation of a camera and to shorten a time necessary for calibration. A camera calibration device 10 is mounted on a predetermined position of a movable object 100 and includes a camera 11 configured to take an image including an index 41 provided outside the movable object 100, an image superimposing unit 122 configured to generate a superimposed image by superimposing a calibration object 42 having a position adjustment part and a rotation adjustment part on the image taken by the camera 11, and a calculation unit 124 configured to calculate, based on a position of the calibration object 42 after being shifted in the superimposed image such that an end or a center of the index 41 meets the position adjustment part and a part of the index other than the end or the center overlaps the rotation adjustment part, parameters relative to a pan angle, a tilt angle and a roll angle for calibration of the camera mounting position. |
| US08687064B2 |
Method and device for describing and capturing video object
A method and a device for describing and capturing video objects are provided in the embodiments of the present application, including: capturing video images to generate video sequences, generating a video object tracking sequence (OTS) according to the video sequences, and generating video object descriptors (ODs) according to the video OTS and video sequences. Therefore, in a generated video object tracking sequence (OTS), the video object region tracking number (TID) is used to capture and track video objects. This makes it unnecessary to create a video object descriptor (OD) for each video object on a frame-by-frame basis. Therefore, the quantity of video ODs is reduced, thereby suiting the application requirement for the intelligent video interaction and accelerating the search of the video materials. |
| US08687056B2 |
Aircraft landing assistance
Enhanced vision system for assisting aircraft piloting, the system including a line-of-sight detector for determining the line-of-sight of the pilot of the aircraft, a head mounted display (HMD) worn by the pilot, and a processor which receives the determined line-of-sight from the line-of-sight detector, receives a spatial image of the external scene to the aircraft, generates symbolic information respective of the aircraft piloting, and superimposes the symbolic information onto the spatial image to produce a combined spatial and symbolic image, the HMD displaying the combined spatial and symbolic image to the pilot in real-time, in alignment with the determined line-of-sight. The spatial image may be an image combined from a sensor image and a synthetic image. A communication interface may be coupled to the HMD allowing the pilot to receive and confirm flight instructions. |
| US08687053B2 |
Stereoscopic image display device
The present invention provides a stereoscopic image display device that improves visibility of a stereoscopic pointer image when the pointer position moves between objects in the stereoscopic image that have greatly different display depths. The display device changes the display depth of the stereoscopic pointer image in accordance with the display depth of an object in the stereoscopic image. When the pointer position moves between objects that have greatly different display depths from time t0 to time t1, the stereoscopic pointer image at time t1 is rendered so as to be perceived as having a display depth intermediate between the display depth of the stereoscopic pointer image at time t0 and the display depth of the display screen at the pointer position at t1. As a result, visibility of the stereoscopic pointer image is improved. |
| US08687049B2 |
Display device and method of displaying image
A display device includes a display panel for displaying a plurality of images, a viewing-zone generator for producing a plurality of viewing zones corresponding to the plurality of images and a first reflector at a first side of the display panel for reflecting a first image of the plurality of images to one of the plurality of viewing zones that corresponds to a second image of the plurality of images. |
| US08687047B2 |
Compound-eye imaging apparatus
A stereoscopic image with a predetermined parallax can be automatically taken, and a stereoscopic image with an arbitrary parallax can also be taken based on selection made by a photographer. An imaging apparatus includes two or more imaging systems. First, a guidance indicating that a first imaging system is used to take a first image and that a second imaging system is used to take a second image, is displayed on a monitor of the imaging apparatus. After the first image is shot by the first imaging system, a live view image shot by the second imaging system is displayed in a semi-transparent manner with the shot first image on the monitor, and a guidance is also displayed on the monitor. When the release switch is depressed, the second image is shot by the right imaging system. |
| US08687045B2 |
Three-dimensional image-capturing apparatus
A three-dimensional image-capturing apparatus includes an image-capturing device having a plurality of image-capturing regions and a plurality of optical systems for forming images of a subject in the image-capturing regions. The optical systems includes a plurality of reflectors for reflecting rays from the subject a number of times and at least a lens provided to be closer to the image-capturing device than the reflection means closest to the subject. The reflectors and the lens are used to form, in the image-capturing regions, separate images of the subject which are captured from different viewpoints. |
| US08687043B2 |
Method of generating stereoscopic image signal and method of scaling the same
A method of generating a stereoscopic image signal and scaling the same includes receiving a left-eye image signal and a right-eye image signal, generating a progressive stereoscopic image signal by multiplexing the left-eye image signal and the right-eye image signal, and scaling up or down the progressive stereoscopic image signal. Accordingly, it is possible to simplify a structure of an apparatus to generate the stereoscopic image signal and reduce manufacturing costs of the apparatus to generate the stereoscopic image signal. |
| US08687041B2 |
Stereoscopic panorama image creating apparatus, stereoscopic panorama image creating method, stereoscopic panorama image reproducing apparatus, stereoscopic panorama image reproducing method, and recording medium
In a stereoscopic panorama image creating method according to an embodiment of the presently disclosed subject matter, a plurality of stereoscopic images formed of left images and right images continuously shot with a stereoscopic imaging apparatus 1 being moved in one direction, the left images of the stereoscopic images are synthesized together and the right images thereof are synthesized together to create a stereoscopic panorama image, corresponding points of the stereoscopic images are detected, an image shift amount for setting a parallax of each corresponding point at a predetermined value is calculated, and information about the corresponding point and the image shift amount are recorded in association with the stereoscopic panorama image. |
| US08687038B2 |
Registration, verification and notification system
A registrant provides at least one registrant electronic contact, such as a telephone number, during a registration process. The registrant's information may be compared to a database of such information. The registrant is verified by establishing a connection with the registrant via the registrant contact. The verification code is communicated to the registrant, which is input into an on-line form. Notification events are established, and the registrant is notified of the occurrence of a previously established notification event by establishing a connection with the registrant via the registrant contact. |
| US08687037B2 |
Telephony services for programmable multimedia controller
A programmable multimedia controller which may be programmed to provide advanced, diverse telephony services including video phone calls, audio and videoconferencing, voicemail, text messaging and answering machine functions among others. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a touchscreen which is interfaced with the multimedia controller may be used as a virtual telephone, intercom or other communication or control device. By displaying a simulated telephone keypad, intercom controls or other appropriate controls on the touchscreen, a user may access both basic and advanced features and functions in a way that is intuitive and familiar. In an alternative embodiment, a simple remote control may be used with a television to enable user access to the same advanced telephony services as with the touchscreen. The programmable multimedia controller may be directly connected with conventional handsets to provided plain old telephone service (POTS) as well private branch exchange (PBX) service. |
| US08687033B2 |
Printing
A method and apparatus for transferring an image of predetermined length onto a substrate by selective energization of a row of printing elements in a printhead of a printing apparatus. Operational characteristics of the printing apparatus are determined, and the image is rendered such that the number of rows of the pixels in the rendered image is no greater than the maximum number of rows of pixels which can be printed in the length of the image given the operational characteristics of the printing apparatus. Additional rows of pixels may be printed between pairs of rows of printed which correspond to consecutive rows in the rendered image. The pixel content of each additional row is a function of the pixel content of the adjacent pairs of rows. |
| US08687030B2 |
Exposing device, method of manufacturing the same, and image forming apparatus
There is provided an exposing device which includes an elongated optical head in which a plurality of light emitting portions are arranged, and a supporting member to which the optical head is adhered. The optical head and the supporting member are adhered by a first adhesive, and a second adhesive of which a modulus of elasticity after curing is lower than that of the first adhesive. The second adhesive is applied in a second adhesive area which is located at a boundary between the optical head and the supporting member and which is longer, in a longitudinal direction of the optical head, than a first adhesive area which is located at the boundary and to which the first adhesive is applied. |
| US08687027B2 |
Displaying apparatus, displaying panel driver and displaying panel driving method
A display panel driver includes a color reducing circuit and a driving section. The driving section is configured to drive a first pixel and a second pixel. If a second input image data and a third input image data corresponding to the second pixel are supplied as an image data of a second image display format, then the color reducing circuit generates a third color reduction image data and a fourth color reduction image data. If the first input image data is supplied as the image data of the first image display format, then the first selector selects the third error value, and if the second input image data and the third input image data are supplied as the image data of the second image display format, then the first selector selects the second error value. |
| US08687017B2 |
Method and system for generating pyramid fisheye lens detail-in-context presentations
A method for generating a presentation of a region-of-interest in an original image for display on a display screen, comprising: establishing a focal region for the region-of-interest at least partially surrounded by a shoulder region; creating a focal region image for the focal region by scaling the original image within the focal region by a focal region magnification; creating a shoulder region image for the shoulder region by scaling the original image within the shoulder region by a shoulder region magnification, the shoulder region magnification being less than the focal region magnification; and, overlaying the focal region image and the shoulder region image on the original image to thereby generate the presentation. |
| US08687016B2 |
Method and system for enhancing the quality of video prompts in an interactive media response system
Embodiments of the present invention recite a method for enhancing the quality of visual prompts in and interactive media response system. In one embodiment, a video coder/decoder (codec) used by a thin device is determined. A visual prompt to be displayed on the thin device is accessed and the display parameters of the visual prompt are modified such that at least one character of the visual prompt is aligned with a blocking artifact generated by the video codec. |
| US08687014B2 |
Process and apparatus for blending images
A process and circuit for blending a foreground image (B) with a background image (A), said foreground and background images being arranged in pixels and having color representations (R, G, B). The foreground foreground image (A) has a transparency parameter (T(x,y)) in accordance with a so-called alpha plane representative of the transparency profile to apply to the foreground image. The process involves the steps of: -applying a dithering method on said alpha plane in order to convert said transparency parameter (T) into a one-bit transparency parameter (T′); -use said one-bit transparency parameter (T′) for controlling a multiplexing unit having two inputs respectively receiving the foreground image (A) and the background image (B). In one embodiment, the one-bit transparency parameter T′ into the two extreme values of a range of continuous values, for instance coded on 8 bits. The process then applies a four-pixel interpolation method to the foreground image (A) for the purpose of creating a five level transparency parameter in the blending process, and then uses the five level transparency parameter for controlling a multiplexing circuit for the purpose of achieving blending of the foreground image with the background image. |
| US08687011B2 |
Techniques for efficient sampling for image effects
Techniques to sample texels efficiently for an image effect may include determining a number of texels (kernel size) needed to compute a weighted average for an image effect on an image. The technique may further include selecting at least one mipmap generated by a graphics processing unit (GPU) according to a function of the determined kernel size. The function may also consider a threshold kernel size. The technique may further sampling texels, with the GPU, from the selected mipmap(s), and calculate the weighted average of the sampled texels to produce the image effect. |
| US08687007B2 |
Seamless display migration
Exemplary embodiments of methods, apparatuses, and systems for seamlessly migrating a user visible display stream sent to a display device from one rendered display stream to another rendered display stream are described. For one embodiment, mirror video display streams are received from both a first graphics processing unit (GPU) and a second GPU, and the video display stream sent to a display device is switched from the video display stream from the first GPU to the video display stream from the second GPU, wherein the switching occurs during a blanking interval for the first GPU that overlaps with a blanking interval for the second GPU. |
| US08687006B2 |
Display device including image signal processor and image interpolation chip
A display device includes a display panel having pixels and divided into first and second display regions; first and second image interpolation chips which receive an original image signal and output interpolated ¼, ½, and/or ¾ frames inserted between a previous (n−1)-th frame and a current n-th frame of the original image signal; a first timing unit which receives the interpolated ¼, ½, and/or ¾ frames from the first image interpolation chip and outputs a first quadruple-speed image signal to pixels in the first display region; and a second timing unit which receives the interpolated ¼, ½, and/or ¾ frames from the second image interpolation chip and outputs a second quadruple-speed image signal to pixels in the second display region. The first timing unit transmits data to the second timing unit, and the second timing unit transmits data to the first timing unit. |
| US08687005B2 |
Apparatus and method for synchronizing and sharing virtual character
An apparatus and method for synchronizing and sharing a virtual character are provided. The method includes generating a virtual character, synchronizing content in a predetermined form with the generated virtual character; converting the virtual character into an extensible markup language (XML)-based file and storing the XML-based file. |
| US08687004B2 |
Font file with graphic images
At least certain embodiments of the present disclosure include a font file having graphic image files. In one embodiment, the font includes a set of glyphs and the font file includes a set of predetermined information of each glyph and graphic image data of each glyph. The graphic image data contains a graphic image of the corresponding glyph, which may be a multi-color glyph. |
| US08687000B2 |
Image generating apparatus and computer program
The present invention relates to an image generating apparatus for generating an image from a viewpoint specified by a user. According to the invention, the apparatus has a storage unit that stores a plurality of pre-images from viewpoints on predetermined lines and depth maps indicating a depth value of each pixel of a corresponding pre-image, and an image generating unit that generates a first image from a first viewpoint based on the pre-images and depth maps. |
| US08686996B2 |
System and method for analyzing and imaging three-dimensional volume data sets using a three-dimensional sampling probe
System and method for analyzing and imaging three-dimensional volume data sets using a three-dimensional sampling probe. A number of sampling probes can be created, shaped, and moved interactively by the user within the whole three-dimensional volume data set. As the sampling probe changes shape, size, or location in response to user input, the image is re-drawn at a rate sufficiently fast to be perceived as real-time by the user. In this manner, the user can more easily and effectively visualize and interpret the features and physical parameters that are inherent in the three-dimensional volume data set. |
| US08686994B2 |
Full-screen 3D image display device
A full-screen 3D image display device provides a dynamic liquid crystal parallax barrier device for solving a 3D image resolution deterioration problem caused by view separation of a multi-view 3D image displayed by a conventional parallax barrier, and achieves the purpose of displaying a multi-view 3D image with a full-screen image resolution through a multi-view image dynamic combination and display procedure and a barrier electrode dynamic driving procedure. |
| US08686993B2 |
Image processing for controlling disparity in 3D images
An image processing apparatus includes: a disparity setting unit that sets disparity between left-eye and right-eye images for a 3D image based on a manipulation from a manipulation unit that allocates a value to a depth direction of a 2D image; and a 3D image creating unit that creates data on the left-eye and right-eye images in which a corresponding object is arranged in positions separated by the disparity set by the disparity setting unit. |
| US08686990B2 |
Scanning signal line drive circuit and display device equipped with same
Provided is a monolithic gate driver capable of performing block-reversal driving without causing deterioration of display quality or an increase in power consumption. Gate bus lines are divided into z blocks. Agate driver (400) is provided with a block scanning circuit (40), as well as odd-numbered line scanning circuits (42) each provided for each block and even-numbered line scanning circuits (44) each provided for each block. The block scanning circuit (40) sequentially selects the first to z-th blocks one by one, and alternately selects the odd-numbered line scanning circuits (42) and the even-numbered line scanning circuits (44). Each of the odd-numbered line scanning circuits (42) sequentially and selectively drives the odd-numbered gate bus lines included in the corresponding block. Each of the even-numbered line scanning circuits (44) sequentially and selectively drives the even-numbered gate bus lines included in the corresponding block. |
| US08686987B2 |
Output circuit, data driver and display device
Disclosed is an output circuit including a differential amplifier stage, an output amplifier stage, an amplification acceleration circuit and a capacitance connection control circuit. The output amplifier stage includes push/pull type transistors connected an output terminal. The amplification acceleration circuit includes a first switch and a first transistor, connected between a first output of the differential amplifier stage and the output terminal, and a second transistor and a second switch connected between the output terminal and a second output of the differential amplifier stage. The capacitance connection control circuit includes first capacitive element having first end connected to the output terminal, a first switch connected between a second end of the first capacitive element and a first voltage supply terminal, and a second switch connected between the second end of the first capacitive element and one output of a first differential pair of the differential amplifier stage. |
| US08686985B2 |
Active liquid crystal display drivers and duty cycle operation
A liquid crystal display (LCD) driving system includes a reference voltage generator to generate a plurality of reference voltages. The LCD driving system also includes a plurality of drive buffers to generate drive voltages according to at least one of the reference voltages, and to drive at least a portion of a liquid crystal display to present data according to the drive voltages. |
| US08686980B2 |
Array substrate and liquid crystal display panel
A gate driving circuit (60) separated into a plurality of stages (ST) is provided. In each of the stages (ST), TFT elements (T1) through (T4) are provided, branch lines (78) that connect clock lines (72, 74) to the TFT elements are provided. Junction lines (79A, 79B) are each extended from the branch line (78A) of interest to electrically connect the branch line (78A) of interest to the TFT elements (T2, T4) provided in the stage (ST(j)) different from the stage (ST (j−1)) where the TFT elements (T1, T3) connected to the branch line (78A) of interest are provided. |
| US08686977B2 |
Display apparatus having a timing controller and method of driving the timing controller
A timing controller is adapted to support a display apparatus that operates with image data having a configuration of M-bits per word and an average serial data flow rate corresponding to CK1 image words per second where CK1 is a first clock frequency and M is a whole number. The timing controller includes a data mapper that converts supplied image data from the M-bits per word times CK1 words per second configuration into a P-bits per word times CK2 words per second configuration so that the mapped data matches the configuration of an external memory. The timing controller also includes a data remapper that performs the inverse conversion. In one embodiment, M is 24 while P is 32. |
| US08686976B2 |
Apparatus and method for hand motion detection and hand motion tracking generally
Apparatus and method for motion tracking, including a hand-held device including at least one accelerometer providing an acceleration indicating output and computation circuitry adapted to employ the acceleration indicating output for generating tracking output indication. |
| US08686974B2 |
Touch-sensitive system and method for controlling the operation thereof
A touch-sensitive system comprises a light transmissive panel defining a touch surface and an opposite surface; an illumination arrangement comprising emitters configured to introduce light into the panel for propagation in the panel in an emission pattern; a light detection arrangement comprising detectors configured to receive the light propagating in the panel. A control unit is arranged to control the operation of the touch-sensitive system. The control unit executes a control method to monitor the light received in the light detecting arrangement for detection of touches on the touch surface, the touches attenuating the light propagating in the panel. The control method also selects a mode for the emission pattern in dependence of the occurrence of touches on the touch surface and controls the emission pattern in accordance with the selected mode. |
| US08686970B2 |
Touch input electronic device
An touch input electronic device includes: a touch input device; a clock generation circuit, generating a first clock and a second clock; a touch sensing circuit, coupled to the touch input device, the touch sensing circuit operated under the first clock; a logic circuit, receiving a sensing output signal from the touch sensing circuit, the logic circuit operated under the second clock; and a conversion circuit, outputting an output voltage under control of the logic circuit, the output voltage coupled to the touch sensing circuit, the conversion circuit operated under the second clock. In response to the sensing output signal from the touch sensing circuit, the logic circuit controls the conversion circuit to adjust the output voltage to detect a capacitance variance of the touch input device. |
| US08686969B2 |
Input apparatus with integrated detection sections of electromagnetic type and capacitive type
An input apparatus with integrated detection sections of electromagnetic type and capacitive type is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a substrate, a control device and at least one signal processing device on the substrate. The substrate comprises an electromagnetic sensor coil layout and a capacitive sensor layout. |
| US08686965B2 |
Single-layer projected capacitive touch panel and method of manufacturing the same
A single-layer projected capacitive touch panel has a glass cover, a touch sensing circuit layer, an insulating ink layer, a conductive wire layer, an insulator layer, a conductive glue layer and a flexible printed circuit (FPC) board. The touch sensing circuit layer, the insulating ink layer, the conductive wire layer, the insulator layer and the conductive glue layer are mounted on a circuit surface of the glass cover in sequence. The insulating ink layer covers the touch sensing circuit layer and has multiple through slots. Each through slot is filled with an electric conductor. The FPC is fastened on the conductive wire layer by a conductive glue layer. Therefore, the touch panel of the present invention is thinner, provides better penetrability and costs less than conventional projected capacitive touch panels. |
| US08686960B2 |
Piecewise-linear and piecewise-affine transformations for high dimensional touchpad (HDTP) output decoupling and corrections
Methods for piecewise-linear and piecewise-affine transformations parameter decoupling in High Dimensional Touchpad (HDTP) user touch interfaces including those with multitouch capabilities are described. A calculation chain provides a first-order calculation of up to six touch parameters (left-right, front-back, downward pressure, roll angle, pitch angle, yaw angle) responsive in real-time to user touch on a touch-responsive sensor array. A piecewise-affine transformation is applied to these first-order calculations to produce parameter decoupling. The piecewise-affine transformation can be structured to depend only on current numerical values from the first-order calculation. Alternatively, the piecewise-affine transformation can be structured to additionally depend on the positive or negative direction of change over time of at least one numerical value from the first-order calculation, thereby providing a correction for hysteresis effects. |
| US08686957B2 |
Touch-based user interface conductive rings
An apparatus in which an outer conductive ring surrounds the periphery of a touch-sensitive surface of a touch sensor serving as a manually-operable control, wherein a portion of the outer conductive ring is also between the touch-sensitive surface and another manually-operable control that lacks the ability to sense the mere touch of a tip of a digit of a user. A processing device causes the level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring to be measured on a recurring basis for instances of an amount of additional capacitance above a minimum capacitance threshold, and employs such amounts of additional capacitance in a comparison to distinguish between the user interacting with a control surface defined on the touch-sensitive surface of the touch sensor or the other manually-operable control. |
| US08686956B2 |
Capacitive touch sensing structure and sensing method thereof
A capacitive touch sensing structure includes: a substrate; a plurality of first electrode groups arranged from a first position towards a second position in a first direction, wherein each of the first electrode groups includes a plurality of first electrodes extended from a third position towards a fourth position in a second direction; a plurality of first conducting wires each having a plurality of contacts respectively coupled to the first electrodes of each of the first electrode groups; a plurality of second electrode groups arranged from the first position towards the second position in the first direction, wherein each of the second electrode groups includes a plurality of second electrodes extended from the fourth position towards the third position in the second direction and respectively staggering with the first electrode groups; and a plurality of second conducting wires each having a plurality of contacts respectively coupled to the electrodes of each of the second electrode groups. |
| US08686952B2 |
Multi touch with multi haptics
Methods and systems for processing touch inputs are disclosed. The invention in one respect includes reading data from a multi-touch sensing device such as a multi-touch touch screen where the data pertains to touch input with respect to the multi-touch sensing device, and identifying at least one multi-touch gesture based on the data from the multi-touch sensing device and providing an appropriate multi-haptic response. |
| US08686951B2 |
Providing an elevated and texturized display in an electronic device
An apparatus and method for providing and configuring an elevated, indented, or texturized display device is disclosed. Processes are also given involving elevated, indented, or texturized portions of a display device. By providing an elevated, indented, or texturized display device enhanced input/output functions are provided. |
| US08686950B2 |
Setting operation support device for substrate processing apparatus, setting operation support method and storage medium having program stored therein
A setting operation support device includes an operation target object among components constituting a substrate processing apparatus, an operation setting of which can be selected, a simulator that simulates an operation of the operation target object, a touch-panel type operator operation display unit and a touch-panel type simulation operation display unit and a function setting button. The correlation between the operation target object and a screen related to its operation settings is stored in advance in a screen storage unit. As the function setting button is first depressed and then the operation target object is specified through a touch operation while a dynamic image of the operation target object is on display at the operator operation display unit, the setting screen correlated to the particular operation target object is searched at the screen storage unit and is brought up on display at the operator operation display unit. |
| US08686948B2 |
Highly mobile keyboard in separable components
A collapsible compact touch-type keyboard for mobile devices. The keyboard includes a plurality of separate parts that together form a keyboard with keys large enough to allow efficient touch-typing. The plurality of parts includes at least a first and a second base each retaining a plurality of keys. A wireless transmitter exists within at least one of the parts to send keyboard events to a computer. |
| US08686936B2 |
Liquid crystal display apparatus and method of driving the same
A liquid crystal display apparatus and a method of driving the liquid crystal display apparatus, which commonly boosts pixels of a first group and commonly boosts pixels of a second group. The liquid crystal display apparatus includes a first group of pixels for displaying an image and a second group of pixels for displaying an image. Each pixel of the first and second groups includes a storage capacitor for storing a data voltage. The liquid crystal display apparatus further includes a first storage common voltage line connected to storage capacitors of the pixels of the first group of pixels, a second storage common voltage line connected to storage capacitors of the pixels of the second group of pixels. A first storage common voltage is supplied to the pixels of the first group through the first storage common voltage line, and a second storage common voltage is supplied to the pixels of the second group through the second storage common voltage line. |
| US08686932B2 |
Liquid crystal display device and method for driving the same
A liquid crystal display (LCD) device includes: a plurality of gate lines; a plurality of data lines that cross the gate lines to define pixel regions; a plurality of thin film transistors at the crossings of the gate and data lines, the thin film transistors of vertically adjacent pixels each connected to a shared gate line of the plurality of gate lines and on opposite sides of the shared gate line; and a plurality of pixel electrodes in the pixel regions, wherein each pixel electrode of the plurality of pixel electrodes is formed in two horizontally-adjacent pixel regions. |
| US08686931B2 |
Light emitting device, electronic apparatus, and driving method of light emitting device with image displayed selectively on two sides
A light emitting device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a driving circuit, a first electric supply line, and a second electric supply line. In a case where while an image is displayed on the first substrate side, an image is not displayed on the second substrate side, the value of the potential which is supplied to the second electric supply line, to be a value where voltage between both ends of the second light-emitting element falls below the light-emitting threshold voltage. In a case where while an image is not displayed on the first substrate side, an image is displayed on the second substrate side, the value of the potential which is supplied to the first electric supply line, to be a value where voltage between both ends of the first light-emitting element falls below the light-emitting threshold voltage. |
| US08686924B2 |
Determining whether a wearable device is in use
Systems and methods for selecting an action associated with a power state transition of a head-mounted display (HMD) in the form of eyeglasses are disclosed. A signal may be received from a sensor on a nose bridge of the eyeglasses indicating if the HMD is in use. Based on the received signal, a first power state for the HMD may be determined. Responsive to the determined first power state, an action associated with a power state transition of the HMD from an existing power state to the first power state may be selected. The action may be selected from among a plurality of actions associated with a plurality of state transitions. Also, the action may be a sequence of functions performed by the HMD including modifying an operating state of a primary processing component of the HMD and a detector of the HMD configured to image an environment. |
| US08686922B2 |
Eye-location dependent vehicular heads-up display system
Optimized visual information presentation system and method for a vehicular occupant includes a heads-up display system for generating a virtual display in a field of view of an occupant of the vehicle when facing outward of the vehicle, an occupant sensing system for determining the location of the eyes of the occupant, and a control system coupled to the heads-up display system and the occupant sensing system. The control system controls the location of content of the virtual display being generated by the heads-up display system based on the determined location of the eyes of the occupant by the occupant sensing system. |
| US08686920B2 |
Miniaturized radio repeater
A radio repeater system is provided that utilizes miniaturized antennas and a meta-material channel isolator. The radio repeater is comprised of: a receive antenna configured to receive a signal at a desired channel frequency; a transmit antenna configured to transmit the signal at the channel frequency; an amplifier electrically connected between the receive antenna and the transmit antenna; and an array of resonating circuits disposed spatially between the receive antenna and the transmit antenna. Each resonating circuit is designed to resonant at the channel frequency and thereby suppress propagation of surface waves between the antennas. |
| US08686919B1 |
Apparatus for allowing pivotal movement of an antenna mast relative to its support post
An apparatus (10) for attaching an antenna mast (11) to a post (12) positioned in the ground includes a bracket (14) attached to the mast (11). A plate (13) is attached to the post (12). The plate has a slot (32) which receives a bolt (30) that extends through the mast (11) and the bracket (14). The plate also has an elongate opening (33) which receives a bolt (31) that extends through the mast (11) and the bracket (14). Nut assemblies (34) are provided for the bolts (30, 31) and when tightened, the mast (11) and the bracket (14) are attached to the plate (13) and the post (12). But when loosened, the bolt (30) may be moved in slot (32) and bolt (31) may be moved in opening (33) until the bolt (30) is out of the slot (32) at which time the mast (11) and the bracket (14) may be rotated relative to the post (12) and the plate (13). |
| US08686917B2 |
Locating technique and apparatus using an approximated dipole signal
Location determination is performed using a transmitter including an elongated generally planar loop antenna defining an elongation axis. The elongation axis is positioned along at least a portion of a path. A magnetic field is then generated which approximates a dipole field. Certain characteristics of the magnetic field are then determined at a receiving position radially displaced from the antenna elongation axis. Using the determined certain characteristics, at least one orientation parameter is established which characterizes a positional relationship between the receiving position and the antenna on the path. The magnetic field may be transmitted as a monotone single phase signal. The orientation parameter may be a radial offset and/or an angular orientation between the receiving position and the antenna on the path. The antenna of the transmitter may be inserted into a first borehole to transmit the magnetic field to a receiver inserted into a second borehole. |
| US08686915B2 |
Antenna device and wireless communication apparatus
An antenna device includes a board made of dielectric material, having first and second power feed parts; a first antenna element connected to the first power feed part, using a first wavelength; a second antenna element connected to the second power feed part, using a second wavelength; a ground formed on the board, having a first side and a second side respectively having different lengths and extending in different directions, the length of the first side, compared with the length of second side, which is approximate to a ¼ length of the first wavelength and a ¼ length of the second wavelength; and a parasitic element connected to the ground, which is not parallel to the first side of the ground, a length of the parasitic element is approximate to ¼ length of the second wavelength and an interval of the parasitic element and the second power feed part is less than equals the ¼ length of the second wavelength. |
| US08686907B2 |
Antenna device
An antenna device is provided and includes a bottom, two monopole antennas, and a cover assembled with the bottom. A projection plane is defined perpendicular to the bottom. The two monopole antennas substantially symmetrically protrude from the bottom, and a gap is formed between the two monopole antennas. Projections of the two monopole antennas on the projection plane intersect with each other. Each of the two monopole antennas includes a first frequency receiving portion adjacent to the bottom, a second frequency receiving portion, and a connection portion located between the first frequency receiving portion and the second frequency receiving portion. A slot is formed through the connection portion to adjust a received frequency of the first or second frequency receiving portion. An accommodating space is formed between the cover and the bottom to accommodate the two monopole antennas. |
| US08686905B2 |
Pattern shaping of RF emission patterns
A metallic shaping plate located in the interior housing of a wireless device is disclosed. The metallic shaping plate may influence a radiation pattern being generated by a horizontal antenna array. The result may be an increase in the gain of the array. |
| US08686902B2 |
Antenna structures
Antenna structures and configurations which incorporate alignment keys and support structures which mate Composite Right and Left Handed (CRLH) metamaterial (MTM) structures formed on two or more substrates. |
| US08686898B2 |
System employing a direct digital synthesiser
A DDS based system, such as a radar, includes means for generating a plurality of transmission signals using a DDS, and means for integrating signals derived therefrom, such as received signals. The system further includes means for varying the relative starting phase of the plurality of transmission signals, or adjusting the DDS input clock while maintaining similar primary output frequency characteristics of the transmission signals. The approach has the effect of changing the location of unwanted frequency spurs in each of the transmission signals, and hence the effects of these are decreased in the integration process. An improvement in the sensitivity of the system results. Although primarily suited to radar applications the invention may find utility in other systems such as sonar or lidar systems. |
| US08686896B2 |
Bench-top measurement method, apparatus and system for phased array radar apparatus calibration
A method for determining beamformer scattering parameters for a plurality of phased array radar antenna subarrays that each include a radiating (e.g., dipole) component and a beamformer component provides for obtaining for the plurality of phased array radar antenna subarrays a plurality of electromagnetic measurements at a plurality of ports. Analogous electromagnetic measurements are obtained for a reference subarray including a radiating component but absent a beamformer component. The plurality of phased array radar antenna subarray electromagnetic measurements and the reference subarray electromagnetic measurements provide a plurality of beamformer scattering parameter values for the plurality of phased array radar antenna subarrays that may be used in modeling and calibrating a phased array radar apparatus that may be assembled from the plurality of phased array radar antenna subarrays. |
| US08686893B2 |
Radar device
A signal processing unit in a radar device calculates a change amount Y (=log(P)−log(Pb)) between a power P of a current arrival echo and a power of a previous arrival echo arrived before an observation period TSW. A memory unit in the radar device stores, every type of objects, a probability distribution of the change amount Y calculated from the arrival echo from the object. On the basis of the calculated change amount Y and the probability distribution, the signal processing unit determines a probability Pr to obtain the change amount Y every type of object, and determines that the object having the maximum probability Pr is the object which transmits the current arrival echo. |
| US08686892B2 |
Synthetic aperture radar chip level cross-range streak detector
A method of reducing cross-range streaking in a radar image includes determining a number of on-pixels in each line of at least a portion of the radar image, determining which lines have a determined number of on-pixels that exceeds a threshold number, and removing the on-pixels of lines having the determined number of on-pixels exceeding the threshold number. |
| US08686887B2 |
NFC transceiver with current converter
Exemplary embodiments are directed to near field communication A device may include a current digital-to-analog converter (DAC) configured to convey a current to an antenna in a first near-field communication (NFC) mode and enable for load modulation in a second NFC mode. |
| US08686886B2 |
Field device controlling system
A device monitoring unit obtains, through respective digital communication routes, a combination of a digital setting value for an analog output value to an analog communication route in a field device, a digital value of an AD converting device in an input/output unit, and one of the digital setting values stored in a memory of the input/output unit, to check the status of the communication through the analog communication route based on the values obtained. |
| US08686882B2 |
High-frequency semiconductor switch and terminal device
A high-frequency semiconductor switch includes a serial-parallel conversion circuit, a power supply circuit, and a drive circuit. In the serial-parallel conversion circuit, a parallel data signal is formed from a serial data signal input thereto. In the power supply circuit, a first positive voltage, a second positive voltage, and a negative voltage are formed from a high-potential power source supplied thereto. The drive circuit is supplied with the first positive voltage, the second positive voltage, and the negative voltage, and includes an inverter to which the parallel data signal is input and a differential type of level shifter to which the parallel data signal and the output signal of the inverter is provided. The drive circuit outputs the second positive voltage as a high level signal, and the negative voltage as a low level signal, to a switching circuit, and the switching circuit performs selective switching based thereon. |
| US08686880B2 |
Communicating electronic map data
A method of communicating electronic map data is disclosed, wherein map data is compiled as at least one cell comprising a plurality of vector data records and a plurality of feature data records to, for instance, the IHO S-57 standard. During the compilation, the respective bit lengths of a plurality of vector data values are reduced and both the bit-reduced vector data values and feature data values are entropy encoded. The compiled cell data, which may be an Electronic Navigational Chart, is then compressed, encrypted and digitally signed according to, for instance, the IHO S-63 standard. The encrypted and digitally signed cell data is eventually transmitted to a remote navigational system, which may be an Electronic Chart Display and Information System, over a network, for instance in a satellite telecommunication. A system embodying the method is also disclosed. |
| US08686876B2 |
Galley control system of aircraft
A control system is provided that adopts a communication network using wireless visible light and IR light communications in a galley of an aircraft which is subjected to limitations of aviation regulations regarding wired communications. Insert equipments each having a visible light receiving element and an IR emitting element are disposed in a galley of an aircraft, and a galley controller is disposed within the galley or a circumference area thereof having a visible light emitting panel, an IR receiving element and a display/control panel for controlling the insert equipments. A mutual communication function between the galley controller and the insert equipments and a remote control function for controlling the insert equipments from the galley controller are realized via transmission and reception of visible light communication data and IR communication data. |
| US08686873B2 |
Two-way video and 3D transmission between vehicles and system placed on roadside
A system and method for providing visual information to a driver of a first vehicle, including: at least one camera or sensor which is not on the first vehicle but which captures image data that includes a view of a road within a vicinity of the first vehicle; a decision unit which receives the image data from the camera or sensor and which identifies information in the image data which a driver of the first vehicle needs to be informed of; and a display unit on the first vehicle which displays information transmitted to the first vehicle in a view that displays information determined to be missing in the vehicle's current line of sight, so that the otherwise missing information can be observed by a driver of the first vehicle. |
| US08686871B2 |
Monitoring system and methods for monitoring machines with same
A monitoring system for use with a system is provided. The monitoring system includes a data management system that includes a database configured to store data representative of at least one operating characteristic of at least one machine. A portable display assembly is coupled to the data management system and includes at least one sensor configured to detect the presence of the machine within a predefined distance from a portion of the display assembly. The display assembly also includes a communication interface that is coupled to the data management system and is configured to receive the data. Moreover, the display assembly includes a display media that is coupled to the communication interface for presenting an output representative of the data to a user of the display assembly such that the user is enabled to view historical data of the machine and/or monitor the machine in real-time. |
| US08686869B2 |
Alignment-related operation and position sensing of electronic and other locks and other objects
A sensing system senses whether or not a lock's bolt (140), e.g. deadbolt, is aligned with a hole (150) which the bolt is to engage in the locked state. In electronic locks, the bolt is not driven into the hole until the sensing system indicates that the bolt is aligned with the hole. Another sensing system senses the position of the bolt and/or a dead-latch bar (1310). This sensing system is spaced from the bolt's end engaging the hole in order not to interfere with the alignment sensing. The two sensing systems are used to determine whether the lock is locked or unlocked. A magnet system provides alignment assistance to align the bolt with the hole before the bolt is driven into the hole. Position encoding for lock and non-lock devices, and other features and embodiments are also provided. |
| US08686867B2 |
Abnormal discharge alarm device for steam trap
An abnormal discharge alarm device is applied in a steam trap. The steam trap is installed in a pipeline of a steam system. The abnormal discharge alarm device includes a power generation component and a control circuit. The power generation component receives a fluid discharged from the steam trap and generates a self-generated electric power. The control circuit receives and detects the self-generated electric power to obtain a detection result. The control circuit sends an alarm signal when the detection result is greater than a predetermined threshold value. In addition, the abnormal discharge alarm device may further include a monitoring unit. The control circuit transmits the detection result to the monitoring unit. The monitoring unit obtains an updated threshold value according to accumulated detection results, and determines whether to send an alarm after comparing the updated threshold value with a real-time detection result. |
| US08686860B2 |
Method and apparatus for retrieving content via a service endpoint
An approach is provided for retrieving ordered content via a service endpoint. A radio frequency memory tag is preloaded with content managed by a service platform. A request is generated for content stored on the radio frequency memory tag of an endpoint associated with the service platform. Transmission of the request to the endpoint is initiated. The request for the content is received from a user equipment. Transmission of the content is initiated from the memory tag to the user equipment. The user equipment receives the content from the memory tag in response to the request. |
| US08686852B2 |
Location-based notification services
Architecture that generates a notification when a user arrives at a location, but without exposing identity of the location. Moreover, the notification can be generated and transmitted at all times. The architecture comprises a reminder service that manages all reminder requests and approvals, a notification engine that notifies a requesting user when target user arrived at a specific location or one of a general category of location, and a user interface that allows the user to set reminders that are displayed when the target user arrives at the point of interest and approves other user reminder requests. The architecture can be run on a mobile phone, and manages user requests and user approvals for location based notifications, alerts a requesting user the target user arrived at one of previously-specified points of interest. Similarly, a general category of destination can be specified, rather than a specific point of interest. |
| US08686849B2 |
Method of alarm handling in wireless sensor networks
A method of wirelessly transmitting alarm signals includes wirelessly transmitting an alarm signal from a transmitting station. It is determined whether an acknowledgement signal wirelessly transmitted from an access point in response to the access point receiving the alarm signal has been received by the transmitting station. A relaying station is woken up and kept awake during a plurality of periodic time intervals for overhearing transmissions from the transmitting station. If it is determined that an acknowledgement signal from the access point has not been received by the transmitting station, then the alarm signal is wirelessly re-transmitting from the transmitting station during at least one of the time intervals in which the relaying station is awake. The alarm signal is received at the relaying station. The alarm signal is transmitted from the relaying station to the access point. |
| US08686845B2 |
Automotive vehicle and method for advising a driver therein
An automotive vehicle may include a navigation system, a speed sensor, an audio, visual or haptic output system, and at least one controller. The controller may be configured to determine if a current speed of the vehicle exceeds a target speed of an upcoming road curvature based on information from the speed sensor and navigation system, to generate a first alert based on a selected driver type via the output system to prompt the driver to disengage the vehicle's accelerator pedal if the current speed of the vehicle exceeds the target speed of the upcoming road curvature, and to generate a second alert after the first alert based on the selected driver type via the output system to prompt the driver to engage the vehicle's brake pedal. |
| US08686844B1 |
Methods, devices, and mediums associated with risk management of vehicle operation
A system may be configured to receive input indicating an operating condition associated with a vehicle. One or more environmental parameters of vehicle operation may be identified and compared with the operating condition to determine a safety rating of the vehicle operation based, at least in part, on the comparison. The safety rating may be assigned to an account associated with an operator of the vehicle. |
| US08686843B2 |
Motor vehicle with warning system
A motor vehicle includes, but is not limited to an environment sensor for identifying a source of danger external to the vehicle and detecting at least one first direction in which the source of danger lies when viewed from the vehicle, and a loudspeaker arrangement which can be triggered, when a source of danger has been identified, to generate a warning signal which for a listener in a passenger cell of the vehicle appears to come from the first direction. The environment sensor is furthermore equipped to trigger the loudspeaker arrangement to produce a second signal following the warning signal, which for the listener appears to come from a second direction different from the first direction. |
| US08686841B2 |
Methods and systems related to activating geo-fence boundaries and collecting location data
Activating geo-fence boundaries and collecting location data. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods including: activating a geo-fence for a pre-determined area responsive to an event related to a vehicle; receiving Global Positioning System (GPS) signals indicative of a location of the vehicle, the receiving by an onboard device coupled to the vehicle; detecting that the vehicle has crossed the geo-fence; creating a data set comprising data regarding locations of the vehicle with respect to the geo-fence; determining a parameter associated with an existing insurance policy based on the data set. |
| US08686837B2 |
Wireless remote
Various embodiments include apparatus, systems, and methods including an apparatus comprising a remote operable to receive a non-radio frequency beacon signal, the non-radio frequency beacon signal transmitted within and contained substantially within an approximate line-of-sight transmission space, the non-radio frequency beacon signal including at least one channel information portion, wherein the channel information portion includes information indicating a radio frequency, the remote operable to establish bi-directional communications using the radio frequency designated by the at least one channel information portion. |
| US08686830B2 |
Communication system including a vehicle electronic key, electronic key for use in a communication system and method for communicating information from a vehicle to a portable telecommunication terminal
The invention relates to a communication system that comprises a vehicle electronic key, a vehicle telecommunication device and a portable telecommunication terminal, the electronic key including a first transmitter and the vehicle including a first receiver, the first transmitter and the first receiver being provided for carrying out the transmission of at least one information request from the electronic key to the vehicle, the vehicle telecommunication device including at least a second transmitter, the portable telecommunication terminal including at least a second receiver, the second transmitter and the second receiver being provided for carrying out the transmission of information from the vehicle to the portable telecommunication terminal, the portable telecommunication terminal being provided for displaying at least a portion of the information on a display member of the portable telecommunication terminal. The invention also relates to an electronic key and to a method for communicating information from a vehicle to a portable telecommunication terminal. |
| US08686829B2 |
Lock code recovery system
A lock code recovery system for selectively sending a lock code to a proximate personal electronic device is provided. A recognizable code is associated with the proximate personal electronic device. The lock code recovery system includes a user input device for receiving feedback and a control module. The control module is in communication with the user input device, and has a memory with an application and at least one recognizable code stored thereon. The application has the lock code associated with the application for at least activating or deactivating the application. The control module includes control logic for monitoring the user input device for feedback indicating the lock code associated with the application should be sent to the proximate personal device. |
| US08686827B2 |
PTC element and heating-element module
An object is to provide a PTC element that can be made thinner, using a Pb-free semiconductor ceramic composition.The object is achieved with a PTC element including at least two metal electrodes and a BaTiO3 system semiconductor ceramic composition arranged between the electrodes, in which, in the semiconductor ceramic composition, a portion of Ba in the BaTiO3 system is substituted by Bi—Na and a semiconductorizing element, vacancies are formed on Bi sites by depleting at least a portion of Bi, and oxygen defects are formed on a crystal thereof. Since the PTCR characteristic at the inside of the semiconductor ceramic composition is negligibly weak in comparison with the PTCR characteristic at the interface between the semiconductor ceramic composition and the electrodes, the PTC element can be made thinner. |
| US08686824B2 |
Economical core design for electromagnetic devices
A magnetic core for an electromagnetic device is formed from alternating interleaved steel laminations. The core comprises a plurality of core elements comprising legs and yokes oriented substantially quadrature to the legs, such that abutting core elements are in substantially quadrature relation. A plurality of flux deflection zones are defined in regions where flux flows from one core element to an abutting core element. At least one of the layers has at least one core element composed of grain-oriented steel, and the remaining core elements are composed of non-grain-oriented steel, such that at least some flux deflection zones are composed of a substantial amount or substantially entirely of non-grain-oriented steel. Flux flowing in the direction of the grain orientation in the core element(s) composed of grain-oriented steel changes direction to flow through the abutting core element in the flux deflection zone composed of non-grain-oriented steel. This reduces the power losses in flux deflection zones of the core relative to cores formed entirely from grain-oriented steel, because the flux is never flowing perpendicular to the direction of the grains in the steel, while providing a design that is considerably less expensive than cores formed from non-grain-oriented steel with substantially the same level of power losses or lower. |
| US08686822B2 |
Surface mounted pulse transformer
A surface mounted pulse transformer (100) comprising a drum core (1) and a number of coils (3). The drum core includes a core (11), a first flange (12a) and a second flange (12b) disposed on both ends of the core. The number of coils wind around the core to form a primary coil and a secondary coil. A number of electrodes (40) are formed on surfaces of the first and second flanges and to be connected to an external substrate. The ends of the coils are physically and electrically connected to the electrodes. One of the electrodes has an electrode groove (401) for receiving and positioning one end of the coils. |
| US08686817B2 |
Electromagnetic relay
An electromagnetic relay includes an electromagnet part, an actuating part, a contact part and a base for holding the electromagnet part, the actuating part and the contact part. The contact part includes a pair of fixed plates having one end fixed to the base and the other end to which a fixed contact is attached, a pair of movable springs having one end fixed to the base and the other end to which a movable contact is attached, and a connecting portion extending between the movable springs and electrically connecting the movable contacts to each other. The actuating part is actuated so as to press only a part of the movable springs inside an area defined between longitudinal axes extending between one end and the other end of the movable springs through the movable contact, when the contact part closes. |
| US08686811B2 |
Stripline filter
A stripline filter having a substrate, a grounding electrode, principal-surface lines, side-surface lines, and common electrodes, and is mounted on a set substrate by soldering. The side-surface lines are disposed on a side surface of the substrate, and are wetted by solder during soldering. Each of the common electrodes is connected to a corresponding one of the principal-surface lines. The common electrodes are also connected to the grounding electrode via the side-surface lines. |
| US08686805B2 |
Oscillator, a frequency synthesizer and a network node for use in a telecommunication network
The disclosure relates to an oscillator for use in generating frequencies in a frequency synthesizer, comprising: a first inductor element forming a metal trace loop with at least one turn, and a first capacitive circuit arranged to form a first resonance circuit with the first inductor element and being connected to the first inductor element through at least one first connection terminal, wherein the first capacitive circuit comprises at least one capacitive element and an electrical components arrangement arranged to establish and maintain an oscillation. The oscillator is characterized in that a second capacitive circuit comprising at least one capacitive element and an arrangement of electrical components, is arranged to form a second resonance circuit with the first inductor element and being connected to the first inductor element through at least one second connection terminal located on the opposite side of the first inductor element in respect to the first connection terminal of the first capacitive circuit, wherein the first and second resonance circuits are tuned to substantially the same frequency. The invention also relates to a frequency synthesizer and to a network node for use in a telecommunications network. |
| US08686803B2 |
Crystal device and manufacturing method thereof
A crystal device includes; a base, a framed crystal vibrating blank in which a mesa section is formed on an upper face end bonded to a seal path on an upper surface of the base via a low melting point glass layer or a resin adhesive layer, and a lid bonded to a seal path on an upper surface of the framed crystal vibrating blank via a low melting point glass layer or a resin adhesive layer. A pillow made of low melting point glass or a resin adhesive that suppresses vibration amplitude at the time of a drop impact of the framed crystal vibrating blank is formed on a rear surface of the lid simultaneously with the low melting point glass layer or the resin adhesive layer. |
| US08686802B1 |
Bias voltage tuning of MEMS resonator operation point
A method of configuring a device comprising a MEMS resonator includes initiating operation of the device, estimating a first parameter of the MEMS resonator based on the initiated operation, the first parameter not varying with the bias voltage, monitoring the operation of the device at a plurality of levels of the bias voltage, calculating a second parameter of the MEMS resonator based on the monitored operation, the second parameter varying with the bias voltage, determining an operational level of the bias voltage based on the estimated first parameter and the calculated second parameter, and configuring the device in accordance with the determined operational level of the bias voltage. |
| US08686798B2 |
Method and system for testing oscillator circuit
An oscillator circuit generates a voltage signal. The magnitude of the voltage signal is measured and compared with predetermined upper and lower voltage signals by an internal test circuit. If the magnitude of the voltage signal is between the predetermined upper and lower voltage signals, then a pass test status signal is generated. If the magnitude of the voltage signal is not between the predetermined upper and lower voltage signals then a fail test status signal is generated. |
| US08686797B2 |
Phase locked loop circuit and communication device
There is provided a phase locked loop circuit which includes a frequency divider, a phase comparator, a filter, and an output signal oscillator. The frequency divides a feedback signal by a specific ratio and the feedback signal is used for synchronizing a phase of a reference signal and a phase of an output signal. The phase comparator compares the phases of the reference signal, the output signal, and the feedback signal and adjusts a gain of an analog signal used for generating the output signal in accordance with increase or decrease of the ratio. The filter filters the analog signal to pass signals in a specific frequency band, the gain of the analog signal having been adjusted by the phase comparator and the output signal oscillator outputs the output signal on the basis of the analog signal. |
| US08686796B2 |
RF power amplifiers with improved efficiency and output power
Amplifiers with improved efficiency and output power are described. In an exemplary design, an apparatus includes an amplifier having at least three transistors and at least two capacitors. The at least three transistors are coupled in a stack and receive and amplify an input signal and provide an output signal. The at least two capacitors include at least one capacitor coupled between the drain and source of an associated transistor for each of at least two transistors in the stack, e.g., at least one capacitor for each transistor in the stack except for the bottommost transistor in the stack. The at least two capacitors recycle energy from gate-to-source parasitic capacitors of the at least two transistors to the output signal, which improves efficiency and output power of the amplifier. |
| US08686795B2 |
Power amplifier
A power amplifier includes: an amplifier having a base into which input signals are input, a collector to which a collector voltage is supplied, and an emitter; and a bias circuit for supplying a bias current to the base of the amplifier. The bias circuit includes a first transistor having a first control terminal into which a reference voltage is input, a first terminal to which a power voltage is applied, and a second terminal connected to the base of the amplifier. A capacitance adjusting circuit elevates capacitance between a grounding point and at least one of the first control terminal and the first terminal when the collector voltage of the amplifier is lowered. |
| US08686794B2 |
Amplifying apparatus
An amplifying apparatus includes a first amplifier that amplifies a first signal of a constant amplitude; a second amplifier that amplifies a second signal identical in amplitude and differing in phase with respect to the first signal; a first transmission line of which, a first end is connected to an output terminal of the first amplifier; a second transmission line differing in length with respect to the first transmission line and of which, a first end is connected to an output terminal of the second amplifier and a second end is connected to a second end of the first transmission line; and an amplitude balance adjusting element connected to the first or the second transmission line. The amplifying apparatus outputs from a connection node of the first and the second transmission lines, a signal that is a combination of output signals of the first amplifier and of the second amplifier. |
| US08686792B2 |
Amplifying device
A supply voltage controller 11 includes a simplified envelope creating unit 111 that calculates an envelope of an input audio signal according to an input audio signal from an external device, creates a supply voltage control signal so that a waveform of the supply voltage control signal follows a waveform of the envelope, and outputs the supply voltage control signal to a voltage variable power supply 12 a constant time before the input audio signal is amplified by the amplifier 14. Accordingly, an amplifying device can be provided which can reduce the distortion of the output signal not depending on a change in the slew rate of the voltage variable power supply 12 and suppress the deterioration of power efficiency. |
| US08686791B2 |
Amplifying apparatus and distortion compensation method
An amplifying apparatus includes: a plurality of amplifiers; a linear combiner receiving a plurality of leakage signals resulting from cross leakage between outputs of the plurality of amplifiers and performing a linear combination of level values of the plurality of leakage signals to generate a plurality of linear combination signals; and an output calculator calculating real level values of a plurality of output amplified signals of the amplifiers from level values of the linear combination signals. |
| US08686785B2 |
Level shifter
A level shifter includes a resistor R1 connected to a power source, a MOSFET MN3 having a drain connected to the resistor R1 and a grounded source, a resistor R2 having the same resistance of the resistor R1 and connected to the power source, a MOSFET MN4 having a drain to the resistor R2 and a grounded source, a pulse generator 10 controlling ON/OFF of the MOSFETs MN3 and MN4 according to an input signal, a control part generating a set signal when the MOSFET MN3 is ON and a reset signal when the MOSFET MN4 is ON, a flip-flop that providing, according to the set and reset signals, an output signal level-shifted of the input signal to operate a switching element Q1, and a switching operation control part detecting when reference potential decreases to negative and stopping the switching element Q1. |
| US08686782B2 |
Structure for a frequency adaptive level shifter circuit
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for a frequency adaptive level shifter circuit. The frequency adaptive level shifter circuit includes a first inverter, a second inverter coupled to the output of the first inverter, a capacitor coupled to the output of the second inverter, and a resistor coupled to the output of the capacitor. The frequency adaptive level shifter circuit further includes a transistor coupled to the output of the resistor, wherein the transistor has a gate connected to a reference voltage, a third inverter coupled to the output of the capacitor, and a fourth inverter coupled to the output of the third inverter and the transistor and outputting the signal. |
| US08686781B2 |
Voltage-mode driver with controllable output swing
A circuit includes a first node, a second node, a pull-up circuit selectively coupled to the first node or the second node, a pull-down circuit selectively coupled to the first node or the second node, and a resistive circuit. The circuit is configured to operate in a full-swing mode or in a de-emphasis mode based on an electrical coupling of the resistive circuit between the first node and the second node. |
| US08686780B2 |
Low distortion MOS attenuator
An attenuation circuit uses a voltage controlled variable resistance transistor as a signal attenuator for receivers operating in the zero Hz to about 30 MHz range. The transistor functions in the linear region to linearize the transistor resistance characteristics used for signal attenuation. In an exemplary application, the attenuation circuit is used as an RF attenuator for AM radio broadcast receivers and amplifiers with automatic gain control. Multiple attenuation circuits can be coupled in parallel, each attenuation circuit having a different sized variable resistance transistor, to form sequentially activated stages that increase the range of attenuation while minimizing distortion. |
| US08686777B1 |
Methods and circuits for enabling slew rate programmability and compensation of input/output circuits
Various embodiments of circuits and methods for enabling a slew rate programmability and compensation of input/output circuits are provided. The circuit includes a delay code generation circuit and at least one input/output (I/O) circuit. The delay code generation circuit is configured to receive a clock signal and a delay factor and generate a compensated delay code based on the clock signal or a combination of the delay factor and the clock signal. The I/O circuit includes a plurality of delay lines associated, integrated or communicatively associated with the delay code generation circuit and is configured to program the plurality of delay lines so as to generate a predetermined delay corresponding to the compensated delay code in order to achieve a predetermined slew rate of the I/O circuit. |
| US08686773B1 |
In-system margin measurement circuit
A margin circuit for controlling skew between first and second signals in order to determine margin, includes a variable delay circuit and a margin controller. Based on a current code value, the delay circuit applies a delay to the second signal to generate a delayed second signal. The margin controller generates the current code value for the variable delay circuit to be any one of a plurality of available code values. In one embodiment, the margin circuit is a write margin circuit that generates a first clock signal and a delayed second clock signal used to generate transmit (TX) clock and data signals having a non-zero phase offset between them. In another embodiment, the margin circuit is a read margin circuit that applies a phase offset between receive (RX) clock and data signals to enable the RX clock signal to be used to recover data from the RX data signal. |
| US08686772B2 |
Frequency multiplier and method of multiplying frequency
A frequency multiplier in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive concept may include a pulse generator receiving a differential clock signal from a delay locked loop having a plurality of delay cells to generate a pulse signal for generation of a multiplication clock signal. The pulse generator comprises an intermediate pulse signal generation unit receiving the differential clock signal to generate intermediate pulse signals; and an overlap correction unit correcting an overlap between the intermediate pulse signals to generate correction pulse signals. |
| US08686768B2 |
Phase locked loop
A phase locked loop includes a phase detector configured to compare a phase of an input clock with a phase of a feedback clock to produce a phase comparison result, an initial frequency value provider configured to detect a frequency of the input clock and provide a frequency detection result, a controller configured to generate a frequency control signal based on the phase comparison result and the frequency detection result, and an oscillator configured to generate an output clock in response to the frequency control signal. |
| US08686762B2 |
Half open-loop-controlled LIN transmitter
An LIN transmitter includes a current mirror coupled to a transmit output node and a control circuit coupled to a transmit input node for controlling the current mirror with various load current control signals. |
| US08686756B2 |
Time-to-digital converter and digital-controlled clock generator and all-digital clock generator
An all-digital clock generator includes a digitally-controlled clock generator and a processing unit. The digitally-controlled clock generator generates a clock signal in response to an enable signal and a digital signal. The processing unit has a frequency multiplier and a reference signal having a period, digitizes the period to generate a quantized signal, generates the digital signal according to the quantized signal and the frequency multiplier, and generates the enable signal according to the reference signal, the clock signal and the frequency multiplier. |
| US08686750B2 |
Method for evaluating semiconductor device
To provide a simple method for evaluating reliability of a transistor, a simple test which correlates with a bias-temperature stress test (BT test) is performed instead of the BT test. Specifically, a gate current value is measured in the state where a voltage lower than the threshold voltage of an n-channel transistor whose channel region includes an oxide semiconductor is applied between a gate and a source of the transistor and a potential applied to a drain is higher than a potential applied to the gate. The evaluation of the gate current value can be simply performed compared to the case where the BT test is performed; for example, it takes short time to measure the gate current value. That is, reliability of a semiconductor device including the transistor can be easily evaluated. |
| US08686748B2 |
System and method for modulation mapping
An apparatus for providing modulation mapping is disclosed. The apparatus includes a laser source, a motion mechanism providing relative motion between the laser beam and the DUT, signal collection mechanism, which include a photodetector and appropriate electronics for collecting modulated laser light reflected from the DUT, and a display mechanism for displaying a spatial modulation map which consists of the collected modulated laser light over a selected time period and a selected area of the IC. |
| US08686747B2 |
Monitoring a suspension and traction means of an elevator system
A monitoring device for a suspension-and-traction apparatus of an elevator system that includes at least one electrically conductive cord contains a measurement apparatus for determining a resulting resistance. The measurement apparatus is connected to the cord with contacting elements contacting opposite ends of cord. Damage to the suspension-and-traction apparatus is detected by a contact point that can register protruding conductive parts of the cord and, in another embodiment, the contacting elements each contain a plurality of mutually differing resistance elements such that each of at least two electrically conductive cords of the suspension-and-traction apparatus is connected to the monitoring device through two of the resistance elements. |
| US08686743B2 |
Substrate, substrate holding apparatus, analysis apparatus, program, detection system, semiconductor device, display apparatus, and semiconductor manufacturing apparatus
A substrate including a sensor unit, wherein the sensor unit includes a coil wound at least once arranged on the surface of the sensor or embedded within and near the surface thereof. With such an arrangement, an electric current that corresponds to information with respect to the substrate (e.g., the temperature of the substrate or the amount of charge stored in the substrate) flows through the coil. |
| US08686740B2 |
Calibration method for inertial drive actuator, and inertial drive actuator device
A calibration method for an inertial drive actuator of detecting a position of a moving body based on an electrostatic capacitance is proposed. The calibration method includes driving the moving body; outputting a first signal for detecting the electrostatic capacitance of opposing parts of a moving body side electrode provided on the moving body and a detecting electrode provided opposing the moving body side electrode; receiving a second signal obtained after the first signal output at the outputting has passed through the moving body side electrode and the detecting electrode; and calculating an optimum first signal based on the second signal received at the receiving. |
| US08686739B2 |
Programmable gain trans-impedance amplifier overload recovery circuit
Embodiments of an apparatus for measuring the leakage current of capacitive components is taught. One embodiment includes a first stage amplifier configured to receive an input from a serially-connected capacitive component at an inverting input and a feedback resistor in a feedback path of the first stage amplifier. A resistance value of the feedback resistor is programmable based on an expected value of the leakage current and a corresponding voltage output. |
| US08686738B2 |
Electrical safety devices and systems for use with electrical wiring, and methods for using same
Disclosed are systems and methods for monitoring an electrical wire. A safety device utilized to monitor the wire may include at least one current sensing device, at least one voltage sensing device, and at least one processing component. The current sensing device measures a current on at least one conductor of the wire. The voltage sensing device measures a voltage associated with the safety device. The at least one processing component receives the measurements and identifies, based upon the current measurement, an overcurrent event. The processing component then compares the voltage measurement to a stored voltage value and determines, based upon the comparison, that a difference between the voltage measurement and the stored voltage value satisfies a threshold condition. The processing component directs, based upon the determination, at least one relay to be opened to discontinue provision of an electrical power signal onto the electrical wire. |
| US08686736B2 |
System and method for testing a radio frequency integrated circuit
In an embodiment, a method of testing a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) includes generating high frequency test signals using the on-chip test circuit, measuring signal levels using on-chip power detectors, and controlling and monitoring the on-chip test circuit using low frequency signals. The RFIC circuit is configured to operate at high frequencies, and an on-chip test circuit that includes frequency generation circuitry configured to operate during test modes. |
| US08686734B2 |
System and method for determining radio frequency identification (RFID) system performance
A system for determining radio frequency identification (RFID) performance includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) system having at least one antenna and at least one reader configured to receive an RF indication from an RFID tag and is configured to provide RFID data and an RFID time stamp relating to the at least one antenna. A motion capture video system has at least one camera and a processing system including a recognizable element located proximate to the RFID tag and is configured to provide position data relating to the position of the recognizable element and a motion capture time stamp. An RFID/motion capture system is configured to receive the RFID data, the RFID time stamp, the position data relating to the recognizable element and the motion capture time stamp and to correlate the RFID data and the position data and provide a correlated RFID and motion capture signal. |
| US08686730B2 |
System for streamer electrical resistivity survey and method for analysis of underground structure below a riverbed
A system for measuring electrical resistivity survey checks a border of bedrock or a thickness of a sedimentary layer in a riverbed of a river or lake within a short time. A method for analysis of an underground structure of a riverbed using the same is also provided. The system for streamer electric resistivity survey using a survey boat includes a streamer cable connected to the survey boat and having a plurality of electrodes attached thereto, a multi-channel resistivity meter loaded on the survey boat to measure electric resistivity from the plurality of electrodes, a first RTK GPS (Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System) loaded on the survey boat to measure a position of the survey boat in real time, and a second RTK GPS installed to a tail of the streamer cable to measure a position of the tail in real time. |
| US08686728B2 |
System for adapting an RF transmission magnetic field for image acquisition
A system generates a Radio Frequency (RF) magnetic field in an MR imaging unit using an RF transmitting coil for generating a Radio Frequency (RF) magnetic field and multiple RF receiver coils for receiving RF signals for Magnetic Resonance (MR) image data acquisition. An RF transmission coil generates an RF magnetic field. An RF receiver coil receives an RF signal for MR image data acquisition and couples a magnetic field from the RF receiver coil to the RF transmission coil for adaptively altering the RF magnetic field generated by the RF transmission coil to reduce inhomogeneity in the RF magnetic field generated by the RF transmission coil in response to applying an RF pulse to the RF transmission coil. An adjustment processor adjusts characteristics of the RF receiver coil to alter the RF magnetic field generated by the RF transmission coil. |
| US08686726B2 |
RF shimming with RF power regularization using a multi-channel RF transmit system for MRI
A magnetic resonance system includes a magnetic resonance scanner having a multi-channel RF transmit system; an RF shimming processor configured to compute complex amplitude values for operative channels of the multi-channel RF transmit system based on a figure-of-merit including a weighted combination of a B1 uniformity measure and a total power measure. An RF transmit sub-system is configured to drive the multi-channel RF transmit system to excite magnetic resonance using the complex amplitude values computed by the RF shimming processor for the operative channels of the multi-channel RF transmit system. |
| US08686723B2 |
Determining the larmor frequency for NMR tools
The Larmor frequency for an in situ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tool is determined and used to acquire NMR data. An NMR tool is provided and placed in situ, for example, in a wellbore. An initial estimate of the Larmor frequency for the in situ NMR tool is made and NMR data are acquired using the in situ NMR tool. A spectral analysis is performed on the NMR data, or optionally, the NMR data are digitized and a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is performed on the digitized NMR data. The modal frequency of the spectral analysis or DFT is determined, and the Larmor frequency for the in situ NMR tool is determined using the modal frequency. The NMR tool is modified to transmit at the determined Larmor frequency and then used to acquire further NMR data. |
| US08686721B2 |
Automated pre-processing of body-mounted magnetometer data from constellations of low earth orbit satellites for derivation of birkeland current signatures
A system, method and computer-readable medium for mapping magnetic activity for a current linking a planet's space environment to an ionosphere of the planet are disclosed. Magnetic field measurements of the current are obtained from a plurality of satellites orbiting the planet. A residual magnetic field is determined from the obtained magnetic field measurements. The determined residual magnetic field is arranged to create a time series for a selected location of a planet-centered coordinate system. The magnetic activity is mapped using the created time series for the selected location. |
| US08686720B2 |
Motion sensor, method, and computer-readable storage medium providing a motion sensor with a validated output signal from the motion sensor
A motion sensor has an output protocol processor configured to provide a validated output signal after a determined time period, wherein the determined time period is extended if a vibration is detected. |
| US08686713B2 |
In-water voltage gradient detector
A voltage gradient detector provides notice when a potentially hazardous voltage gradient is present in water, employing at least one pair of spaced-apart electrodes connected to an LED. The electrode spacing is selected such that, when exposed to a sufficiently large voltage gradient, the voltage between the electrodes causes activation of the LED. The LED can provide visual illumination, or can be a part of a switching device such as a photoMOS relay that in turn activates an alarm device such as an audible sounder or a high-intensity light. Sensitivity in multiple directions can be attained by employing a pair of LEDs between the electrodes, and by employing three pairs of electrodes and associated LED pairs, with the pairs of electrodes being spaced apart along substantially orthogonal axes. These pairs may be discrete or may share an electrode in common. |
| US08686712B2 |
Time stretch enhanced recording scope
A time-stretched enhanced recording scope (TiSER) is described using time stretch analog-to-digital conversion in a real-time burst mode. A chirped optical signal is modulated in response to receiving segments of an input signal. The optical signal with its modulated input signal, is stretched through an optical medium and digitized to represent the waveform segment. TiSER provides ultra-fast real-time sampling within short segment bursts of the original input signal while providing an ability to detect non-repetitive events. Methods and apparatus are also described for providing real-time information about inter-symbol information (ISI), rapidly determining bit-error rates (BER), performing time-domain reflectometry (TDR), generating eye diagrams for serial data, facilitating digital correction of data, clock recovery, optical carrier phase recovery, and otherwise increasing the speed and/or accuracy of a diverse range of high-speed signal measurement and processing activities. |
| US08686711B2 |
High-frequency measuring device and high-frequency measuring device calibration method
A method for calibrating a high frequency measuring device so as to accurately measure plasma processing parameters within a chamber. A calibration parameter is calculated from a first set of three reference loads measured by a high frequency measurement device. A second calibration parameter is calculated from S parameters measured between a connection point where the high-frequency measuring device is connected and the inside of the chamber of a plasma processing device. A second set of three reference loads, which include the impedance previously calculated and encompass a range narrower than that encompassed by the first set of three reference loads, is measured with the reference loads in the chamber. Another calibration parameter is calculated from the measured impedances of the second set of three reference loads measured by the high- frequency measuring device, and the true values of those impedances, and a detected voltage signal and a detected current signal are calibrated using the above calibration parameters. |
| US08686709B2 |
Apparatus and method for counting and identifying particles of interest in a fluid
Apparatus and associate method including a substrate having a first surface; a lid having a second surface; at least one spacer element interposed between the substrate and the lid so as to maintain the first and second surface spaced apart; a partition with a plurality of nanometric size through-openings interposed between the spacer element and the lid defining a first chamber a second chamber fluidically connected together through at least one of the openings; the substrate has at least one first electrode on the first surface and the lid has a second electrode, the first electrode being configured to detect an electric signal associated to the passage of one of said particles through one of the through-openings. |
| US08686701B2 |
Active wire compensation circuit and controller with the same
An active wire compensation circuit, adapted to compensate a level of an output voltage detecting signal, is disclosed. A feedback controller controls a converting circuit according to the compensated output voltage detecting signal to have a load voltage for driving a load stabilized at a predetermined voltage level. The active wire compensation circuit comprises a compensating unit and a feedback compensating unit. The compensating unit detects the load current flowing through the load and accordingly generates a compensating current. The feedback compensating unit modulates the level of the output voltage detecting signal according to the compensating current and generates the compensated output voltage detecting signal. |
| US08686698B2 |
Power converter with controller operable in selected modes of operation
A power converter and method of controlling the same for selected modes of operation. In one embodiment, the power converter includes a first power switch coupled to a source of electrical power and a second power switch coupled to the first power switch and to an output terminal of the power converter. The power converter also includes a controller configured to control an operation of the first and second power switches during selected modes of operation. |
| US08686694B2 |
Discharge circuit for smoothing capacitor of DC power supply
A discharge circuit for a DC power supply smoothing capacitor that is used in a power conversion device that supplies DC power via a switch to the DC power supply smoothing capacitor and an inverter, includes; a resistor that discharges charge in the capacitor; a switch connected in series with the resistor, that either passes or intercepts discharge current flowing from the capacitor to the resistor; a measurement circuit that measures a terminal voltage of the capacitor; and a control circuit that controls continuity and discontinuity of the switch; wherein the control circuit, after having made the switch continuous and starting discharge of the capacitor by the resistor, if a terminal voltage of the capacitor as measured by the measurement circuit exceeds a voltage decrease characteristic set in advance, makes the switch discontinuous and stops discharge by the resistor. |
| US08686687B2 |
Method and system for co-operative charging of electric vehicles
A method and system provide for the cooperative charging of electric vehicles. By using power line communications, chargers of the electric vehicles who are serviced by the same distribution transformer can form self-contained local area networks due to the nature of power line communications (PLCs). Alternatively, or in addition to the PLCs, other communication networks, such as the Internet and local area networks, may be used as part of the communications infrastructure for the chargers. After the chargers of the electric vehicles are coupled to one another through power line communications or traditional communications networks, they can form a logical token ring network. According to this token ring network, a predetermined number of tokens can be assigned within the token ring network for permitting chargers with tokens to charge respective electric vehicles while chargers without tokens must wait until they receive a token to initiate charging. |
| US08686686B2 |
System and method for use in charging an electrically powered vehicle
A method of delivering power from a power supply to an electric vehicle is described herein. The method includes receiving, by a charging station from the electric vehicle, a request to deliver power from the power supply to the electric vehicle. A signal that is indicative of a unique identifier associated with the electric vehicle is received, and the charging station determines whether the unique vehicle identifier is associated with a stolen electric vehicle, and delivers power, from the charging device to the electric vehicle, after determining the unique identifier is not associated with a stolen electric vehicle. |
| US08686685B2 |
Secure apparatus for wirelessly transferring power and communicating with one or more slave devices
Some embodiments provide a system for charging devices. The system includes a master device and a slave device. Some embodiments provide a method for charging devices in a system that includes a slave device and a master device. The slave device includes (1) an antenna to receive a radio frequency (RF) beam and (2) a power generation module connected to the antenna that converts RF energy received by the slave antenna to power. The master device includes (1) a directional antenna to direct RF power to the antenna of the slave device and (2) a module that provides power to the directional antenna of the master device. |
| US08686683B2 |
Charge clip
A charge clip having a main body and plug received through an aperture therein includes a cradle for holding a personal electronic instrument (PEI) thereon. The plug is inserted into a wall outlet and the main body is selectively rotationally moveable with respect to the plug so that the main body is maintained in a vertical orientation regardless of the orientation of the wall outlet. The plug includes at least one rib that is selectively engageable with at least one notch formed in the aperture, preventing rotational movement of the main body with respect to the plug. The plug further includes an AC/DC conversion circuit that converts standard AC power from the wall outlet to DC power for charging the PEI. The charge clip further includes at least one USB port in electrical communication with the AC/DC conversion circuit that receives a USB plug in electrical communication with the PEI. |
| US08686682B2 |
Power supply for battery powered devices
An auxiliary power supply (150) includes an auxiliary battery (152), power supply circuitry (154), and a connector (108b). The power supply circuitry (154) supplies an output which provides electrical energy for powering the electrical circuitry (102) of a battery powered device (100) and for recharging a battery (104) associated therewith. In one embodiment, the power supply circuitry (154) supplies an output current which is a function of the charge state of the auxiliary battery (152) and a load current presented by the electrical circuitry (102). |
| US08686681B2 |
Power supply apparatus for electronic,electrical, and electromechanical installations
An apparatus for power supply to electronic, electrical or electromechanical equipment, the apparatus including a chargeable power source in the form of at least one high energy capacitor package (1); equipment control unit (3) for controlling power supply to the equipment, a power source control unit (2) for controlled charging and discharging of the power source, and a means (4; 10′; 11′; 12′) for power supply from an external energy source (10; 11; 12) to the power source control unit (2). |
| US08686679B2 |
Robot confinement
A method of confining a robot in a work space includes providing a portable barrier signal transmitting device including a primary emitter emitting a confinement beam primarily along an axis defining a directed barrier. A mobile robot including a detector, a drive motor and a control unit controlling the drive motor is caused to avoid the directed barrier upon detection by the detector on the robot. The detector on the robot has an omnidirectional field of view parallel to the plane of movement of the robot. The detector receives confinement light beams substantially in a plane at the height of the field of view while blocking or rejecting confinement light beams substantially above or substantially below the plane at the height of the field of view. |
| US08686677B2 |
Synchonrous oscillating fan system for livestock shelter
A synchronous fan system is provided which intermittently calibrates the fans by rotating periodically the fans each to a common stop position. |
| US08686674B2 |
Method for controlling brushless DC motor
A method for controlling a brushless DC motor, comprising transmitting a phase-inversion signal to a motor control unit by a rotor position detecting unit after a motor enters a stable state, advancing or delaying phase shift by the motor control unit at an offset electrical angle, recording and comparing phase current values In at different offset electrical angles whereby obtaining an optimum offset angle αm corresponding to the minimum phase current value Imin, and advancing or delaying phase shift by the motor at the optimum offset angle αm. As the motor enters a stable state, the motor advances or delays phase shift at the optimum offset angle αm, at this time operating current of a coil winding of the motor is the minimum, which saves power and reduces cost. |
| US08686673B2 |
Control device for electric rotary machine
A control device controls a power conversion circuit so as to adjust control values of a motor generator to optimum values. The power conversion circuit has switching elements for selectively connecting and disconnecting a battery and terminals of the motor generator. The control device sets a simulated voltage vector V(n+1) in one control-period forward to perform a prediction model control. On predicting a current, the control device uses a model in a rotary coordinate system, and sets the median value of the voltage vector V(n+1) in one control-period Tc to a value of the voltage vector V(n+1) in the rotary coordinate system. The control device sets, as the value of the voltage vector V(n+1) in the rotary coordinate system, the voltage vector V(n+1) when the half-time of the control-period Tc is elapsed from the time at the electric angle θ(n+1). |
| US08686672B2 |
Motor control device and electric power steering device
A current command value computation section 22 is provided with a q-axis current command value correction section 31 and an expected voltage utilization factor computation section 32. The expected voltage utilization factor computation section 32 estimates an expected voltage utilization factor f based on a rotational angular velocity ω of a motor 12, a q-axis current command value Iq*, and a power voltage Vb (the maximum voltage Vmax). The expected voltage utilization factor f is the ratio of required output voltage to the maximum voltage Vmax applicable to a drive circuit 18. Based on the expected voltage utilization factor f, the q-axis current command value correction section 31 corrects the q-axis current command value Iq* such that the corrected expected voltage utilization factor f does not exceed a predetermined value that corresponds to the voltage saturation limit. |
| US08686670B2 |
Method and apparatus for calibrating and testing brake holding torque
A system and method for determining the holding torque of a brake in a material handling system is disclosed. The material handling system may include a bridge, a trolley, and a hoist, each driven along a different axis by a motor. A brake is operatively coupled to the motor to prevent unwanted motion of the motor. A motor controller is coupled to each motor which controls operation of the motor and its corresponding brake. The motor controller generates a torque command to the motor while keeping the brake set. The initial torque command is less than the holding torque of the brake. The torque command is incremented until motion is detected on the motor. The torque value when motion is detected is stored in the motor controller and displayed to an operator. |
| US08686669B2 |
Method and apparatus for controlling a linear motion system
A method of controlling a linear motion system has a linear synchronous motor comprising a stator and at least two carrier units moveable in relation to the stator, the stator comprising a number of coil units, each of the at least two carrier units comprising a magnetic unit including an array of alternate-pole magnets having a regular magnet pole-pitch, wherein in order to form a train the at least two carrier units are arranged relative to each other so that the mutual distance between two identically poled magnets of two different magnetic units is an integer multiple of the magnet pole-pitch. |
| US08686668B2 |
Current offset circuits for phase-cut power control
Apparatus for maintaining at least a holding current in a leading-edge phase-cut dimmer during a period of transient voltage variations, the apparatus connectable to the dimmer and connectable to a load connected to draw current from the dimmer. The apparatus may comprise an edge detector connected to receive a voltage from the dimmer and generate a leading-edge signal in response to a leading-edge of a phase-cut waveform, and a current offset circuit connected to receive the leading-edge signal and draw a supplementary offset current in response to the leading-edge signal, wherein the supplementary offset current is sufficient to maintain at least a holding current in the dimmer during the period of transient voltage variations. The current offset circuit may comprise a holding current circuit which also draws supplementary current in response to an instantaneous value of load current. |
| US08686664B2 |
Method and system for automated lighting control and monitoring
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to automated control of lighting systems at individual-light-fixture, local, regional, and larger-geographical-area levels. One embodiment of the present invention comprises a hierarchical lighting-control system including an automated network-control center that may control up to many millions of individual lighting fixtures and lighting elements, regional routers interconnected to the network-control center or network-control centers by public communications networks, each of which controls hundreds to thousands of individual light fixtures, and light-management units, interconnected to regional routers by radio-frequency communications and/or power-line communications, each of which controls components within a lighting fixture, including lighting elements, associated ballasts, sensors, and other devices. |
| US08686659B2 |
Multiple lamp lighting level ballast for series connected lamps
A ballast that selectively operates multiple lamps is provided. The ballast includes a switching network, capable of operating in a number of switching configurations. The ballast also includes a control circuit, and two lamp control switches. The control circuit is connected to the switching network, and provides respective control signals via respective output terminals as a function of the switching configuration of the switching network. Each lamp control switch is in parallel with its lamp and is connected to a respective output terminal. The first lamp control switch is connected to a ballast power supply, and either provides power to the first lamp or does not, depending on the first control signal. The second lamp control switch is connected to the first lamp control switch and to ground, and either provides power to the second lamp or does not, depending on the second control signal. |
| US08686652B2 |
Reference voltage generating circuit and LED driver circuit having the same therein
A reference voltage generating circuit used for a light-emitting diode (LED) driver circuit and a light-emitting diode (LED) driver circuit are provided. A reference voltage generating circuit used for a light-emitting diode (LED) driver circuit includes a voltage measurer configured to sequentially measure feedback voltages of a plurality of LED arrays, the LED arrays being connected to one another in parallel, a quantizer configured to search for one of the plurality of LED arrays having a lowest feedback voltage of the measured feedback voltages, a comparator configured to compare an output of the voltage measurer with a preset comparison voltage to generate a reference voltage, and a timing controller configured to control the comparator to output the generated reference voltage corresponding to the one of the plurality of LED arrays. |
| US08686650B2 |
LED backlight device
An LED backlight device includes an inverter having an input connected to a DC power supply to provide an output AC current. A plurality of transformers are each configured to drop AC current input from the inverter. Input sides of the transformers are connected in series to an output of the inverter and output sides of the transformers are disposed in parallel. A plurality of full-wave rectification circuits are respectively connected to the output sides of the transformers and full-wave rectify the dropped AC currents, respectively. A plurality of smoothing circuits are respectively connected to outputs of the full-wave rectification circuits, and are configured to smooth the full-wave rectified currents to output DC currents, respectively. A plurality of LED strings are respectively connected to the outputs of the smoothing circuits and each of the LED strings have a plurality of LEDs. |
| US08686648B2 |
Lighting applications with light transmissive optic contoured to produce tailored light output distribution
The present application relates to a lighting applications. In particular, the present application describes examples of lighting fixtures and light bulbs containing a light transmissive optic. The orientation of the solid state emitters together with the contoured output surface of the light transmissive optic produce a tailored light output distribution over a designated planar surface. The light generated by the solid state light emitters is of a sufficient intensity to illuminate the designated planar surface. |
| US08686646B2 |
Illuminating device
Disclosed is an illuminating device which has: a first illuminating lamp which is disposed at a first predetermined position and is identifiable; a second illuminating lamp which is disposed at a second predetermined position having a predetermined relationship with the first predetermined position and is identifiable; a determining means which determines the mutual relationship between the first illuminating lamp and the second illuminating lamp; and a transmitting means which transmits identifiable control signals to the first illuminating lamp and the second illuminating lamp, respectively, so as to achieve the determination made by the determining means. |
| US08686645B2 |
LED protection circuit
Disclosed is an LED protection circuit using a one-shot vibrator. The LED protection circuit includes an LED module; an LED load-open detection circuit for detecting a voltage applied to the LED module to vary a reference potential; a latch circuit for maintaining a latch state according to the reference potential of the LED load-open detection circuit; a current limit circuit for receiving an output signal from the latch circuit to output a first signal; an LED load connection detection circuit for varying the reference potential through the first signal to output a second signal; a trigger input circuit connected to the LED load connection detection circuit for outputting a third signal using the second signal; and a one-shot vibrator for outputting a fourth signal of a square waveform during a predetermined time when the third signal is input. |
| US08686642B2 |
Stabilized high brightness LED suitable as calibration standard
A high brightness LED (102) is precisely controlled. The temperature of the LED (102) is controlled via controlled thermal resistance (300), measurement of the base temperature (302) and careful power monitoring of the LED (102). |
| US08686640B2 |
Magnetic field reduction apparatus and magnetic plasma flood system for ion beam processing
An ion beam processing system includes a plasma generator with a magnetic flood system. Magnets are provided for reducing the transverse magnetic field in the ion beam transport region of the plasma flood device so as to control charging damage or to neutralize beam space charge in ion beam processing and semiconductor ion implantation. The system is especially adapted for beam lines with ribbon beams. |
| US08686638B2 |
Lighting device having a plurality of light sources
A lighting device having a plurality of light sources includes several superimposed layers. The superimposed layers include a first and a second electrically conductive layer, which are designed so as to create an alternating electrical field between the layers. The superimposed layers also have an electrically insulating layer between the electrically conductive layers and a luminescent layer between the electrically conductive layers. Electroluminescent material is arranged within the luminescent layer in several adjacent and spatially separated regions, each region forming a light source. As a result, a simulated starry sky may be provided when the lighting device is used with an aircraft interior trim panel. |
| US08686635B2 |
Organic light emitting diode lighting apparatus
An organic light emitting diode (OLED) lighting apparatus includes an OLED lighting module, and a socket board for mounting the OLED lighting module, wherein the OLED lighting module includes a substrate body including an emission region and a sealing region surrounding the emission region, an OLED on the substrate body, a sealant on the sealing region of the substrate body, and including a conductive member electrically coupled to the OLED, a printed circuit board (PCB) bonded to the substrate body by the sealant for sealing and covering the OLED, and including external input terminals electrically coupled to the conductive member, and an affixing unit on the external input terminals, and wherein the socket board has a supporting unit coupled to the affixing unit for attaching the OLED lighting module thereto. |
| US08686633B2 |
Organic light emitting display device and method for manufacturing the same
An organic light emitting display device (OLED) includes: a substrate; a first anode layer disposed on the substrate and including a plurality of first projections; a second anode layer formed on the first anode layer and including a plurality of second projections; an organic emission layer formed on the second anode layer; and a cathode layer formed on the organic emission layer. As a result, the anodes are formed to have a double projection structure to enhance light extraction efficiency. |
| US08686632B2 |
Organic electroluminescent device
An organic electroluminescent device having a plurality of pixels, the device comprising: an anode formed on a substrate; an organic electroluminescent layer formed on the anode in each well of a well-defining layer to form the plurality of pixels; a cathode layer on the electroluminescent layer and a layer of metal on the top surface of the well-defining layer; wherein a conductive layer is deposited over the cathode layer and the metal layer to electrically connect the cathode layer on the electroluminescent layer with the metal layer on the top surface of the well-defining layer. |
| US08686631B2 |
Phosphor particle group and light emitting apparatus using the same
Provided is a phosphor particle group of divalent europium-activated oxynitride green light emitting phosphor particles each of which is a β-type SiAlON substantially represented by a general formula: EuaSibAlcOdNe, where 0.005≦a≦0.4, b+c=12, d+e=16, wherein 60% or more of the phosphor particle group is composed of the phosphor particles in which a value obtained by dividing a longer particle diameter by a shorter particle diameter is greater than 1.0 and not greater than 3.0. A high-efficiency and stable light emitting apparatus using a β-type SiAlON, which includes a light converter using the phosphor particle group, and a phosphor particle group therefor are also provided. |
| US08686625B1 |
Engineered-phosphor LED packages and related methods
In accordance with certain embodiments, a phosphor element at least partially surrounding a light-emitting die is shaped to influence color-temperature divergence. |
| US08686619B2 |
Piezoelectric actuator, liquid transport apparatus, and method for producing piezoelectric actuator
A piezoelectric actuator is provided, including a piezoelectric layer which is joined to a joining member and which has a coefficient of linear expansion smaller than a coefficient of linear expansion of the joining member; a first electrode which is arranged on one surface of the piezoelectric layer; a second electrode which is arranged on a portion of the one surface of the piezoelectric layer different from the first electrode and which is in conduction with the first electrode; and a low dielectric layer which is formed between the piezoelectric layer and the second electrode and which has a dielectric constant lower than a dielectric constant of the piezoelectric layer. |
| US08686618B2 |
Vibrating device, and drive device, dust removing device, and optical device which include the vibrating device
A vibrating device includes a vibrator having multiple electromechanical energy converting elements, with the vibrating device generating a first standing wave and a second standing wave in the vibrator with a predetermined time phase difference. The first standing wave and the second standing wave having multiple nodal lines aligned in the same direction and being different in terms of an order. A first electromechanical energy converting element is disposed at a first portion, and a second electromechanical energy converting element is disposed at a second portion. The first portion extends in a first direction parallel to one of the multiple nodal lines, and the second portion extends in a second direction which crosses the first direction. |
| US08686617B2 |
Circuit for compensating influence of temperature on a resonator
The invention relates to a device for compensating influence of temperature on a resonator circuit. The device comprises a resonator circuit and a supply unit for supplying an electric bias signal to the resonator circuit, wherein the supply unit is adapted for adjusting the electric bias signal for compensating influence of temperature on the resonator circuit. |
| US08686606B2 |
Cooling device
A cooling device includes an inner sleeve with an outer surface, an outer sleeve surrounding the inner sleeve, and two end portions extending between the inner sleeve and the outer sleeve at the ends. The inner sleeve, the outer sleeve and the end portions define a peripheral space. A flow guiding structure defines N channels in the peripheral space for coolant to flow, where N is an integer equal to or greater than 1. Each channel has at least two branches, and N pairs of inlet and outlet corresponding to the N channels. The branches of each channel are in fluid communication with a respective pair of inlet and outlet. Each branch extends over a half circumferential part of the outer surface of the inner sleeve. An electric motor incorporating the cooling device is also provided. |
| US08686601B2 |
Power conversion apparatus for vehicle use
A power conversion apparatus for vehicle use having a small size and a light weight is obtained. The power conversion apparatus is provided with: a plurality of semiconductor modules in which semiconductor devices are molded with a resin, and each of which has a module body, an input terminal, and an output terminal; a heat sink of a rectangular parallelepiped shape which has cooling principal planes on opposite surfaces thereof, respectively, for cooling these semiconductor modules; and a plurality of control boards which control the driving of the semiconductor modules. Each of the semiconductor modules is arranged such that its module body has a principal plane in surface contact with one of the cooling principal planes of the heat sink, and each of the control boards is arranged in opposition to a surface of the module body at an opposed side of the principal plane thereof. |
| US08686600B2 |
Techniques for configuring contacts of a connector
Systems and methods for configuring contacts of a first connector includes detecting mating of a second connector with the first connector and in response to the detection, sending a command over one of the contacts and waiting for a response to the command. If a valid response to the command is received, the system determines the orientation of the second connector. The response also includes configuration information for contacts in the second connector. The system then configures some of the other contacts of the first connector based on the determined orientation and configuration information of the contacts of the second connector. |
| US08686599B2 |
Power transmission system and power receiving jacket
A power transmission system and a power receiving jacket is provided that enhances the transmission efficiency of electric power with a simple structure and without increasing manufacturing costs. The power transmission system includes a power transmitting device having a first passive electrode, a first active electrode whose potential is higher than the first passive electrode, and a voltage generation circuit connected between the first passive electrode and the first active electrode, a power receiving jacket having a second active electrode and a power receiving circuit module connected to the second active electrode, and an electronic device attachable to the power receiving jacket. The electronic device includes a chassis having a conductive portion formed from a conductive material along a surface facing the first passive electrode, and the power receiving circuit module is electrically connected between the conductive portion and the second active electrode. |
| US08686596B2 |
Fuse box system and method
A fuse box system and method providing for visual and/or remote sensing of interrupted fusing elements is disclosed. The system incorporates LEDs and/or remote sensing apparatus to permit indication of a “blown” fuse and/or circuit protection breaker. This system may be configured for both polarized and/or non-polarized applications and generally provides for indicator illumination when a fuse/breaker is blown. Some preferred embodiments may incorporate current sourcing technologies to permit operation of the system over wide range of system voltages, as well as provisions for wired and/or RF/wireless interrogation of the fuse/breaker status. Alternate embodiments including systems/methods to permit remote sensing of fuse status and/or circuit current monitoring, and may be retrofit within existing fuse/breaker panel systems in some configurations. |
| US08686593B2 |
Systems and methods of power device lighting
Aspects and embodiments described herein provide power devices with tactile sensors to activate light emitting elements that illuminate power device interfaces, facilitating engagement of the interfaces with external loads and their connectors and the manipulation of control panels and their interfaces. A housing houses at least a portion of the power device and can include a tactile sensor to detect a presence of an object proximate to the power device. When an object is detected, the controller and the tactile sensor activate at least one light emitting element to illuminate a least a portion of the housing that includes an interface. |
| US08686590B2 |
Wireless power transmission system and method for an aircraft sensor system
An aircraft sensor system including a primary module configured to be attached to an aircraft portion and operative to transmit electrical power wirelessly. A secondary module configured to be attached to an aircraft component, the secondary module operative to receive electrical power wirelessly from the primary module. At least one sensor configured to be operatively attached to a portion of the aircraft component and electrically coupled to the secondary module, wherein the at least one sensor is operative to measure a desired parameter of the aircraft component. |
| US08686581B2 |
Method for operating a wind turbine in the event of the occurrence of a grid fault with a voltage drop and such a wind turbine
A method for operating a wind turbine when a grid fault with a voltage drop occurs. The turbine has a rotor with a rotor blade having an adjustable blade pitch angle, a generator connected to the rotor for generating power for a power grid and a converter connected to the generator and the power grid. The grid fault is identified and a present value of a turbine variable representing a power is detected and a hold setpoint for the variable representing a power of the turbine is preset. A maximum and/or minimum permissible setpoint for the variable of the turbine is determined. The setpoint is increased or reduced once the hold time has elapsed. The turbine is driven with a setpoint preset which corresponds to the rotational speed. A presetting of the maximum permissible setpoint is ended when the rotational speed-dependent setpoint is lower than the maximum permissible setpoint. |
| US08686578B2 |
Method and apparatus for storing energy
An energy storage apparatus for storing energy transmitted by a power transmission line includes an elastically deformable component and an actuator-generator. The actuator-generator is coupled to the elastically deformable component such that electrical actuation of the actuator-generator generates tension in the elastically deformable component. The actuator-generator is further coupled to the elastically deformable component such that mechanical actuation of the actuator-generator via a release of tension in the elastically deformable component causes a generation of electrical energy by the actuator-generator. |
| US08686577B2 |
Engine generator
An engine generator for driving an air motor to energize an engine is provided which reduces an installation space and facility and running costs. The engine generator (EG) is attached to a fire extinguishing facility (14). The fire extinguishing facility is designed to eject unburnable gas supplied from gas containers (11) and comprises an air motor (10) for driving an engine, and a valve unit (12) designed to drive in response to an instruction signal, control a pressure of the unburnable gas from the gas container and supply the pressure controlled unburnable gas to the air motor (10). |
| US08686576B1 |
System and method for harvesting electrical energy by linear induction
A linear induction generator for use in a weapon system comprising a matrix of coils, a matrix of magnets, a spindle assembly, a matrix of coils, and a dust cover there over. This generator is mounted onto a weapon receiver of the weapon system to generate raw electric current. The raw current is then rectified and delivered to either a battery or directly to the electronic devices. |
| US08686574B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes a wiring board that has a conductive pattern formed on at least one principal surface, and an IC chip that is mounted on the wiring board. The IC chip includes a plurality of electrodes to make conductor connection with the wiring board. The conductive pattern includes a lead line pattern and a heat dissipation pattern. The lead line pattern is connected with at least one of the plurality of electrodes through a conductor. The heat dissipation pattern is physically spaced from the IC chip and the lead line pattern and has a larger surface area than the lead line pattern. Further, the lead line pattern and the heat dissipation pattern are placed opposite to each other with a gap therebetween, and their opposite parts respectively have interdigitated shapes and are arranged with the respective interdigitated shapes engaging with each other with the gap therebetween. |
| US08686569B2 |
Die arrangement and method of forming a die arrangement
A die arrangement includes a carrier having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, the carrier including an opening leading from the first side of the carrier to the second side of the carrier; a first die disposed over the first side of the carrier and electrically contacting the carrier; a second die disposed over the second side of the carrier and electrically contacting the carrier; and an electrical contact structure leading through the opening in the carrier and electrically contacting the second die. |
| US08686568B2 |
Semiconductor package substrates having layered circuit segments, and related methods
The package substrate includes a core, a plurality of first circuit segments, and a plurality of conductive pillars. Each of the first circuit segments has a patterned metal layer disposed on the core, a barrier layer disposed on the patterned metal layer, and an upper metal pattern disposed on the barrier layer. The conductive pillars penetrate the core, the patterned metal layer, and the barrier layer, and contact the upper metal pattern. The conductive pillars are formed from a material that can be selectively removed without affecting the barrier layer. |
| US08686558B2 |
Thermally and electrically enhanced ball grid array package
In one embodiment, a method for assembling a ball grid array (BGA) package is provided. The method includes providing a stiffener that has opposing first and second surfaces, wherein the first surface is capable of mounting an integrated circuit (IC) die in a central area and forming a pattern in at least a portion of the first surface to enhance the adhesiveness of an encapsulant material to the first surface. |
| US08686552B1 |
Multilevel IC package using interconnect springs
A stacked-die electronic package assembly includes IC chips connected to a base substrate in a flip-chip, offset (e.g., pyramid-type) stacked arrangement by way of single-curved interconnect springs. Each interconnect spring is patterned from a spring metal film that bends to form a cantilevered structure having an anchor portion secured to the base substrate, a body portion that curves upward from the base substrate, and a tip disposed at the free end of the body portion. The IC chips are mounted onto interconnect springs such that contact pads on the chips contact the spring tips, causing the springs to slightly compress. Optional solder is utilized to secure the connection of the spring tips to the contact pads. Optional spacers and adhesive are utilized to maintain proper spacing between the IC chips and the base substrate. The springs are formed with different tip heights to facilitate connection to the stacked IC chips. |
| US08686549B2 |
Reconfigurable elements
A cell element field for data processing having function cells for execution of algebraic and/or logic functions and memory cells for receiving, storing and/or outputting information is described. A control connection may lead from the function cells to the memory cells. |
| US08686546B2 |
Combined packaged power semiconductor device
A combined packaged power semiconductor device includes a flipped top source low-side MOSFET electrically connected to a top surface of a die paddle, a first metal interconnection plate connecting between a bottom drain of a high-side MOSFET or a top source of a flipped high-side MOSFET to a bottom drain of the low-side MOSFET, and a second metal interconnection plate stacked on top of the high-side MOSFET chip. The high-side, low-side MOSFET and the IC controller can be packaged three-dimensionally that reduces the overall size of semiconductor devices and can maximize the chip's size within a package of the same size and improves the performance of the semiconductor devices. The top source of flipped low-side MOSFET is connected to the top surface of the die paddle and thus is grounded through the exposed bottom surface of die paddle, which simplifies the shape of exposed bottom surface of the die paddle and maximizes the area to facilitate heat dissipation. |
| US08686539B1 |
Inductor having a deep-well noise isolation shield
A shielded inductor in an integrated circuit includes conductive loops disposed on a deep-well noise shield for isolating a noise coupling between the conductive loops and the substrate of the integrated circuit. The deep-well noise shield includes a first well disposed within a second well that is disposed within the substrate of the integrated circuit. The second well includes a peripheral well, a deep-well layer, and slot wells. The peripheral well surrounds a periphery of the first well. The peripheral well and the deep-well layer are coupled together to provide two p-n junctions that separate the first well and the substrate. The slot wells are distributed inside the periphery of the first well. Each slot well and the deep-well layer are coupled together. Each slot well has a width and a length that is at least three times the width. |
| US08686537B2 |
Apparatus and methods for reducing impact of high RF loss plating
To reduce the radio frequency (RF) losses associated with high RF loss plating, such as, for example, Nickel/Palladium/Gold (Ni/Pd/Au) plating, an on-die passive device, such as a capacitor, resistor, or inductor, associated with a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) is placed in an RF upper signal path with respect to the RF signal output of the RFIC. By placing the on-die passive device in the RF upper signal path, the RF current does not directly pass through the high RF loss plating material of the passive device bonding pad. |
| US08686535B2 |
Trench isolation implantation
Embodiments of the disclosure include a shallow trench isolation structure having a dielectric material with energetic species implanted to a predetermined depth of the dielectric material. Embodiments further include methods of fabricating the trench structures with the implant of energetic species to the predetermined depth. In various embodiments the implant of energetic species is used to densify the dielectric material to provide a uniform wet etch rate across the surface of the dielectric material. Embodiments also include memory devices, integrated circuits, and electronic systems that include shallow trench isolation structures having the dielectric material with the high flux of energetic species implanted to the predetermined depth of the dielectric material. |
| US08686533B2 |
Isolation structure
Provided is a method of fabricating a semiconductor device that includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a front side and a back side, forming a first circuit and a second circuit at the front side of the semiconductor substrate, bonding the front side of the semiconductor substrate to a carrier substrate, thinning the semiconductor substrate from the back side, and forming an trench from the back side to the front side of the semiconductor substrate to isolate the first circuit from the second circuit. |
| US08686531B2 |
Structure and method for forming a guard ring to protect a control device in a power semiconductor IC
Provided is a power semiconductor device including a guard ring region to protect control devices. The power semiconductor device includes a semiconductor body layer extending over a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type. The semiconductor body layer has a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type. A well of the first conductivity type extends in the semiconductor body layer and is configured to be electrically insulated from the semiconductor substrate. At least one control device is formed in the well, where the control device comprises at least one of PN junction. A guard ring region of the first conductivity type is laterally spaced from but surrounds the well. The guard ring region together with the semiconductor substrate and the semiconductor body layer form a parasitic bipolar transistor, and the guard ring region functions as a collector of the parasitic bipolar transistor. |
| US08686526B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same
The invention is directed to providing a semiconductor device receiving a blue-violet laser, of which the reliability and yield are enhanced. A device element converting a blue-violet laser into an electric signal is formed on a front surface of a semiconductor substrate. An optically transparent substrate is attached to the front surface of the semiconductor substrate with an adhesive layer being interposed therebetween. The adhesive layer contains transparent silicone. Since the front surface of the device element is covered by the optically transparent substrate, foreign substances are prevented from adhering to the front surface of the device element. Furthermore, the adhesive layer is covered by the optically transparent substrate. This prevents the adhesive layer from being exposed to outside air, thereby preventing the degradation of the adhesive layer 6 due to a blue-violet laser. |
| US08686524B2 |
Magnetic stack with oxide to reduce switching current
A magnetic stack having a ferromagnetic free layer, a metal oxide layer that is antiferromagnetic at a first temperature and non-magnetic at a second temperature higher than the first temperature, a ferromagnetic pinned reference layer, and a non-magnetic spacer layer between the free layer and the reference layer. During a writing process, the metal oxide layer is non-magnetic. For magnetic memory cells, such as magnetic tunnel junction cells, the metal oxide layer provides reduced switching currents. |
| US08686513B1 |
IGBT assembly having circuitry for injecting/extracting current into/from an auxiliary P well
An IGBT die structure includes an auxiliary P well region. A terminal, that is not connected to any other IGBT terminal, is coupled to the auxiliary P well region. To accelerate IGBT turn on, a current is injected into the terminal during the turn on time. The injected current causes charge carriers to be injected into the N drift layer of the IGBT, thereby reducing turn on time. To accelerate IGBT turn off, charge carriers are removed from the N drift layer by drawing current out of the terminal. To reduce VCE(SAT), current can also be injected into the terminal during IGBT on time. An IGBT assembly involves the IGBT die structure and an associated current injection/extraction circuit. As appropriate, the circuit injects or extracts current from the terminal depending on whether the IGBT is in a turn on time or is in a turn off time. |
| US08686512B2 |
Elevation of transistor channels to reduce impact of shallow trench isolation on transistor performance
Roughly described, transistor channel regions are elevated over the level of certain adjacent STI regions. Preferably the STI regions that are transversely adjacent to the diffusion regions are suppressed, as are STI regions that are longitudinally adjacent to N-channel diffusion regions. Preferably STI regions that are longitudinally adjacent to P-channel diffusions are not suppressed; preferably they have an elevation that is at least as high as that of the diffusion regions. |
| US08686508B2 |
Structures, methods and applications for electrical pulse anneal processes
Structures and methods are provided for nanosecond electrical pulse anneal processes. The method of forming an electrostatic discharge (ESD) N+/P+ structure includes forming an N+ diffusion on a substrate and a P+ diffusion on the substrate. The P+ diffusion is in electrical contact with the N+ diffusion. The method further includes forming a device between the N+ diffusion and the P+ diffusion. A method of annealing a structure or material includes applying an electrical pulse across an electrostatic discharge (ESD) N+/P+ structure for a plurality of nanoseconds. |
| US08686507B2 |
System and method for I/O ESD protection with floating and/or biased polysilicon regions
A system and method for electrostatic discharge protection. The system includes a plurality of transistors. The plurality of transistors includes a plurality of gate regions, a plurality of source regions, and a plurality of drain regions. The plurality of source regions and the plurality of drain regions are located within an active area in a substrate, and the active area is adjacent to at least an isolation region in the substrate. Additionally, the system includes a polysilicon region. The polysilicon region is separated from the substrate by a dielectric layer, and the polysilicon region intersects each of the plurality of gate regions. At least a part of the polysilicon region is on the active area. |
| US08686506B2 |
High performance devices and high density devices on single chip
A CMOS chip comprising a high performance device region and a high density device region includes a plurality of high performance devices comprising n-type field effect transistors (NFETs) and p-type field effect transistors (PFETs) in the high performance device region, wherein the high performance devices have a high performance pitch; and a plurality of high density devices comprising NFETs and PFETs in the high density device region, wherein the high density devices have a high density pitch, and wherein the high performance pitch is about 2 to 3 times the high density pitch; wherein the high performance device region comprises doped source and drain regions, NFET gate regions having an elevated stress induced using stress memorization technique (SMT), gate silicide and source/drain silicide regions, and a dual stressed liner, and wherein the high density device region comprises doped source and drain regions, gate silicide regions, and a neutral stressed liner. |
| US08686504B2 |
Double diffused drain metal oxide semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof
The present invention discloses a double diffused drain metal oxide semiconductor (DDDMOS) device and a manufacturing method thereof. The DDDMOS device is formed in a substrate, and includes a first well, a gate, a diffusion region, a source, and a drain. A low voltage device is also formed in the substrate, which includes a second well and a lightly doped drain (LDD) region, wherein the first well and the diffusion region are formed by process steps which also form the second well and the LDD region in the low voltage device, respectively. |
| US08686501B2 |
Semiconductor device with high voltage transistor
A semiconductor device includes: a p-type active region; a gate electrode traversing the active region; an n-type LDD region having a first impurity concentration and formed from a drain side region to a region under the gate electrode; a p-type channel region having a second impurity concentration and formed from a source side region to a region under the gate electrode to form an overlap region with the LDD region under the gate electrode, the channel region being shallower than the LDD region; an n-type source region formed outside the gate electrode; and an n+-type drain region having a third impurity concentration higher than the first impurity concentration formed outside and spaced from the gate electrode, wherein an n-type effective impurity concentration of an intermediate region between the gate electrode and the n+-type drain region is higher than an n-type effective impurity concentration of the overlap region. |
| US08686499B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes a p-type semiconductor substrate, an n-type drift region formed in the p-type semiconductor substrate, and a p-type body region formed in the n-type drift region. A circular gate electrode is formed over a pn junction between sides of the p-type body region and the n-type drift region along the pn junction. An n-type drain region and an n-type source region are formed in the n-type drift region and the p-type body region, respectively, with a part of the gate electrode between. |
| US08686497B2 |
DRAM cell utilizing a doubly gated vertical channel
A double-gate vertical channel transistor (DGVC) structure is described which is particularly well suited for Dynamic RAM (DRAM) memory (e.g., capacitorless DRAM) wherein the memory cell occupies a small cell area of 4F2, and provides beneficial retention properties including immunity to disturbances. The vertical transistors are arranged in an alternating gate-facing orientation, with a common source formed on a first end and separate drains on their second ends. Word lines comprise alternating front gates and back gates shared by columns of gate-facing transistors on each side of it. The DGVC cell provides enhanced scalability allowing the continued scaling of DRAM technology and can be fabricated using low-cost semiconductor materials and existing fabrication techniques. Fabrication techniques and array biasing are also described for the DGVC cell arrays. |
| US08686493B2 |
High density FET with integrated Schottky
A semiconductor structure includes a monolithically integrated trench FET and Schottky diode. The semiconductor structure further includes a plurality of trenches extending into a semiconductor region. A stack of gate and shield electrodes are disposed in each trench. Body regions extend over the semiconductor region between adjacent trenches, with a source region extending over each body region. A recess having tapered edges extends between every two adjacent trenches from upper corners of the two adjacent trenches through the body region and terminating in the semiconductor region below the body region. An interconnect layer extends into each recess to electrically contact tapered sidewalls of the source regions and the body regions, and to contact the semiconductor region along a bottom of each recess to form a Schottky contact therebetween. |
| US08686484B2 |
Spin-torque magnetoresistive memory element and method of fabricating same
A spin-torque magnetoresistive memory element has a high magnetoresistance and low current density. A free magnetic layer is positioned between first and second spin polarizers. A first tunnel barrier is positioned between the first spin polarizer and the free magnetic layer and a second tunnel barrier is positioned between the second spin polarizer and the free magnetic layer. The magnetoresistance ratio of the second tunnel barrier has a value greater than double the magnetoresistance ratio of the first tunnel barrier. |
| US08686480B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same
Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device that can improve the performance of a photodiode that is formed on a same substrate as a thin film transistor without greatly deteriorating the productivity of the semiconductor device. On a glass substrate 30, a base layer 31 having a recess 33b on the surface is formed, and on the base layer 31, an amorphous silicon thin film 42 is formed. The amorphous silicon thin film 42 is melted to form a crystalline silicon thin film 43, while moving the molten silicon into the recess 33b. Of the silicon thin film 43, a silicon film 11 that constitutes a portion of a thin film transistor 10 is formed of the silicon thin film 43 in a part other than the recess 33b, while a silicon film 21 that constitutes a portion of a photodiode 20 is formed of the silicon thin film 43 in the recess 33b. |
| US08686476B2 |
Resistance-switching memory cells adapted for use at low voltage
A memory cell is provided that includes a diode and a resistance-switching material layer coupled in series with the diode. The resistance-switching material layer: (a) includes a material from the family consisting of XvOw, wherein X represents an element from the family consisting of Hf and Zr, and wherein the subscripts v and w have non-zero values that form a stable compound, and (b) has a thickness between 20 and 65 angstroms. Other aspects are also provided. |
| US08686475B2 |
Reconfigurable elements
A cell element field for data processing having function cells for execution of algebraic and/or logic functions and memory cells for receiving, storing and/or outputting information is described. A control connection may lead from the function cells to the memory cells. |
| US08686474B2 |
III-V compound semiconductor epitaxy from a non-III-V substrate
A structure comprises a substrate, a mask, a buffer/nucleation layer, and a group III-V compound semiconductor material. The substrate has a top surface and has a recess from the top surface. The recess includes a sidewall. The first mask is the top surface of the substrate. The buffer/nucleation layer is along the sidewall, and has a different material composition than a material composition of the sidewall. The III-V compound semiconductor material continuously extends from inside the recess on the buffer/nucleation layer to over the first mask. |
| US08686466B2 |
Technique for the growth and fabrication of semipolar (Ga,Al,In,B)N thin films, heterostructures, and devices
A method for growth and fabrication of semipolar (Ga, Al, In, B)N thin films, heterostructures, and devices, comprising identifying desired material properties for a particular device application, selecting a semipolar growth orientation based on the desired material properties, selecting a suitable substrate for growth of the selected semipolar growth orientation, growing a planar semipolar (Ga, Al, In, B)N template or nucleation layer on the substrate, and growing the semipolar (Ga, Al, In, B)N thin films, heterostructures or devices on the planar semipolar (Ga, Al, In, B)N template or nucleation layer. The method results in a large area of the semipolar (Ga, Al, In, B)N thin films, heterostructures, and devices being parallel to the substrate surface. |
| US08686463B2 |
Capping system
A capping system includes: a moving portion moving a stem, on which an optical semiconductor element is mounted, horizontally; a fixer fixing a cap having a window, on the stem; a camera taking an image of the cap and the stem from above the cap and the stem; a detector detecting whether the optical semiconductor element is present within a visual field of the camera; and a searching action controller controlling the moving portion to move the stem so the detector searches the optical semiconductor element. The searching action controller causes searching radially and outwardly from a search starting point. |
| US08686461B2 |
Light emitting diode (LED) die having stepped substrates and method of fabrication
A light emitting diode (LED) die includes a first substrate having a first surface and an opposing second surface; a second substrate on the second surface of the first substrate; a p-type semiconductor layer on the first surface of the first substrate; a multiple quantum well (MQW) layer on the p-type semiconductor layer configured to emit light; and an n-type semiconductor layer on the multiple quantum well (MQW) layer. |
| US08686459B2 |
Light-transmitting metal electrode and process for production thereof
The present invention provides a light-transmitting metal electrode including a substrate and a metal electrode layer having plural openings. The metal electrode layer also has such a continuous metal part that any pair of point-positions in the part is continuously connected without breaks. The openings in the metal electrode layer are periodically arranged to form plural microdomains. The plural microdomains are so placed that the in-plane arranging directions thereof are oriented independently of each other. The thickness of the metal electrode layer is in the range of 10 to 200 nm. |
| US08686457B2 |
Method for manufacturing substrate for semiconductor light emitting element and semiconductor light emitting element using the same
A light emitting element having a recess-protrusion structure on a substrate is provided. A semiconductor light emitting element 100 has a light emitting structure of a semiconductor 20 on a first main surface of a substrate 10. The first main surface of the substrate 10 has substrate protrusion portion 11, the bottom surface 14 of each protrusion is wider than the top surface 13 thereof in a cross-section, or the top surface 13 is included in the bottom surface 14 in a top view of the substrate. The bottom surface 14 has an approximately polygonal shape, and the top surface 13 has an approximately circular or polygonal shape with more sides than that of the bottom surface 14. |
| US08686453B2 |
Light emitting device, light emitting device package, and lighting system
Provided is a light emitting device. The light emitting device comprises: In one embodiment, a light emitting device includes: a light emitting structure comprising a first conductive type semiconductor layer, a second conductive type semiconductor layer, and an active layer between the first conductive type semiconductor layer and the second conductive type semiconductor layer; and a conductive support member under the light emitting structure. The conductive support member comprises a first conductive support member and a second conductive support member. The second conductive support member has a thermal conductivity higher than that of the first conductive support member. |
| US08686441B2 |
Life-improved semiconductor light emitting device
A semiconductor light emitting device includes first and second semiconductor layers, an active region, a transparent electrically-conducting layer 13, a reflecting structure 20, and a first electrode. The second semiconductor layer has a conductivity different from the first semiconductor layer. The active region is arranged between the first and second semiconductor layers. The transparent electrically-conducting layer 13 is arranged on or above the first semiconductor layer. The reflecting structure 20 is arranged on or above the transparent electrically-conducting layer 13. The first electrode is arranged on or above the reflecting structure 20, and electrically connected to the first semiconductor layer. The reflecting structure 20 includes at least a reflective layer 16. An intermediate layer 17 is interposed between the transparent electrically-conducting layer 13 and the reflecting structure 20. The intermediate layer 17 is formed of a material containing an element with larger ionization tendency than the reflective layer 16. |
| US08686434B2 |
Silicon carbide semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same
There is provided a silicon carbide semiconductor device having excellent electrical characteristics such as channel mobility, and a method for manufacturing the same. A semiconductor device includes a substrate made of silicon carbide and having an off-angle of greater than or equal to 50° and less than or equal to 65° with respect to a surface orientation of {0001}, a p-type layer serving as a semiconductor layer, and an oxide film serving as an insulating film. The p-type layer is formed on the substrate and is made of silicon carbide. The oxide film is formed to contact with a surface of the p-type layer. A maximum value of the concentration of nitrogen atoms in a region within 10 nm of an interface between the semiconductor layer and the insulating film (interface between a channel region and the oxide film) is greater than or equal to 1×1021 cm−3. |
| US08686433B2 |
Light emitting device and light emitting device package
A light emitting device includes a light emitting layer, a substrate that is transparent to an emission wavelength of the light emitting layer and positioned to receive an emission wavelength from the light emitting layer, a convex pattern including a collection of a plurality of convex portions discretely arranged on a front surface of the substrate with a first pitch, an n type nitride semiconductor layer located on the front surface of the substrate to cover the convex pattern and a p type nitride semiconductor layer located on the light emitting layer. The light emitting layer is located on the n type semiconductor layer. Each of the convex portions includes a sub convex pattern comprising a plurality of fine convex portions discretely formed at the top of the convex portion with a second pitch smaller than the first pitch, and a base supporting the sub convex pattern. |
| US08686427B2 |
Liquid crystal display and method of manufacturing the same
A display apparatus includes a first substrate including pixels, a second substrate facing the first substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. Each of the pixels includes a thin film transistor disposed on a first insulating substrate, a first protective layer that covers the thin film transistor and includes a SiOC layer, a first electrode disposed on the first protective layer, a second protective layer that covers the first electrode, and a second electrode disposed on the second protective layer. |
| US08686425B2 |
Method for manufacturing semiconductor device
A larger substrate can be used, and a transistor having a desirably high field-effect mobility can be manufactured through formation of an oxide semiconductor layer having a high degree of crystallinity, whereby a large-sized display device, a high-performance semiconductor device, or the like can be put into practical use. A first multi-component oxide semiconductor layer is formed over a substrate and a single-component oxide semiconductor layer is formed thereover; then, crystal growth is carried out from a surface to an inside by performing heat treatment at 500° C. to 1000° C. inclusive, preferably 550° C. to 750° C. inclusive so that a first multi-component oxide semiconductor layer including single crystal regions and a single-component oxide semiconductor layer including single crystal regions are formed; and a second multi-component oxide semiconductor layer including single crystal regions is stacked over the single-component oxide semiconductor layer including single crystal regions. |
| US08686423B2 |
Thin film transistor substrate and manufacturing method thereof
A thin film transistor array panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a substrate, a gate line formed on the substrate, a gate insulating layer formed on the gate line, a semiconductor layer formed on the gate insulating layer, and a data line formed on the semiconductor layer, wherein the data line comprises a lower data layer, an upper data layer, a data oxide layer, and a buffer layer, wherein the upper data layer and the buffer layer comprise a same material. |
| US08686420B2 |
Organic light emitting diode display and method for manufacturing the same
An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display includes a substrate including a plurality of pixels defined thereon, a thin film transistor (TFT) positioned at each pixel, a negative electrode electrically connected to the TFT, an organic emission layer positioned on the negative electrode, and a positive electrode positioned on the organic emission layer, the positive electrode including an auxiliary layer positioned on the organic emission layer, a conductive layer positioned on the auxiliary layer, and an insulation layer positioned on the conductive layer. |
| US08686417B2 |
Oxide semiconductor device formed by using multi-tone mask
An object is to manufacture a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor at low cost with high productivity in such a manner that a photolithography process is simplified by reducing the number of light-exposure masks. In a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a channel-etched inverted-staggered thin film transistor, an oxide semiconductor film and a conductive film are etched using a mask layer formed with the use of a multi-tone mask which is a light-exposure mask through which light is transmitted so as to have a plurality of intensities. In etching steps, a first etching step is performed by wet etching in which an etchant is used, and a second etching step is performed by dry etching in which an etching gas is used. |
| US08686409B2 |
Method of repairing short circuit defect, and display apparatus and organic light emitting display apparatus manufactured according to the repairing method
A method of repairing a defective pixel in a display apparatus that includes forming an insulating layer to cover the plurality of second signal wires, cutting both sides of a region of the corresponding second signal wire of the defective pixel and the insulating layer to form both sides of a cut region, forming contact holes adjacent to the both sides of the cut region, respectively, such that an upper portion of the corresponding second signal wire is exposed, forming a repair metal layer on the insulating layer to contact the contact holes and the second signal wire, and forming a repair insulating layer to cover the repair metal layer. |
| US08686407B2 |
Transparent display apparatus with transparent electroluminescent display unit
A display apparatus includes a driving substrate and an organic light emitting diode device. The driving substrate includes a display area, a non-display area, a substrate and a transparent driving element. The transparent driving element is disposed in the non-display area to form a transparent region. The organic light emitting diode device is disposed over the driving substrate and located in the display area to form a non-transparent region. |
| US08686400B2 |
Light emitting device having a light emitting structure including an interface layer
Disclosed herein is a light emitting device including a light emitting structure including a first conductivity-type semiconductor layer, a second conductivity-type semiconductor layer, and an active layer including at least one combination of a well layer of a first composition formed of a nitride-semiconductor material having first electronic energy and a barrier layer of a second composition formed of a nitride-semiconductor material having higher electronic energy than the first electronic energy, and an interface layer disposed between the second conductivity-type semiconductor layer and the active layer or between the first conductivity-type semiconductor layer and the active layer. The interface layer includes first, second and third layers having different energy bandgaps, the energy bandgaps of the first and second layers are greater than the energy bandgap of the barrier layer, and the energy bandgap of the third layer is less than the energy bandgap of the barrier layer. |
| US08686395B2 |
Bond type flip-chip light-emitting structure and method of manufacturing the same
A bond type flip-chip light-emitting structure and method of manufacturing the same. Firstly, form a positive electrode and a negative electrode on an epitaxy layer. Next, deposit an insulation layer on parts of the positive electrode and negative electrode, to expose respectively a positive electrode via hole and a negative electrode via hole. Then, form a bonded metal layer on the insulation layer, the positive electrode via hole, and the negative electrode via hole, so that the positive electrode and the negative electrode are on a same plane by means of the bonded metal layer. Finally, on a substrate, bond the first metal layer and the second metal layer onto the corresponding first bonded metal unit and the second bonded metal unit of the bonded metal layer, to form into shape, thus realizing a bond type flip-chip light-emitting structure. |
| US08686393B2 |
Integrated circuit semiconductor devices including channel trenches and related methods of manufacturing
An integrated circuit device may include a semiconductor substrate including an active region and a transistor in the active region. The transistor may include first and second spaced apart source/drain regions in the active region of the semiconductor substrate, and a semiconductor channel region between the first and second source/drain regions. The semiconductor channel region may include a plurality of channel trenches therein between the first and second source/drain regions. A gate insulating layer may be provided on the channel region including sidewalls of the plurality of channel trenches, and a gate electrode may be provided on the gate insulating layer so that the gate insulating layer is between the gate electrode and the semiconductor channel region including the plurality of channel trenches. Related methods are also discussed. |
| US08686392B2 |
Semiconductor device
The semiconductor device includes a memory cell including a plurality of magnetoresistive elements disposed therein, and a peripheral circuit region disposed around the memory cell region. The magnetoresistive element includes a magnetization fixed layer, a magnetization free layer, and a tunneling insulation layer. The semiconductor device includes, above the magnetoresistive elements, a plurality of first wires extending in the direction along the main surface. In the peripheral circuit region, there is disposed a multilayer structure of lamination of a layer equal in material to the magnetization free layer, a layer equal in material to the tunneling insulation layer, and a layer equal in material to the magnetization fixed layer so as to overlap a second wire formed of the same layer as the first wire in plan view. The multilayer structure does not overlap both of a pair of adjacent second wires in plan view in the peripheral circuit region. |
| US08686390B2 |
Nonvolatile memory element having a variable resistance layer whose resistance value changes according to an applied electric signal
Provided is a nonvolatile memory element achieving a stable resistance change and miniaturization, and a method of manufacturing the same. The nonvolatile memory element includes: a first electrode formed above a substrate; an interlayer insulating layer formed above the substrate including the first electrode and having a memory cell hole reaching the first electrode; a barrier layer formed in the memory cell hole and composed of a semiconductor layer or an insulating layer connected to the first electrode; a second electrode formed in the memory cell hole and connected to the barrier layer; a variable resistance layer formed on the second electrode and having a stacked structure whose resistance value changes based on electric signals; and a third electrode connected to the variable resistance layer and formed on the interlayer insulating layer to cover the memory cell hole. |
| US08686389B1 |
Diffusion barrier layer for resistive random access memory cells
Provided are resistive random access memory (ReRAM) cells having diffusion barrier layers formed from various materials, such as beryllium oxide or titanium silicon nitrides. Resistive switching layers used in ReRAM cells often need to have at least one inert interface such that substantially no materials pass through this interface. The other (reactive) interface may be used to introduce and remove defects from the resistive switching layers causing the switching. While some electrode materials, such as platinum and doped polysilicon, may form inert interfaces, these materials are often difficult to integrate. To expand electrode material options, a diffusion barrier layer is disposed between an electrode and a resistive switching layer and forms the inert interface with the resistive switching layer. In some embodiments, tantalum nitride and titanium nitride may be used for electrodes separated by such diffusion barrier layers. |
| US08686386B2 |
Nonvolatile memory device using a varistor as a current limiter element
Embodiments of the invention include a method of forming a nonvolatile memory device that contains a resistive switching memory element that has improved device switching performance and lifetime, due to the addition of a current limiting component disposed therein. The electrical properties of the current limiting component are configured to lower the current flow through the variable resistance layer during the logic state programming steps by adding a fixed series resistance in the resistive switching memory element of the nonvolatile memory device. In some embodiments, the current limiting component comprises a varistor that is a current limiting material disposed within a resistive switching memory element in a nonvolatile resistive switching memory device. Typically, resistive switching memory elements may be formed as part of a high-capacity nonvolatile memory integrated circuit, which can be used in various electronic devices, such as digital cameras, mobile telephones, handheld computers, and music players. |
| US08686383B2 |
Object holding apparatus, and inspection apparatus
In order to enable high accuracy positioning and strong pressing of a substrate, the present invention provides a substrate holding apparatus including: a rotating bed having an inclined surface supporting a lower side of an outer circumferential side surface of the substrate, which bed rotates on a normal line of the substrate as the rotation axis together with the substrate; a position restriction unit rotating together with the rotating bed and restricting the substrate in a predetermined position on the rotating bed by pressing a plurality of points on the circumference on an upper side of the outer circumferential side surface of the substrate prior to the rotation; and a pressing unit rotating together with the rotating bed and pressing the substrate against the inclined surface by pressing a plurality of points on the upper side of the outer circumferential side surface of the substrate during the rotation. |
| US08686381B2 |
Source-collector module with GIC mirror and tin vapor LPP target system
A source-collector module (SOCOMO) for generating a laser-produced plasma (LPP) that emits EUV radiation, and a grazing-incidence collector (GIC) mirror arranged relative to the LPP and having an input end and an output end. The LPP is formed using an LPP target system having a light source portion and a target portion, wherein a pulsed laser beam from the light source portion irradiates Sn vapor from a Sn vapor source of the target portion. The GIC mirror is arranged relative to the LPP to receive the EUV radiation at its input end and focus the received EUV radiation at an intermediate focus adjacent the output end. A radiation collection enhancement device may be used to increase the amount of EUV radiation provided to the intermediate focus. An EUV lithography system that utilizes the SOCOMO is also disclosed. |
| US08686377B2 |
Diamond sensors, detectors, and quantum devices
A single crystal synthetic CVD diamond material comprising: a growth sector; and a plurality of point defects of one or more type within the growth sector, wherein at least one type of point defect is preferentially aligned within the growth sector, wherein at least 60% of said at least one type of point defect shows said preferential alignment, and wherein the at least one type of point defect is a negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy defect (NV−). |
| US08686372B2 |
Method for the spatially resolved measurement of parameters in a cross section of a beam bundle of high-energy radiation of high intensity
Spatial acquisition of measurement data over a cross section of a high-energy, high-intensity radiation beam bundle without impairment of measuring accuracy due to saturation or degradation of detectors occurs by imaging an entire cross section of the beam bundle on a shading element, the cross section being separated successively into partial beam bundles having reduced cross sections and reduced intensity through movement of at least one opening, whereby measurement values of the partial beam bundles passing the opening are associated temporally and spatially with positions of the opening. |
| US08686371B1 |
Using of enhanced retroreflectors for non-visible light
This is a way interrogating an object using retro-reflection of non-visible light. It uses e.g. IR transmitted toward the object from a distance and covertly detects the retro-reflection. Highly reflective passive non-visible light retroreflectors on the object reflects and refracts light back toward the light transmitter, with the returned light being very nearly parallel to the light from a narrow beam light transmitter. |
| US08686368B2 |
High resolution single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system
A high resolution single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging system comprising: a rotating ring for surrounding anatomy which is to be imaged; at least one camera mount movably mounted to the rotating ring so that the camera mount can be moved radially relative to the axis of rotation of the rotating ring; and at least one gamma camera carried on the at least one camera mount, wherein the at least one gamma camera is focused on a single SPECT focal point; whereby, when the rotating ring is rotated about the anatomy which is to be imaged and the at least one camera mount is moved radially on the rotating ring, the single SPECT focal point of the at least one gamma camera carried by a camera mount follows a spiral pattern through the anatomy, whereby to produce a scan of the anatomy. |
| US08686362B2 |
Millimeter wave sensor for far-field standoff vibrometry
A millimeter wavelength (MMW) measurement system for remote detection of object characteristics and methods for detecting such characteristics. The MMW measurement system comprises a front-end and an optional signal conditioning component. The MMW front-end includes an oscillator, a transceiver portion, and an antenna for focusing a detection component comprising micrometer level wavelength electromagnetic radiation onto the object. A portion of the electromagnetic radiation reflected by the object is received by the MMW measurement system, which is indicative of a displacement of the object. The MMW system may be configured to detect micrometer level displacement of the object disposed tens of meters from the MMW measurement system. In various embodiments the object may be a natural object, including a human, and the displacement may be indicative of a heart rate and/or a respiratory function. |
| US08686359B2 |
Characterization of nanoscale structures using an ultrafast electron microscope
The present invention relates to methods and systems for 4D ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM)—in situ imaging with ultrafast time resolution in TEM. Single electron imaging is used as a component of the 4D UEM technique to provide high spatial and temporal resolution unavailable using conventional techniques. Other embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems for convergent beam UEM, focusing the electron beams onto the specimen to measure structural characteristics in three dimensions as a function of time. Additionally, embodiments provide not only 4D imaging of specimens, but characterization of electron energy, performing time resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). |
| US08686355B2 |
Detection system assembly, dryer cartridge, and regenerator and methods for making and using the same
A detection system assembly is provided. The detection system assembly includes a detector system including a housing having a sample port configured to receive a sample of an unknown substance, a detector assembly in flow communication with the sample port, and a pump in flow communication with the detector assembly. The detection system assembly further includes a dryer cartridge removably coupled to an outer surface of the housing of the detector system. The dryer cartridge is in flow communication with the pump and the detector assembly. |
| US08686352B2 |
Systems and computer program products for mass spectrometry
A mass spectrometry system is mounted with (1) an action planning module for determining a measurement schedule provided by a combination of an MS analysis and an MSn analysis (where n≧2) according to a measuring time provided previously; and (2) a mass spectrometry unit having a tandem mass spectrometry function for outputting a mass spectrum obtained by performing each measurement action constructing the measurement schedule. |
| US08686345B2 |
Standby circuit
The present invention discloses a standby circuit. The standby circuit is coupled to an electric device for providing a standby voltage to the electric device when the electric device is not turned on. The standby circuit includes a light emitting module and an energy converter. The light emitting module receives an AC current and is driven by the AC current to generate light. The energy converter receives the light generated by the light emitting module and converts the light into the standby voltage. Therefore, the present invention can simplify the design of traditional standby circuit in a television. |
| US08686343B2 |
Avalanche photodiode circuits with protection against damage from sudden increases in incident light level
An avalanche photodiode circuit, comprising an avalanche photodiode typically connected in parallel to a capacitor, in which there is provided a current shunt circuit which activates to shunt current from the avalanche photodiode in response to detecting a decrease in the impedance of the avalanche photodiode, typically measured by determining the slope of the voltage across the avalanche photodiode. By using this circuit, the avalanche photodiode can be protected from sudden increases in incident light level decreasing the impedance of the avalanche photodiode to an extent that the energy such as is stored in the capacitor can damage the structure of the avalanche photodiode. |
| US08686337B2 |
Solid-state imaging device, solid-state imaging device manufacturing method, electronic device, and lens array
A solid-state imaging device includes: multiple micro lenses, which are disposed in each of a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, focus the incident light into the light-receiving surface; with the multiple micro lenses of which the planar shape is a shape including a portion divided by a side extending in the first direction and a side extending in the second direction being disposed arrayed mutually adjacent to each of the first direction and the second direction; and with the multiple micro lenses being formed so that the depth of a groove between micro lenses arrayed in a third direction is deeper than the depth of a groove between micro lenses arrayed in the first direction, and also the curvature of the lens surface in the third direction is higher than the curvature of the lens surface in the first direction. |
| US08686331B2 |
Dynamic wavefront control of a frequency converted laser system
The present invention is directed to a laser system in which a current laser wavefront performance of the laser system may be monitored. Further, the laser system embodiments disclosed herein may be configured for correcting the laser wavefront internally via correction system(s) within the laser system. Still further, the correction system(s) disclosed herein may provide a long lifetime of performance and may be configured for having a minimal impact on photocontamination. |
| US08686326B1 |
Optical-flow techniques for improved terminal homing and control
In certain aspects, this invention is a “control system” that detects and minimizes (or otherwise optimizes) an angle between vehicle centerline (or other reference axis) and vehicle velocity vector—as for JDAM penetration. Preferably detection is exclusively by optical flow (which herein encompasses sonic and other imaging), without data influence by navigation. In other aspects, the invention is a “guidance system”, with optical-flow subsystem to detect an angle between the vehicle velocity vector and line of sight to a destination—either a desired or an undesired destination. Here, vehicle trajectory is adjusted in response to detected angle, for optimum angle, e.g. to either home in on a desired destination or avoid an undesired destination (or rendezvous), and follow a path that's ideal for the particular mission—preferably by controlling an autopilot or applying information from navigation. Purposes include real-time angle optimization to improve autopilots or guidance, and vehicle development or testing. |
| US08686321B2 |
Method for supplying power to induction cooking zones of an induction cooking hob having a plurality of power converters, and induction cooking hob using such method
A method for supplying power to induction cooking zones of an induction cooking hob with a plurality of power converters, each feeding an induction heating element, comprises feeding all the induction heating elements according to a predetermined and repetitive driving sequence in order to keep a predetermined delivered power to the induction heating elements according to user input. |
| US08686319B2 |
Vehicle transparency heated with alternating current
A heatable transparency comprises a substrate and an electrically conductive coating formed over at least a portion of the substrate. A power supply is in contact with the conductive coating. The power supply is configured to provide alternating current (AC) to the conductive coating. |
| US08686317B2 |
Removable nozzle-cooling mechanism for welding torches
A removable cooling collar is provided for cooling the nozzle of a welding nozzle. This collar includes first and second parts in fluid communication with a chamber that extends circumferentially within a hollow structure. Cooling fluid circulating through the chamber facilitates dissipation and/or extraction of heat in the nozzle, in turn reducing the likelihood of weld splatter adhesion on the nozzle. |
| US08686315B2 |
Laser irradiation method and laser irradiation device and method of manufacturing semiconductor device
The present invention is characterized in that by laser beam being slantly incident to the convex lens, an aberration such as astigmatism or the like is occurred, and the shape of the laser beam is made linear on the irradiation surface or in its neighborhood. Since the present invention has a very simple configuration, the optical adjustment is easier, and the device becomes compact in size. Furthermore, since the beam is slantly incident with respect to the irradiated body, the return beam can be prevented. |
| US08686313B2 |
System and methods for forming apertures in microfeature workpieces
Systems and methods for forming apertures in microfeature workpieces are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method includes directing a laser beam toward a microfeature workpiece to form an aperture and sensing the laser beam pass through the microfeature workpiece in real time. The method can further include determining a number of pulses of the laser beam and/or an elapsed time to form the aperture and controlling the laser beam based on the determined number of pulses and/or the determined elapsed time to form a second aperture in the microfeature workpiece. |
| US08686304B2 |
Electrical switching apparatus including two poles and a single operating handle
An electrical switching apparatus includes an enclosure having an opening, a single operating handle disposed through the enclosure opening, a first pole disposed in the enclosure and including first separable contacts, a first operating mechanism to open and close the first contacts, and a first operating member cooperating with the first operating mechanism to open and close the first contacts. A second pole is disposed in the enclosure and includes second separable contacts, a second operating mechanism to open and close the second contacts, and a second operating member cooperating with the second operating mechanism to open and close the second contacts. The single operating handle, centered between parallel poles, includes a first projection within the enclosure cooperating with the first operating member to open and close the first contacts, and a second projection within the enclosure cooperating with the second operating member to open and close the second contacts. |
| US08686302B2 |
Selector switch assembly for load tap changer
A selector switch assembly for a load tap changer includes a bevel gear coupled with a motor drive shaft. A shaft assembly is coupled with the bevel gear and a switch is provided for each phase. Each switch includes a helical gear fixed to the shaft assembly, a Geneva pinion gear engaged with the helical gear, a first Geneva gear wheel mounted on a first shaft moved by a first follower of the pinion gear, a first contact arm associated with the first Geneva gear wheel to rotate therewith, a second Geneva gear wheel mounted on a second shaft and moved by a second follower of the pinion gear, and a second contact arm associated with the second Geneva gear wheel so as to rotate therewith. The contact arms include contacts that engage fixed contacts that define tap positions of the load tap changer. |
| US08686300B2 |
Printed wiring board and method for manufacturing the same
A printed wiring board includes a resin insulation layer having a first surface and a second surface on an opposite side of the first surface, the resin insulation layer having an opening for a first via conductor, a pad formed on the first surface of the resin insulation layer and provided to mount an electronic component, a first conductive circuit formed on the second surface of the resin insulation layer, and a first via conductor formed in the opening and connecting the pad and the first conductive circuit. The pad has an embedded portion embedded in the resin insulation layer and a protruding portion protruding from the resin insulation layer, and the embedded portion has an external shape which is greater than an external shape the protruding portion. |
| US08686296B2 |
Electronic device having heat dissipation device
An exemplary heat dissipation device includes a bracket, and heat sink and a pressing member. The bracket includes a bottom plate. An opening is defined in the bottom plate. Two supporting portions are formed from an underside of the bottom plate. The heat sink extends through the opening of the bracket, with bottom edges of the heat sink rested on the supporting portions. The pressing member is mounted on the bracket and elastically presses the heat sink onto the supporting portions. |
| US08686293B2 |
Silane-crosslinked polyolefin insulated wire
A silane-crosslinked polyolefin insulated wire includes a conductor, and an insulating cover layer extruded on an outer periphery of the conductor. The insulating cover layer includes a silane-crosslinked polyolefin to be cross-linked by reacting water with a polyolefin having an alkoxysilyl group as a side chain. The insulating cover layer further includes a guanidine derivative having a boiling point of not less than 170° C. and a melting point of less than 190° C. in an environment at 760 mmHg as a crosslinking promoter to promote crosslinking of the polyolefin in an amount of not less than 0.05 parts by mass and not more than 0.5 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the polyolefin. |
| US08686292B2 |
Tunable resistance conductive ink circuit
The method and system of high-resistance, multiple-conductor flat cables which contain integral tunable resistance sections suitable for fine tuning the resistance of a conductor to match the resistance of the conductors to one another within a specified target value. The method involves the design and creation of the high-resistance, multiple-conductor flat cables and the tuning of the resistance of the conductor. |
| US08686290B2 |
Submarine electric power transmission cable armour transition
An electric power transmission cable includes at least one first section provided with cable armor made of a first metallic material, and at least one second section provided with a cable armor made of a second metallic material, wherein the second metallic material has ferromagnetic properties substantially lower than those of the first metallic material. |
| US08686288B2 |
Power electronics interconnection for electric motor drives
The bus bar includes a first bus bar layer formed of a first generally uniform thickness of a first bus bar conductor; a first dielectric layer overlying a top surface of the first bus bar layer; and a second bus bar layer formed of a second generally uniform thickness of a second bus bar conductor overlying a top surface of the first dielectric layer and the top surface of the first bus bar layer wherein: the first bus bar layer includes a first via for receipt of a first electrical lead of an electrical component and a second via for receipt of a second electrical lead of the electrical component and wherein: the first dielectric layer and the second bus bar layer each include a via aligned with the first via wherein the first electrical lead is extendable from beneath the first bus bar layer through the first dielectric layer and through the second bus bar layer. |
| US08686277B2 |
Microelectronic assembly including built-in thermoelectric cooler and method of fabricating same
A method for fabricating a microelectronic assembly including a built-in TEC, a microelectronic assembly including a built-in TEC, and a system including the microelectronic assembly. The method includes providing a microelectronic device, and fabricating the TEC directly onto the microelectronic device such that there is no mounting material between the TEC and the microelectronic device. |
| US08686273B2 |
Recording and selecting a region of a media track
A program product, a graphical user interface, a computer system including such a graphical user interface and method for recording and selecting a region of a media track are described. Such a method comprises storing multiple takes of the same region of a media track and storing a data structure representing a take container to store multiple takes. |
| US08686272B2 |
Method and system for music recommendation based on immunology
An artificial intelligence song/music recommendation system and method is provided that allows music shoppers to discover new music. The system and method accomplish these tasks by analyzing a database of music in order to identify key similarities between different pieces of music, and then recommends pieces of music to a user depending upon their music preferences. Once the song files have been analyzed and mapped, this system uses four layers, metaphorically equivalent to the human immune system, to provide music recommendation. |
| US08686269B2 |
Providing realistic interaction to a player of a music-based video game
A simulated musical instrument may be used to alter the audio of a video game, the video aspects of video game, or both. Use of a controller simulating a musical instrument allows a rhythm-action game can be enjoyed in a manner closer to a realistic state of playing an instrument. |
| US08686268B1 |
System of associating sheet music notation with keyboard keys and sight reading
A system of associating sheet music notation with keyboard keys of a keyboard instrument and sight reading comprises a rectilinear colored strip adapted to be disposed upon the keyboard instrument. The colored strip includes first and second sets of markings corresponding to first and second octaves of the keyboard. Each of the sets includes wide markings corresponding to white keys of the keyboard and narrow markings corresponding to black keys thereof. Each of the wide markings of the first set is color-coded with a first color and each of the wide markings of the second set is color-coded with a second color different from the second color. The system further comprises a musical notation including musical notes color-coded with the same colors the first and second sets of markings on the colored rectilinear strip. |
| US08686257B1 |
Maize inbred PH1M1K
A novel maize variety designated PH1M1K and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH1M1K with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH1M1K through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PH1M1K or a locus conversion of PH1M1K with another maize variety. |
| US08686248B1 |
Maize hybrid X05B912
A novel maize variety designated X05B912 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 X05B912 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X05B912 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X05B912, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X05B912. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X05B912. |
| US08686245B1 |
Maize variety hybrid X13B641
A novel maize variety designated X13B641 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 X13B641 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into X13B641 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. This invention relates to the maize variety X13B641, the seed, the plant produced from the seed, and variants, mutants, and minor modifications of maize variety X13B641. This invention further relates to methods for producing maize varieties derived from maize variety X13B641. |
| US08686244B1 |
Maize variety inbred PH1D03
A novel maize variety designated PH1D03 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH1D03 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH1D03 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PH1D03 or a locus conversion of PH1D03 with another maize variety. |
| US08686242B1 |
Soybean variety XBP38011
A novel soybean variety, designated XBP38011 is provided. Also provided are the seeds of soybean variety XBP38011, cells from soybean variety XBP38011, plants of soybean XBP38011, and plant parts of soybean variety XBP38011. Methods provided include producing a soybean plant by crossing soybean variety XBP38011 with another soybean plant, methods for introgressing a transgenic trait, a mutant trait, and/or a native trait into soybean variety XBP38011, methods for producing other soybean varieties or plant parts derived from soybean variety XBP38011, and methods of characterizing soybean variety XBP38011. Soybean seed, cells, plants, germplasm, breeding lines, varieties, and plant parts produced by these methods and/or derived from soybean variety XBP38011 are further provided. |
| US08686241B2 |
Soybean variety XB21F12
A novel soybean variety, designated XB21F12 is provided. Also provided are the seeds of soybean variety XB21F12, cells from soybean variety XB21F12, plants of soybean XB21F12, and plant parts of soybean variety XB21F12. Methods provided include producing a soybean plant by crossing soybean variety XB21F12 with another soybean plant, methods for introgressing a transgenic trait, a mutant trait, and/or a native trait into soybean variety XB21F12, methods for producing other soybean varieties or plant parts derived from soybean variety XB21F12, and methods of characterizing soybean variety XB21F12. Soybean seed, cells, plants, germplasm, breeding lines, varieties, and plant parts produced by these methods and/or derived from soybean variety XB21F12 are further provided. |
| US08686237B1 |
Soybean variety XB38AR12
A novel soybean variety, designated XB38AR12 is provided. Also provided are the seeds of soybean variety XB38AR12, cells from soybean variety XB38AR12, plants of soybean XB38AR12, and plant parts of soybean variety XB38AR12. Methods provided include producing a soybean plant by crossing soybean variety XB38AR12 with another soybean plant, methods for introgressing a transgenic trait, a mutant trait, and/or a native trait into soybean variety XB38AR12, methods for producing other soybean varieties or plant parts derived from soybean variety XB38AR12, and methods of characterizing soybean variety XB38AR12. Soybean seed, cells, plants, germplasm, breeding lines, varieties, and plant parts produced by these methods and/or derived from soybean variety XB38AR12 are further provided. |
| US08686236B1 |
Soybean variety XBP18005
A novel soybean variety, designated XBP18005 is provided. Also provided are the seeds of soybean variety XBP18005, cells from soybean variety XBP18005, plants of soybean XBP18005, and plant parts of soybean variety XBP18005. Methods provided include producing a soybean plant by crossing soybean variety XBP18005 with another soybean plant, methods for introgressing a transgenic trait, a mutant trait, and/or a native trait into soybean variety XBP18005, methods for producing other soybean varieties or plant parts derived from soybean variety XBP18005, and methods of characterizing soybean variety XBP18005. Soybean seed, cells, plants, germplasm, breeding lines, varieties, and plant parts produced by these methods and/or derived from soybean variety XBP18005 are further provided. |
| US08686235B1 |
Soybean variety XB45E12
A novel soybean variety, designated XB45E12 is provided. Also provided are the seeds of soybean variety XB45E12, cells from soybean variety XB45E12, plants of soybean XB45E12, and plant parts of soybean variety XB45E12. Methods provided include producing a soybean plant by crossing soybean variety XB45E12 with another soybean plant, methods for introgressing a transgenic trait, a mutant trait, and/or a native trait into soybean variety XB45E12, methods for producing other soybean varieties or plant parts derived from soybean variety XB45E12, and methods of characterizing soybean variety XB45E12. Soybean seed, cells, plants, germplasm, breeding lines, varieties, and plant parts produced by these methods and/or derived from soybean variety XB45E12 are further provided. |
| US08686233B2 |
Bacillus thuringiensis crystal polypeptides, polynucleotides, and compositions thereof
The present invention provides insecticidal polypeptides related to shuffled Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1 polypeptides. Nucleic acids encoding the polypeptides of the invention are also provided. Methods for using the polypeptides and nucleic acids of the invention to enhance resistance of plants to insect predation are encompassed. |
| US08686227B2 |
Polynucleotides, polypeptides encoded thereby, and methods of using same for increasing abiotic stress tolerance and/or biomass and/or yield in plants expressing same
Provided are methods of increasing tolerance of a plant to abiotic stress, and/or increasing biomass, growth rate, vigor and/or yield of a plant. The methods are effected by expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 90% homologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:201, 207, 212, 202-206, 208-211, 213-391, 1655, 961-1529, and 1660-1663. Also provided are polynucleotides, nucleic acid constructs, polypeptides and transgenic plants expressing same which can be used to increase tolerance of a plant to abiotic stress, and/or increase biomass, growth rate, vigor and/or yield of a plant. |
| US08686223B2 |
Genetic transformation of jatropha curcas
The present invention relates to methods for the regeneration and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of plants in the genera of Jatropha, more specifically, in Jatropha curcas. |
| US08686221B2 |
Plants having improved growth characteristics under reduced nutrient availability and a method for making the same
The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology and concerns a method for improving plant growth characteristics relative to wild type plants. More specifically, the present invention concerns a method for increasing yield in plants grown under reduced nutrient availability, relative to corresponding wild type plants, comprising modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a class I homeodomain leucine zipper (HDZip) hox5 polypeptide or a homologue thereof. |
| US08686220B1 |
Maize inbred PH1KVG
A novel maize variety designated PH1KVG and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH1KVG with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH1KVG through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PH1KVG or a locus conversion of PH1KVG with another maize variety. |
| US08686216B2 |
Superabsorbent composition with metal salicylate for odor control
The present invention relates to a water-absorbing particulate composition comprising water-absorbing polymer particulate structure comprising partly neutralized, crosslinked polyacrylate, a surface crosslinking agent and a compound of the structure I in which R1, R2, R3 and R4 can be identical or different and in each case represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a C1- to C4-hydrocarbon group or a hydroxyl group, R5 represents a hydrogen atom, a C1- to C4-hydrocarbon group or an acetyl group, n represents an integer chosen from the group consisting of 1, 2 or 3 and Mn+ represents an n-valent metal cation or an H+ cation. In addition, the present invention also relates to a process for the preparation of a water-absorbing composition, the water-absorbing composition obtainable by this process, a composite, a process for the production of a composite, the composite obtainable by this process, and products, such as hygiene articles. |
| US08686214B2 |
Post-nipple reconstruction protector
An improved post-operative dressing for providing both breast and, notably, nipple reconstruction and which in particular establishes custom lateral supporting of the nipple annulus. A body is constructed of a medical grade silicone and exhibits a three dimensional shape adapted for placement over the reconstructed breast and an aperture defined by an inner rim configured within the body is adapted to seat therethrough an associated nipple graft in a laterally supporting and non-pressure applied fashion. A number of secondary advantages incorporated into the body include each of apertures for breathability, suction/adherence properties, and impregnation or entrainment within the body inner surface of any form of anti-infection medicine. |
| US08686212B2 |
Process for treatment of ethylene
Process for removing water from an ethylene stream containing water, by introducing an ethylene stream containing water into, and circulating the ethylene stream through, a separation vessel. A liquid diethyl ether stream is introduced into, and circulated through, the separation vessel so that the liquid diethyl ether stream and the ethylene stream containing water are brought into contact, and an ethylene stream having a reduced water content is recovered from the separation vessel. |
| US08686206B2 |
Single loop multistage fuel production
Synthetic fuels are produced from synthesis gas in a four-stage reactor system with a single recycle loop providing the requisite thermal capacity to moderate the high heat release of the reactions and to provide the reactants and reaction environments for the efficient operation of the process. The first stage converts a portion of the synthesis gas to methanol, the second stage converts the methanol to dimethylether, the third stage converts the methanol and dimethylether to fuel and the fourth stage converts the high melting point component, durene, and other low volatility aromatic components such as tri- and tetra-methylbenzenes to high octane branched paraffins. |
| US08686204B2 |
Methods for co-processing biorenewable feedstock and petroleum distillate feedstock
Methods for co-processing a biorenewable feedstock and a petroleum distillate feedstock are provided. The petroleum distillate feedstock containing sulfur is reacted with hydrogen gas in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst thereby forming an effluent mixture comprising hydrogen sulfide. A combined feed comprising the effluent mixture, optionally a recycle liquid, and the biorenewable feedstock is contacted with hydrogen gas in a reaction zone with a deoxygenation catalyst under reaction conditions to provide a reaction product comprising a hydrocarbon fraction. The combined feed comprises greater than 50 weight percent biorenewable feedstock. |
| US08686202B2 |
Renewable engine fuel and method of producing same
The present invention provides high-octane fuel, and a method of producing same. These fuels may be formulated to have a wide range of octane values and energy, and may effectively be used to replace 100 LL aviation fuel (known as AvGas), as well as high-octane, rocket, diesel, turbine engine fuels, as well as two-cycle, spark-ignited engine fuels. |
| US08686201B2 |
Integrated acid and alcohol production process having flashing to recover acid production catalyst
In one embodiment, the invention is to a process for producing ethanol, comprising the step of reacting carbon monoxide with at least one reactant in a reactor containing a reaction medium to produce a liquid reaction product comprising acetic acid. The process further comprises the step of separating the reaction product in a flasher into a liquid recycle stream and a vapor stream. The vapor stream is then distilled in a rectification tower and an overhead stream and an acetic acid stream are withdrawn therefrom, wherein the acetic acid is substantially free of halogen promoters. The process further comprises the step of hydrogenating acetic acid of the acetic acid stream in the presence of a second catalyst and under conditions effective to form a crude ethanol product comprising ethanol and water. Ethanol is recovered from the crude ethanol product. |
| US08686196B2 |
Optically isotropic liquid crystal medium and optical device
A liquid crystal medium, which has a liquid crystal phase over a wide temperature range, a large refractive index anisotropy, and a large dielectric anisotropy, and exhibits an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase, is provided. The liquid crystal medium is characterized by containing a liquid crystal compound having four benzene rings and a difluoromethyleneoxy group, and a chiral reagent, and exhibiting an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase. |
| US08686193B2 |
Method for producing M-substituted phenylalkanols by means of isomerization
The invention relates to a process for the preparation of m-substituted phenylalkanols of the formula (I) in which R1 is C1-C5-alkyl and R2, R3, R4 and R5, independently of one another, are hydrogen or methyl, wherein a p-substituted phenylalkanol of the formula (II) in which R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 having the meanings given under formula (I), is isomerized in the presence of a Friedel-Crafts catalyst to give an m-substituted phenylalkanol of the formula (I). From the m-substituted phenylalkanols of the formula (I) it is possible to form, by oxidation or dehydrogenation, as products of value, the corresponding aldehydes, which are known as fragrances and aroma chemicals. |
| US08686192B2 |
Method for the conversion of cellulose and related carbohydrate materials to low-molecular-weight compounds
Methods of converting cellulose or related biorenewable carbohydrate materials into high-value chemical compounds. The methods provide a means of converting low-cost materials such as cellulose and biomass into high yields of compounds such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glycerin, methanol, hydroxyacetone, glycolaldehyde and dihydroxyacetone. |
| US08686188B2 |
Process for preparing 4-aminodiphenylamine
A method for refining an organic composition containing 4-aminodiphenylamine, aniline, azobenzene, and phenazine, having the steps of feeding the organic composition to a first rectification column, producing a first effluent composition containing aniline, azobenzene, phenazine, and a small amount of 4-aminodiphenylamine at the top of the first rectification column and a second effluent composition containing crude 4-aminodiphenylamine at the bottom of the first rectification column, feeding the second effluent composition to a second rectification column, and producing a 4-aminodiphenylamine composition at the top of the second rectification column and a residual composition at the bottom of the second rectification column. |
| US08686185B2 |
Manufacturing method of 2-hydroxy-5-phenylalkylaminobenzoic acid derivatives and their salts
The present invention provides an efficient method for mass-producing 2-hydroxy-5-(substituted)phenylalkylamino benzoic acid derivatives represented by specific Chemical formulas or their salts, particularly 2-hydroxy-5-[2-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)ethylamino]benzoic acid or its salt. |
| US08686184B2 |
Neprilysin inhibitors
In one aspect, the invention relates to compounds having the formula: where R1, R2, R3, a, R4, R5, and R6 are as defined in the specification, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. These compounds have neprilysin inhibition activity. In another aspect, the invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising such compounds; methods of using such compounds; and process and intermediates for preparing such compounds. |
| US08686182B2 |
Process for preparing isocyanates and/or polyisocyanates
The invention relates to a process for preparing isocyanates and/or polyisocyanates by reacting the corresponding amines with phosgene, optionally in the presence of an inert medium, in a reactor (1), a first reactant stream comprising the amine being supplied to the reactor (1) in liquid form, and a second reactant stream comprising the phosgene being supplied to the reactor in gaseous form. The reactor is a centrifugal reactor (1) having a packing (9) which rotates about a central axis (7) in a housing (13), the first reactant stream and the second reactant stream being supplied to the rotating packing (9) such that the reactant streams are mixed due to the centrifugal force in the rotating packing (9) and are transported outward, the mixing in the rotating packing (9) resulting in reaction of the phosgene with the amine to give the corresponding isocyanate or polyisocyanate. |
| US08686179B2 |
Fluorinated aromatic bis(acyl)-containing compounds and polyesters prepared therefrom
A fluorinated bis(acyl)-containing compound of Formula (I), where R1, Ar, L, R2, R3, Rf, n, p and q are as defined in the claims, and a fluorinated polyester formed from the fluorinated bis(acyl) compound are described. More particularly, the fluorinated bis(acyl) has an aromatic ring bonded to two acyl groups plus at least one third group that contains a perfluoroalkylsulfonamido group. The fluorinated polyesters formed from the fluorinated bis(acyl)-containing compound can be used to provide a low energy surface with a relatively low refractive index compared to many other polyesters. A method of preparing a monosubstituted-arylene compound of formula Rf1-L2-CH2—Ar2—CH2—W, where Ar2, Rf1, L2, R6 and W are as defined in the claims by reaction of a compound of formula Rf1-L2-H with a compound of formula W—CH2—Ar2—CH2—W. |
| US08686176B2 |
Synthesis of reversibly protected silanes
The present invention discloses a method for synthesizing a reversibly protected organometallic compound which comprises (1) reacting an organometallic compound with a hydroxyl group containing compound to produce a solution containing the reversibly protected organometallic compound and hydrogen chloride; (2) reacting the solution containing the reversibly protected organometallic compound and the hydrogen chloride with a trialkyl amine to precipitate the hydrogen chloride from the solution; and (3) recovering the reversibly protected organometallic compound from the solution of the reversibly protected organometallic compound. |
| US08686175B2 |
Preparation of siloxanes
The invention relates to a process for producing siloxanes comprising reacting at least two siloxanes in the presence of an ion exchange resin catalyst comprising from 6 to 19 weight %, based upon the dry weight of the ion exchange resin catalyst, water, at a temperature from ambient to 110° C. The invention also relates to a process for reusing the ion exchange resin catalyst after the reacting of the at least two siloxanes in the presence of the ion exchange resin catalysts comprising adding water to the ion exchange resin catalyst to readjust the water content to from 6 to 19 weight % water, based on the dry weight of the catalyst, and then reacting at least two siloxanes in the presence of the readjusted water content ion exchange resin catalyst. |
| US08686173B2 |
Preparation of 1,3,5-triethy1-2,4,6-trihydrido-2,4,6-triethylamino-1,3,5-triaza-2,4,6-trisilacyclohexane
A process for preparing 1,3,5-triethyl-2,4,6-trihydrido-2,4,6-triethylamino-1,3,5-triaza-2,4,6-trisilacyclohexane, wherein trichlorosilane is reacted with ethylamine in a solvent. |
| US08686171B2 |
Methods and apparatus for producing alkyl esters from lipid feed stocks and systems including same
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for producing alkyl esters from lipid feed stocks, such as plant oils and/or animal fats, and systems including the same. In an embodiment, the invention includes a process for producing alkyl esters including mixing a lipid feed stock with an alcohol to form a reaction mixture; and contacting the reaction mixture with a catalyst under supercritical conditions for the alcohol, the catalyst comprising an unmodified metal oxide selected from the group consisting of alumina, titania, zirconia, and hafnia, and removing residual free fatty acids from the reaction mixture. Other embodiments are included herein. |
| US08686169B2 |
Adducts of levulinic derivatives with epoxidized fatty acid esters and uses thereof
The present disclosure relates to methods of preparation of compounds resulting from the reaction of levulinic esters and epoxidized unsaturated fatty acid esters. The compounds are useful as renewable biomass-based plasticizers for a variety of polymers. Mono-, di- and tri-ketal adducts formed in a reaction between alkyl esters of levulinate and epoxidized unsaturated fatty acid esters derived from vegetable oils are also disclosed. |
| US08686166B2 |
Preparation of 2,2-bis (fluoroalkyl) oxirane and preparation of photoacid generator therefrom
A 2,2-bis(fluoroalkyl)oxirane (A) is prepared by reacting a fluorinated alcohol (1) with a chlorinating, brominating or sulfonylating agent under basic conditions to form an oxirane precursor (2) and subjecting the oxirane precursor to ring closure under basic conditions. R1 and R2 are fluoroalkyl groups, R3 and R4 are hydrogen or monovalent hydrocarbon groups, X is chlorine, bromine or —OSO2R5 group, and R5 is alkyl or aryl. |
| US08686162B2 |
Maleimide-functional monomers in amorphous form
The present invention provides amorphous maleimide-bismaleimide hybrid mixtures and methods for synthesizing such mixtures by condensation of diamine compounds with maleic anhydride along with one or more additional anhydrides. The invention provides a route to get passed the high melting point and the solubility issues of bismaleimide resins, yet to still obtain the good thermo-mechanical properties of these valuable molecules. |
| US08686160B2 |
Compound having detrusor muscle-contracting activity and urethral sphincter muscle-relaxing activity
Since a compound represented by formula (I) wherein all of the symbols are the same as defined in the specification, a salt thereof, a solvate thereof, a prodrug thereof, a mixture with a diastereomer thereof in an arbitrary ratio, or a cyclodextrin clathrate thereof have a contracting activity of bladder detrusor and a relaxing activity of urethral sphincter, they can ameliorate bladder contraction dysfunction and/or urethral relaxation dysfunction, and for example, are effective for underactive bladder. Additionally, the compound of the present invention has little risk of side effects on the urinary system, the circulatory system and the digestive system, and exhibits excellent pharmacokinetics, such as oral absorbability etc. Therefore, the compound of the present invention is useful as a superior agent for preventing, treating and/or ameliorating underactive bladder |
| US08686159B2 |
Oxadiazole derivative, and light emitting element, light emitting device, and electronic device using the oxadiazole derivative
An oxadiazole derivative represented by the following general formula (G1) is synthesized and applied to the light emitting element, Am; wherein Am is a substituent represented by a general formula (Am1), (Am2), or (Am3); each of α, β1, and β2 represents an arylene group having 6 to 25 carbon atoms; each of Ar1 to Ar6 represents an aryl group having 6 to 25 carbon atoms; each of R1 to R3 represents hydrogen, an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or an aryl group having 6 to 25 carbon atoms; and R4 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or an aryl group having 6 to 25 carbon atoms. |
| US08686156B2 |
Thiazole derivatives as pesticides
The present application relates to novel heterocyclic compounds, to their use for controlling animal pests including arthropods and in particular insects, and to processes for preparing the novel compounds. |
| US08686153B2 |
Lenalidomide salts
The present invention relates to acid addition salts of lenalidomide, wherein said acid has a pKa lower than 1, preferably selected from hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, methane sulfonic acid, ethane sulfonic acid, benzene sulfonic acid and p-toluenesulfonic acid, to processes for their making, and use in medicine, and to purification of lenalidomide base. |
| US08686152B2 |
4,4-disubstituted piperidine derivatives useful as inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase-1 (DPP-1)
The present invention is directed to 4,4-di-substituted piperidine derivatives, pharmaceutical compositions containing them and their use in the treatment of disorders and conditions modulated by DPP-1. |
| US08686147B2 |
Compound with serotoninergic activity, process for preparing it and pharmaceutical composition comprising it
Compound of formula (I) in which R1, R2 and R3 are defined in the following description, and the pharmaceutically acceptable acid-addition or base-addition salts thereof. The invention also relates to a process and an intermediate for preparing it, and to a pharmaceutical composition comprising it. The invention also relates to the use of a novel 2H-pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline compound for preparing a pharmaceutical composition that is active in the treatment of disturbances of the serotoninergic system. |
| US08686140B2 |
Method of purifying a salt, sodium salt and disodium salt of pemetrexed
A method of purifying a salt of pemetrexed having a structure of formula (III) by salting-out, wherein if M3+ is H+, then each of M1+ and M2+ is independently H+, Li+, Na+ or K+, provided that both of them are not H+; if M3+ is Li+, Na+ or K+, then each of M1+ and M2+ is independently Li+, Na+ or K+. |
| US08686139B2 |
Organic electronic device comprising an organic semiconducting material
The present invention relates to organic electronic devices that include an organic semiconducting material. The organic electronic devices may include organic light-emitting diodes, field-effect transistors, sensors, photodetectors, organic solar cells, organic thin-film transistors, organic integrated circuits, organic field-quench devices, organic light-emitting transistors, light-emitting electrochemical cells, or organic laser diodes. |
| US08686137B2 |
Heterocyclic compounds and their uses
Compounds having the structure which are selective inhibitors of P13K (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-delta), for the treatment of general inflammation, arthritis, rheumatic diseases, osteoarthritis inflammatory bowel disorders, inflammatory eye disorders, inflammatory or unstable bladder disorders, psoriasis, skin complaints with inflammatory components, chronic inflammatory conditions. |
| US08686136B2 |
Apoptosis promoters
Disclosed are compounds which inhibit the activity of anti-apoptotic protein family members, compositions containing the compounds and uses of the compounds for preparing medicaments for treating diseases during which occurs expression one or more than one of an anti-apoptotic protein family member. |
| US08686134B2 |
Ionic liquids
The invention relates to an ionic liquid composition and a method for preparing the ionic liquid. The ionic liquid comprises a cation containing the Formula I, as herein disclosed, and wherein: n is 2, R1 is selected from the group consisting of: H, C1-C12 alkyl, aryl or together with R2 may form a heterocyclic ring, and R2 is selected from the group consisting of: H, C1-C12 alkyl, aryl or together with R1 may form a heterocyclic ring, and R3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and C1-C12 alkyl, and wherein R1 and R2 are not simultaneously selected from hydrogen. |
| US08686132B2 |
Microprocessing in heterogeneous reaction mixtures
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a chemically modified polysaccharide, preferably starch, by using a microdevice. It further relates to the use of a microdevice for the chemical reactions of polysaccharides in heterogeneous mixtures. Examples of chemical modifications are acetylation, oxidation, hydroxypropylation and the like. |
| US08686130B2 |
Artificial fluorescent bases
The present invention relates to novel unnatural fluorescent nucleic acid bases, that is, a purine base, a 1-deazapurine base, and a 1,7-deazapurine base each having a functional group which consists of two or more heterocyclic moieties linked together, at the 6-position thereof (the 6-position of purine ring). The present invention also relates to a compound containing the unnatural base, a derivative thereof, and a nucleic acid containing a nucleotide having the unnatural base. The present invention also relates to a method of preparing the nucleic acid. The unnatural base of the present invention has excellent fluorescence characteristics and also has excellent properties as a universal base. |
| US08686129B2 |
Methods for the separation of biological molecules using sulfolane
The present invention provides a method for the isolation of biological molecules by the adsorption of the molecules onto a mineral substrate in the presence of an appropriate mixture of salts and sufolane. Preferably, the biological molecules are nucleic acids. Compositions and kits for performing the process according to the invention are also provided. |
| US08686127B2 |
Apoptosis inducer
This invention relates to an agent, a composition and a product comprising at least one apoptosis-inducing substance, and at least one substance which inhibits expression and/or activity of an apoptosis-inhibiting substance; a method for inducing apoptosis or for treating a proliferative disease using one or more of them; a nucleic acid construct comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a protein to be expressed and a nucleic acid molecule which inhibits expression of an undesired protein; and a method for expressing a desired protein in a cell while inhibiting the expression of an undesired protein. |
| US08686126B2 |
HBV drug resistance methods
New polymorphisms in the nucleic acid sequences of the DNA polymerase/reverse transcriptase open reading frame and viral surface antigen open reading frame of the hepatitis B virus are reported. In particular, the present invention relates to the mutation YMDD→YSDD in the HBV reverse transcriptase domain and to the W196V mutation in the small HBV viral surface antigen. Said polymorphisms are affecting the detection of drug resistance mutations by genotypic methods and diagnostic kits based thereon. The present invention relates to methods and diagnostic kits for detection of a HBV virus comprising said nucleic acid polymorphisms. In particular, those methods utilizing oligonucleotides capable of hybridizing to said HBV nucleic acid polymorphisms are envisaged. |
| US08686125B2 |
Chimeric promoters comprising MYB10 repeat element and methods for regulating plant gene expression
The invention provides a method for producing a chimeric promoter polynucleotide capable of controlling transcription of an operably linked polynucleotide in a plant cell or plant, wherein the method comprises combining: a) at least one sequence motif comprising a sequence with at least 70% identity to SEQ ID NO:1, 11 or 12, and b) another polynucleotide sequence. The invention also provides chimeric promoters polynucleotides comprising the sequences defined in a) and b). The invention also provides constructs, vectors, host cells, plant cells and plants comprising the chimeric promoter polynucleotides of the invention. The invention also provided methods for modifying gene expression and phenotype of plant cells and plants by transforming the plant cells and plants with the chimeric promoter polynucleotides of the invention. |
| US08686122B2 |
Molecular conjugate
A method is disclosed for making a conjugate of two molecules using a hydrazide thiol linker. In a particular working embodiment, an Fc-specific antibody-enzyme conjugate is made using the method and demonstrated to provide exceptional staining sensitivity and specificity in immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization assays. |
| US08686121B2 |
Compositions comprising soluble CD84 or anti-CD84 antibodies and methods for diagnosing and treating B-CLL
A method of diagnosing B-CLL in a subject in need thereof is provided. The method comprising determining in a biological sample of the subject a level of CD84 isoform C (SEQ ID NO: 30), wherein an increase in the level of the CD84 isoform C (SEQ ID NO: 30) beyond a predetermined threshold with respect to a level of the CD84 in a biological sample from a healthy individual is indicative of the B-CLL. |
| US08686119B2 |
Variants of humanized immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies
The present invention relates to humanized monoclonal antibodies, pharmaceutical compositions that include the same, and use thereof for the treatment of a variety of indications, particularly cancer and immunodeficiency disorders. In particular, the present invention provides modified antibodies or fragments thereof having specific amino acid modifications compared to the humanized monoclonal immunomodulatory antibody termed hBAT-1. |
| US08686116B2 |
Acid soluble proteins from micellar casein
The present invention relates to a milk fraction obtainable by acidification of micellar casein and separation from precipitated casein named acid soluble protein from micellar casein. It was found that the milk fraction and especially certain sub-fractions thereof are bioactive and promote GLP-1 release in vitro. Based on these results, acid soluble protein from micellar casein may be useful in the treatment and the prevention of diabetes type II, obesity and may further be added to formulas directed at other purposes addressing the gastro-intestinal tract. |
| US08686113B2 |
Antibiotic peptides
The invention relates to a peptide or peptide derivative having the general formula: Sub1-X1-D2K3-P4-P5-Y6-L7-P8-R9-P10-X2-P12-P13-R14-X3-I16-P17/Y17-N18-N19-X4-Sub2, wherein X1 is a non-polar, hydrophobic group or a positively charged group, D2 is asparagine or glutamine, K3, X2, and X4 are positively charged groups, X3 is a positively charged group, proline, or a proline derivative; L7 and I16 are non-polar, hydrophobic groups, Y6 and Y17 are tyrosine, R9 and R14 are arginine, N18 and N19 are asparagine or glutamine, P4, P5, P8, P10, P12, P13, and P17 are proline, hydroxyproline, or derivatives thereof, wherein possibly one or two of the groups selected from D2, P4, P5, P8, P10, P12, P13, P17, and Y17 are replaced by an arbitrary group and/or P13 and R14 are exchanged, Sub1 is the free or modified N-terminus, and Sub2 is the free or modified C-terminus. The invention further relates to the use of the peptides and peptide derivatives in medicine, as an antibiotic, in a disinfectant or cleaning agent, as a preservative or in a packaging material, in pharmaceutical research, or in a screening method. |
| US08686111B2 |
Cytokine derivatives
The invention relates to polypeptides comprising an N-terminal portion and a C-terminal portion, wherein said N-terminal portion comprises the signature sequence QGP[P or L] and the amino acid sequence of said C-terminal portion is at least 70% identical to SEQ ID NO: 1, and uses thereof. |
| US08686108B2 |
Aluminum chelate latent curing agent and production method thereof
An aluminum chelate latent curing agent is configured such that an aluminum chelating agent and a specific arylsilane compound or a hydrolysate thereof are held in a polymer obtained by subjecting the aluminum chelating agent, the arylsilane compound, and a polyfunctional isocyanate compound to an emulsifying treatment, and then subjecting the polyfunctional isocyanate to interfacial polymerization. The aluminum chelating agent does not have an alkoxy group bonded to the aluminum. The arylsilane compound is a compound represented by the formula (A). (Ar)mSi(OR)n (A) In the formula (A), m is 2 or 3, and the sum of m and n is 4. Ar represents an optionally-substituted aryl group. R represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, or an ethyl group. When n is two, the two Rs may be the same or different. |
| US08686107B2 |
Polycarbonate diol
A polycarbonate diol comprising repeating units represented by the following formula (A) and a terminal hydroxy group, 60-100 mol % of the repeating units represented by the formula (A) being repeating units represented by the following formula (B) or (C). The amount of the repeating units represented by the formula (B) is 60-100 mol % based on the total amount of the repeating units represented by the formula (A). The polycarbonate diol has a terminal primary OH ratio of 95% or higher. (A) (In the formula, R represents a C2-12 divalent aliphatic or alicyclic hydrocarbon.) |
| US08686103B2 |
Water borne coating composition containing thiol functional compounds
The invention relates to a water borne coating composition comprising a) a polyol, b) a polyisocyanate crosslinker, and c) a thiol functional compound, wherein the molar ratio of isocyanate groups to thiol groups ranges between 1:0.0001 and 1:0.4. The invention further relates to the use of the coating composition, and to a kit of parts for preparation of the coating composition. The coating composition according to the invention displays a balance of high curing rate, long pot life, and good film appearance of the coating prepared from it. |
| US08686099B2 |
Hydrophilic silicone monomers, process for their preparation and thin films containing the same
There is provided a mono-(meth)acrylate functionalized hydrophilic silicone monomers containing a polyether with branched linking group, useful in making water absorbing silicone-hydrogel films for contact lens applications. This invention also provides homo-polymers and copolymers made from the mono-(meth)acrylate functionalized hydrophilic silicone monomers described herein. Also provided is a process for producing the monomers and polymers described herein and contact lenses produced from the same. |
| US08686096B2 |
Swellable particles
There is provided a method for making swellable particles, said method comprising mixing initial particles, at least one monomer, at least one initiator, and at least one chain-transfer agent, wherein said mixing is performed under conditions in which said monomer is capable of forming oligomer or polymer or a mixture thereof. Also provided are swellable particles made by that method. Further provided is a method of making polymeric resin particles comprising mixing at least one subsequent monomer to those swellable particles and polymerizing said subsequent monomer. |
| US08686092B2 |
Resins, low temperature formulations, and coatings derived therefrom
A series of resins were synthesized using a range of bio-based materials to control the molecular architecture, and therefore the properties, of the inventive resins. The utility of these resins was demonstrated in the formulation of powder coatings, such as β-hydroxy amide crosslinked and hybrid types. Generally, the bio-based resins flowed out on heating faster than conventional petrochemically-based resins, allowing the use of lower temperatures in the curing oven than is typically possible and a more active catalyst system, especially in the carboxylic acid-epoxy crosslinked hybrid coating formulations. |
| US08686089B2 |
Crosslinking pigment dispersion on diblock polymeric dispersants
The present disclosure provides an aqueous dispersion comprising a solid particle and a polymeric dispersant, wherein the polymeric dispersant is a block copolymer comprising an A block and a B block, wherein the A block is a segment having a block size of about 5 to about 18 units, and comprises at least 50% by weight of a monomer having the following structure: CH2═CRC(O)O(CHR1CH2O)nR2; wherein R and R1 are H, or methyl; R2 is alkyl of 1-4 carbon atoms or phenyl; and n is about 1 about 20; and the B block is a segment comprising an ionic monomer and at least one hydrophobic monomer; and wherein the dispersant comprises a crosslinkable moiety; wherein the crosslinkable moiety is crosslinked with a crosslinking agent selected from the group consisting of epoxide, carbodiimide, oxazoline, isocyanate, and silane; and wherein the aqueous dispersion has a pH of at least about 8.0. These dispersions when used in aqueous ink jet inks provide images with the requisite optical density and chroma needed for emerging ink jet applications. |
| US08686088B2 |
Polypropylene resin composition
Polypropylene resin compositions are suited for injection molding and are capable of giving molded articles having excellent mechanical properties, reduced tendency to cause flow marks or weld marks, low gloss, and superior scratch resistance. A polypropylene resin composition includes: an amount of a resin composition (F) including a polypropylene (A), an ethylene-α-olef in copolymer or an ethylene-α-olefin-diene copolymer (B-I) having MFR of less than 0.4 g/10 min, an ethylene-α-olefin copolymer (B-2) having MFR of 0.5 to less than 20 g/10 min, and an inorganic filler (C); and specific amounts relative to the resin composition (F) of a modified polypropylene (D) and a surface modifier (E). |
| US08686085B2 |
Rubber composition and pneumatic tire
The present invention has its object to provide a rubber composition having excellent low-exothermic property and high strength together, and a pneumatic tire produced using the rubber composition. The present invention relates to a rubber composition which contains a rubber component and 10 to 150 parts by mass of silica per 100 parts by mass of the rubber component. The rubber component contains a butadiene rubber modified by a compound represented by the formula (1): wherein, R1, R2 and R3 are the same or different and independently represent an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, a silyloxy group, an acetal group, a carboxyl group, a mercapto group, or a derivative thereof; R4 and R5 are the same or different and independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group; and n represents an integer. |
| US08686083B2 |
Composite media for fluid stream processing, a method of forming the composite media, and a related method of processing a fluid stream
A composite media including at least one crystalline aluminosilicate material in polyacrylonitrile. A method of forming a composite media is also disclosed. The method comprises dissolving polyacrylonitrile in an organic solvent to form a matrix solution. At least one crystalline aluminosilicate material is combined with the matrix solution to form a composite media solution. The organic solvent present in the composite media solution is diluted. The composite media solution is solidified. In addition, a method of processing a fluid stream is disclosed. The method comprises providing a beads of a composite media comprising at least one crystalline aluminosilicate material dispersed in a polyacrylonitrile matrix. The beads of the composite media are contacted with a fluid stream comprising at least one constituent. The at least one constituent is substantially removed from the fluid stream. |
| US08686082B2 |
Nylon based composites
A nylon 11 composite has significantly improved flexural modulus while keeping or even increasing the impact strength. This composite system may comprise a nylon 11/filler/modifier. The “ball” portion of badminton shuttlecocks made by this type of composite more closely emulate the flight capabilities of natural feather shuttlecocks than neat nylon 11. |
| US08686080B2 |
Biodegradable polyester film
The present invention relates to a biodegradable polyester film comprising: i) from 75 to 100% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to ii, of a biodegradable polyester based on aliphatic and/or aromatic dicarboxylic acids and on an aliphatic dihydroxy compound; ii) from 0 to 25% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to ii, of polylactic acid; iii) from 10 to 25% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to v, of calcium carbonate; iv) from 3 to 15% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to v, of talc; v) from 0 to 1% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to v, of a copolymer which contains epoxy groups and is based on styrene, acrylic ester, and/or methacrylic ester; vi) from 0 to 2% by weight, based on the total weight of components i to v, of 2-(4,6-bisbiphenyl-4-yl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-5-(2-ethyl-(n)-hexyloxy)phenol. |
| US08686079B2 |
Compatibilized composition, method for the formation thereof, and article comprising same
A poly(phenylene ether)-poly(hydroxy ether) block copolymer is used to compatibilize blends of non-polar polymers with polar fillers. The resulting compatibilized blends exhibit physical property improvements relative to blends without a compatibilizer and blends with a poly(hydroxy ether). |
| US08686078B2 |
Rubber composition and fuel tank packing for automobile using the composition
Provided is a rubber composition, which is excellent in fuel permeation resistance, and is capable of achieving improvements in low-temperature embrittlement property and solvent crack property. The rubber composition includes: a fluororubber having a fluorine concentration content of 70 to 71 wt % as a main component; a crosslink-type agent; and the following components (A) and (B), in which: the total content [(A)+(B)] of the above-mentioned components (A) and (B) falls within the range of 17 to 25 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the above-mentioned fluororubber; and a weight ratio (A)/(B) of the content of the above-mentioned component (A) to the content of the above-mentioned component (B) falls within the range of 2.0/1 to 3.0/1: (A) barium sulfate; and (B) a neutral silica. |
| US08686076B2 |
Silane moisture curable hot melts
The present invention relates to moisture-curable silane-reactive hot melt compositions having an acrylate-urethane copolymer moiety. Desirably, the silane groups contain alkoxy functionality to enable and enhance moisture curing. Such compositions provide enhanced green strength without sacrificing other desirable properties. |
| US08686075B2 |
Polysulfone compositions and methods for the manufacture and use thereof
This disclosure relates generally to polysulfone compositions whose residual phenolic monomers or phenolic degradation products exhibit little or no estradiol binding activity. Also disclosed are methods for making the disclosed polysulfones and articles of manufacture comprising the disclosed polysulfones. |
| US08686073B2 |
Layered silicate flame retardant compositions
The invention relates to flame retardant compositions that contain mixtures of melamine polyphosphates with layered silicates added to the polymer substrates, particularly polyamides. |
| US08686066B2 |
Compositions including polytetrafluoroethylene and processes for the preparation thereof
A process or method for preparing a composition that includes a core of polytetrafluoroethylene and a styrene/acrylonitrile shell (or a core-shell polytetrafluoroethylene including styrene/acrylonitrile (SAN) powder) is provided. The process includes a polymerisation process or reaction and a flocculation process or reaction. The temperatures utilized, and/or the relative quantities and/or concentrations of the reagents, for the polymerisation process and flocculation process are specifically selected. The core-shell polytetrafluoroethylene-based powder produced is used as an additive for plastic/polymers, for instance styrene-based polymers. The core-shell polytetrafluoroethylene-based powder produced is associated with improved workability and enhanced mechanical characteristics. |
| US08686065B2 |
Adhesive agent for adhesion between alginate impression material and impression tray for dental applications, and kit comprising the adhesive agent
To improve an adhesive force of an adhesive agent between an impression material and a tray, and to stabilize the adhesive force therebetween, provided is an adhesive agent for the adhesion between an alginate impression material and an impression tray for dental applications, which includes a polyamine compound having two or more amino groups in a molecule and a solvent. |
| US08686064B2 |
Coupling agents for orthopedic biomaterials
The invention provides a method for the preparation of bone-polymer composites wherein the mineral portion of the bone is treated with a coupling agent before being incorporated into a biocompatible polymeric matrix. The resulting composites may be used as such or be further processed to form an osteoimplant. |
| US08686063B2 |
Method of infiltrating enamel lesions
The present invention refers to a method of infiltrating enamel for the prevention and/or treatment of carious lesions comprising (a) exposing an enamel area to a conditioner comprising hydrochloric acid; (b) exposing the conditioned enamel area to an infiltrant; and (c) curing the infiltrant. The present invention further refers to a kit for carrying out the method of infiltrating enamel, which comprises a conditioner comprising hydrochloric acid and an infiltrant comprising at least one low viscous dental resin. The present invention also refers to a method for identifying an infiltrant by calculation of the penetration coefficient, and to an infiltrant identified by the method having a penetration coefficient of >50 cm/s or comprising a low viscous light curing resin having a penetration coefficient of >50 cm/s. |
| US08686062B1 |
Radiation curable red gel ink formulations
A radiation curable ink including at least one curable monomer, at least one organic gellant, at least one photoinitiator, and a colorant, the colorant includes an orange colorant and an red colorant, where the orange colorant absorbs light having a wavelength of from about 400 to about 560 nm, and where the red colorant absorbs light having a wavelength of from about 460 to 580 nm. The ink substantially matches PANTONE® Red 032 or PANTONE® Warm Red. |
| US08686060B2 |
Adhesive compositions for easy application and improved durability
The present invention is directed to an adhesive composition comprising a crosslinkable acrylic copolymer, a multi-functionalized crosslinkable oligomer and a photoinitiator wherein the partially cured composition exhibits excellent wet out characteristics as reflected in a tan delta value of at least 0.4, preferably greater than 0.5, more preferable greater than 0.6 as measured at 20° C. resulting from a first curing stage, and the fully cured composition exhibits an improved stiffness and temperature resistance as reflected in a storage elastic modulus of at least 175,000 Pa at 20° C. and a shear adhesion failure temperature of at least 425° F. (218.3° C.) at 1 Kg/in2 (0.155 Kg/cm2), respectively, which result from a second sequential curing stage. |
| US08686058B2 |
Natural resource based viscoelastic foams
Embodiments of the present invention disclose viscoelastic foams having a renewable natural resource contents of between about 1 and about 25 wt % of the foam. The foams may have a ratio of elastic modulus (E′) at 20° C. to 25% compression force deflection (CFD) of 25 to 125. |
| US08686057B2 |
Polyurethanes made from hydroxy-methyl containing fatty acids or alkyl esters of such fatty acids
Polyurethane polymers are made from a reaction mixture that contains a polyisocyanate, a hydroxylmethyl-containing fatty acid or ester, and another polyol, polyamine or aminoalcohol. The carboxylic acid or ester group on the hydroxymethyl-containing fatty acid or ester are capable of engaging in a variety of reactions with the polyisocyanate and/or amine or hydroxyl groups present in the reaction mixture. This allows for good quality, high molecular weight polymers to be produced even though the hydroxymethyl-containing fatty acid or ester tends to be a low functionality material. |
| US08686055B2 |
Shell functionalized ion exchange resins
The present invention relates to a method for the production of improved shell functionalized ion exchange resins from core/shell copolymer having a highly crosslinked core. |
| US08686054B2 |
Filled nanoporous polymer membrane composites for protective clothing and methods for making them
A new class of membranes for use in protective clothing. More specifically, the present invention relates to a polymer-polymer membrane with an ionic polymer located within the nanopores of a porous polymer host membrane. A method for making the polymer-polymer membranes involves filling porous polymers with ionic polymers. The porous polymers may be fabricated by a template synthesis which involves sorption. The ionic polymers may be filled in the nanopores of the porous polymer by plasma-induced graft copolymerization of the ionic polymer with the porous polymeric host membrane. |
| US08686053B2 |
Alginic acid with low molecular weight, its salts, uses, preparative methods, pharmaceutical compositions and foods
The present invention discloses an alginic acid and/or its salts with low molecular weight, wherein the weight average molecular weight of the alginic acid is from about 700 to about 4500 Daltons, and the molar ratio of guluronic acid to mannuronic acid in the alginic acid is from about 0.6 to about 19. The present invention also discloses the preparative method of making the alginic acid and/or its salts thereof, and the use of them for treating hypertension, chronic renal failure and postprandial hyperglycemia induced by glycosidase. The present invention further discloses pharmaceutical compositions and foods containing the alginic acid with low molecular weight and/or salts thereof as active component. |
| US08686050B2 |
Diglycidic ether derivative therapeutics and methods for their use
This invention provides compound having a structure of Formula I or Formula II Uses of such compounds for treatment of various indications, including prostate cancer as well as methods of treatment involving such compounds are also provided. |
| US08686047B2 |
Pharmaceutical formulations of modafinil
Compositions of modafinil and methods of treating neurologically related conditions with the administration of modafinil. Also compositions that include modafinil and one or more excipients such as diluents, disintegrants, binders and lubricants. |
| US08686046B2 |
Compositions and methods for inhibiting sphingosine kinase
Amidine analogs that can inhibit the activity of sphingosine kinase 1 and sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK1 & SphK2) are provided. The compounds can prevent angiogenesis in tumor cells. |
| US08686037B2 |
Use of piracetam for treating diabetic nephropathy
The invention is related to the new application of selected derivatives of 2-pyrrolidone to inhibition of protein glycation and to prevention and treatment of diabetes complications, such as atherosclerosis, nephropathy, retinopathy, cataract or neuropathy. |
| US08686035B2 |
Composition and method for promoting hair growth
The present invention provides a method and composition for promoting hair growth in a mammal which comprises a prostaglandin compound having two hetero atoms at the 15 position as an active ingredient thereof. |
| US08686031B2 |
Flavonoids and uses thereof
The present invention provides novel flavonoids extracted from an alcohol extract of dehulled adlay seeds. The present invention also provides a process for the preparation of the flavonoid and a method for treating inflammation in a subject, which method comprises administering to said subject an effective amount of the flavonoid and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient. |
| US08686029B2 |
Synergistic antioxidant compositions
Antioxidant compositions for the stabilization of fat sources against oxidation, stabilized fat source compositions, and methods of stabilizing fat sources against oxidation are described. In particular, an antioxidant emulsion that includes quercetin in addition to at least one other ingredient and a lipid carrier is described. |
| US08686027B1 |
Method for treating bronchial diseases
Administration of a loop diuretic in nebulized dry powder form directly to a patient's lungs for treating bronchial disease. |
| US08686026B2 |
Solid compositions
The present invention features solid compositions comprising amorphous Compound I. For instance, Compound I may be formulated in an amorphous solid dispersion which comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable hydrophilic polymer and preferably a pharmaceutically acceptable surfactant. |
| US08686023B2 |
Salts of sunitinib
Pharmaceutically acceptable salts of sunitinib, processes of making sunitinib salts, as well as related pharmaceuticals and methods of treating are described. |
| US08686020B2 |
Spirocyclic compounds
The present invention relates to a novel class of substituted spirocyclic compounds. These compounds can inhibit histone deacetylase and are suitable for use in selectively inducing terminal differentiation, and arresting cell growth and/or apoptosis of neoplastic cells, thereby inhibiting proliferation of such cells. Thus, the compounds of the present invention are useful in treating a patient having a tumor characterized by proliferation of neoplastic cells. The compounds of the invention may also be useful in the prevention and treatment of TRX-mediated diseases, such as autoimmune, allergic and inflammatory diseases, and in the prevention and/or treatment of diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), such as neurodegenerative diseases. The present invention further provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising the compounds of the instant invention and safe dosing regimens of these pharmaceutical compositions, which are easy to follow, and which result in a therapeutically effective amount of these compounds in vivo. |
| US08686019B2 |
Use of amisulpride as an anti-emetic
Amisulpride is used in the therapy of nausea, vomiting or retches. The therapy may utilize a novel injectable formulation, in unit dosage form, comprising less than 50 mg amisulpride. |
| US08686017B2 |
Methods of using proteinacious channels to identify pharmaceutical treatments and risks, and treatments resulting therefrom
Methods and therapeutic strategies utilizing proteinacious channels in lipid membranes of mammalian cells. The methods entail administering a pharmaceutical to a lipid membrane of a mammalian cell, and then determining the effect of the pharmaceutical on the electrophysiology of at least one proteinacious channel of the lipid membrane, wherein the proteinacious channel is a Kv7 potassium channel and/or a L-type calcium channel of an airway smooth muscle cell (ASMC). The method can be used to identify pharmaceuticals that may be used to treat asthmatic and other bronchospastic conditions that can lead to airway obstruction, or to perform drug screening to assess potential risk of pharmaceuticals. |
| US08686016B2 |
Schweinfurthins and uses thereof
Disclosed is a method for preventing or treating an undesirable condition in a subject carrying cells homozygous null for the neurofibromatosis type 1 gene or subjects that are haploinsufficient for the neurofibromatosis type 1 gene, the method comprising administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of a schweinfurthin or schweinfurthin analog or derivative, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, prodrug, hydrate, or solvate thereof. Also disclosed is a new schweinfurthin compound of the formula. |
| US08686012B2 |
Stem cell differentiating agents and uses therefor
The present invention relates to screens for compounds that can induce stem cell differentiation. In addition, isoxazoles and sulfonyl hydrazones are identified as general classes of compounds that can induce differentiation of stem cells into cells of neuronal and cardiac fate, respectively. |
| US08686008B2 |
Highly selective sigma receptor ligands
Compounds having the general formula II, III, or IV wherein R1 can be a radical of an optionally substituted C-4 to C-7 N-containing heterocycle or a radical of an optionally substituted cyclic or acyclic tertiary amine or isoindoline-1,3-dione: R2,3,4,5,6 can each independently be any one or combinations of the following moieties, cyano, nitro, acyl, alkyl, amido, azido, isothiocyanate, isocyanate, optionally substituted anilino, halogens, ethers, sulfonamides, thioacyl, nitro, aromatic, heterocyclic, olefinic, acetylene, deuterium, or tritium; Y can be either CH, CH2, O, S, OCH2, N—R, N—Ar, C—R, C—Ar; Z can be either H, O, S, S—R or NR. R groups can be either H, aryls, alkyls, or cycloalkyls; “n” can be 1 to 5 carbons in length and stereoisomers, functional analogs, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof and wherein the moiety bridging R1 and N can be a substituted alkylene, optionally substituted alkenylene or optionally substituted alkynylene and where the alkylene group can include an inserted C3-C5 cycloalkyl group, aromatic, and hetercocyclic group; wherein X′ is halogen, or C1-C4 haloalyl; wherein the Rx is a C1-C5 straight chain or branched chain alkyl or a C1-C4 straight chain or branched chain haloalkyl. |
| US08686002B2 |
Heterocyclic compounds and their use as binding partners for 5-HT5 receptors
The invention relates to compounds of general formula (I), corresponding enantiomeric, diastereomeric and/or tautomeric forms thereof as well as pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof and the prodrugs of said compounds. The invention also relates to the use of said compounds as binding partners for 5-HT5 receptors for treating diseases that are modulated by a 5-HT5 receptor activity, in particular, for treating neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders as well as signs, symptoms and dysfunctions. |
| US08685999B2 |
Beta carboline sulphonylurea derivatives as EP4 receptor antagonists
The invention is directed to β-carboline sulphonylurea derivatives as EP4 receptor antagonists useful for the treatment of EP4 mediated diseases or conditions, such as acute and chronic pain, inflammation, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Pharmaceutical compositions and methods of use are also included. |
| US08685993B2 |
Bi-heteroaryl compounds as Vps34 inhibitors
The present invention includes novel methods of treating a disease or disorder characterized by hyperactivity of Vps34, and compound as Vps34 inhibitors; particularly compounds of Formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, as well as methods of treating a disease, disorder, or syndrome associated with Vps34 inhibition, particularly hyperproliferative diseases. The present invention also includes pharmaceutical compositions including compounds of formula I and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. |
| US08685989B2 |
Nitrogen-containing six-membered aromatic ring derivatives and pharmaceutical products containing the same
Compounds of Formula (I) promote axonal outgrowth angiogenesis and can therefore be used to reduce central nerve injuries such as head injury and spinal cord injury, cerebral infarction, ischemic heart diseases, peripheral arterial occlusive diseases, or after-effects of these diseases. in which Nx group is preferably a 6-membered aromatic ring containing two nitrogen atoms; R0, R1 and R2 are each independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or an amino group; E is an oxygen atom or an —NR8 group (wherein R8 is an alkyl group or the like); n is an integer of of 0 to 5; X and Y are each a connected bond, a cycloalkyl group, or —CO—; and Q is a hydrogen atom or a phenyl group. |
| US08685986B2 |
Medical composition for treatment or prophylaxis of glaucoma
The present invention is to provide a medical composition for the treatment or prophylaxis of glaucoma which comprises a pyridylaminoacetic acid compound represented by the formula (1): wherein R1, R2, R3, Y, and Z are defined in the specification. |
| US08685985B2 |
Selective insecticides based on anthranilic acid diamides and safeners
The present invention relates to the use of selective insecticidal compositions, characterized by an effective amount of an active compound combination comprising (a) (1) at least one haloalkylnicotinic acid derivative of the formula (I) in which AA and R1A are as defined in the description, or (2) at least one phthalic acid diamide of the formula (II) in which XB, R1B, R2B, R3B, L1B, L2B and L3B are as defined in the description, or (3) at least one anthranilamide of the formula (III) in which A1C, A2C, XC,R1C, R2C, R3C, R4C, R5C, R7C, R8Cand R9C are as defined in the description, and (b) at least one crop plant compatibility-improving compound from the group of compounds given in the description, in particular cloquintocet-mexyl, isoxadifen-ethyl and mefenpyr-diethyl for controlling insects and/or arachnids, and a method for controlling insects and/or arachnids using the compositions. |
| US08685984B2 |
Methods for treating HCV
The present invention features interferon- and ribavirin-free therapies for the treatment of HCV. Preferably, the treatment is over a shorter duration of treatment, such as no more than 12 weeks. In one aspect, the therapies comprise administering at least two direct acting antiviral agents without interferon and ribavirin to a subject with HCV infection. For example, the therapies comprise administering to a subject an effective amounts of therapeutic agent 1, therapeutic agent 2 (or therapeutic agent 3), and an inhibitor of cytochrome P450 (e.g., ritonavir). |
| US08685983B2 |
Method of treating cancer with substituted amide derivatives
Selected compounds are effective for prophylaxis and treatment of diseases, such as HGF mediated diseases. The invention encompasses novel compounds, analogs, prodrugs and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, pharmaceutical compositions and methods for prophylaxis and treatment of diseases and other maladies or conditions involving, cancer and the like. The subject invention also relates to processes for making such compounds as well as to intermediates useful in such processes. |
| US08685981B2 |
Cyclic compound having hetero atom
Compounds exhibiting an osteogenesis-promoting action having the general formula (I) or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof: wherein A is selected from among a 3- to 10-membered heterocyclyl group, B is selected from among an amino group, and X is selected from N and CH. |
| US08685980B2 |
Pyrrolopyrimidine compounds and their uses
The disclosed compounds relate to treatments and therapies for protein kinase-associated disorders. There is also a need for compounds useful in the treatment or prevention or amelioration of one or more symptoms of cancer, transplant rejections, and autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, there is a need for methods for modulating the activity of protein kinases, such as CDK1, CDK2, CDK4, CDK5, CDK6, CDK7, CDK8 and CDK9, using the compounds provided herein. |
| US08685976B2 |
Cell adhesion promoting agent and method of promoting cell adhesion
The subject invention discloses an agent for promoting cell adhesion to a support, comprising a dispirotripiperazine derivative represented by Formula I below or a salt thereof; a method for promoting cell adhesion to a support comprising adding the dispirotripiperazine derivative represented by Formula I below or a salt thereof to a culture medium, or applying the same to a support; and an agonist of a heparin sulfate that comprises the dispirotripiperazine derivative represented by Formula I below or a salt thereof, and that promotes cell adhesion and/or cell growth. |
| US08685971B2 |
Quinolinyloxyphenylsulfonamides
The present invention relates to quinolinyloxyphenylsulfonamides and stereoisomeric forms, solvates, hydrates and/or pharmaceutically acceptable salts of these quinolinyloxyphenylsulfonamide compounds as well as pharmaceutical compositions containing at least one of these compounds together with at least one pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, excipient and/or diluent. Said quinolinyloxyphenylsulfonamides are useful for prophylaxsis, treatment and/or after-treatment of hyperproliferative disorders, such as cancer, tumors and particularly cancer metastases. |
| US08685967B2 |
Substituted triazolopyridines and analogs thereof
The present invention relates to substituted triazolopyridines and analogs thereof, the use of the compounds as phosphodiesterase 10 (PDE10) inhibitors for the treatment of PDE10-modulated disorders, to pharmaceutical compositions comprising the compounds. |
| US08685965B2 |
CGRP receptor antagonists
Compounds of Formula (I), (wherein variables A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, L, J, Q, R4, Ea, Eb, Ec, R6, R7, Re, Rf, RPG, W, Y and Z are as described herein) useful as antagonists of CGRP receptors, and useful in the treatment or prevention of diseases in which CGRP receptors are involved, such as headache, and in particular migraine and cluster headache. The invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds and the use of these compounds and compositions in the prevention or treatment of such diseases in which CGRP receptors are involved. |
| US08685962B2 |
Compositions, articles and methods comprising TSPO ligands for preventing or reducing tobacco-associated damage
Articles of manufacturing (such as tobacco products), methods, devices and compositions for preventing or reducing tobacco-associated damage and/or disorders associated with oxidative stress in a subject, and which utilize a TSPO receptor ligand (such as diazepam), are disclosed. |
| US08685960B2 |
6-pyridin-3-yl-3,4-dihydro-1h-quinolin-2-one derivatives and related compounds as inhibitors of the human aldosterone synthase CYP11B2
The invention provides compounds of the general formula (I) which are inhibitors of the human aldosterone synthase, and also pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds, and the use of these compounds and other heteroaryl substituted quinolinone derivatives for the treatment of hyperaldosteronism and/or disorders or diseases that are mediated by 11 β-hydroxylase (CYP11 B1). |
| US08685956B2 |
Compositions and methods for reducing the risk of agent-induced liver toxicity
The present disclosure relates generally to a pharmaceutical compositions and methods of reducing acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity. The disclosure includes pharmaceutical compositions including acetaminophen and one or more components selected from S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), S-methylmethionine (SMM), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The disclosure also relates to methods of reducing acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity in a subject by administering or co-administering one or more of S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), S-methylmethionine (SMM), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, with acetaminophen to a subject. |
| US08685953B2 |
Linear and cyclic guanidine derivatives, method of preparation and uses thereof
The present invention relates to linear and cyclic guanidine derivatives, method of preparation and uses thereof, pharmaceutical compositions to be used as antifungal agents, in particular against Candida species. |
| US08685952B2 |
Method for the treatment of diabetes
The present invention provides a method for treatment of diabetes, comprising administering a pitavastatin, and in combination therewith, enalapril or a salt thereof. |
| US08685949B2 |
Use of 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 to improve vitality of animals
The present invention relates to the use of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 to improve the general health status of female animals at least during gestation and/or lactation. The invention also relates to the use of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 in animal breeding. More particular, the invention relates to the use of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 for improving litter size and vitality of piglets in pig breeding and for providing better body frame and increasing gestation backfat gain, reducing lactation backfat loss and increasing lactation feed intake of sows and gilts. |
| US08685944B2 |
Viscoelastic gel for dermatological use
The invention relates to a polysaccharide gel of natural origin for dermatological use that comprises an aqueous solution of the polysaccharide of 0.1 to 5% by weight/volume, for example hyaluronic acid, and a viscous and strongly hydrophilic biocompatible alcohol at 0.5-5% by weight/volume, for example glycerol, and optionally the adjuvants that are commonly used in dermatology. The gel is prepared by mixing the polysaccharide solution and the strongly hydrophilic viscous alcohol before sterilizing the entire mixture by, for example, moist heat. |
| US08685941B2 |
Drug composition cytotoxic for pancreatic cancer cells
Disclosed herein are compositions comprising a drug combination that comprises ZD and S3I-201, Das and S3I-201, ZD and AG490, or Das and AG490. The disclosed drug combinations target two or more functional elements such as EGFR or Src and Stat3 or Jaks in pancreatic cancer cells. Also disclosed herein are methods of using the disclosed compositions to cytotoxically affect pancreatic cancer cells and methods of making the disclosed compositions. |
| US08685940B2 |
Impaired wound healing compositions and treatments
Connexin modulation for the treatment of wounds that do not heal at expected rates, including delayed healing wounds, incompletely healing wounds, and chronic wounds, and associated methods, compositions and articles. |
| US08685937B2 |
Nucleic acid aptamers
The present invention relates to optimized aptamers and methods of using these aptamers. |
| US08685936B2 |
Sphingosine kinase inhibitor prodrugs
The invention relates to prodrugs of hydroxyl-substituted adamantane compounds, pharmaceutical compositions thereof, and methods for inhibiting sphingosine kinase and for treating or preventing hyperproliferative disease, inflammatory disease, or angiogenic disease. |
| US08685934B2 |
Methods for treating extreme insulin resistance in patients resistant to previous treatment with other anti-diabetic drugs employing an SGLT2 inhibitor and compositions thereof
The invention provides methods for treating a patient having type 2 diabetes who has failed on previous regimens of one or more oral and/or injectable anti-diabetic agents, which include the step of administering a therapeutically effective amount of an SGLT2 inhibitor alone or in combination with another anti-diabetic agent and/or other therapeutic agent to such patient. A pharmaceutical composition containing dapagliflozin or dapagliflozin-S-propylene glycol solvate and one or more diabetic agents and/or other therapeutic agents for use in the methods of the invention is also provided. |
| US08685924B2 |
Preventives/remedies for stress urinary incontinence and method of screening the same
An agent for the prophylaxis or treatment of stress urinary incontinence, which contains a substance that activates a serotonin 5-HT2C receptor, an agent for the prophylaxis or treatment of stress urinary incontinence, which contains a substance that stimulates an androgen binding site, and a method of screening for a drug for the prophylaxis or treatment of abdominal pressure incontinence, which includes electrostimulating the abdominal muscles or a nerve controlling them of an animal to increase the abdominal pressure, and measuring the leak point pressure at that time. |
| US08685922B2 |
Template-fixed peptidomimetics with antimicrobial activity
Template-fixed β-hairpin peptidomimetics of the general formula (I) wherein Z is a template-fixed chain of 12 α-amino acid residues which, depending on their positions in the chain (counted starting from the N-terminal amino acid) are Gly, or Pro, or of certain types which, as the remaining Symbols in the above formula, are defined in the description and the claims, and salts thereof, have the property to selectively inhibit the growth of or to kill microorganisms such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. They can be used as disinfectants for foodstuffs, cosmetics, medicaments or other nutrient-containing materials, or as medicaments to treat or prevent infections. These β-hairpin peptidomimetics can be manufactured by processes which are based on a mixed solid- and Solution phase synthetic strategy. |
| US08685920B2 |
Method of targeting specific cell populations using cell-binding agent maytansinoid conjugates linked via a non-cleavable linker, said conjugates and methods of making said conjugates
The present invention discloses a method for targeting maytansinoids to a selected cell population, the method comprising contacting a cell population or tissue suspected of containing the selected cell population with a cell-binding agent maytansinoid conjugate, wherein one or more maytansinoids is covalently linked to the cell-binding agent via a non-cleavable linker and the cell-binding agent binds to cells of the selected cell population. |
| US08685919B2 |
Glucagon analogues
The invention provides materials and methods for promoting weight loss or preventing weight gain, and in the treatment of diabetes, metabolic syndrome and associated disorders. In particular, the invention provides novel glucagon analogue peptides effective in such methods. The peptides may mediate their effect by having increased selectivity for the GLP-1 receptor as compared to human glucagon. |
| US08685916B2 |
Opioid prodrugs with heterocyclic linkers
The embodiments provide prodrug compounds of Formulae I-XV. The present disclosure also provides compositions, and their methods of use, where the compositions comprise a prodrug compound of Formulae I-XV that provides controlled release of an opioid. Such compositions can optionally provide a trypsin inhibitor that interacts with the enzyme that mediates the controlled release of an opioid from the prodrug so as to attenuate enzymatic cleavage of the prodrug. |
| US08685911B2 |
Rinse aid compositions
A rinse aid composition comprising: a) a polymer comprising an acrylic acid backbone and alkoxylated side chains, said polymer comprising a molecular weight of from about 4,000 to about 22,000, the polymer comprising from about 20 wt % to about 50 wt % of an alkylene oxide; and b) a low foaming nonionic surfactant. |
| US08685910B2 |
Cleaning liquid used in photolithography and a method for treating substrate therewith
It is disclosed a cleaning liquid for stripping and dissolving a photoresist pattern having a film thickness of 10-150 μm, which contains (a) 0.5-15 mass % of a quaternary ammonium hydroxide, such as tetrapropylammonium hydroxide and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, (b) 65-97 mass % of a water-soluble organic solvent, such as dimethylsulfoxide or a mixed solvent thereof with N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, sulforane, etc., and (c) 0.5-30 mass % of water, and a method for treating a substrate therewith. |
| US08685906B2 |
Low irritancy cleansing compositions
Composition A low irritancy cleansing composition comprises: (a) an anionic surfactant compound of formula (I): wherein R1 represents a C4-36 substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbyl group; each of R2, R3, R4 and R5 independently represents a hydrogen atom or a C1-4 alkyl group and wherein at least one of R2, R3, R4 and R5 is not hydrogen and M+ represents a cation; (b) an amphoteric surfactant; and (c) an alkoxylated non-ionic species; wherein the molar ratio of component (a) to component (b) is from 0.5:1 to 2:1 and wherein the ratio of the mass of component (c) to the combined mass of components (a) and (b) is less than 1.2:1. |
| US08685905B2 |
Hydrocarbon-based lubricants with polyether
Disclosed are methods in which an aliphatic polyether selected from polyalkylene oxides with monomer units having 3 to about 10 carbon atoms and polyvinyl ethers with ether groups having 2 to about 8 carbon atoms is added to a hydrocarbon lubricant; such methods in which the hydrocarbon lubricant comprises oxidation products that are dissolved by the addition of the polyether or polyvinyl ether; hydrocarbon lubricants containing a polyether selected from polyalkylene oxides with monomer units having 3 to about 10 carbon atoms and polyvinyl ethers with ether groups having 2 to about 8 carbon atoms; methods of lubricating machines with these lubricants; lubrication systems including these hydrocarbon lubricants; and machines including these lubrication systems. |
| US08685904B2 |
Aqueous lubricant emulsion for medical or apparatus and a method of washing
An aqueous lubricant emulsion for medical or food apparatus, comprising: (a) 5 wt % to 30 wt % of a mineral oil; (b) 5 wt % to 30 wt % of an emulsifier system consisting of two emulsifiers selected from the group consisting of sorbitan fatty acid ester, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester, oleyl alcohol ether, triethanolamine oleate, wherein the mass ratio of the two emulsifiers is in a range of 2:8 to 8:2; (c) 0.5 wt % to 5 wt % of one or more coemulsifiers selected from the group consisting of fatty alcohols, long-chain fatty acids, and diisooctyl succinate sulfonates; and (d) the balance of water. A method for washing medical or food apparatus including the step of subjecting the medical or food apparatus to a treatment using the lubricant emulsion according to the invention after a washing step for the medical or food apparatus is also described. |
| US08685901B2 |
Wellbore servicing compositions and methods of using same
A method of servicing a wellbore in contact with a subterranean formation, comprising placing into a wellbore a composition comprising a calcium aluminate cement and a polyvalent cation-containing compound, and allowing the composition to set. A method of increasing the thickening time of a calcium aluminate cement comprising contacting the calcium aluminate cement with a polyvalent cation-containing compound. A method of adjusting the thickening time of a calcium aluminate cement comprising contacting the calcium aluminate cement with a polyvalent cation-containing compound and at least one other set modifier. |
| US08685895B2 |
Methods for selecting protease resistant polypeptides
The disclosure relates to a method for selecting, isolating and/or recovering a peptide or polypeptide from a library or a repertoire of peptides and polypeptides (e.g., a display system) that is resistant to degradation by a protease such as a protease found in the serum. Generally, the method comprises providing a library or repertoire of peptides or polypeptides, incubating the library or repertoire with a protease under conditions suitable for protease activity, and selecting, isolating and/or recovering a peptide or polypeptide that is resistant to degradation by the protease and has a desired biological activity. The selected peptides and polypeptides have utility as therapeutics, e.g., for treating disease in humans. |
| US08685892B2 |
Colorimetric bioassay for perchlorate
The present invention relates to methods, compositions and systems for detecting perchlorate in a sample. Compositions useful for detecting perchlorate in a sample include those comprising a perchlorate reductase, a reductant and an electron shuttle. In an exemplary embodiment, the composition comprises perchlorate reductase from Dechloromonas agitata, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and N-methylphenazinium methylsulfate. The present invention also provides for methods of using the compositions disclosed herein, as well as systems thereof. In some exemplary embodiments, the methods comprise a concentration step, in which, for example, the sample is contacted with a cationic solid phase extraction column. Employing this step provides certain advantages such as a lowered detection limit and the removal of contaminants. |
| US08685889B2 |
Strategies for high throughput identification and detection of polymorphisms
The invention relates to a method for the high throughput identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms by performing a complexity reduction on two or more samples to yield two or more libraries, sequencing at least part of the libraries, aligning the identified sequences and determining any putative single nucleotide polymorphisms, confirming any putative single nucleotide polymorphism, generating detection probes for the confirmed single nucleotide polymorphisms, subjection a test sample to the same complexity reduction to provide a test library and screen the test library for the presence or absence of the single nucleotide polymorphisms using the detection probe. |
| US08685887B2 |
Surfactant compositions
The present application relates to surfactant compositions comprising a) at least one phosphated arylphenol alkoxylate surfactant having an average degree of alkoxylation of from 4-8; and b) at least one alkylamine alkoxylate surfactant having an average degree of alkoxylation of from 2-12 and to the use of these compositions in pesticide formulations comprising solid or encapsulated pesticidally active ingredients or formulation aids and methods for improving the re-suspension properties of pesticide suspensions. |
| US08685886B2 |
Seed coating composition
The invention is directed to a seed coating composition, to a seed coating cocktail, to a method for preparing a coated seed, to a coated seed, and to the use of specific inorganic particles. The seed coating composition for a seed comprises water and at least 35 wt. % by weight of the coating composition of inorganic particles, wherein the mean particle size (D50) of said inorganic particles as measured by laser obscuration time technology is 250 μm or less. |
| US08685884B2 |
Production of multifunctional granular medium by partial activation of partially decomposed organic matter
A process for the production of low-temperature activated or partially activated partially decomposed organic matter for use as an ion-exchange medium comprising the steps of granulating partially decomposed moisture-bearing organic matter, drying the granules and activating the granules at a temperature of about 175-520° C., wherein the granule has a hardness and cation-exchange capacity suitable for a particular application desired. |
| US08685882B2 |
Vanadium/titania catalyst comprising natural manganese ore for removing nitrogen oxides and dioxin in wide operating temperature range and method of using the same
Disclosed is a vanadium/titania-based catalyst including natural manganese ore for removing nitrogen oxides and dioxin in a wide operating temperature range and a method of using the same. Specifically, this invention pertains to a vanadium/titania (V/TiO2)-based catalyst, including natural manganese ore, and a method for removing nitrogen oxides and dioxin over a wide operating temperature range, in which the WTiO2 catalyst for selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides and removal of dioxin contained in flue gas includes 5-30 wt % of natural manganese ore. |
| US08685880B2 |
On-site drying of aqueous salt for ionic liquid make-up
Methods for amending the composition of catalyst inventory of ionic liquid catalyzed processes, whereby the catalytic activity of the catalyst inventory may be adjusted and maintained for the steady state operation of such processes by contacting the catalyst inventory with a liquid phase, catalyst make-up material comprising an anhydrous salt and/or a mixture of the ionic liquid with the salt, wherein the salt comprises a precursor of the ionic liquid. |
| US08685875B2 |
Methods for enhancing the mesoporosity of zeolite-containing materials
Methods for enhancing the mesoporosity of a zeolite-containing material. Such methods may comprise contacting a composite shaped article containing at least one zeolite and at least one non-zeolitic material with at least one pH controlling agent and at least one surfactant. Such methods may be performed under conditions sufficient to increase the pore volume of at least one 10 angstrom subset of mesoporosity. |
| US08685874B2 |
High-toughness zeta-phase carbides
A ceramic material having a high toughness can include carbon and a transition metal. The transition metal can have an elemental body centered cubic structure at room temperature. A substantial amount of the ceramic can be of a rhombohedral ζ phase of the transition metal and carbon. These materials can have a high thermal shock resistance, high fracture toughness, and good high temperature performance. A particulate mixture of a carbon source and a transition metal source can be assembled (12) and reacted (14) under high pressure and high temperature. The transition metal source can include a transition metal of a metal which has an elemental BCC structure at room temperature. The particulate mixture carbon to transition metal ratio is chosen so as to achieve a zeta phase carbide and processing is affected in order to retain the zeta phase at a substantial weight percent of the material (i.e. greater than about 5 wt %). The carbide ceramic can be cooled (16) and depressurized (18) to acquire the ceramic material. |
| US08685873B2 |
Lithium-aluminosilicate glass with short glazing times
A lithium-aluminosilicate glass or a corresponding glass ceramic that has a content of 0-0.4SnO2, 1.3-2.7% by weight of ΣSnO2+TiO2, 1.3-2.5% by weight of ZrO2, 3.65-4.3% by weight of ΣZrO2+0.87 (TiO2+SnO2), ≦0.04% by weight of Fe2O3, 50-4000 ppm of Nd2O3 and 0-50 ppm of CoO is described. The glass or the glass ceramic is color-neutral, has a turbidity of less than 1% HAZE and a high light transmission. The glazing time for conversion of the glass into glass ceramic is especially short with less than 2.5 hours. |
| US08685872B2 |
Low softening point glass composition, bonding material using same and electronic parts
A low softening point glass composition, which is substantially free from lead, bismuth and antimony and comprises oxides of vanadium, phosphorous, tellurium and iron, a softening point of the composition being 380° C. or lower. |
| US08685868B2 |
Reinforcing fibrous structure for a composite material and a part containing said structure
A reinforcing fiber structure woven as a single piece for fabricating a composite material part, the fiber structure having an internal portion or core (72), and a portion adjacent to an outside surface of the structure, or skin (74, 76), and the fiber structure being formed by a three-dimensional weaving in its core using at least one weave selected from an interlock weave and a multilayer weave, and by weaving at its skin with a weave of satin type that is different from the weave in the core the weaving at the skin being of the multilayer type or of the two-dimensional type. |
| US08685859B2 |
Self-aligned semiconductor trench structures
Methods for forming a semiconductor device include forming self-aligned trenches, in which a first set of trenches is used to align a second set of trenches. Methods taught herein can be used as a pitch doubling technique, and may therefore enhance device integration. Further, employing a very thin CMP stop layer, and recessing surrounding materials by about an equal amount to the thickness of the CMP stop layer, provides improved planarity at the surface of the device. |
| US08685858B2 |
Formation of metal nanospheres and microspheres
Hemispheres and spheres are formed and employed for a plurality of applications. Hemispheres are employed to form a substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface includes peaks of pillars which have a base attached to the lower surface. The peaks have a density defined at the upper surface by an array of hemispherical metal structures that act as a mask during an etch to remove substrate material down to the lower surface during formation of the pillars. The pillars are dense and uniform and include a microscale average diameter. The spheres are formed as independent metal spheres or nanoparticles for other applications. |
| US08685855B2 |
Tray for CVD and method for forming film using same
A tray for film formation by a CVD method includes a tray main body (2) and a supporting member (3) mounted on the tray main body (2) for supporting a silicon wafer (5). The supporting member (3) has a holding portion (3c), on which the silicon wafer (5) is directly placed. The holding portion (3c) has its lower surface (3d) apart from a surface (2a) of the tray main body that is opposed to and apart from the supported silicon wafer (5), whereby the thickness distribution of an oxide film formed on the silicon wafer can be made uniform. The tray has a structure for reducing a contact area between the supporting member (3) and the tray main body (2), with the holding portion (3c) having a tilted surface with its inner circumferential side closer to the tray main body surface (2a) that is opposed to the silicon wafer. |
| US08685850B2 |
System and method of plating conductive gate contacts on metal gates for self-aligned contact interconnections
According to one embodiment of the invention, the gate contact is formed by a selective deposition on the gate electrode. One acceptable technique for the selective deposition is by plating. Plating is one process by which a metal structure, such as a gate contact, may be formed directly on the gate electrode. The plating is carried out by immersing the semiconductor die in a plating solution with the gate electrode exposed. The gate contact is plated onto the gate electrode and thus is ensured of being fully aligned exactly to the gate electrode. After this, the appropriate dielectric layers are formed adjacent the gate contact and over the source and drain to ensure that the gate electrode is electrically isolated from other components of the transistor. |
| US08685846B2 |
Technique for processing a substrate
An improved technique for processing a substrate is disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the technique may be realized as a method for processing a substrate. The method may comprise ion implanting a substrate disposed downstream of the ion source with ions generated in an ion source; and disposing a first portion of a mask in front of the substrate to expose the first portion of the mask to the ions, the mask being supported by the first and second mask holders, the mask further comprising a second portion wound in the first mask holder. |
| US08685843B2 |
Direct growth of graphene on substrates
Graphene layers can be formed on a dielectric substrate using a process that includes forming a copper thin film on a dielectric substrate; diffusing carbon atoms through the copper thin film; and forming a graphene layer at an interface between the copper thin film and the dielectric substrate. |
| US08685838B2 |
Laser beam machining method
A laser processing method which can accurately cut an object to be processed along a line to cut is provided. A modified region 7 formed by multiphoton absorption forms a cutting start region 8 within an object to be processed 1 along a line to cut 5. Thereafter, the object 1 is irradiated with laser light L2 absorbable by the object 1 along the line to cut 5, so as to generate fractures 24 from the cutting start region 8 acting as a start point, whereby the object 1 can accurately be cut along the line to cut 5. Expanding an expandable film 19 having the object 1 secured thereto separates individual chips 25 from each other, which can further improve the reliability in cutting the object 1 along the line to cut 5. |