最新美国发明专利第2014-05-20期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

Document	Document Title
US08731730B2	Electric vehicle clustered charge distribution and prioritization method, system and apparatus A method, system, and apparatus include a clustered charge distribution and prioritized charge distribution system for electric vehicles (EVs). Distributed processing units (DPUs) receive member information about an EV or EV user. A power distribution manager (PDM) is coupled to each of the DPUs. The PDM includes a prioritizer. The prioritizer determines a prioritization for charging the EVs based on the member information received by each of the DPUs. A method includes providing clustered charge distribution and charge prioritization for electric vehicles. The method includes sensing whether power is requested by any one of a plurality of EVs within a cluster, generating individual EV-specific information for the EVs using the DPUs, transmitting the EV-specific information to the PDM, and selecting and applying a prioritization algorithm based at least in part on the transmitted information.
US08731729B2	Method for microgrid controls development A process develops controls for microgrid systems. The process models physical systems of increasing complexity. Candidate control algorithms are implemented as state machines that can affect state variables which represent control signals for elements of the physical system. A simulation of the physical system is operated according to the control algorithms.
US08731726B2	Method and device for regulating fluid pump pressures A method is provided for regulating fluid pump pressures by detecting an elevation differential between a fluid flow control device and the distal end of a fluid line in communication with the fluid flow control device. A fluid flow control device, for instance a peritoneal dialysis device, is at a first height, a distal end of a fluid line is at a second height, and a valved outlet, when open, affords communication between the fluid flow control device and the distal end of the fluid line. The elevation differential is correlatable with a pressure measurable during a calibration procedure provided as a part of the methodology.
US08731722B2	Integrated simulation technology Virtual material handling systems can be used to drive the operation of real material handling systems for purposes such as testing and validation of the components of the real material handling systems. The real material handling system, in turn, can provide data regarding system operation which may be fed back to the virtual material handling system to control its function.
US08731715B2	Mobile device and method and computer-readable medium controlling same for using with sound localization A mobile device moves by calculating a distance between a sound source and the mobile device using a sound source direction estimation technique. The mobile device moves by a reference distance in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the mobile device faces the sound source when call sound of the sound source is generated, outputs voice to instruct to the sound source to generate recall sound, checks a directional angle of the mobile device when recall sound is generated by the sound source, calculates the distance between the sound source and the mobile device according to the reference distance and the directional angle of the mobile device, and moves to the vicinity of the sound source.
US08731713B2	Prescription dispensing system A prescription dispensing system having a dispensing station for holding an inventory of prescription medications, a secure internet connection to the dispensing station for access by a potential prescription medication recipient, by healthcare personnel in a physician office and by pharmacy personnel at the pharmacy distribution center in a remote location, at least two webcams for visual and auditory communication between the location of the dispensing station and the pharmacy personnel via the internet to allow identification of the correct medication, identification and communication with the correct potential prescription medication recipient, and visual validation and recording of all documentation from the physician's office or potential prescription medication recipient, and a biometric reader disposed at the dispensing station for identifying a potential prescription medication recipient. The system may include various enhancements to allow accurate dispensing of the proper medication and direct secure internet communication between the pharmacist and the authorized recipient of the medication.
US08731711B1	Systems and methods for sorting Method and systems for sorting are described. In one embodiment, a container is released into a pocket section, with the pocket section being at a first alignment stage. The pocket section is rotated with the container away from the first alignment stage to a second alignment stage. Attributes of the container are acquired at the second alignment stage. An order to which the container belongs is identified with the acquired attributes. The pocket section with the container is rotated to a third alignment stage. The location of the third alignment stage is selected based on the identified order. The container is received to group with one or more containers in the identified order. Additional methods and systems are disclosed.
US08731708B2	Method and apparatus for multi-destination item selection using motes Method and apparatus for multi-destination pick using motes. Each receptacle may be assigned to a destination and may have a mote that may include an indicator that may be activated by a control system to indicate to the agent that the receptacle is the destination receptacle for a picked item. The agent may then place the item in the indicated destination receptacle. A mote may include a communication interface for communicating with a control system and with other motes in an ad-hoc network. The mote on the destination receptacle may be activated when the picked item is scanned by the agent. Each receptacle may also have a sensor that detects when an item is placed in the receptacle to deactivate the indicator and/or to verify that the item was placed in the correct receptacle.
US08731706B2	Vacuum processing apparatus A vacuum processing apparatus includes a plurality of vacuum containers; a vacuumized transfer unit connected with the vacuum containers and having a transfer chamber; a plurality of lock chambers connected to the vacuumized transfer unit; a vacuumized transferring section arranged in the transfer chamber to transfer the sample between each of the lock chambers and each of the processing chambers inside the plurality of vacuum containers; an atmospheric transfer container having a space through which the sample is transferred under the atmospheric pressure; an atmospheric transfer unit arranged in the atmospheric transfer container and adapted to transfer the sample from a cassette; and a controller operative on the basis of schedule information of a plurality of operations to adjust the operations, the information including times of stagnation of the plurality of samples and set therefor.
US08731703B1	System for automated decoration A system for automated decoration of an item comprising the steps of: installing print generating software on a computer with a memory (e.g. a server); linking an input system (e.g. a web site) to the computer; allowing a customer to select an item (customer selection), preferably a fabric item, via the input system; allowing the customer to specify a decoration (customer specification) for the item via the input system; generating a print image for the item from the customer selection and specification with the print generating software; and sending the print image from the computer to a printer, which is preferably a dye sublimation printer.
US08731702B2	Continuous rolling train with integration and/or removal of roll stands during ongoing operation In mill stands of a continuous rolling train, a product passes through the train is rolled such that the product upon leaving the train has predetermined final characteristics. To remove one of the stands, the mill stand to be removed is completely relieved of load according to a defined temporal load relieving sequence. Locally simultaneously with the load relieving, at least one other mill stand is placed under load according to a defined temporal loading sequence. The load-relieving and loading sequence are mutually adjusted to preserve the final product characteristics. A circumferential roll velocity is controlled until the stand has been completely relieved such that a discharge velocity corresponds always to a predetermined desired discharge velocity. After the complete load-relieving, a correspondence of the circumferential roll velocity to the desired discharge velocity is maintained and the working rolls are lifted off. The mill stand is then deactivated.
US08731699B2	Dynamic, lean insulated glass unit assembly line scheduler A dynamic insulated glass unit (IGU) assembly line scheduler is provided for production control of an IGU assembly line. When calculating the IGU assembly line order and controls, the scheduler evaluates at least i) a changeable set of uniquely identifiable glass lite storage loading locations adjacent a loading station, ii) a changeable set of uniquely identifiable IGU storage locations adjacent a unloading station, iii) a changeable identifiable subset of the set of uniquely identifiable IGU storage locations, and iv) a assembly line change outs to be performed at least in the production of the IGUs for the next in line set of IGUs to be shipped from the IGU assembly line. The scheduler is configured to re-evaluate the IGU assembly order at least with the filling of each next in line set of IGUs to be shipped.
US08731697B2	Job assignment apparatus of automatic material-handling system and method thereof A job assignment apparatus of an automatic material-handling apparatus to calculate an initial optimum solution based on a cost table configured by the job assignment, and to calculate a single optimum solution based on the cost table converted by statistical data. The Hungarian algorithm is stored in a tool storage unit to calculate the optimum solution. A statistical-data calculator calculates statistical data to convert costs of the initial cost table into other costs. The cost-table converter converts the costs of the initial cost table based on the calculated statistical data.
US08731696B2	System for designing a customized article of footwear A method of making an article of footwear is disclosed. The method includes the steps of designing an article of footwear via a website, converting a footwear representation into a set of two-dimensional portions, printing the two dimensional portions onto a sheet material, cutting and assembling the two dimensional portions into a finalized article of footwear. The method further includes a step of shipping the article of footwear to a pre-designated shipping address. Systems for receiving an order for a customized article of footwear are also disclosed.
US08731695B2	Sound synthesis with decoupled formant and inharmonicity Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for allowing independent control of a formant position and inharmonic content in sound synthesis. In one aspect, this allows continuous shifting of the formant across a spectrum without producing any inharmonic spectral content. In a second aspect, this also makes it possible to generate sound with a defined inharmonic content amount and still move a formant position without changing the inharmonic content amount or to continuously change the amount of inharmonic content without significantly changing the formant position. The disclosed technology uses multiple modulators that are applied to a carrier signal by a weighted sum of their outputs.
US08731694B2	Portable device with freefall detection or audio processing subsystem and freefall detection or audio processing method In a class of embodiments, a method and apparatus for detecting freefall of a disk device (thereby predicting that the disk device will likely suffer imminent physical impact) and typically also preventing damage that a disk drive of the device would otherwise suffer if and when a predicted impact occurs. In some embodiments, a disk device includes a freefall detection processor and a CPU. The freefall detection processor is configured to monitor acceleration data to determine whether the disk device is in freefall and to perform at least one other operation (e.g., decoding of MP3-encoded audio data to generate decoded audio data) while the CPU performs at least one other task. Other embodiments pertain to a portable device including a digital audio processing subsystem and an accelerometer. The digital audio processing subsystem is configured to monitor acceleration data to identify any rhythm associated with motion of the portable device and to modify the playback of audio data in response to any such identified rhythm.
US08731685B2	Implantable lead having a variable coil conductor pitch Systems and methods for shielding implantable leads from magnetic fields during medical procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are described. In various embodiments, the lead includes an inner conductor that is helically shaped and radially surrounded, at least in part, by one or more outer shielding conductors. The pitch of the inner conductor, and in some cases also the outer conductor, can be varied (e.g., continuously or at certain points) along the length of the lead, forming a plurality of high impedance points along the length of the lead which result in the dissipation of electromagnetic energy at an interrogation frequency of a magnetic resonance imaging device (e.g., 64 MHz, 128 MHz, or the like). In some embodiments, the variance in the pitch of the inner conductor follows a sinusoidal function, a modified square-wave function, or some other repeating pattern.
US08731673B2	Neural interface system The neural interface system of the preferred embodiments includes an electrode array having a plurality of electrode sites and a carrier that supports the electrode array. The electrode array is coupled to the carrier such that the electrode sites are arranged both circumferentially around the carrier and axially along the carrier. A group of the electrode sites may be simultaneously activated to create an activation pattern. The system of the preferred embodiment is preferably designed for deep brain stimulation, and, more specifically, for deep brain stimulation with fine electrode site positioning, selectivity, tunability, and precise activation patterning. The system of the preferred embodiments, however, may be alternatively used in any suitable environment (such as the spinal cord, peripheral nerve, muscle, or any other suitable anatomical location) and for any suitable reason.
US08731672B2	System and method for bronchial dilation A method of reducing bronchial constriction in a subject includes delivering energy to create one or more lesions on a main bronchus so as to transect pulmonary nerves sufficiently to reduce bronchial constriction in a lung of the patient distal to the main bronchus.
US08731669B2	Bipolar lead containing HV and LV signal capability An implantable medical device system includes a medical electrical lead having a connector assembly and a connector bore for receiving the lead connector assembly. The lead includes a distal portion having a first outer diameter and a distal sealing member, an intermediate portion having a second outer diameter smaller than the first outer diameter, and a connector pin extending from the intermediate portion, the connector pin having an outer diameter corresponding to a DF-1 standard.
US08731668B2	Implantable medical device with fractal antenna An apparatus and method for enabling an implanted fractal antenna for radio frequency communications between an implantable medical device and an external device. The fractal antenna may be disposed within or outside of a header assembly of the device housing. Various examples include a three dimensional patterned cylinder usable as a tissue anchor or stent. In another embodiment the antenna may be cast, molded, stamped, punched, milled, laser cut, etched or other methods to form a fractal pattern in conductive media. In another embodiment the antenna may be formed of a printed circuit board (PCB) either with or without an included ground reference plane. In another embodiment the antenna may be formed in a fractal pattern and then wrapped around a part of the implantable device.
US08731667B2	Pacing output configuration selection for cardiac resynchronization therapy patients Cardiac therapy systems include multiple electrodes respectively positionable at multiple left ventricular electrode sites. A pulse generator is coupled to the electrodes and configured to deliver a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). A processor is configured to measure, for each left ventricular electrode site, a timing interval between first and second cardiac signal features associated with left ventricular depolarization. The timing interval is associated with a degree of responsiveness of each left ventricular electrode site to CRT. The processor is configured to determine a pacing output configuration that provides improved patient responsiveness to CRT based on the timing interval measurements and to select at least one left ventricular electrode site from the plurality of left ventricular electrode sites based on the timing interval measurements. The processor may be configured to monitor for a change in hemodynamic status of the patient based on a change in the timing interval.
US08731665B1	Posture detection using pressure and other physiologic sensors Systems and methods are provided for detecting the orientation and/or movement of a patient having an implantable cardiac stimulation device and evaluating whether a change in the patient's cardiac activity can be at least in part due to a change in the patient's orientation. In one particular embodiment, signals from an orientation sensor and/or a pressure sensor are evaluated to determine static positional orientation of the patient and determine based on the static orientation whether the patient's cardiac activity is abnormal.
US08731652B2	Method and apparatus for monitoring the autonomous nervous system of a sedated patient A method and an apparatus for monitoring the autonomous nervous system of a sedated patient. The method comprises steps of providing a skin conductance signal measured at an area of the patient's skin through a measurement interval, calculating a characteristic of said skin conductance signal, establishing a first output signal indicating the state of pain or discomfort in the patient, and a second output signal indicating the state of awakening in the patient, based on said characteristic of said skin conductance signal. The calculating of the signal characteristic comprises calculating a value representative of a statistical dispersion, e.g., the standard deviation, of the values of the skin conductance signal through the measurement interval.
US08731645B2	Identification device An identification device measures a potential difference signal between two contact electrodes contacted by a driver out of a plurality of electrodes installed in a handling unit or a potential difference signal between one contact electrode installed in the handling unit and a contact electrode different from the electrodes installed in the handling unit. The device identifies a contact electrode contacted by driver's hand out of the plurality of electrodes installed in the handling unit. The device determines whether the driver's hand in contact with the identified contact electrode is the right hand or the left hand on the basis of a rotational state of the handling unit and a position of the contact electrode in the handling unit. The device identifies the heart beat from the potential difference signal amplified by an amplification factor determined on the basis of a result of determination.
US08731642B2	Apparatus and method for locating a device tip within a volume A method for determining by an x-ray projection a position of a target radiopaque marker disposed on a catheter in a subject's body, comprising assigning a landmark in the body as a reference point compensated for periodic movements of the body, determining an auxiliary location relative to the reference point using at least one additional radiopaque marker disposed on the catheter and based on the auxiliary location determining the position of the target radiopaque marker with respect to the reference point.
US08731638B2	Adjustable connector and dead space reduction Methods and systems for determining the concentration of one or more analytes from a sample such as blood or plasma are described. The systems described herein can be configured to withdraw a certain volume of sample from a source of bodily fluid, direct a first portion of the withdrawn sample to an analyte monitoring system and return a second portion of the sample to the patient. The analyte monitoring system can be connected to the source of bodily fluid via a connector that is configured to maintain uniform velocity across the connector and reduce the dead space volume.
US08731634B2	Medical imaging system and patient positioning system including a movable transport belt A medical imaging system for imaging a region of interest (ROI) in a patient. The imaging system includes an imaging modality unit having a field of view (FOV) and an examination platform. The examination platform has a pair of opposite ends and a platform surface extending therebetween along an examination axis. The platform surface extends into the FOV. The imaging system also includes a patient transport belt that is supported by the examination platform and extends along the platform surface between the ends of the examination platform. The imaging system also includes a motor that is operatively coupled to and configured to move the transport belt along the platform surface in a direction along the examination axis. The motor moves the transport belt so that a predetermined portion of the transport belt is within the FOV.
US08731627B2	Method of using a smart phone as a telematics device interface A system and method for controlling a vehicle telematics unit via a smart phone using the steps of: storing a software application for remotely controlling the telematics unit at the smart phone; using the stored software application to communicatively connect the smart phone with the telematics unit via a short-range wireless communication link; receiving data from the telematics unit that is used to display a menu of telematics service selections at the smart phone; receiving a telematics service selection from a vehicle occupant at the smart phone that is chosen from one of the displayed telematics service selections; and transmitting a command that controls at least one function of the vehicle based on the received telematics service selection from the smart phone to the telematics unit over the short-range wireless communication link.
US08731620B2	System and method for providing a call notification on a communication device Embodiments of the disclosed invention include a system, method, and computer program product for providing a notification of an incoming call on a communication device. For example, in one embodiment, a communication device is disclosed comprising one or more displays covering two or more surfaces of the communication device. In certain embodiments, a first image is displayed on two or more displays in response to receiving an incoming call for providing a visible indicator for alerting a user of an incoming call. Still, in some embodiments, the first image is a current profile image of a caller retrieved from a network device associated with a social networking website.
US08731619B2	Method and apparatus for displaying an image of a device based on radio waves The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program in which information can be reliably exchanged when performing wireless communication by allowing a user to know a communication distance at which devices can be connected. For example, a communication unit 28 performs Bluetooth communication with a communication unit, which serves as a Bluetooth module, provided for a cellular telephone; a CPU 21 displays an image corresponding to the cellular telephone based on the input level of Bluetooth radio waves transmitted from the cellular telephone; the CPU 21 calculates the display position of the image to be displayed based on the data indicating the input level of the radio waves. The present invention can be applied to an information processing apparatus, for example, a personal computer, PDA, or a cellular telephone.
US08731612B2	Mobile terminal and controlling method thereof A mobile terminal may be provided that includes a camera module, a wireless communication unit to perform a video call with another party, a display to display a video call relevant image, a location information module to obtain location information of the mobile terminal, and a controller to obtain object information of an object within an image captured by the camera module based on the obtained location information of the mobile terminal. The controller may control the obtained object information to be transmitted to a terminal of the other party.
US08731610B2	Method for adaptive user interface in mobile devices A system and method for providing a zone-based user interface (UI) on a mobile device are provided. The method includes defining usage zones and associating at least one user interface with each one of the defined usage zones. When the mobile device is within one of the defined usage zones, displaying the associated user interface.
US08731608B2	Communication method and apparatus of dual standby mode terminal A communication method and apparatus of a dual standby mode mobile terminal for improving the emission performance are provided. The mobile terminal includes a master switch for connecting a master antenna to a master Radio Frequency (RF) unit for communication with a first network, a slave switch for connecting a slave antenna to a slave RF unit for communication with a second network, a slave control unit for controlling communication with the second network and for detecting attachment of a slave Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), and a master control unit for controlling communication with the first network, for detecting attachment of a master SIM, and for controlling the master and slave switches to establish/release either the connection between the master antenna and the master RF unit or the connection between the slave antenna and the slave RF unit.
US08731606B2	Communication system, mobile station device, connection destination evaluating method, connection destination evaluating program, and base station device A priority storing unit (b117) stores, for each of frequency bands predetermined, a priority for accessing a base station device using associated one of the frequency bands. A service type determining unit (b114) chooses, based on identification information received from the at least one first base station device, which of the first and second services to receive from each of the at least one first base station device. A priority determining unit (b116) determines, based on a type of a connection service chosen by the service type determining unit (b114), a priority for each of the frequency bands which is used by the at least one first base station device, and to update the priority stored by the priority storing unit (b117) based on the priority determined. A selection evaluator (b119) selects a base station device to access, based on the priority updated by the priority determining unit (b116) and a reception level of a reception signal for each of the frequency bands which is received from each of the base station devices.
US08731604B2	Multi-mode IC with multiple processing cores An integrated circuit (IC) includes a first processing module that converts inbound data into an inbound digital audio signal and converts an outbound digital audio signal into outbound data. A second processing module performs a user application that includes at least one of generating of an inbound analog audio signal and generating an outbound analog audio signal. A third processing module performs an operating system algorithm to coordinate operation of at least one user application.
US08731603B2	RF circuit module and panel A radio frequency signal distribution module and panel for receiving such a module are disclosed. One module includes a housing having a front and a rear, a radio frequency signal input connection positioned on the rear of the housing, and a plurality of radio frequency signal output connections positioned on the rear of the housing. The module also includes a splitter within the housing and connecting the radio frequency signal input connection to the plurality of radio frequency signal output connections. Certain modules include an active attenuation component connected to and providing programmable attenuation of a radio frequency signal output connection from among the plurality of radio frequency signal output connections. Other modules include a data port on the housing, the data port configured to communicate information about radio frequency signals within the module to a computing system remote from the module.
US08731601B2	Energy saving management method for base station, apparatus and system An energy saving (ES) management method for a base station includes: An integration reference point manager (IRPManager) initiates an ES enable/disable procedure or an ES activation/resumption procedure to an integration reference point agent (IRPAgent), where the ES enable/disable procedure is used to allow or prohibit an ES operation on the base station or a cell, and the ES activation/resumption procedure is used to cause the base station or the cell to go into or go out of an ES state. The technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present invention enable operators to perform unified management on an ES procedure for a base station at a base station level or a cell level.
US08731595B2	Transmission power management for a moblie device supporting simultaneous transmission on multiple air interfaces Systems and methods for transmission power management for a mobile device supporting simultaneous transmission on multiple air interfaces are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises determining a transmission power level for each air interface, comparing the transmission power levels to a threshold power level, and adjusting at least one of the transmission power levels based on said comparison.
US08731594B2	System and method for reliable multicast transmissions over shared wireless media for spectrum efficiency and battery power conservation According to one embodiment of the invention, wireless spectrum and battery power conservation is achieved through an adaptable multicast group communication scheme. This involves a method for controlling the multicast transmission rate based on a first operation of receiving information from a multicast receiving device that is a member of a multicast group. Based on this information and potentially other information from other member devices, the modulation and coding rate for the multicast group is altered.
US08731593B2	Method and apparatus for processing transmit power control (TPC) commands in a wideband CDMA (WCDMA) network Method and apparatus for processing transmit power control (TPC) commands in a wideband CDMA (WCDMA) network are disclosed and may include calculating a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a downlink dedicated physical channel (DPCH) based on a plurality of transmit power control (TPC) bits received via the downlink DPCH. A value of at least one of said plurality of TPC bits is not known when said at least one of said plurality of TPC bits is received. Transmit power for at least one uplink communication path may be adjusted based on the calculated SNR of the downlink dedicated physical channel. At least one reliability weight value may be calculated for at least a portion of the received TCP bits, based on the calculated SNR.
US08731590B2	Resource allocation control There are provided measures for resource allocation control. Such measures may exemplarily include allocating resources based on a resource allocation assignment including at least an assignment of a resource allocation amount of granted resources for transmission to logical channels, for which data is available for transmission, according to a priority and a prioritized bit rate of each logical channel, and calculating a metric indicative of a result of the resource allocation in terms of at least one of requirements of the prioritized bit rates of the logical channels and the available data of the logical channels. Such measures may also exemplarily include receiving, from at least one device, a metric indicative of a result of resource allocation at said at least one device in terms of at least one of requirements of prioritized bit rates and available transmission data of logical channels, evaluating the received at least one metric with respect to a resource allocation assignment, and modifying the resource allocation assignment based on a result of the evaluation.
US08731589B1	Intelligent short message service transmission Disclosed are a method and apparatus for sending a communication to destination client devices. The communication has two message sets: an address set containing an address list and a content set containing content. Both the address set and the content set include one or more messages. The address list includes at least one address for each destination client device. Example content types are text, hyperlinks, web pages, audio, images, and video. Each message of both message sets may be sent separately to a network entity, such as a short message service center. When both message sets are received at the network entity, the network entity may correlate the address set with the content set and responsively send the content to each address in the address list.
US08731588B2	Alert feature for text messages The technology disclosed in this specification includes a method and system for analyzing text messages, and more particularly a method and system for providing an alert feature for text messages based at least in part on an analysis of the signaling data associated with the text messages. Subscribers of a family plan wireless account (e.g., parents or guardians) or a designated third party may receive a report if an account member's text message contains objectionable material, such as content relating to explicit sexual matters, drugs, alcohol, gangs or violence.
US08731587B2	Method for transmitting messages in a telecommunications network A method is provided for transmitting messages, for example, in a telecommunications network, in which a first message service and a second message service are available. Dedicated messages of the first message service are sent using messages of the second message service. An exemplary method according to the present invention may permit an optimized transmission scheme to be maintained for the dedicated messages of the first message service.
US08731584B2	Mobile terminal and method for controlling the mobile terminal A mobile terminal includes a position location module, a wireless communication unit, a user input unit, and a controller. The controller is configured to obtain first position information via the position location module in response to a first command received via the user input unit, receive second position information via the wireless communication unit, wherein the second position information relates to a geographical location of the external device, identify a relative distance between the mobile terminal and the external device using the first position information and the second position information, and perform an interlock function at the mobile terminal in response to a second command received via the user input unit if the relative distance between the mobile terminal and the external device is less than a threshold distance, where the interlock function restricts the mobile terminal from performing a function.
US08731578B2	Method and apparatus for obtaining location information using smart card A method and device for providing location information to a smart card, are discussed. According to an embodiment, the invention provides a mobile terminal for communicating with a smart card and a location device associated with the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal comprising: a controller configured to provide terminal profile information to the smart card, to receive a geographical location request from the smart card based on the terminal profile information, to send a terminal response to the smart card in response to the geographical location request, to obtain location information of the mobile terminal from the location device in response to the geographical location request, and to sending an envelope signal including the obtained location information to the smart card.
US08731575B2	System and method for modulation scheme changes A system and method are disclosed that allow changes of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) without overhead signaling. A priori, a network device and a user device know the manner in which the MCS will be changed. In one embodiment, the network device indicates the MCS to be used to decode a second portion of a message in a first portion of the message. In another embodiment, the user device blind detects the MCS used over a sub-set of MCSs.
US08731574B2	Assigning code space to portable base stations In addition to other aspects disclosed, a portable base station requests assignment of a portion of a code space from a remotely located control station. The assignment is based upon the location of the portable base station. The portable base station is also capable of transmitting an identification signal using the assigned code space portion to uniquely identify the portable base station to one or more access terminals.
US08731573B2	Allocation of primary and secondary synchronization code sequences to cells in a wireless communication system Allocation of cell IDs in a cellular communication system includes determining a candidate allocation pattern of primary and secondary synchronization signal sequences for a candidate set of two or more cells. A performance metric is applied to the candidate allocation pattern to ascertain a performance indicator for the candidate allocation pattern, wherein the performance indicator indicates a quality of positioning performance for the candidate set of two or more cells. Cell-specific positioning performance for each cell in the candidate set of cells can be considered to derive the performance indicator of the candidate allocation pattern. If the performance indicator indicates acceptable positioning performance, primary and secondary synchronization signal sequences are allocated to respective ones of base stations corresponding to the two or more cells in accordance with the candidate allocation pattern. Otherwise, the process is repeated for a different candidate allocation pattern.
US08731570B2	Method and apparatus for allocating connection identifier in wireless communication system An apparatus for allocating one or more connection identifiers in a base station of a wireless communication system is used in a base station. The base station has a function of allocating one or more connection identifiers used for specific call communication between the base station and a mobile station. The apparatus includes a unit for defining one or more connection identifiers used for the specific call communication and one or more burst profiles that are attributes related to wireless communication using the one or more connection identifiers. Also included is a unit for broadcasting the one or more connection identifiers used for the specific call communication and the one or more burst profiles to the mobile station.
US08731567B2	System and method for automatic fractional frequency reuse planning A system and method for automatic fractional frequency reuse (FFR) planning are provided. A method for controller operations includes determining a group of frequency reuse modes, assigning at least one frequency reuse mode to a controller based on mutual relationship information, where the at least one frequency reuse mode is from the group of frequency reuse modes, and sharing the at least one frequency reuse mode with communications controllers coupled to the controller.
US08731564B2	Wireless communication device and wireless communication method A location-registration control unit transmits, when handover from a first communication network for performing voice communication and packet communication to a second communication network for performing packet communication is determined to be executed, a location registration request to the second communication network and receives a response to the location registration request from the second communication network. A voice-communication-request acquiring unit puts a voice communication request on hold when acquiring the voice communication request requesting the first communication network for performing voice communication. A voice-communication determining unit determines whether the voice communication request is being put on hold. When it has been determined that the voice communication request is being put on hold, the voice-communication control unit cancels the sending of a reply of completion notification notifying of completion of receipt of the acceptance and transfers the voice communication request being put on hold to the first communication network.
US08731563B2	Mobile terminal and mobile state reporting method thereof The present invention discloses a method for reporting a mobility state of a mobile terminal comprising: a User Equipment (UE) evaluating its own mobility state under a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection state based on a first evaluation parameter sent by an evolved Node B (eNodeB), and obtaining an evaluated first determination result; and the UE reporting the first determination result to the eNodeB through a measurement report message in the RRC connection state. The present invention also discloses a mobile terminal configured to report determination result of its own mobility state to an eNodeB such that the eNodeB can adopt different pertinent processing strategies for UEs in different mobility states, thereby bringing convenience to practical application.
US08731562B2	Detection of control messages for HSDPA A adaptive method implemented by a mobile station improves the likelihood of detecting control messages transmitted to the mobile station in band on a shared downlink traffic channel. When the mobile station expects a control message to be transmitted on the shared downlink traffic channel, the mobile station may adapt the receiver configuration and/or receiver parameters to reduce a likelihood of missed detection of control messages. In one embodiment, the mobile station is configured to adjust a correlation threshold used for said scheduled transmission detection to reduce the likelihood of a missed detection.
US08731558B2	Mobile station, radio base station, and mobile communication method A mobile station UE includes: a measuring unit which measures the radio quality in a serving cell and a peripheral cell from a radio base station eNB; and a determining unit which determines whether to notify the measurement result. When the mobile station UE is in the discontinuous reception state, the determining unit determines whether to notify the measurement result in accordance with the radio quality in the measured serving cell and the peripheral cell and a parameter for the discontinuous reception state. When the mobile station UE is not in the discontinuous reception state, the determining unit determines whether to notify the measurement result in accordance with the radio quality in the measured serving cell and the peripheral cell and a parameter for the continuous reception state.
US08731557B2	Inter-PLMN handover in a shared radio network Handover control in a control node, said control node controlling allocation of radio resources in a first set of cells belonging to at least two different Public Land Mobile Networks, said first set of cells including at least a first subset of cells belonging to a first Public Land Mobile Network and a second subset of cells belonging to a second Public Land Mobile Network. Traffic load exceeding a predefined level is detected (504) in a first cell belonging to the first subset of cells. In response to said detecting, connections in the first cell are evaluated (507, 509) to find one or more connections which could be supported by radio resources in one or more cells in the second subset of cells having capacity for handling additional traffic load. Handover is ordered (506, 510) of at least one of said one or more connections to said one or more cells in the second subset of cells.
US08731553B2	Cooperative communication methods and a device for a target terminal and a cooperative terminal Provided is a cooperative communication technology of a target terminal and a cooperative terminal. In an environment in which interference exists between cells, cooperation between terminals may be performed in order to improve quality of signals that are received from a base station.
US08731552B2	Methods and apparatus for selecting a communication network Network selection techniques for use in a mobile device which is configured for voice and packet data communications are described. The mobile device performs a scanning operation to identify one or more communication networks, and consults a network selection list for selecting, in accordance with assigned priorities of the list, one of the identified networks. The mobile device also determines whether a packet data service interconnection to a home network via the selected network is available. If the interconnection to the home network via the selected network is determined to be available, then the mobile device operates with voice and packet data services in the selected network. Otherwise, if the interconnection to the home network via the selected network is determined to be unavailable, then the mobile device repeats the acts of consulting and determining for the next identified network in the list.
US08731551B2	CSG membership indication Problems caused by interaction between paging optimization and synchronizing CSG information are mitigated by setting a network indication indicating, for example, that a subscriber is no longer a member of a CSG, but the network has not yet received confirmation that an access terminal associated with the subscriber has been informed of this. A timer-based scheme may be employed for removing a CSG ID from the subscriber information for a subscriber once it is determined that the subscriber is no longer a member of the CSG. In addition, a temporary member of a CSG may determine whether it is still a member of a CSG upon expiration of a CSG timer. Also, the frequency with which an access terminal registers may be changed based on various criteria. Furthermore, an allowed CSG list may be selectively included in a page message depending on the destination of the page message.
US08731549B2	Neighbor list broadcasting techniques Techniques are disclosed that involve the indication of neighbor base stations. For instance, a base station may generate and wirelessly transmit a message that indicates a plurality of neighboring base stations. This message may include an indicator having one or more wildcard values. Through the employment of such wildcard values, the indicator may provide information corresponding to the plurality of neighboring base stations. For instance, the indicator may indicate a plurality of base station identifiers (BSIDs). Alternatively, the indicator may indicate a plurality of preamble indices. As a further alternative, the indicator may indicate a plurality of carrier frequencies. Through the employment of such techniques, overhead can be saved without causing ambiguity in mobility management.
US08731546B2	Architecture optimized for application data sharing within a mobile communications device The present disclosure discloses a mobile communication device comprising a local common address database object accessible to at least one application; a communication subsystem for communicating with a network; and a database querying logic module. The database querying logic module, in conjunction with the at least one application, is operable to receive a query relating to an address record; determine that no record in a local common database disposed on the mobile communications device meets the conditions of the received query; query, via the network, a remote database for at least one remote matching record meeting the conditions of the received query; receive, via the network, the at least one remote matching record; and update the local common address database object to incorporate the at least one remote matching record.
US08731542B2	Dynamic adjustment of keep-alive message intervals in a mobile network Systems and methods for dynamic adjustment of keep-alive message intervals in a mobile network are disclosed. One embodiment of maintaining an IP connection between a mobile terminal and a network node over a network includes, detecting a rate with which the client-slide request are made from the mobile terminal, detecting a rate with which the client-slide request are made from the mobile terminal, sending, by the network node, keep-alive messages to the mobile terminal in an absence of network traffic through the IP connection between the mobile terminal and the network node, and/or further optimizing the time intervals between the keep-alive messages based on a cost to send the keep-alive messages in the network.
US08731541B2	Femto cell base station, communication control apparatus, communication system, control method and program The femto cell base station is a femto cell base station that connects a UE (User Equipment) to a core network side and includes storing means and control means. The storing means retains subscriber information of the UE visiting an area under control of the femto cell base station. The control means deletes the subscriber information of the UE, that is removed from the control of the femto cell base station, from the storing means.
US08731539B2	Method, system and mobile terminal for configuring access point and application information The disclosure discloses a method, a system and a mobile terminal for configuring access point and application information. The method includes: a sending-party mobile terminal sends a configuration short message containing the access point and application information in a current network to a receiving-party mobile terminal in the same network; the receiving-party mobile terminal receives the configuration short message sent by the sending-party mobile terminal, extracts the access point and application information from the configuration short message, and performs a local configuration according to the extracted access point and application information. By adopting the disclosure, the defects in the existing way of configuring the access point and application information can be complemented; and after the mobile terminal joins in the network, whether the Over-The-Air-Programming (OTAP) is supported by the server or not, it is possible to set the access point and application information required by the current network for the mobile terminal conveniently and quickly, so as to perform services such as the multimedia messaging service and the Internet accessing service normally.
US08731534B2	Mobile terminal and method for displaying image according to call therein A mobile terminal and a method for displaying an image in the mobile terminal. The method includes registering a counterparty's image in a counterparty's phone number information, extracting an image containing the counterparty's image based on the registered image, and displaying the registered image and the extracted image. At least one image from the registered image and the extracted image may be selected and displayed, wherein the at least one selected image may be displayed by sequentially changing the displayed image according to a rule. The mobile terminal and the method enable the mobile terminal to display various images associated with a counterparty, thus providing user satisfaction and eliminating an inconvenience of requiring the user to change an image.
US08731527B1	Automated voicemail preservation and deletion Computer storage media may have stored thereon a voicemail application. The voicemail application may be configured to determine whether messages in a voicemail box meet a preservation criterion. If the messages do meet the preservation criterion, the voicemail application may be configured to cause a replica of at least one of the messages to be made and stored outside of the voicemail box. After a message is replicated successfully, it may be deleted from the voice mail box.
US08731525B2	Single button contact request and response A system and a method are disclosed for sharing contact information between two mobile phones. A user of a first mobile phone can select contact information stored in the mobile phone to be shared with a second mobile phone while having live phone call with a caller of the second mobile phone. The first mobile phone transmits the contact information to the second mobile phone using a voice channel of the phone call while the phone call is established. For example, the first mobile phone may convert the contact information into an audio signal and send the audio signal to the second mobile phone while the phone call is established. The second mobile phone receives the contact information and provides a user interface such that a caller can call a phone number in the contact information with a single button press.
US08731524B2	Cellular device management A server device of a communication system provides a web interface to allow a user to modify user interface settings and contact information. The server device communicates the modified settings and contact information to the mobile communication device via a wireless communication network. The user interface settings can be communicated to the mobile communication device via the same wireless communication network that carries voice data. The user interface of the mobile communication device, as well as the stored contact information, can be updated without requiring the user to connect the device to a computer.
US08731522B2	Mailbox pooling pre-empting criteria Mailbox pooling pre-emptive criteria is set forth for use in an adaptive polling system for synchronizing data between a mail server and a mobile communication device. The polling engine stores an indication of the number of messages in the mailbox, the total mailbox size (i.e. the used storage size in bytes), and the last message ID from the last poll. In the next poll, the polling engine retrieves this information from the mailbox and checks against the values stored from the last poll. If the information is the same, then there is no need to compare the message ID list. Whenever either the number of messages in the mailbox or the mailbox size or last message ID has changed, then the full comparison of the message ID list is performed.
US08731521B2	Methods and apparatus of over-the-air programming of a wireless unit Facilitation of secure over-the-air programming is provided herein. A device can store a key, which can be based on a key algorithm (K-algorithm) and an identifier associated with the device. The device can receive information such as parameter(s) and a verification number from a communications system. The verification number can be generated by using an authorization algorithm (A-algorithm) based on the parameter(s) and a K-algorithm input. The device can generate a trial verification number by using the A-algorithm with the parameter(s) and the key as trial inputs. The device can compare the verification number to the trial verification number, and in response to the verification number being at least similar to the trial verification number, the device can use the parameter(s) for programming of the device.
US08731520B2	Communication terminal and method for controlling the disclosure of contact information Provided is a communication terminal capable of suppressing the phenomenon of personal information being transmitted contrary to the will of the person. A communication terminal (1) comprises communication sections (20, 200), a first storage section (131) for storing first information relating to a first communication terminal, an information creating section (121) for creating information which is transmitted to a second communication terminal different from the first communication terminal by the communication section (20), a reply requesting section (122) which allows the communication section (200) to transmit information for requesting a reply of whether or not the transmission of the created information is permitted to the first communication terminal when the information created by the information creating section (121) includes part or all of the first information, and a first communication permitting section (123) which allows the communication section (20) to transmit the created information to the second communication terminal when the communication section (200) has received a permission reply to permit the transmission of the created information from the first communication terminal.
US08731516B2	Text messaging 911 calls An emergency message handling system manages emergency SMS text messages sent by mobile stations. The system also includes an emergency handling platform comprising an SMS gateway server, an SMS application server, and an SMS-To TTY message converter. In response to an emergency SMS text message received via a mobile communication network, the emergency handling platform determines the location of the mobile station and identifies the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) assigned to cover the location of the mobile station. If the PSAP assigned is only TTY compatible, the text message is converted to TTY. A TTY selective router is configured to deliver each of converted emergency SMS text message in TTY format to the TTY messaging system of the TTY PSAP. However, if the PSAP assigned is IP network compatible, then the text message is delivered directly to the IP compatible PSAP without any TTY conversions.
US08731515B2	Method and system for establishing an emergency call in a communications system A method for establishing an emergency call between a user equipment within a radio coverage area and one of at least two points able to answer the call, the method comprising: receiving said emergency call request; determining a first estimate of the position of said user equipment within said coverage area; interrupting said call establishment by triggering a control point; and using the control point to select, based on said first position estimate, which one of said at least two answering points the call is established with.
US08731514B2	Methods and apparatus for limiting communication capabilities in mobile communication devices Methods for use in a mobile device configured to communicate in a wireless network is described. The mobile device detects whether a a temperature condition exists. When the temperature condition exists, the mobile device presents a visual indication which indicates that the mobile device is in an emergency communication state. The mobile device further operates to prohibit user-initiated communication requests for non-emergency telephone calls via the wireless network, but allows a user-initiated communication request for an emergency telephone call via the wireless network. When the temperature condition fails to exist, the mobile device operates to allow user-initiated communication requests for emergency and non-emergency telephone calls via the wireless network.
US08731511B2	Method and related communication device for transmission and reception of natural disaster warning notification message in a wireless communication system A method of handling notification message transmission corresponding to a message content change for a network of a wireless natural disaster warning communication system includes modifying content of transmission information corresponding to the notification message transmission when content of a notification message is changed.
US08731510B2	Method for transmitting urgent alert messages to sets of mobile terminals located in cells of a radio communication network, and related radio network controller The invention concerns a radio network controller (BSCI), for a radio access communication network, comprising processing means (MT), upon receiving from an alarm center (CA) a message of a first SMS-CB type associated with a selected class of alarm of a selected level, containing an alarm text message addressed to mobile terminals (T) located in at least one selected cell controlled thereby, for interrupting transmission to the mobile terminals, located in each selected cell, of any message of SMS-CB type associated with a class of level lower than that of the selected alarm class, and optionally all other communication of said terminals (for example, telephone calls thereof), so that the first message may be broadcast to the mobile terminals which are located in each selected cell controlled thereby and so that some at least of said mobile terminals should transmit an alarm signal (for example radio) and display the alarm text message contained in the first message.
US08731499B2	On-chip power management for a mobile communication device and method for use therewith A voice data and RF integrated circuit (IC) includes a memory module that stores a least one application as a plurality of operational instructions, the at least one application having a plurality of power modes that each correspond to one of a plurality of use characteristics. A processing module executes the plurality of operational instructions and that determines a selected one of the plurality of power modes based on current use characteristics of the at least one application, and generates a power mode signal based on the selected one of the plurality of power modes. An on-chip power management circuit receives the power mode signal and that generates a plurality of power supply signals based on the power mode signal.
US08731494B2	Device, system and method of detecting transmitter power Some demonstrative embodiments include devices, systems and/or methods of detecting transmitter power. For example, a device may include a power detection circuit, coupled by a first coupler to a transmit chain, to provide a first output representing a measured non-calibrated transmission power over the transmit chain; a reference circuit, coupled to a reference voltage by a second coupler, to provide a second output representing a measured reference coupling factor; and a calibrator to determine a calibrated transmission power over the transmit chain based on the first and second outputs.
US08731489B2	Method and apparatus for random access channel probe initialization using transmit diversity Embodiments of the present invention may separately utilize transmit paths of a mobile transmit diversity device to initialize communication with a base station over a random access channel, particularly where the transmit paths have power amplifiers with different characteristics, e.g., different power amplification.
US08731487B2	Device and equipment for four-frequency transceiving of global system for mobile communication The present disclosure discloses a device for four-frequency transceiving of a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), comprising a Power Amplifier (PA), a radio frequency transceiving chip, a baseband control chip, an antenna switch, a GSM low frequency filter and a GSM high frequency filter. The antenna switch receives a control signal transmitted from the baseband control chip, and the antenna switch connects to a corresponding line according to the control signal, and transmits signals between the antenna and the connected line; the GSM low frequency filter receives the signals of a first frequency band or a second frequency band which are transmitted by the antenna switch, and passes the signals of the first frequency band or the second frequency band; the GSM high frequency filter receives the signals of a third frequency band or a fourth frequency band which are transmitted by the antenna switch, and passes the signals of the third frequency band and the fourth frequency band. The present disclosure also discloses an equipment for four-frequency transceiving of GSM. By adopting the device and the equipment disclosed by the present disclosure, lines can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced.
US08731480B2	Method for transmitting and receiving data in a cooperative multiple-input multiple-output mobile communication system A method for transmitting and receiving data in a cooperative Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) mobile communication system is disclosed. The method includes selecting a transmission path for transmitting precoding-related feedback control information to one or more cooperative base stations operating in the cooperative MIMO mode, and transmitting the precoding-related feedback control information to the one or more cooperative base stations through the selected transmission path.
US08731478B2	Method for reporting channel state information, method for channel estimation, terminal device, and base station A method for reporting channel state information includes: obtaining channel state information of a described object; and feeding back the obtained channel state information to a base station in a comb manner. A method for channel estimation includes: receiving channel state information that is reported by a terminal in a comb manner; and determining, according to the channel state information that is reported in the comb manner, channel state information corresponding to a described object that does not report channel state information.
US08731474B2	Method and system for man-made noise rejection detector Methods and systems for dynamic spectrum access (DSA) in a wireless network are provided. A DSA-enabled device may sense spectrum use in a region and, based on the detected spectrum use, select one or more communication channels for use. The devices also may detect one or more other DSA-enabled devices with which they can form DSA networks. A DSA network may monitor spectrum use by cooperative and non-cooperative devices, to dynamically select one or more channels to use for communication while avoiding or reducing interference with other devices. A man-made noise rejection sub-system is used to permit signal detection while maintaining a low false alarm rate.
US08731473B2	Short range wireless communication apparatus Multiple profiles are concurrently connected between an in-vehicle apparatus and a mobile phone. A streaming function is performed based on a related profile of the multiple profiles. A dial-up networking profile connection request occurs but is rejected to make connection unsuccessful. In such a case, the in-vehicle apparatus disconnects the related profile out of the currently connected multiple profiles or interrupts the streaming function based on the related profile. The in-vehicle apparatus then performs a re-connection of the dial-up networking profile with the mobile phone because the cause of rejecting the dial-up networking profile connection request is removed.
US08731471B2	Communication system and method, information processing terminal and method, and information processing device and method The present invention relates to a communication system and method, an information processing terminal and method, and an information processing device and method which enable simple and secure restricted access. When a PDA 11 is brought close, a reader 2 of a personal computer 1 reads a device ID form an IC tag 12. The personal computer 1 registers device IDs on a connection permission list, and permits only devices registered on the list to connect. When being instructed to perform accessing, the PDA 11 controls a communication unit to access the personal computer 1 and to transmits its device ID. The personal computer 1 determines whether or not the transmitted ID is registered on the connection permission list, and permits the connection when determining that the ID is registered. The present invention can be applied to various information processing devices such as a personal computer and a PDA.
US08731470B2	Operation procedures for interoperable safety and non-safety communications in wireless environments For enhanced interoperability of safety and non-safety communications, a dual-radio type T RSU for improving services includes a first radio dedicated to the control channel and a second radio dedicated to the safety channel. The control channel is divided into a number of synchronous intervals, each about 100 milliseconds in duration. The safety channel is also divided into a number of synchronous intervals, each about 100 milliseconds in duration.
US08731467B2	Playing control method, system and device for Bluetooth media This present invention discloses a method, system and device for a play control of a Bluetooth media. The method includes: sending a JumpTo media play control command to a Bluetooth play device through an extended protocol message by a Bluetooth control device; performing the play control on a played media according to the JumpTo media play control command by the Bluetooth play device. In the present invention, the extension is performed on the protocol reserved manufacturer custom field, which enables the Bluetooth control device to send the extended media play control command in the protocol architecture to the Bluetooth play device, thereby implementing the accurate locating play control for a played media file.
US08731466B2	System for programming a lock comprising contactless NFC communication means The invention relates to a system including a lock (10) provided with electronic NFC transceiver circuits and electric circuits for controlling mechanical locking/unlocking members, and a portable telephone (16) provided with circuits for NFC mode of operation. The telephone comprises means for initializing the lock, said means including means for: downloading, from a remote site (20), an applet and elements required for initializing the lock; verifying, using the telephone, the identifier and the transport key stored in the lock against the downloaded ones; deactivating the transport key of the lock; loading, onto the lock, a unique random algorithm and a cryptographic key that have been downloaded; and generating a message notifying of the termination of the initialization of the lock.
US08731464B2	Apparatus and method for minimizing amplifier oscillation in an antenna system Embodiments of an apparatus for minimizing oscillation of an amplifier in an antenna system are provided. These embodiments can comprise passive circuitry in the form of a coupling simulator that includes passive elements selected and combined to generate an output with properties that can cancel or substantially reduce a coupled input as between two antennas in the antenna system. In one example, the coupling simulator may include a phase-shifting device and an attenuating device, each of which have properties with values selected based on parameters that result from the relationship between the antennas of the antenna system.
US08731462B2	Apparatus for measuring radio relay channel and method thereof An apparatus and method for measuring radio relay channel are provided capable of easily measuring a radio relay channel on each radio link among a base station (BS), a relay station (RS) and a mobile station (MS) and providing a reliable result of measuring the characteristics of radio relay channel by controlling transmission/reception timing based on variation in operation time among the BS, the RS and the MS.
US08731460B2	Synchronization of digital content among multiple devices A wireless communication system and in particular a wireless communication system for digital audio players that provides for increased functionality, such as communication, interaction and synchronization between a computing platform and various mobile, portable or fixed digital audio players, as well as providing a communication link between the various digital audio players themselves. The computing platform may act, for example, through a wireless network or wireless communication platform, to control the digital audio players; to act as a cache of digital audio data for the digital audio players; as well as provide a gateway to the Internet to enable the digital audio players to access additional digital audio content and other information.
US08731459B2	Sharing digital content among multiple devices A wireless communication system and in particular a wireless communication system for digital audio players that provides for increased functionality, such as communication, interaction and synchronization between a computing platform and various mobile, portable or fixed digital audio players, as well as providing a communication link between the various digital audio players themselves. The computing platform may act, for example, through a wireless network or wireless communication platform, to control the digital audio players; to act as a cache of digital audio data for the digital audio players; as well as provide a gateway to the Internet to enable the digital audio players to access additional digital audio content and other information.
US08731458B2	Transmission and retrieval of real-time scorekeeping A system and method for transmitting and accessing real-time amateur sports data is provided. The system allows spectators of amateur sporting events to record game data on a mobile electronic device and share live game updates with other amateur sports fans. The system includes a software application configured to operate on a mobile electronic device. Game data may be input into the software application and uploaded to a remote database by way of a wireless network. The remote database may allow third party users to access the game data as it is uploaded to the database in order to follow the progress of the game in real time.
US08731456B2	System and method for requesting and rendering audio contents Order requests for playing audio contents and/or video contents are transmitted by way of communication transmission apparatus (3) via a telecommunication network (2) to a computer-based central unit (1). The central unit (1) determines one of several geographically distributed play units (5, 6, 7) which are remote from the central unit (1) and are separate from the communication transmission apparatus (3), on account of details which are transmitted with the order requests, e.g. an identification or a location detail of a play unit (5, 6, 7), or a location detail of a mobile communication transmission unit (3), for playing the audio contents and/or video contents. The audio contents and/or video contents are transmitted from the central unit (1) as a continuous data flow to the selected play unit (5, 6, 7), and are played there via loudspeakers (51, 61, 71) or displays (52, 72). Several play units may be activated by users via their communication transmission apparatus (3) via a common central unit (1), without different address information and/or contact information of the play units (5, 6, 7) having to be used. Moreover, the play units (5, 6, 7) do not have to be provided with a receiver module (11) for the receiving and the processing of order requests for audio contents.
US08731454B2	E-learning lesson delivery platform Disclosed herein are e-learning lesson delivery platforms, products, programs, and methods comprising a digital processing device and a program that creates a lesson delivery server, wherein said server comprises: a plurality of learning activities, wherein said activities are organized according to an instructional plan designed to accomplish one or more educational objectives in at least one subject, wherein said plan identifies one or more activities for use in a guided environment and one or more activities for assignment as independent work; a module for displaying and providing access to said one or more activities in a guided environment; a module for assigning said one or more activities as independent work to one or more learners, wherein said module is only accessible by a mentor; and a module for displaying and providing access to activities assigned as independent work, wherein said module is accessible by a mentor or a learner.
US08731453B2	Image forming apparatus that controls speed of media conveyed to a transfer unit An image forming apparatus includes: an intermediate transfer member onto which a image is primarily transferred from an image forming unit; a transfer unit to secondarily transfer the image from the intermediate transfer member to a media at a secondary-transfer position; a conveying unit configured to convey the media to the secondary-transfer position; and a conveying speed controller to control a speed of conveying the media. The conveying unit includes a first detector and a second detector downstream the first detector and upstream the secondary-transfer position. Based on a detection of the media by the first detector and a timing at which the image forming unit forms the image, the conveying speed controller changes the conveying speed until the second detector detects the media and changes, after the second detector detects the media, the conveying speed to a speed substantially the same as the intermediate transfer member speed.
US08731449B2	Image forming apparatus with urging member with projected portion to urge sheet against transfer belt An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member on which a toner image is to be formed; a transfer device for transferring the toner image carried on the image bearing member; and a rotationally movable endless transfer belt onto which the toner image is to be transferred or on which a transfer material onto which the toner image is to be transferred is to be conveyed. The transfer device includes a sheet member contacted to an inner peripheral surface of the transfer belt while being supported by a supporting member at an end thereof and includes an urging member for urging the sheet member against the transfer belt in contact to the sheet member. The urging member includes a projected portion projected toward the transfer belt at its downstream end portion more than at its upstream end portion with respect to a movement direction of the transfer belt.
US08731443B2	Developing device and image forming apparatus A developing device has a first and a second developer conveyance path configured to convey and circulate the two-component developer; a first and a second conveyance member each having a helical blade for conveying the developer in one direction; a first communicating path for guiding the developer in the first developer conveyance path to the second developer conveyance path; a second communicating path. The second developer conveyance path includes a second upstream side end section having a bottom in a conical shape having an inner diameter conically increasing. The helical blade of the second conveyance member has a second conical helix portion having an outer diameter conically increasing along an inner wall surface of the bottom of the second upstream side end section. The bottom of the second upstream side end section is at a level lower than a bottom of the first developer conveyance path.
US08731442B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus is provided, which is configured to form an image with developer of a plurality of colors on a sheet-type recording medium by a non-magnetic single component developing method. The image forming apparatus includes a first color developing unit which is configured to perform developing of a first color by a jumping developing method, and a second color developing unit which is configured to perform developing of the second color by a contact developing method.
US08731441B2	Charging roller and image forming apparatus A charging roller has a conductive shaft, a charge emission member provided to the shaft, and a gap securing member provided to the shaft. The gap securing member (i) protrudes toward the photoreceptor drum so as to be closer to the photoreceptor drum than the charge emission member is to the photoreceptor drum and (ii) is in contact with the photoreceptor drum so as to secure a gap between the charge emission member and the photoreceptor drum. A conductive part of the gap securing member and the shaft are bonded to each other by electrically releasing adhesive, so that the gap securing member is provided to the shaft.
US08731440B2	Corona charger including shutter A charging device includes a corona charger, provided with an opening opposing a photosensitive member, for electrically charging the photosensitive member; a sheet-like member provided so that the sheet-like member can cover the opening; a movable device for moving the sheet-like member; and a regulating device for regulating a shape of the sheet-like member so that a central portion of the sheet-like member protrudes toward the corona charger with respect to a circumferential direction of the photosensitive member.
US08731438B2	Image forming device and cartridge that transmit a driving force An image forming device comprises a device main body; a cartridge attachable to the device main body; a main body transmission unit to rotate about a first rotation axis; a main body joint unit to rotate about a second rotation axis allowed to intersect with the first rotation axis; a cartridge transmission unit configured to rotate about a third rotation axis and to transmit a driving force to a rotation body; and a cartridge joint unit to rotate about a fourth rotation axis allowed to intersect with the third rotation axis. The cartridge joint unit is further configured to rotate coaxially with respect to the main body joint unit and to rotate the cartridge transmission unit when the main body transmission unit rotates in a state where the cartridge is attached to the device main body and the cartridge joint unit is coupled to the main body joint unit.
US08731437B2	Focus adjusting apparatus and focus adjusting method There are provided a focus adjusting apparatus and method in which a look of an image plane can be improved when an object area to be focused in the image plane is judged and focused prior to image-taking preparation operation. A first operation for determining the object area to be focused is performed prior to the image-taking preparation operation, and a second operation for performing the focus adjusting operation is performed at the time of the image-taking preparation operation.
US08731434B2	Image-forming device having guiding parts formed at open/close member to guide drawer member An image-forming device includes: a main casing defining an accommodating space therein; an open/close member provided at the main casing to move between an open position and a closed position, the open/close member positioned in the open position extending in a direction; a drawer member configured to be supportable a plurality of cartridges and movable from an accommodated position to a withdrawn position along the open/close member positioned in the open position, the plurality of cartridges being accommodated in the accommodating space when the drawer member is positioned in the accommodated position, the plurality of cartridges being exposed from the main casing when the drawer member is positioned in the withdrawn position. The open/close member positioned in the open position has a length in the direction. A guiding part is formed at the open/close member over the length to guide the drawer member to the withdrawn position.
US08731433B2	Image forming apparatus in which an upper frame and cover member are combined An image forming apparatus includes: a main body frame placed on a placement surface; an image forming unit provided at an upper portion in the main body frame and forms an image on a recording medium; and an accommodation unit provided at a lower portion in the main body frame and accommodates the recording medium to be fed to the image forming unit, wherein the main body frame includes an upper frame that supports the image forming unit, and a lower frame that has a rigidity lower than the rigidity of the upper frame, supports the upper frame from below, and supports the accommodation unit, the upper and lower frames are covered with a cover member, and a combining unit is provided between the upper frame and the cover member, and combines the cover member with the upper frame without being restricted by the lower frame.
US08731431B2	Belt device and image forming apparatus incorporating same having a cleaning device which cleans utilizing different polarities A belt device incorporatable in an image forming apparatus includes an endless belt, multiple belt tension rollers disposed in contact with an inner surface of the endless belt, a rotary cleaning member to contact a belt wound area of the endless belt facing an opposing roller to form a cleaning nip between the rotary cleaning member and the endless belt and rotate the rotary cleaning member in a direction opposite the belt moving direction within the cleaning nip, and a voltage applier. The cleaning nip is formed by offsetting a center of the cleaning nip upstream from a center of the belt wound area of the endless belt in the belt moving direction and by at least contacting the rotary cleaning member in a range from the belt wound area to a tensioned belt area located upstream from the belt wound area in the belt moving direction.
US08731427B2	Image forming apparatus performing control of changing targets of power supply from charging device An image forming apparatus includes a charging device for performing charging and discharging using a power storage device, and a plurality of loads each serving as a target of power supply from said charging device and being used in operation of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus obtains information about an operation status of the image forming apparatus and sets priorities for being a target of power supply from the charging device for the plurality of loads, according to the obtained information. The image forming apparatus controls power supply operation of the charging device according to the information about the remaining capacity of the power storage device and the set priorities.
US08731424B2	Image forming apparatus In an image forming apparatus, a fixing condition such as a target control temperature of a heater is changed depending on whether a first resistance heating element and a second resistance heating element of the heater are connected in series or in parallel such that a similar fixing performance is achieved regardless of whether the first resistance heating element and the second resistance heating element are connected in series or in parallel.
US08731418B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable belt, a detection unit configured to detect, at a detecting position, an object on the belt, a cartridge that is attachable to and detachable from a main body of the apparatus independently of the belt, and an openable and closable member that is openable and closable relative to the body to attach and detach the cartridge to and from the body. When the detection unit is at the detecting position, at least a part of the detection unit is located in a space used for attachment and detachment of the cartridge, and, when the detection unit is at a retracted position, which is outside of a space used for attachment and detachment of the cartridge, at least a part of the detection unit is located in a space that is formed by opening the openable and closable member relative to the body.
US08731417B2	Image forming apparatus with temperature dependent control unit An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier; a latent-image forming unit configured to form a latent image on the image carrier; a developing unit configured to develop the latent image on the image carrier with a developer applied onto a developer carrier; a temperature detector configured to detect an internal temperature or an ambient temperature of the developing unit, the internal temperature and ambient temperature varying depending on a temperature of the developer carrier; and a control unit configured to control restriction on number of pages on which image formation is allowed to be performed continuously and cancellation of the restriction, based on the temperature detected by the temperature detector.
US08731413B1	DAC-based optical modulator and demodulator Methods, systems, and devices are described for modulating and demodulating data on optical signals. During modulation, at least one stream of symbol mapped bits is filtered with at least one pulse shaping filter to reduce a bandwidth of the stream of bits and to pre-compensate for at least one identified non-ideal transmission condition. The filtered bits are modulated onto a waveform in the digital domain, and the modulated filtered bits are transmitted to digital-to-analog converter. The output of the digital-to-analog converter is converted to an optical signal. During demodulation, a received optical signal is sampled at a first sampling rate at an ADC, downsampled to a lower sampling rate for filtering, filtered with at least one discrete pulse-shaping filter, upsampled for equalization and demodulation, and then equalized and demodulated.
US08731405B2	RFID-based systems and methods for collecting telecommunications network information Radio-frequency identification—(RFID)-based systems and methods for collecting telecommunications information is disclosed. The methods include storing transceiver information in a transceiver and connector information in an optical fiber connector, and then operably connecting the connector to the transceiver. The connection results in an electrical connection that allows the transceiver information to be communicated to the connector. The connector has a RFID tag that generates a connector RFID-tag signal that includes the connector information and the transceiver information. When electronics equipment are connected to the transceiver, electronics-equipment information is passed through the transceiver to the connector so that the electronics-equipment information can be included in the connector RFID-tag signal. The transceiver may also include a transceiver RFID tag that can receive connector information and electronics-equipment information and generate a transceiver RFID-tag signal that includes connector, transceiver and/or electronics-equipment information. A Portable test device is also used to connect to the transceiver or the electronics equipment to effectuate the transfer of transceiver and/or electronics-equipment information.
US08731400B2	Characterizing a frequency channel in an optical network A tunable optical filter is configured to take point measurements at a few optical frequencies per frequency channel of a DWDM optical network. The measurement frequencies are shifted by pre-determined amounts relative to the optical frequency channel being characterized. Since the spectral shape of the tunable optical filter is known, the center optical frequency, the modulation bandwidth, and the total optical power of the channel can be obtained from as few as three optical measurements. The center optical frequency and the total optical power can be continuously monitored by providing a tunable filter stage coupled to an interleaver stage, and computing a ratio and a weighted sum the optical signals at the two outputs of the interleaver stage.
US08731397B2	Method, system and device for single-fiber bidirectional ring network protection A method, system and apparatus for single-fiber bidirectional ring network protection are disclosed in the present invention, wherein, one working path ring between various nodes in the single-fiber bidirectional ring network shares one sharing protection channel using a set wavelength, and when a fault occurs in a working path between certain two nodes, the method includes: controlling sharing protection apparatuses of a receiving end node and a transmitting end node of the failed working path to switch from a primary port to a corresponding standby port, controlling an intermediate node in the sharing protection channel corresponding to the working path to enable a standby port of the corresponding sharing protection apparatus, and establishing the sharing protection channel corresponding to the working path; transmitting a service signal carried in the failed working path through the newly established sharing protection channel.
US08731383B2	Delivery of iodine gas A method and system for delivering iodine gas is presented. The pure iodine gas flow can be at a controlled, known flow rate, and furthermore be held at a positive pressure in relation to a process chamber. In an exemplary embodiment, pure iodine gas is transported without the use of an inert carrier gas. This is facilitated in part by maintaining the iodine gas chamber at a higher pressure than the processing chamber.In one exemplary embodiment, an iodine vessel receives solid iodine supplied by an iodine fill source and is heated to produce pure iodine gas. In addition, a control system monitors and controls the operating conditions in the iodine vessel and maintains a positive pressure in the iodine vessel. The iodine delivery system may include a valve system configured to control the flow of iodine gas through the iodine delivery system and into a process chamber.
US08731382B2	Steam generator A method of generating steam by moving at least a portion of an electrically conductive fluid body along a curved path, passing an electrical current through at least a portion of the fluid body that is moving along the curved path, and vaporizing at least a portion of the fluid body. A steam generating apparatus having a first hydrocyclone configured to promote a rotational kinetic characteristic of a fluid body introduced into the first hydrocyclone and a plurality of electrodes configured to deliver an electrical current to the fluid body. A method of servicing a wellbore by providing a fluid body with rotational kinetic characteristics, passing an electrical current through the fluid body to heat the fluid body, converting liquid of the fluid body to vapor, and delivering the vapor to the wellbore.
US08731378B2	System, method, and apparatus for playing back a plurality of video elementary streams with one playback channel A system, method, and apparatus for playback of multiple video elementary streams is presented herein. A host processor modifies the video elementary streams to allow a transport demultiplexer to distinguish among the plurality of the video elementary streams.
US08731372B2	Information playback apparatus and electronic pop advertising apparatus An electronic point of purchase (POP) advertising apparatus presents a predetermined POP advertisement. A sensor unit includes a sensor for detecting a person. A storing unit stores a plurality of different POP advertisements. Each of the plurality of different POP advertisements has at least one of (i) moving images or (ii) music. A selection unit selects a particular POP advertisement from the plurality of stored POP advertisements. An output unit outputs the particular POP advertisement in response to a detection signal output from the sensor unit such that the output unit start a presentation of the particular POP advertisement when the sensor detects the person.
US08731362B2	Optical fiber management device An apparatus and method for managing one or more flexible lines such as optical fibers, wherein each fiber has two fixed ends. Optical fibers are arranged in a curved figure-eight pattern lying in three-dimensions on the exterior curved winding surface of a tubular shell. The configuration is guided by winding tracks on either exterior side of shell. The curvatures of the shell and winding tracks are such that the bend of the managed fibers is everywhere equal to or greater than the fiber minimum bend radius.
US08731360B2	Photonic crystal magneto-optical circulator and manufacturing method thereof The invention relates to a photonic crystal magneto-optical circulator, which comprises first dielectric material columns in an air background, wherein the first dielectric material columns are arranged in the form of two-dimensional square lattice. The photonic crystal magneto-optical circulator also comprises a “T-shaped” or a “cross-shaped” photonic crystal waveguide, a second dielectric material column, four same magneto-optical material columns and at least three same third dielectric material columns, wherein the “T-shaped” or a “cross-shaped” photonic crystal waveguide comprises a horizontal photonic crystal waveguide and a vertical photonic crystal waveguide which are intercrossed; the second dielectric material column is arranged at a cross-connected position of the horizontal photonic crystal waveguide and the vertical photonic crystal waveguide and has the function of light guiding; the four same magneto-optical material columns are uniformly arranged on the periphery of the second dielectric material column; and at least three same third dielectric material columns.
US08731356B2	Microstructured optical fibers and manufacturing methods thereof Optical devices and a method for manufacturing these devices. One optical device includes a core region having a first medium of a first refractive index n1, and includes a cladding region exterior to the core region. The cladding region includes a second medium having a second refractive index n2 higher than the first refractive index n1. The cladding region further includes a third medium having a third refractive index n3 lower than the first refractive index n1. The third medium is dispersed in the second medium to form a plurality of microstructures in the cladding region. Another optical device includes a plurality of core regions including at least one core having a doped first medium, and includes a cladding region exterior to the plurality of core regions. The core regions and the cladding region include a phosphate glass.
US08731353B2	Headline sonar cable A production method for a headline sonar cable (20, 120) that exhibits a high breaking-strength and lighter weight than a conventional steel headline sonar cable. Producing the headline sonar cable (20, 120) is characterized by the steps of: a. providing an elongatable internally-located conductive structure (34, 134) that is adapted for data signal transmission; and b. braiding a strength-member jacket layer (52) of polymeric material around the structure (34, 134) while ensuring that the structure (34, 134) is slack when surrounded by the jacket layer (52).
US08731350B1	Planar-waveguide Bragg gratings in curved waveguides A method for forming planar-waveguide Bragg grating in a curved waveguide comprises: forming a long chirped planar-waveguide Bragg grating in an Archimedes' spiral such that a long length of the waveguide can fit in a small chip area where the grating is formed in the curved waveguide; using periodic width modulation to form the planar-waveguide Bragg grating on the curved waveguide, and where the formation of the periodic width modulation occurs during the etching of the waveguide core; using rectangular width modulation to create Bragg gratings with a higher order than 1st order to allow a larger grating period and larger modulation depth, using waveguide width tapering while keeping the width modulation period constant to introduce chirp to the planar-waveguide Bragg grating where the index of refraction is a function of waveguide width, by applying a specific width tapering to create a desired arbitrary chirp profile.
US08731346B2	Waveguide integration on laser for alignment-tolerant assembly Embodiments of the present disclosure provide optical connection techniques and configurations. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a substrate, a laser device formed on the substrate, the laser device including an active layer configured to emit light, and a mode-expander waveguide disposed on the substrate and butt-coupled with the active layer to receive and route the light to a waveguide formed on another substrate. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
US08731345B2	System for managing thermal conduction on optical devices The system includes an optical device having both optical components and one or more waveguides on a base. The system also includes a heat sink and a zone definer contacting the base and the heat sink. The zone definer is configured to conduct thermal energy from the optical device to the heat sink. The zone definer includes a thermal insulator having a lower thermal conductivity than both the heat sink and the base. The zone definer also includes a thermal via that extends through the thermal insulator. A via medium is positioned in the thermal via and has a higher thermal conductivity than the thermal insulator. The via medium is located under one of the optical components.
US08731341B2	Signal identifying apparatus for an optical fiber Provided is a signal identifying apparatus for an optical fiber that includes a detecting portion capable of detecting a signal originating from a first end of the optical fiber and a signal originating from a second end of the optical fiber. Additionally, the signal identifying apparatus includes an identifying portion that identifies a desired signal by separating the signal originating from the first end of the optical fiber from the signal originating from the second end of the optical fiber.
US08731339B2	Autogenerating video from text A method of converting user-selected printed text to a synthesized image sequence is provided. The method includes capturing a first image of printed text and generating a model information associated with the text.
US08731338B1	Image downscaling A machine-implemented method and system for decoding and interpolating the pixel lines of a source image, the method comprising the steps of: storing the plurality of decoded pixel lines in a queue, determining whether the queue contains a sufficient number of decoded pixel lines to perform interpolation between at least two of the decoded pixel lines, and in a case that it is determined that the queue contains a sufficient number of decoded pixel lines to perform interpolation, interpolating at least two of the plurality of decoded pixel lines in the queue to form one or more scaled pixel lines and deleting one or more of the decoded pixel lines in the queue by performing a pop operation on the queue.
US08731337B2	Denoising and artifact removal in image upscaling Methods and systems for denoising and artifact removal in image upscaling are disclosed. In one embodiment, a low frequency band image intermediate is obtained from an input image. An upsampled image intermediate is obtained from the input image by upsampling. A result image is estimated, based at least in part on the upsampled image intermediate, the low frequency band image intermediate, and the input image. The input image is of a smaller scale than the result image. The estimating the result image further includes eliminating from the result image noise that is present in the input image.
US08731332B2	Storage medium having image recognition program stored therein, image recognition apparatus, image recognition system, and image recognition method A game apparatus detects a predetermined image object including a first graphic pattern with a plurality of inner graphic patterns drawn therein from a captured image captured by an image-capturing section. The game apparatus first obtains the captured image captured by the image-capturing section, and detects an area of the first graphic pattern from the captured image. Then, the game apparatus detects the plurality of inner graphic patterns from within the detected area, and calculates center positions of the inner graphic patterns so as to detect the position of the predetermined image object.
US08731328B2	Image processing apparatus, method and recording medium for generating a composite image In an image pickup apparatus 1, reference image data is generated from plural pieces of image data and further, at least two pieces of arbitrary image data are selected from among the plural pieces of image data. A first difference calculating unit 71 calculates differences between the selected pieces of image data for two adjacent pixels. A second difference calculating unit 72 calculates differences in pixel values of the selected pieces of image data from the reference image data. A cost function is set, having variables of the differences calculated by the first difference calculating unit and the differences calculated by the second difference calculating unit. A boundary setting unit 74 sets boundaries respectively in the selected pieces of image data so as to minimize the cost function. The selected pieces of image data are combined together in accordance with the boundaries set by the boundary setting unit.
US08731325B2	Automatic generation of a photo guide An apparatus, method and an image quality guide document are disclosed. The method includes, for at least one image in a set of images undergoing image enhancement, identifying image quality-related features for the image based on enhancements being applied to the image, identifying image content-related features based on content of the image, determining a content-based degradation of the image based on the identified image quality-related features and image content-related features, and generating a thumbnail of the image. The method further includes generating an image quality guide document for the set of images in which at least one of the thumbnails is associated with a respective text description that is based on the determined content-based degradation.
US08731324B1	Systems and methods for performing image inpainting Various embodiments are disclosed for performing image inpainting. One embodiment is a method for editing a digital image in an image editing device that comprises obtaining a restoration region in the digital image and generating a structure strength map corresponding to the restoration region based on structure characteristics associated with each pixel in the restoration region. Based on the structure strength map, priority levels are determined for pixels in the restoration region. An inpainting operation is applied to the pixels in the restoration region, beginning with a pixel having a highest relative priority determined based on the structure characteristics.
US08731322B2	Image brightness controlling apparatus and method thereof Provided are an image brightness control device and an image brightness control method for improving the definition of brightness of the entire image and/or improving the definition of brightness of local areas using local brightness information. The image brightness controlling device includes: a preprocessing unit acquiring an offset table for controlling a dynamic range corresponding to an image range of an input image using brightness values of color data of the input image; and a tone mapping unit mapping the offset table onto the color data. It is possible to improve the definition of brightness so as to correspond to the characteristic of the input image, by automatically considering how to reflect a distribution characteristic of an image.
US08731310B2	Image processing apparatus and method The present technology relates to an image processing apparatus and a method capable of performing a quantization process or an inverse quantization process more suitable for contents of an image. A lossless decoding unit 202 decodes coded data read from an accumulation buffer 201 at a predetermined timing. A sub macroblock inverse quantization unit 221 obtains a quantization value for each sub macroblock by using a quantization parameter supplied from an inverse quantization unit 203 and returns the same to the inverse quantization unit 203. The inverse quantization unit 203 inversely quantizes a quantization coefficient obtained by decoding by the lossless decoding unit 202 by using the quantization value for each sub macroblock supplied from the sub macroblock inverse quantization unit 221. The present technology may be applied to the image processing apparatus, for example.
US08731309B1	Method and system for processing raster scan images A method of converting a raster scan image to a vector-based image including (a) reading a scanline of a raster scan image containing n pixels per scanline; (b) classifying n+1 groupings of four adjacent pixels within the scanline using only the four adjacent pixel values; (c) assigning to each grouping (x,y), for all groupings in the scanline, plural vectors based on (1) the classification of the grouping (x,y) and (2) vectors assigned to a grouping (x−1,y) and vectors assigned to a grouping (x, y−1); (d) adding a point (x,y) to at least one vector assigned to the grouping (x,y) when the classification of grouping (x,y) indicates that the point (x,y) corresponds to a corner; (e) determining whether the points added to any vector form a closed loop; (f) writing out the points added to any vector that form a closed loop; and (g) repeating steps (a)-(f) for all of the scanlines of the raster scan image.
US08731308B2	Interactive image selection method Image selection method amongst a plurality of digital images (102) classified in a plurality of images categories (104a, 104b 104c), the method comprising the following steps: —allocating to each image at least one strength value (112, 112i, 112j, 112k), —allowing an user to select (120) images amongst the plurality of digital images, —collecting (122) user data, —updating (130) the strength value of all images classified in a same category than an image selected by the user as a function of the collected user data, and —upon selection of an image by the user, automatically selecting (142) at least one additional image classified in at least one same category than an image selected by the user, and for which the strength value exceeds a threshold value —making the selected images available (146) for subsequent use.
US08731307B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program There is provided an information processing apparatus including: a characteristic amount extracting unit extracting a plurality of characteristic amounts, which are information expressing characteristics of a video, from the video; a labeling unit associating the extracted characteristic amounts with a person or a background; a matching degree judging unit judging a degree of matching between the associated characteristic amounts and the characteristic amounts of at least one other video; a comparing unit comparing the plurality of characteristic amounts of one scene in the video from which the characteristic amounts have been extracted and the plurality of characteristic amounts of one scene in the at least one other video; and a relationship inferring unit inferring a relationship between the one scene in the video and the one scene in the at least one other video based on a comparison result of the comparing unit.
US08731305B1	Updating map data using satellite imagery Map data are overlaid on satellite imagery. A road segment within the map data is identified, and the satellite imagery indicates that the road segment is at a different geographic position than a geographic position indicated by the map data. The endpoints of the road segment in the map data are aligned with the corresponding positions of the endpoints in the satellite imagery. A road template is applied at an endpoint of the road segment in the satellite imagery, and the angle of the road template that matches the angle of the road segment indicated by the satellite imagery is determined by optimizing a cost function. The road template is iteratively shifted along the road segment in the satellite imagery. The geographic position of the road segment within the map data is updated responsive to the positions and angles of the road template.
US08731301B1	Display adaptation based on captured image feedback A computer implemented method is provided for display adaptation based on captured image feedback. Content that comprises a marker is displayed. An image of the content is captured by a mobile device. Whether the marker in the image is recognized is determined. The marker in the image is analyzed in response to a determination that the marker in the image is not recognized. The content is adjusted based on the analyzed marker. The adjusted content is displayed. The marker in the image is analyzed to determine at least one of a time and a location associated with capturing the image of the content in response to a determination that the marker in the image is recognized. Another content is displayed based on at least one of the time and the location determined by analyzing the marker.
US08731300B2	Handwritten word spotter system using synthesized typed queries A wordspotting system and method are disclosed for processing candidate word images extracted from handwritten documents. In response to a user inputting a selected query string, such as a word to be searched in one or more of the handwritten documents, the system automatically generates at least one computer-generated image based on the query string in a selected font or fonts. A model is trained on the computer-generated image(s) and is thereafter used in the scoring the candidate handwritten word images. The candidate or candidates with the highest scores and/or documents containing them can be presented to the user, tagged, or otherwise processed differently from other candidate word images/documents.
US08731297B1	Processing a digital image of content to remove border artifacts Systems and methods for removing border objects from a page of digital image are presented. More particularly, in removing border objects from a page of a digital image, the following are performed. In the first place, a digital image having at least one page of content is obtained. A content area of content on the page is determined. Border objects in the region between the page margin and the content area are then located. For each located border object, the following two steps are performed. The located border object is evaluated according to a set of border criteria, and the located border object is removed if the evaluation of the border object indicates that the border object is to be removed. Thereafter, the updated digital image is stored in a content store.
US08731296B2	Contact text detection in scanned images A device and method for identifying text pixels that are erroneously classified as non-text pixels, includes accessing an image region containing a non-text component. For each non-text component within the image region component, only one determines if there are any long line structures within the bounding box defined by the non-text component. If the long line structures are greater than a predefined percentage of the span of the dimension of the bounding box parallel to the line structure, then the line structure is removed. Any remaining non-text pixels within the bounding box are reclassified as text-pixels.
US08731290B1	Adaptive histogram-based video contrast enhancement The adaptive contrast enhancer uses an adaptive histogram equalization-based approach to improve contrast in a video signal. For each video frame, the histogram of the pixel luminance values is calculated. The calculated histogram is divided into three regions that are equalized independently of the other. The equalized values are averaged with the original pixel values with a weighting factor that depends on the shape of the histogram. The weighting factors can be also chosen differently for the three regions to enhance the darker regions more than the brighter ones. The statistics calculated from one frame are used to enhance the next frame such that frame buffers are not required. Many of the calculations are done in the inactive time between two frames.
US08731289B2	Recoloring images of a web page according to a representative color A system for recoloring a set of images of a web page according to a determined representative color. The system receives at least one image that is to be recolored from a first color scheme to a second color scheme, wherein the first color scheme comprises a plurality of first colors, the second color scheme comprises a plurality of second colors, and each of the plurality of first colors is associated to one of the plurality of second colors. The system assigns a representative color to each of the pixels of the image, wherein the representative colors are chosen from the plurality of first colors. The system recolors pixels of the image to correspond to the plurality of second colors, wherein each recolored pixel is recolored according to a second color that is associated with the representative color that was assigned to the recolored pixel.
US08731287B2	Image prediction based on primary color grading model Inter-color image prediction is based on color grading modeling. Prediction is applied to the efficient coding of images and video signals of high dynamic range. Prediction models may include a color transformation matrix that models hue and saturation color changes and a non-linear function modeling color correction changes. Under the assumption that the color grading process uses a slope, offset, and power (SOP) operations, an example non linear prediction model is presented.
US08731283B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method and information processing program An input control unit that receives first content data from a content delivery apparatus via a communication unit, converts the first content data into first image data before causing a storage unit to store the first image data, receives second content data generated by a portion or all of the first content data being updated from the content delivery apparatus via the communication unit, and converts the second content data into second image data before causing the storage unit to store the second image data, a center of gravity candidate region extraction unit that calculates difference values of color information between corresponding pixels of the first image data and the second image data stored in the storage unit and extracts a center of gravity candidate region, which is a region constituted by pixels the difference values of which exceed a threshold value stored in the storage unit.
US08731281B2	Wavelet transform on incomplete image data and its applications in image processing A system and method for effectively performing wavelet transforms on incomplete image data includes an image processor that performs a green-pixel transformation procedure on incomplete color pixel matrices. The image processor then rearranges red, blue and transformed green-pixel into four quadrants of contiguous pixels and applies some two dimensional (2D) wavelet thresholding schemes on each quadrant. After thresholding, an inverse procedure is applied to reconstruct the pixel values on the incomplete color pixel matrices. For further de-correlation of image data, the image processor may stack similar image patches in a three dimensional (3D) array and apply incomplete-data wavelet thresholding on the 3D array. The incomplete-data wavelet thresholding procedure may be put in an improved local similarity measurement framework to achieve better performance of image processing tasks. A CPU device typically controls the image processor to effectively perform the image processing procedure.
US08731279B2	Method and device for generating multi-viewpoint image Method and device for generating a multi-viewpoint image are provided. The method of generating a multi-viewpoint image includes the steps of: acquiring at least one reference-viewpoint image; generating unit image information of a virtual-viewpoint image on the basis of unit image information of the reference-viewpoint image; multiplexing the unit image information of the reference-viewpoint image and the unit image information of the virtual-viewpoint image; and generating a multi-viewpoint image by performing an interpolation process on occluded areas between the multiplexed unit image information using the multiplexed unit image information. As a result, it is possible to avoid unnecessary processes of completing and rearranging individual viewpoint images in the course of generating a multi-viewpoint image.
US08731276B2	Motion space presentation device and motion space presentation method A motion space presentation device includes: a work area generation unit configured to generate a three-dimensional region in which the movable robot operates; an image capture unit configured to capture a real image; a position and posture detection unit configured to detect an image capture position and an image capture direction of the image capture unit; and an overlay unit configured to selectively superimpose either an image of a segment approximation model of the movable robot as viewed in the image capture direction from the image capture position, or an image of the three-dimensional region as viewed in the image capture direction from the image capture position, on the real image captured by the image capture unit, according to the difficulty in recognizing each image.
US08731272B2	Computational adaptive optics for interferometric synthetic aperture microscopy and other interferometric imaging Methods for correcting for aberrations in the image or three-dimensional reconstruction of a sampled region obtained by broadband interferometry. The sampled region is illuminated with a broadband beam of light, and light returned from the sample is detected, along with a reference beam, in order to derive an interference signal for pixels of a volume spanned by wavenumber and axes transverse to the beam propagation direction. An optimization procedure is performed with respect to a specified criterion so as to obtain an aberration-corrected image of at least one plane of the sampled region, either in a plane-specific manner or in a space-invariant manner throughout the sampled region. A filter function, which may be derived from the interference signal attendant to irradiating a sparsely distributed plurality of point scatterers, or otherwise, corrects for a detected aberrated point spread function. Methods of the present invention may be used for aberration correction in reading information from an optical data storage medium.
US08731271B2	Generating object data Improving the generation or a 3D vessel model of a region ot interest of an object includes: acquiring image data of the region of interest comprising picture elements and embodying multiple predetermined features; deriving, for ones of the picture elements, respective probability values; displaying, for interaction purposes, ones from among the probability values such that a plurality from among the features are in the displayed values; designating a feature; deciding, based on the designation, what constitutes, from among the multiple predetermined features, the closest relevant predetermined feature; and calculating, to thereby generate, object data on behalf of what was decided to be the closest relevant predetermined feature.
US08731269B2	Method and system for substantially reducing artifacts in circular cone beam computer tomography (CT) Cone beam artifacts arise in circular CT reconstruction. The cone beam artifacts are substantially removed by reconstructing a reference image from measured data at circular source trajectory, generating synthetic data by forward projection of the reference image along a pre-determined source trajectory, which supplements the circular source trajectory to a theoretically complete trajectory, reconstructing a correction image from the synthetic data and substantially reducing the cone beam artifacts by generating a corrected image using the reference image and the correction image.
US08731265B2	X-ray computed tomography apparatus, medical image processing apparatus, X-ray computed tomography method, and medical image processing method An X-ray computed tomography apparatus includes, an X-ray source which irradiates an object with X-rays spreading in a slice direction, an X-ray detector including a plurality of X-ray detection elements which are juxtaposed in the slice direction and detect X-rays transmitted through the object, a reconstruction unit which includes a back-projection unit which obtains back-projection data relating to each of a plurality of pixels defined in an imaging area by performing back projection of data acquired by the X-ray detector and an interpolation unit which interpolates the data, and performs reconstruction processing for an image, and a setting unit which sets central positions of a plurality of pixels in the imaging area in the reconstruction processing to positions offset from positions corresponding to centers of the X-ray detection elements in the slice direction.
US08731259B2	Systems and methods for matching, naming, and displaying medical images A method of matching medical images according to user-defined matches rules. In one embodiment, the matched medical images are displayed according user-defined display rules such that the matched medical images may be visually compared in manner that is suitable to the viewer's viewing preferences.
US08731258B2	Method and apparatus for efficient three-dimensional contouring of medical images A technique is disclosed for generating a new contour and/or a 3D surface such as a variational implicit surface from contour data. In one embodiment, B-spline interpolation is used to efficiently generate a new contour (preferably a transverse contour), from a plurality of input contours (preferably, sagittal and/or coronal contours). In another embodiment, a point reduction operation is performed on data sets corresponding to any combination of transverse, sagittal, or coronal contour data prior to processing those data sets to generate a 3D surface such as a variational implicit surface. A new contour can also be generated by the intersection of this surface with an appropriately placed and oriented plane. In this manner, the computation of the variational implicit surface becomes sufficiently efficient to make its use for new contour generation practical.
US08731257B2	Analysis of radiographic images The present invention therefore provides a method for the analysis of radiographic images, comprising the steps of acquiring a plurality of projection images of a patient, acquiring a surrogate signal indicative of the location of a target structure in the patient, reconstructing a plurality of volumetric images of the patient from the projection images, each volumetric image being reconstructed from projection images having a like breathing phase, identifying the position of the target structure such as a tumor in each volumetric image, associating a surrogate signal with each of the projection images, and determining a relationship between the surrogate signal and the position of the target structure. Multiple projection images having a like breathing phase can be grouped for reconstruction, to provide sufficient numbers for reconstruction. The analysis of the multiple values of the surrogate associated with each breathing phase can be used to determine the mean surrogate value and its variation. Multiple values of the surrogate signal associated with the same nominal breathing phase can be used to determine a mean value of the surrogate signal for the target position associated with that phase and a variation of the value of the surrogate signal for the target position associated with that phase. The breathing phase of specific projection images can be obtained by analysis of one or more features in the images, such as the method we described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,356,112, or otherwise.
US08731256B2	Automated image analysis for magnetic resonance imaging A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, comprising: a magnetic resonance imaging scanner configured to generate a plurality of signals for forming at least one magnetic resonance image of a soft tissue region from a subject under observation, wherein the at least one magnetic resonance image provides at least one integrating feature to facilitate automatic segmentation; a signal processing system in communication with the magnetic resonance imaging scanner to receive the plurality of signals; and a data storage unit in communication with the signal processing system, wherein the data storage unit contains at least one template corresponding to the soft tissue region, wherein the signal processing system is adapted to process the plurality of signals received from the magnetic resonance imaging scanner to automatically perform segmentation for the soft tissue region of the subject under observation by utilizing the at least one template and the at least one integrating feature.
US08731252B2	Image processing apparatus and image processing method A storage unit stores data of a first image associated with a contrast-enhanced cardiac region. A specification unit specifies a specific region included in the cardiac region on the basis of a distribution of pixel values of the data of the first image. A setting unit contracts the specified specific region, and set an ROI to the contracted specific region. A calculation unit calculates an index concerning the set ROI. The index is associated with a function of the specific region.
US08731249B2	Face recognition using face tracker classifier data A method of determining face recognition profiles for a group persons includes determining with a multi-classifier face detector that a face region within a digital image has above a threshold probability of corresponding to a first person of the group, and recording probability scores which are analyzed for each classifier, including determining a mean and variance for each classifier for the first person. The process is repeated for one or more other persons of the group. A sub-set of classifiers is determined which best differentiates between the first person and the one or more other persons. The sub-set of classifiers is stored in association with the first person as a recognition profile.
US08731248B2	Method of performing eye circle correction an image and related computing device A method of correcting an eye circle on an image with at least one eye visible and the eye circle being located beneath the eye includes defining a core area of the image for correction, the core area being located substantially below a position of the eye in the image. The method also defines a processing area being larger in area than the core area and including the core area, and defines a surrounding area as a remaining area of the processing area not being located within the core area. An average brightness of the core area is compared to an average brightness of the surrounding area. Then a smoothing process is performed to blend the core area with the surrounding area to correct the eye circle when the average brightness of the core area is greater than that of the surrounding area by more than a first threshold.
US08731246B2	Motion vector detection device, apparatus for detecting motion vector and motion vector detection method A motion vector detection device includes: a matching error calculation part that calculates matching errors between a focus block and each of reference blocks; a least matching error calculation part calculating a least matching error from among the matching errors; a threshold calculation part calculating a threshold value; a correction vector calculation part calculating a correction vector from motion vectors detected in the reference blocks; and a motion vector determination part determining, as a motion vector for the focus block, a relative position vector in a block in which the relative position vector with respect to the focus block is the closest to the correction vector, the block being selected from among the reference blocks in which a difference between the plurality of matching errors and the least matching error is within the threshold value.
US08731245B2	Multiple view transportation imaging systems A camera may be positioned to have a direct view of on-coming vehicle traffic from a first perspective. Additionally, a reflective surface, such as a mirror, may be positioned within the viewing area of the same camera to provide the camera with a reflected view of vehicle traffic from a second perspective. The images recorded by the camera may then be received by a computing device. The computing device may separate the images into a direct view region and a reflected view region. After separation, the regions may be analyzed independently and/or combined with other regions, and the analyzed data may be stored. The regions may be analyzed to determine various vehicle characteristics, including, but not limited to, vehicle speed, license plate identification, vehicle occupancy, vehicle count, and vehicle type.
US08731241B2	Activity mapping system A system for monitoring the motion of objects is configured to identify objects meeting predetermined criteria appearing in a scene and to track the motion of identified objects across the scene. In a particular embodiment the system is configured to compile statistical data for multiple points or regions to indicate one or both of: the frequency with which objects are initialised at that region or point; and the frequency with which initialised objects cross the region or point. The initialisation data will indicate the areas in the scene where objects are most frequently initialised. If the statistical data shows an area of the scene in which objects are never initialised this might indicate that there is an obstruction between objects that need to be tracked and the detector. The path data will indicate the paths most frequently followed by objects. If there is a particularly well trodden path to and fro in a particular part of the scene this might distort the result of a count of people entering and leaving a region in the scene.
US08731239B2	Systems and methods for tracking objects under occlusion A method for tracking objects in a scene may include receiving visual-based information of the scene with a vision-based tracking system and telemetry-based information of the scene with a RTLS-based tracking system. The method may also include determining a location and identity of a first object in the scene using a combination of the visual-based information and the telemetry-based information. Another method for tracking objects in a scene may include detecting a location and identity of a first object and determining a telemetry-based measurement between the first object and a second object using a real time locating system (RTLS)-based tracking system. The method may further include determining a location and identity of the second object based on the detected location of the first object and the determined measurement. A system for tracking objects in a scene may include visual-based and telemetry-based information receivers and an object tracker.
US08731235B2	Fingerprinting a data object Embodiments of the invention provide a method and a system for fingerprinting a data object at a server system and a method and a system for extracting the fingerprint from the data object at a client system. Sections of a data object are watermarked with known watermark data to create a first and a second variant of the data object, whereby the section boundaries are optionally saved as metadata. Using the metadata, the first and second variant are combined by taking sections from the variants to create a fingerprinted data object. From the fingerprinted data object, the watermark data can be extracted again.
US08731234B1	Automated roof identification systems and methods Automatic roof identification systems and methods are described. Example embodiments include a roof estimation system configured to automatically detect a roof in a target image of a building having a roof. In one embodiment, automatically detecting a roof in a target image includes training one or more artificial intelligence systems to identify likely roof sections of an image. The artificial intelligence systems are trained on historical image data or an operator-specified region of interest within the target image. Then, a likely outline of the roof in the target image can be determined based on the trained artificial intelligence systems. The likely roof outline can be used to generate a roof estimate report. This abstract is provided to comply with rules requiring an abstract, and it is submitted with the intention that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
US08731227B2	Tiltable earphone An earphone has an ear cushion mounted thereon to be freely tiltable. The body includes an outer case enclosing a sound wave generating means, and a ball joint provided at an end portion of the outer case that has a sound wave path that propagates sound waves out of the body and having an opening communicating with the sound wave path. An operation holder mounted on the outer circumference of the ball joint includes a frictional ball seat whose inner surface contacts with the outer circumference of the ball joint so as to combine an internal passage communicating with the inner space of the frictional ball seat, and a periphery for the ear cushion. Thus, the earphone becomes sturdier because the body and its outer portion are not structurally weakened. Productivity improves by process simplification. The assembly of the sliding portion is done only on the outside of the body.
US08731223B2	Microspeaker with inner resonance chamber Disclosed is a microspeaker with an inner resonance chamber, more particularly a microspeaker with an inner resonance chamber which improves quality of sound and enables slim and compact design of the microspeaker by blocking rearward sound generated at the rear side of the vibration plate to prevent interference of a rearward sound with a forward sound generated at the front side of a vibration plate and installing a chamber with a specific volume within the microspeaker to allow the rearward sound to cause resonance.
US08731222B2	Holding device for loudspeakers in a motor vehicle To hold loudspeakers of different sizes in an instrument panel of a motor vehicle, a holding plate with a cutout for inserting a first variant of a circular loudspeaker is arranged in the wall part of a defroster duct, and the holding plate can, by means of predetermined breaking points arranged at the edge in the direction of the wall part, be detached in order to obtain a further, larger cutout for inserting a second variant of a rectangular loudspeaker.
US08731221B2	Hearing aid There is provided a hearing aid that reduces a possibility of loss. The hearing aid of the present invention includes a microphone 101 configured to collect sound; a hearing aid processing unit 102 configured to perform hearing aid processing to an input signal from the microphone 101; a speaker 103 configured to output a signal processed by the hearing aid processing unit 102 to the outside; and a drop detection unit 104 configured to detect drop by reference to the input signal from the microphone 101.
US08731217B2	Method and apparatus for controlling audio signal output level of portable audio device An audio signal output level control method used in an audio device includes detecting input levels of an audio signal, determining control modes to be applied to the audio signal based on the input levels of the audio signal, controlling the input levels of the audio signal according to the control modes, and determining output levels corresponding to the controlled input levels.
US08731214B2	Noise removal system A system for noise removal is coupled to a signal unit that provides a digital signal. The noise removal system includes a transformation module to transform the digital signal into an f-digital signal, a threshold filter to generate a noiseless signal from the f-digital signal based on a threshold profile, and a signal synthesizer to provide a gain to the noiseless signal and to transform the noiseless signal into an output signal.
US08731211B2	Calibrated dual omnidirectional microphone array (DOMA) Systems and methods are described by which microphones comprising a mechanical filter can be accurately calibrated to each other in both amplitude and phase.
US08731207B2	Apparatus and method for computing control information for an echo suppression filter and apparatus and method for computing a delay value An embodiment of an apparatus for computing control information for a suppression filter for filtering a second audio signal to suppress an echo based on a first audio signal includes a computer having a value determiner for determining at least one energy-related value for a band-pass signal of at least two temporally successive data blocks of at least one signal of a group of signals. The computer further includes a mean value determiner for determining at least one mean value of the at least one determined energy-related value for the band-pass signal. The computer further includes a modifier for modifying the at least one energy-related value for the band-pass signal on the basis of the determined mean value for the band-pass signal. The computer further includes a control information computer for computing the control information for the suppression filter on the basis of the at least one modified energy-related value.
US08731202B2	Storage-medium processing method, a storage-medium processing apparatus, and a storage-medium processing program Spread of a forged storage medium is prevented suppressing an authentic storage medium's damage and trouble of a owner to the minimum. When there is an update request of user key data, the update history of the user key data concerning the shown above-mentioned medium identifier IDm is referred to. When judged that the update of the user key data concerning the shown medium identifier IDm not being performed within a predetermined period, the update of user key data is performed. The request of a update is refused when judged that the update of the user key data concerning the shown medium identifier IDm being performed within a predetermined period.
US08731194B2	Method of establishing security association in inter-rat handover A method of establishing security association during handover between heterogeneous networks in a radio access system is disclosed. A method of establishing security association before handover with a target base station included in a heterogeneous radio access network is performed comprises transmitting a request message to a service base station, the request message requesting the service base station to transfer authentication related information of a mobile station to a target network authentication server; and receiving a response message from the service base station before the handover with the target base station is performed, the response message including security related information used in a target network.
US08731193B2	Partial encryption using variable block sizes A method for data processing, comprising providing a sequence of image frames that is encoded by identifying intra and inter frames in the sequence and applying a variable block size motion compensation (VBSMC) procedure to the inter frames, thereby generating respective parameters representing the inter frames; selectively encrypting the block sizes, using an encryptor, without encrypting all of the parameters representing the inter frames; and outputting encoded data representing the sequence of the image frames and comprising the encrypted block sizes.
US08731189B2	Information processing device, information processing method An information processing device comprises: a non-linear transformation unit that takes a k/2-number of odd-numbered string data Bi (i=1, 3, . . . , k−1), k being an even number not smaller than 6, out of a k-number of string data {B1, B2, . . . , Bk}, as intermediate data Wi, and that XORs data transformed from the odd-numbered string data Bi based on a bijective F-function, in which an as-transformed value is determined responsive to a value of key data, and even-numbered string data Bi+1, to give intermediate data Wi+1; and a permutation unit that permutes the intermediate data {W1, W2, . . . , Wk} by the data {B1, B2, . . . , Bk}; in so permuting the intermediate data, the permutation unit permuting odd-numbered data by even-numbered data and permuting even-numbered data by odd-numbered data; the permutation unit not permuting Wi+1 by B((i+1)mod—k)+1, where i=0, 1, 2, . . . , k−1 and x mod y is a remainder left after dividing x by y, and not permuting Wi+1 by B((i+k-1)mod—k)+1.
US08731188B2	Cryptographic processing apparatus and cryptographic processing method, and computer program In extended Feistel type common key block cipher processing, a configuration is realized in which an encryption function and a decryption function are commonly used. In a cryptographic processing configuration to which an extended Feistel structure in which the number of data lines d is set to an integer satisfying d≧3 is applied, involution properties, that is, the application of a common function to encryption processing and decryption processing, can be achieved. With a configuration in which round keys are permuted or F-functions are permuted in the decryption processing, processing using a common function can be performed by setting swap functions for the encryption processing and the decryption processing to have the same processing style.
US08731187B2	Computing genus-2 curves using general isogenies An Igusa class polynomial over rational numbers is computed from a set of Igusa class polynomials modulo a set of small primes. The set of Igusa class polynomials modulo a set of small primes is computed by finding all of the maximal curves in the isogeny class for each of the small primes. In particular, for each prime number in a set of prime numbers, a curve in the isogeny class for the prime number is identified, for example through a random search. Given a curve in this isogeny class, isogenies of general degree are applied to the identified curve, until an initial maximal curve, i.e., a curve with a maximal endomorphism ring, is found in this isogeny class. After an initial maximal curve in the isogeny class is found, all other maximal curves in this isogeny class are found by applying isogenies of general degree to the initial maximal curve. This set of maximal curves for the set of prime numbers defines set of Igusa class polynomials modulo the small primes. A Chinese remainder approach is then applied to construct an Igusa class polynomial over the rational numbers from the computed set of Igusa class polynomials modulo the small primes.
US08731186B1	Microphone disruption apparatus and method An apparatus for use with an electronic device having a microphone. The apparatus comprises a structure configured to detachably couple to the device, and a generator supported by the structure. The generator is configured to generate a force that acts on the microphone and renders the microphone unresponsive to voice sounds.
US08731184B2	Performance testing of echo cancellers using a white noise test signal Test equipment including a signal generator and a method of generating a test signal associated with an overall frequency band are disclosed. Also disclosed is a method of using the test signal to test an echo canceller. The method of generating the test signal includes generating a first time segment associated with a first frequency sub-band of the overall frequency band and generating a second time segment associated with a second frequency sub-band of the overall frequency band. The second frequency sub-band is higher than the first frequency sub-band. The method further includes generating a time gap segment separating the first time segment and the second time segment.
US08731183B1	System and method for cancelling echo in a communications line An echo canceller system includes a first echo canceller having a first voltage divider and an adaptable second voltage divider that is configured to generate a first replica of an echo. A second echo canceller is configured to generate a second replica of an echo and has tap values that are generated in response to an error signal. A controller is coupled to the first and second echo cancellers and includes a selection algorithm that responds to the tap values of the second echo canceller and selects a voltage divider value for the adaptable second voltage divider.
US08731182B2	Data store for assessing accuracy of call center agent service time estimates A data store (e.g., a relational database, an object-oriented database, an unstructured file system, an in-memory data structure, etc.) and associated methods are disclosed for predicting the accuracy of agent responses in a call center. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, agents in a call center are prompted at different times during their workday for estimates of how much longer they will be servicing their current call, and the estimates are stored in the data store along with the actual times required for completion of the call. Statistics for each agent's prediction accuracy are computed and stored in the data store along with the raw data, and can then be used to assess the accuracy of subsequent agent responses to queries.
US08731178B2	Systems and methods for routing callers to an agent in a contact center A methods for routing callers to agents in a contact center, along with an intelligent routing system. One or more agents are graded on achieving an optimal interaction, such as increasing revenue, decreasing cost, or increasing customer satisfaction. Callers are then preferentially routed to a graded agent to obtain an increased chance at obtaining a chosen optimal interaction. In a more advanced embodiment, caller and agent demographic and psychographic characteristics can also be determined and used in a pattern matching algorithm to preferentially route a caller with certain characteristics to an agent with certain characteristics to increase the chance of an optimal interaction.
US08731177B1	Data model of participation in multi-channel and multi-party contacts The present invention is directed to a contact center that includes a switching fabric 110, 130 operable to configure a communication session between a first customer and a first resource 138 for servicing of a first contact by the first resource and a contact tracking agent 232 operable, during the servicing of the first contact by the first resource, to (a) monitor the first contact center endpoint for at least one of (i) a change in contact state, (ii) the connection of the first resource and the first customer through a second (new) communication channel, and (iii) the addition of a party to and/or removal of a party from the communication session and (b), when the at least one of (i)-(iii) occurs, terminate a first contact part and create a second contact part. The first and second contact parts are associated with the communication session.
US08731175B2	Method and system for securing access to information in an automatic call distributor system A method for granting access to secure information includes receiving from a caller a call for connection with one of a plurality of agents, distributing the call to the agent of the plurality of agents, initiating an active communication session between the caller and the agent for handling the call, and granting to the agent access to the secure caller information using a plurality of access authentication information that includes an active communication session between the caller and the agent.
US08731173B2	Telephone exchange system, dial-in incoming call method thereof, and dial-in incoming call program thereof A telephone exchange system includes a connection interface connecting a communication line and a plurality of extension telephones, a database having a dial-in conversion table registering a received number in association with a number after conversion for a dial-in incoming call, and an extension number table registering an extension telephone in association with an extension number of the extension telephone, and a main controller connected to the connection interface and the database. When the dial-in incoming call comes from the communication line, the main controller retrieves an extension number which coincides with the received number from the extension number table. When there is an extension number which coincides with the received number, the main controller causes an extension telephone corresponding to the extension number to ring.
US08731172B2	Method and system for trunk independent gateway transfer of calls Techniques for providing a method and system for trunk independent gateway transfer of calls are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a computer implemented method, comprising receiving a call transfer request for a call at a gateway and determining, using a processor of the gateway, whether a trunk to be used for transferring the call requires a transfer command. In the event the trunk requires transfer command, the techniques comprise generating a transfer command, and transferring the call using the transfer command.
US08731170B1	Call redirect via centralized bridges A system, method, and computer readable medium for redirecting a call via centralized bridges comprises a first conferencing platform based in a first country, a second conferencing platform based in a second country, and a third conferencing platform based in a third country, wherein the first conferencing platform dials the second conferencing platform and the third conferencing platform to provide a conference call between the second conferencing platform and the third conferencing platform.
US08731169B2	Continual indicator of presence of a call participant Examples include a system, method and program for notifying presence of a phone call participant. In an example, a computer receives a request from a first calling device to connect with one or more second calling devices through a network. The computer provides a presence notification on the first calling devices wherein the presence notification provides a repeating indicator which represents that the one or more second calling devices are connected. The computer determines that the one or more second calling devices has disconnected and in response the computer ceases the presence notification on the first calling device.
US08731165B2	System and method of automated order status retrieval A computer-readable storage device stores instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including prompting a caller during a call for an order identifier. The order identifier identifies a pending order. The operations also include prompting the caller to provide a reason for the call. The operations further include transferring the call to an automated check order status system in response to receiving an indication that the reason for the call is to obtain an order status associated with the pending order. The operations also include, in response to receiving an indication that the order status is not locatable, automatically transferring the call to a customer service agent.
US08731162B1	Systems and methods for matching call detail records for the same communication generated by different elements of an IP telephony system Call detail records (CDRs) that are generated by different elements of an IP telephony system in connection with the same communication can be matched to one another using timing information contained in the CDRs. Other information in addition to timing information, and which is present in two CDRs relating to the same communication may be used in conjunction with timing information to match CDRs from the same communication.
US08731161B1	Calling type identification system A calling type identification system selects a calling type. The system selects NPA-NXX telephone number blocks for the calling type based on NPA-NXX block categories related to the calling type. The system develops number data for the selected NPA-NXX telephone number blocks. The system receives a telephone number for a call. The system processes the telephone number and the number data to identify and indicate if the telephone call is of the selected calling type.
US08731157B2	Apparatus and method for ensuring a real-time connection between users and selected service provider using voice mail A method and apparatus are described for ensuring a real-time connection between users and selected service providers using voice mail. The system enables seekers of a wide array of services to select, contact, converse, and pay for a service provider using a communications device such as the telephone. A seeker locates a service provider by providing the name of a profession, which is recognized by the system's software. Once a service provider is selected, the system connects the seeker with the service provider for a live conversation. However, during service provider unavailability, the system enables the seeker to leave a voice mail message for the service provider and reconnects the user and service provider once the message is reviewed by the service provider. The system automatically bills the seeker for the time spent conversing with the service provider and compensates the service provider.
US08731154B2	Image forming apparatus and notification method of receiving data by fax An image forming apparatus is provided that includes a fax unit which receives fax data; a communication interface which searches for connectable control points; an address management unit which selects a control point to be notified of fax reception information from among the searched control points; and a DLNA stack unit which notifies the selected control point of the fax reception information through the communication interface.
US08731150B2	Method and apparatus for assigning and provisioning VOIP services A method, system, and computer usable program product for assigning and provisioning VOIP services are provided. A data processing system receives an order for the VOIP service and information about virtual inventory. The data processing system may create a provisioning command including provisioning information for provisioning a telecommunication line according to the order and send the provisioning command to a provisioning system, create a porting command including porting information for porting the phone number in the order if porting a phone number and send the porting command to a porting system, create a registration command including user information for registering a user and send the registration command to a web portal, create a setup command including the user information for creating an account for the user and send the setup command to a customer management system. The data processing system may then complete the order for the VOIP service.
US08731148B1	Systems and methods for visual presentation and selection of IVR menu Embodiments of the invention provide a system for enhancing user interaction with Interactive Voice Response (IVR) destinations, the system comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising: data encoding a database, the database comprising a list of telephone numbers associated with one or more destinations implementing an IVR; instructions executable by the processor for automatically communicating with at least one user; and instructions executable by the processor to pull at least one menu from the database and display the menu to the at least one user, wherein the menu is associated with a telephone number dialed by the at least one user, and wherein the menu comprises at least one icon.
US08731147B1	Methods and systems for confirming message delivery Methods and systems for processing messages and providing notifications regarding the same are described. An optional embodiment includes a telecommunications interface, a data network interface, and an answering system coupled to the telecommunications interface and the data network interface, the call processing system configured to receive a first call from a caller via the telecommunications interface, store a message from the caller, transmit a message notification using the data network to the intended recipient of the call via which the intended recipient can access the message, and transmit information related to the intended recipient's receipt of the message.
US08731146B2	Call re-directed based on voice command In exemplary embodiments, a universal messaging adapter provides hands-free operation of a communications device. The adapter communicates with the communications device, and in some embodiments, with a peripheral device such as another communications device, a headset, and other devices. The universal messaging adapter allows a user to use voice commands so that the user does not have to handle the communications device. The universal messaging adapter receives voice commands from a user interface and translates the voice commands to commands recognized by the communications device. The universal messaging adapter also monitors the communications device to detect communications device events and provides notice of the events to the user. Still further, the universal messaging adapter presents customized voice messaging tools that enable a portable voice messaging service that the user may use with a plurality of communications devices.
US08731144B2	Temporary callback system for emergency calls and methods thereof The present disclosure relates to emergency services and more particularly, to a temporary callback system for emergency calls and methods thereof. In one illustrative embodiment, the system can include a private branch exchange (PBX) or other processing device having a pool of callback identities. When an emergency call is made, a callback identity can be temporarily assigned to the device making the call. The callback identity can provide insurance that the call is maintained. If the call between the device and answering point becomes abandoned or disconnected, the callback identity can be used to re-establish the connection. The callback identity can be released when cleared by the answering point or when a time limit expires. After being released, the callback identity can be made available to other devices that wish to make emergency calls.
US08731133B2	Nuclear reactor having efficient and highly stable thermal transfer fluid A pressurized water nuclear reactor (PWNR) includes a core having a containment shield surrounding a reactor vessel having fuel assemblies that contain fuel rods filled with fuel pellets, and control rods, and a steam generator thermally coupled to the reactor vessel. A flow loop includes the steam generator, a turbine, and a condenser, and a pump for circulating a water-based heat transfer fluid in the loop. The heat transfer fluid includes a plurality of nanoparticles having at least one carbon allotrope or related carbon material dispersed therein, such as diamond nanoparticles.
US08731128B2	Indexing device installation unit Maintainability of a traversing in-core probe is improved without any hindrance to passage and the like in an access tunnel in which an indexing device of a TIP system is installed. An indexing device installation unit provided in the TIP system includes: a base on which an indexing device of a traversing in-core probe used in a nuclear reactor is mounted; a holding part holding the base in a suspended state in an access tunnel formed in a nuclear reactor containment vessel; and a lift mechanism moving up and down the base held by the holding part together with the indexing device.
US08731121B2	Method and arrangement in a telecommunication system By exploiting the multi-block structure of the used slot format having a training sequence in the time domain and at least one pre-coded user data block to sequentially reconstruct the slot, using in the first act known symbols and using detected symbols in each subsequent act and improved receiver may be provided. This may result in less ISI/IBI and therefore increased performance.
US08731120B1	Feedback-controlled biased inverting limiter for RFI suppression A method and apparatus is provided for reducing interference in a communication system. A feedback-controlled biased inverting limiter is used to reduce interference power by trapping the interfering signal, while passing the wanted signal through to the output. The amplitude trap triples the frequency of a signal component of a particular amplitude, thus shifting it out of the communication band and into the stopband of the receiver or transponder filter. The feedback-controlled biased inverting limiter uses a hard limiter, window comparator, feedback loop, and an exclusive NOR gate to trap the interfering signal, while allowing the wanted signal to pass through to a receiver.
US08731119B2	Apparatus and method for reducing receiver frequency errors A method in a receiver includes receiving from a transmitter an instruction to check for messages from the transmitter at intervals having a specified time period. A frequency error of the receiver relative to the transmitter is estimated at the receiver, and an actual time period that does not exceed the specified time period is selected based on the estimated frequency error. The receiver is activated periodically according to the selected actual time period so as to reset the frequency error.
US08731115B2	Systems and methods for data processing including pre-equalizer noise suppression The present inventions are related to systems and methods for pre-equalizer noise suppression in a data processing system. As an example, a data processing system is discussed that includes: a sample averaging circuit, a selector circuit, an equalizer circuit, and a mark detector circuit. The sample averaging circuit is operable to average corresponding data samples from at least a first read of a codeword and a second read of the codeword to yield an averaged output based at least in part on a framing signal. The selector circuit is operable to select one of the averaged output and the first read of the codeword as a selected output. The equalizer circuit is operable to equalize the selected output to yield an equalized output, and the mark detector circuit is operable to identify a location mark in the equalized output to yield the framing signal.
US08731114B2	LLR combining method and apparatus for HARQ in wireless communication system A Log-Likelihood Ratio (LLR) combining method and apparatus for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) in a wireless communication system for reducing a number of the LLR bits of previous packet stored for LLR combining are provided. The LLR combining apparatus includes an LLR combiner for combining a first LLR of a currently received packet and a second LLR of a previously received packet, an LLR buffer for storing the second LLR and a first packet exponent for recovering the second LLR in the same size as the first LLR, and an HARQ controller for determining whether the currently received packet is a retransmission packet or an initial transmission packet, and for controlling the LLR combiner to generate a third LLR by combining the first and second LLRs for the retransmission packet and to bypass the initial transmission packet.
US08731107B2	Low complexity maximum likelihood detection of concatenated space codes for wireless applications Good transmission characteristics are achieved in the presence of fading with a transmitter that employs a trellis coder followed by a block coder. Correspondingly, the receiver comprises a Viterbi decoder followed by a block decoder. Advantageously, the block coder and decoder employ time-space diversity coding which, illustratively, employs two transmitter antennas and one receiver antenna.
US08731106B1	Method and apparatus for correcting I/Q mismatch in a wireless communication signal Briefly, some embodiments of the invention may provide devices, systems and methods of in-phase and quadrature mismatch analysis and correction. For example, a method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention may include re-encoding an estimated symbol of an input signal having an in-phase component and a quadrature component, based on an analysis of a mismatch between said in-phase component and said quadrature component.
US08731102B2	Transmitter and transmission method A transmitter includes multiple transmit antennas, a conversion unit configured to generate multiple signal sequences corresponding to a predefined frequency bandwidth from one or more transmission streams associated with any of the transmit antennas, a precoding unit configured to weight the signal sequences with a precoding matrix selected from a codebook including multiple predefined precoding matrices, and a transmitting unit configured to convert an output signal from the precoding unit into a number of signals corresponding to the number of transmit antennas and transmit the converted signals from the transmit antennas. The precoding unit applies distinct precoding matrices to different signal sequences, and an association between the distinct precoding matrices and the different signal sequences is determined through open-loop control being independent of a feedback from a receiver.
US08731099B2	Wireless transmitters Transmitter circuits for generating baseband signals having low receiver-band noise are disclosed. In one embodiment, the transmitter circuit comprises an active filtering-and-amplifying component comprising a first input configured to receive a first input signal, and a first output configured to output a first output signal. The transmitter circuit further comprises a passive filtering component comprising a second input connected to the first output and configured to receive the first output signal, a passive pole arrangement comprising a number of switchable resistance elements and a capacitance element connected across the plurality of switchable resistance elements, and a second output configured to output a second output signal having reduced noise as compared to the first output signal. The transmitter still further comprises a number of feedback loops connecting the passive filtering component to the first input.
US08731097B2	Transmission of mms messages with the conversion of data types and/or data formats The present invention relates to a method for transmitting data, a subscriber terminal, a computer program product, and a communications system that provides a sender of data or of a message with additional possibilities for sending data with a higher degree of flexibility for the error-free adaptation of every combination of data and data formats to a given communications system and/or provides the sender with an MMS user application. To this end, a data type and/or data format conversion (KONV) is carried out according to a profile of the recipient (B), whereby a respective reference (LK) to the maintaining of the validity of this reference (LK) is accordingly changes in the data and/or between different data elements of the data type and/or data format conversion (KONV).
US08731096B2	Wireless communication system, wireless communication apparatus, and wireless communication method A wireless communication system is disclosed. The system performs data transmission from a first terminal including N antennas to a second terminal including M antennas using spatially multiplexed streams (N and M are integers larger than or equal to 2).
US08731094B2	Method and device for decoding of precoded signals The present invention relates to a method and a device for decoding precoded signals in a wireless communication system and network node or terminal associated therewith. The wireless communication system comprises a sender and a receiver that share a codebook containing a plurality of precoding matrices. The sender precodes at least a data signal to be transmitted with one of the plurality of precoding matrices. Said method comprising receiving signals from the sender, estimating a channel between the sender and the receiver based on a part of received signals that is known a priori, evaluating relevancies of precoding matrices in said codebook to a precoded signal in the received signals based on at least the estimated channel and the codebook according to a predetermined criterion, and selecting a precoding matrix with maximum relevancy by comparing the evaluated relevancies, and applying the selected precoding matrix for decoding the received precoded signal.
US08731091B2	Method and apparatus for determining a precoding matrix Disclosed is a method for determining precoding matrix based on an open-loop MIMO scheme, which can enhance a diversity gain at a static communication environment or a low-mobility communication environment. The method for determining precoding matrix applies a first precoding matrix to downstream data to transmit the downstream data through a plurality of antennas, the first precoding matrix being selected from a codebook which comprises a plurality of precoding matrixes, and changes the first precoding matrix to a second precoding matrix per predetermined period, and applying the second precoding matrix to the downstream data to transmit the downstream data through the antennas. The second precoding matrix is a precoding matrix corresponding to an index which has been shifted by a certain value from an index of the first precoding matrix in a direction where an index of a precoding matrix increases, in the codebook.
US08731090B2	Compressed feedback format for WLAN In a method for transmitting channel feedback data from a receiver to a transmitter, channel data for a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) tones for one or more spatial streams corresponding to a communication channel is determined. A plurality of angle values associated with the one or more spatial streams and one or more OFDM tones is determined. For each of the one or more spatial streams, a per-tone signal to noise ratio (PT-SNR) associated with one or more OFDM tones is determined, and an average signal to noise ratio (avg-SNR) is determined by averaging the signal to noise ratio (SNR) values. A feedback report is generated to include at least i) the plurality of angle values, ii) the PT-SNRs, and iii) the avg-SNR. The feedback report is included in a data unit to be transmitted from the receiver to the transmitter.
US08731082B2	Communication apparatus and communication method A modulator generates a modulation signal from an input signal. A serial-parallel converter generates a subcarrier modulation signal from the modulation signal. A first operator generates first data by multiplying a predetermined non-singular matrix by the subcarrier modulation signal. A second operator generates second data by multiplying a matrix calculated by multiplying a predetermined transformation matrix by the predetermined non-singular matrix by the subcarrier modulation signal, or multiplying the predetermined transformation matrix by the first data. A synthesizer generates a baseband signal from data obtained by adding the second data to the first data, or data obtained by subtracting the second data from the first data. A transmitter generates a transmission signal from the baseband signal, and transmits the transmission signal to another apparatus via an antenna.
US08731080B1	Device and method for reducing modulation profile memory size A machine implemented method includes determining a signal modulation for each of a plurality of profiles; generating a first indicator indicating a signal modulation determined for a first profile in the plurality of profiles; generating a second indicator indicating a relationship between the signal modulation for the first profile and the signal modulation for each of the other profiles; notifying at least one node of the first and second indicators.
US08731075B2	Baseband processor and wireless device A baseband processor includes a modulating unit and a converting unit. The modulating unit generates an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol by modulating a bit stream. The converting unit converts the OFDM symbol from a frequency domain into a time domain, and adjusts a frequency of the OFDM symbol according to a frequency hopping sequence to perform frequency hopping in a digital domain.
US08731069B2	Remote display system and method A remote display system having a server to transmit moving image content data to a network, and a display terminal to receive and reproduce/display the image data, transmits the image data to which an error resilience code is attached, displays the image content together with other display elements on the display terminal, determines a display shape of the image content in the display, and changes an error resilience method in accordance with a result of the display shape determination.
US08731057B2	Video encoding apparatus, video decoding apparatus, video encoding method, video decoding method, and computer program It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a video encoding apparatus, a video decoding apparatus, a video encoding method, a video decoding method, and a computer program, which allow adaptive filter coefficients to be used with a reduced amount of coding. A video encoding apparatus AA selects a suitable coefficient from among multiple kinds of interpolation filter coefficients determined beforehand by means of a component external to the video encoding apparatus AA. Subsequently, the video encoding apparatus AA records identification information uniquely defined for the selected interpolation filter coefficient in control information for each slice. Furthermore, the video encoding apparatus AA uses the interpolation filter coefficient thus selected to generate encoded data c including the identification information uniquely defined for the interpolation filter coefficient thus selected.
US08731056B2	Image encoding apparatus, image encoding method, and image encoding program It is an object of the present invention to provide an image encoding apparatus, an image encoding method, and an image encoding program, which can homogenize image quality of an image as a whole without lowering encoding efficiency, being operable at high speed, and reduce the size of circuit scale by performing macroblock shuffling without changing slice structure. Provided is an image encoding apparatus, including: a shuffling portion which collects and shuffles a plurality of macroblocks constituting image data from respective positions within an image; an encoding portion which performs space-frequency transform and entropy encoding on the plurality of macroblocks collected and shuffled by the shuffling portion, as a base unit; and a rate control portion which controls the encoding portion to adjust the rate of the plurality of macroblocks after the encoding.
US08731054B2	Method and apparatus for weighted prediction in predictive frames A method and apparatus for constructing weighted bi-directional predicted video pictures including locating first and second prediction regions in first and second reference frames, receiving first and second weight parameters related to the first and second prediction regions, where the weight parameters and weighting methodology used to encode the weight parameters can be from several different codec designs for weighted bi-directional prediction. Further including, modifying the weight parameters to conform to a bit configuration and weighting methodology, applying the weight parameters to the first and second prediction regions and combining them to form a weighted bi-directional predicted picture. The bit configuration being chosen to accommodate multiple encoded bit configurations and methodologies, where the encoded bit configurations and methodologies can differ in characteristics such as, for example, bit size, being signed or unsigned, and supporting offsets.
US08731049B2	Image data transmitting apparatus, image data receiving apparatus, image data transmission system, image data transmitting method, and image data receiving method A compression unit compresses image data. An marker insertion unit inserts a synchronization marker for each of the image data compressed by the image compression unit. A transmitter transmits the image data into which the synchronous marker has been inserted, using a transmission method of digital audio signals. A bit sequence constituting the synchronization marker is so set as to become a value different from a bit sequence, converging to zero, which is generated by the transmitter or a receiver for receiving the image data transmitted from the transmitter when a mute function is activated in the transmitter or the receiver.
US08731042B2	Generating pulse width modulated signals A technique includes using a first signal that is produced by a counter to generate a center-aligned pulse width modulation signal having a first time profile and using the first signal to concurrently generate a pulse width modulation signal that has a second time profile that is different from the first time profile.
US08731040B2	Adapting transfer functions of continuous-time equalizers Described embodiments provide a method of adjusting configurable parameters of at least one linear equalizer in a communication system. A transmitting device applies an input signal to a receiver. The at least one linear equalizer equalizes the input signal. A sampler generates one or more sampled values of the input signal. A data detector digitizes the sampled values of the input signal. At least one error detection module generates an error signal based on one or more of a plurality of sampled values of the input signal and a target value. An adaptation module determines a gradient signal based on a comparison of one or more of the plurality of sampled values of the input signal and one or more of the plurality of values of the error signal. The adaptation module adjusts a transfer function of the at least one linear equalizer based on the determined gradient signal.
US08731037B2	Receiver, integrated circuit, receiving method, and program A receiver includes a demodulator that demodulates a modulation wave modulated according to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). The demodulator includes an interference wave detector that detects that received modulation wave includes interference wave when received power of each sample of the received modulation wave exceeds a threshold, and upon the detection, executes replacement processing of replacing a received signal exceeding the threshold with a predetermined value, a first interference wave power estimation unit configured to estimate interference wave power included in an OFDM symbol included in the received modulation wave on the basis of the number of samples that have been subjected to the replacement processing, and a demodulated data generator that demodulates the received modulation wave by executing demodulation processing of demodulating the received modulation wave that has been subjected to the replacement processing on the basis of the interference wave power.
US08731028B2	Method and apparatus for modulation and coding scheme adaption in a MIMO system Method and apparatus for decoding a transmitted signal by a receiver in a MIMO system into a first estimate component for estimating a first signal, a first interference component indicating interference resulting from a correlation relationship among a set of signals to be transmitted, and a first noise component. A base station generates the transmitted signal from the set of signals through a coding process, the coding process defining a correlation relationship amongst the set of signals. The correlation information about the correlation relationship is transmitted to the receiver directly or by a dedicated reference symbol. The decoding is performed by determining a linear receiver filter for the first signal in accordance with the correlation information, and de-correlating the first signal and interferences.
US08731025B2	Offset phase-locked loop transmitter and method thereof An offset phase-locked loop (PLL) transmitter comprises a clock generator that generates a first clock signal; a detector that detects a phase difference between an input data signal and a feedback data signal to generate a control signal; a controlled oscillator, coupled to the detector, that generates an output data signal according to the control signal; a mixer, coupled to the controlled oscillator and the clock generator, that mixes the output data signal according to the first clock signal to generate the feedback data signal; and a control circuit, coupled to the detector and the controlled oscillator, that adjusts the operating frequency curve of the controlled oscillator by one of a first step distance and a second step distance smaller than the first step distance such that the control signal is substantially equal to a predetermined value.
US08731022B2	Quadrature modulation without carrier Transmitters, receivers and associated methods are disclosed for providing phase and amplitude modulation in a carrier-less communication system (e.g., an ultra-wide band communication system). An approximate quadrature signal is provided by delaying the in-phase signal by an amount determined by various criteria, such as the bandwidths of the component signals, minimizing the mean square error between an approximate quadrature signal and the true quadrature signal, and minimizing the auto-correlation function of the in-phase signal.
US08731019B2	Laser module [Objective]To restrict degradation of optical characteristics due to a resin adhesive containing an inorganic filler.[Means]The width d of a lens body 31 and the height of an inorganic filler 341 in a direction orthogonal to the surface of a substrate are set such that an inclination angle of a collimating lens 3 does not exceed a maximum tolerable inclination angle when the inorganic filler 341 is positioned near the width-wise center of the lens body 31. As a result, even when the inorganic filler 341 is inserted between the bottom surface of the collimating lens 3 and the top surface of the substrate 4, degradation of the optical characteristics of the laser module including skewing of the optical axis of the laser light and distortion of the beam shape of the laser light can be restricted.
US08731017B2	Tensile strained semiconductor photon emission and detection devices and integrated photonics system Tensile strained germanium is provided that can be sufficiently strained to provide a nearly direct band gap material or a direct band gap material. Compressively stressed or tensile stressed stressor materials in contact with germanium regions induce uniaxial or biaxial tensile strain in the germanium regions. Stressor materials may include silicon nitride or silicon germanium. The resulting strained germanium structure can be used to emit or detect photons including, for example, generating photons within a resonant cavity to provide a laser.
US08731016B2	Nitride semiconductor light emitting device A nitride semiconductor light-emitting device has a semiconductor ridge, and includes a first inner-layer between an active layer and an n-type cladding and a second inner-semiconductor layer between the active layer and a p-type cladding. The first inner-layer, active layer and second inner-layer constitute a core-region. The n-type cladding, core-region and p-type cladding constitute a waveguide-structure. The active layer and the first inner-layer constitute a first heterojunction inclined at an angle greater than zero with respect to a reference plane of the c-plane of the nitride semiconductor of the n-type cladding. Piezoelectric polarization of the well layer is oriented in a direction from the p-type cladding toward the n-type cladding. The second inner-layer and InGaN well layer constitute a second heterojunction. A distance between the ridge bottom and the second heterojunction is 200 nm or less. The ridge includes a third heterojunction between the second inner-layer and the p-type cladding.
US08731013B2	Linear adaptive optics system in low power beam path and method A system and method for providing a wavefront corrected high-energy beam of electromagnetic energy. In the illustrative embodiment, the system includes a source of a first beam of electromagnetic energy; an amplifier for amplifying said beam to provide a second beam; a sensor for sensing aberration in said second beam and providing an error signal in response thereto; a processor for processing said error signal and providing a correction signal in response thereto; and a spatial light modulator responsive to said correction signal for adjusting said beam to facilitate a correction of said aberration thereof. In more specific embodiments, the source is a laser and the sensor is a laser wavefront sensor. A mirror is disposed between said modulator and said sensor for sampling said beam. The mirror has an optical thin-film dielectric coating on at least one optical surface thereof. The coating is effective to sample said beam and transmit a low power sample thereof to said means for sensing aberration. The processor is an adaptive optics processor. The spatial light modulator may be a micro electro-mechanical system deformable mirror or an optical phased array. In the illustrative embodiment, the source is a master oscillator and the amplifier is a power amplifier beamline. An outcoupler is disposed between the oscillator and the amplifier.
US08731012B2	Surface emitting semiconductor laser and its manufacturing method, surface emitting semiconductor laser device, optical transmitter, and information processor A surface emitting semiconductor laser includes a substrate; a first semiconductor distributed bragg reflector of a first conductive type; an active region; a second semiconductor distributed bragg reflector of a second conductive type; a current confinement layer that confines current in the active region; an optical confinement layer that confines light in the active region; and an optical loss unit including center and periphery portions in a predetermined direction, and gives a larger optical loss to the periphery portion than that of the center portion. Also, Do1
US08731005B2	Absolute timing and Tx power calibration of the Tx path in a distributed system A radio system and a method for relaying packetized radio signals is disclosed. The radio system and the method provide a calibration of transmit signals. Furthermore the radio system and the method provide a measurement of a transmit power level. The radio system comprises at least one transmit path, a calibration unit, a base band calibration signal generator synchronized to a synchronization unit, at the least one link and a power sensor. A portion of a selected one of coupled transmit signals is forwarded to a power sensor for measuring a power level, wherein the calibration unit is adapted to update a transmit power level of the at least one transmit path in response to the transmit power level of the selected one of the coupled transmit signals.
US08731002B2	Synchronization, re-synchronization, addressing, and serialized signal processing for daisy-chained communication devices A data communication system has a number of communicatively coupled devices, including at least one slave-only device. Techniques for use in the data communication system include techniques for synchronization and re-synchronization of frame and bit clocks, techniques for assigning device address, techniques for dynamically controlling transmit power based on the number of devices, and techniques for serialized signal processing.
US08731001B2	Methods and apparatus for determining participants in coordinated multi-point transmission Systems and techniques for communication using coordinated multi-point transmission. In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least one processor and a memory storing a set of computer instructions. The processor is configured to cause the apparatus to receive information relating to a propagation delay variation between at least a first transmission and a second transmission received at a user equipment. The first transmission is received from a first transmission point and the second transmission is received from a second transmission. The information relating to the propagation delay variation is evaluated and, based on the result of the evaluation, a determination is made as to whether the second transmission point is acceptable as a participant in a cooperative multi-point joint processing transmission to the user equipment.
US08731000B2	Decoding earlier frames with DTS/PTS backward extrapolation In one method embodiment, receiving a video stream comprising a first compressed picture without associated time stamp information and a second compressed picture having associated first time stamp information, the second compressed picture following the first compressed picture in transmission order; deriving second time stamp information based on the first time stamp information; and processing the first compressed picture based on the second time stamp information.
US08730998B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving control information in broadcast communication system Disclosed is a method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving control information in a system in which one or more Radio Frequencies (RFs) are used to carry multiple services through a frame constituted by time resources or time-frequency resources. Control information regarding frame configuration information is not transmitted over a separate control channel but over a data channel through which to transmit primary service traffic among all service traffic, and each non-primary service traffic other than the primary service traffic includes control information for a primary service. Thus, even when a receiver changes the current service to a target service, control information necessary to detect the location of the target service in a frame and demodulate the target service can be acquired, and thus a service change can be made without reading a separate control channel.
US08730997B2	Radio transmission apparatus, radio receiving apparatus, radio communication apparatus, radio transmission method, and radio receiving method Instead of adding control information that should be passed on to two or more RLC entities or two or more PDCP entities on the counterpart side to data respectively in two or more RLC entities or two or more PDCP entities at the sending end, control information is added in MAC entity and then distributed to two or more RLC entities in MAC entity on the counterpart side.
US08730990B2	Method, apparatus, and computer program product for quiet period management in wireless networks for coexistence Method, apparatus, and computer program product embodiments are disclosed for quiet period management in wireless networks to enhance coexistence of wireless networks with other wireless networks. An example embodiment comprises: receiving control information in a wireless message in a communications channel from another device in a wireless network; receiving a packet having a duration in the communications channel in the wireless network; delaying transmission of a packet in the communications channel for an interval determined by the received control information; monitoring an ambient electromagnetic spectrum during the interval; and competing for transmission resources in the communications channel, using a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance access method, after the interval.
US08730989B2	Method and apparatus for closed loop transmit diversity transmission initial access Uplink precoding in closed loop transmit diversity (CLTD). The methods and apparatus relate to precoder operations during an initial stage using default precoder tap weights, and a second stage wherein precoder weights obtained from a precoder control indicator channel information are used, provided the signal quality of the precoder control indicator channel is sufficiently reliable. The methods and apparatus also relate to procedures for responding to detection of an unreliable pre-coding control information (PCI) carried in a downlink feedback signal.
US08730987B2	Framing of analog communication The present invention relates to communication, in particular to communication involving analogue-like signals that are multiplexed together. There is provided a method of communicating with a plurality of devices, each of which of which provides a signal whose amplitude varies in an analogue fashion, the method including the steps of: temporally interleaving the signals from the devices so as to form a multiplexed signal having a plurality of sequential pulses, which pulses can, in an analogue fashion, each have an amplitude within a continuous range, each pulse originating from a respective device, and each pulse having a plurality of temporal portions; and, forming a synchronisation signal within the multiplexed signal for demultiplexing the multiplexed signal, the synchronisation signal being formed by reducing the amplitude within a temporal portion of at least some of the pulses.
US08730979B2	Method and system for increasing forwarding efficiency of virtual private LAN service network The present invention provides a method and system for increasing forwarding efficiency of a virtual private LAN services network. The method includes: a root node provider edge (PE) in the VPLS network transmitting at least one of broadcast message, multicast message and unknown unicast message to leaf nodes PE in the same VPLS through a point-to-multipoint pseudo wire (P2MP PW). The present invention transmits messages through the P2MP PW between a PE and other PEs, thus decreasing the number of redundant messages on a physical link, increasing the forwarding efficiency of network, and reducing the network operating costs.
US08730975B2	Method to pass virtual local area network information in virtual station interface discovery and configuration protocol An apparatus comprising an edge virtual bridging (EVB) bridge, and an EVB station coupled to the EVB bridge, wherein the EVB station is configured to send to the EVB bridge a virtual station interface (VSI) discovery and configuration protocol (VDP) request comprising a filter information (info) field without specifying a virtual local area network (VLAN) identifier (ID), and wherein the EVB bridge is configured to send a VLAN ID (VID) to the EVB station in a second filter info field in a VDP response to the VDP request.
US08730974B2	Collection of enhanced caller ID information Network entities such as an access device and a gateway analyze messages exchanged during a communication session to identify information items of interest such as, for example, email addresses, universal resource locators, file paths, and attachments. References to and/or the contents of the identified information items may be stored in a database that associates the identified information items with the participants of the communication session. The participants in the communication session may be identified by conventional caller ID information, or by an Internet protocol address, an electronic serial number, or a variety of other identifiers. Information received at the beginning of a later communication session that identifies participant(s) in that communication session may then be used to select from the database, information items from previous communication session, that are associated with the identified participant in the current communication session. Information about the selected information items may be delivered as enhanced caller ID information to parties of the communication session, allowing them to have easy access to the previously exchanged information.
US08730972B2	Method, system and apparatus for dynamic quality of service modification A method and apparatus for dynamically modifying the quality of service (QoS) provided to a mobile communication device are disclosed. In one embodiment, a mobile communication device comprises a secure channel driver operable to establish a secure tunnel between the mobile communication device and a remote network via a wireless network, the secure tunnel operable to support multiple sockets opened therein; a first application operable to communicate with the remote network via a first socket within the secure tunnel and associated with a first QoS; a second application operable to communicate with the remote network via a second socket within the secure tunnel and associated with a second QoS, different from the first QoS; a QoS monitor operable to identify when the second QoS is appropriate to support the second application; and a QoS modification module operable to request the second QoS from the wireless network.
US08730963B1	Methods, systems, and computer readable media for improved multi-switch link aggregation group (MLAG) convergence The subject matter described herein includes methods, systems, and computer readable media for improved multi-switch link aggregation group (MLAG) convergence. According to one aspect of the subject matter described herein, a system for improved multi-switch link aggregation group (MLAG) convergence is provided. The system includes a packet forwarding device. The packet forwarding device includes a packet processor for receiving a packet and determining that the packet is destined for a port of the packet forwarding device associated with an MLAG group. The packet forwarding device further includes an MLAG module associated with the packet processor for determining that the port is inactive, and in response to determining that the port is inactive, performing a convergence operation, wherein the convergence operation includes redirecting, using a redirection filter, the received packet towards an active port associated with the MLAG group.
US08730962B2	Packet switch and switching method for switching variable length packets A packet switch for switching variable length packets. Each output port interface of the packet switch includes a buffer memory, a transmission priority controller, and a packet readout controller. The buffer memory stores transmission packets. The transmission priority controller classifies, based on a predetermined algorithm, transmission packets passed from a packet switching unit into a plurality of queue groups to which individual bandwidths are assigned respectively, and queues the transmission packets in the buffer memory so as to form a plurality of queues according to transmission priority in each of the queue groups. The packet readout controller reads the transmission packets from each of the queue groups in the buffer memory according to the order of transmission priority of the packets while guaranteeing the bandwidth assigned to the queue group.
US08730958B2	Method, node, and system for notifying proxy update in WMN Embodiments of the present invention disclose Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) for notifying proxy update. By constructing the proxy update add message, where the proxy update add message includes the address of terminal, the current proxy node address after terminal switching and the destination node address of the terminal, and taking the address of the original proxy node before terminal switching as the address of the destination node, and sending the proxy update add message constructed to the original proxy node, where the proxy update add message is used for updating proxy information of the terminal in the proxy information table of the original proxy node to be the current proxy node address. It makes sure that packets received by the original proxy node which should be sent to the terminal could be received by the terminal, and packet loss rate during terminal switching could be reduced.
US08730956B2	Pay-as-you-grow gradual cutover method to scale a provider bridge network to a VPLS or provider backbone bridging network A method and apparatus that operates two bridging protocols in a hybrid bridging node is described. The operation of the two bridging protocols in the hybrid node allows for an incremental transition of a provider bridging network from operating a legacy bridging protocol that shares MAC addresses to a bridging network that operates VPLS and/or PBB bridging protocols. The hybrid bridging node selectively broadcasts unicast packets with unknown MAC addresses from the nodes operating VPLS and/or PBB to nodes operating a legacy bridging protocol.
US08730954B2	Methods and apparatus related to any-to-any connectivity within a data center In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a switch core that defines a single logical entity and has a multi-stage switch fabric physically distributed across a plurality of chassis. The multi-stage switch fabric has a plurality of ingress ports and a plurality of egress ports. The switch core is configured to be coupled to a plurality of peripheral processing devices via the plurality of ingress ports and the plurality of egress ports. The switch core is also configured to provide non-blocking connectivity at line rate between a first peripheral processing device disposed with a first chassis and a second peripheral processing device disposed within a second chassis.
US08730951B2	Apparatus and methods for origination of voice and messaging communication in a network A method that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving a query from a call session server for a first pointer associated with a telephone number of a terminating device of a requested communication session, transmitting to the call session server the first pointer including a session initiation protocol uniform resource identifier associated with the terminating device to initiate an internet protocol communication session, receiving a notification from the call session server responsive to the call session server failing to initiate the internet protocol communication session, and transmitting to the call session server a second pointer including a telephone protocol uniform resource identifier for originating a circuit-switched communication session responsive to receiving the notification. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US08730950B1	Method and system for processing voice traffic from a multi-channel link into a VoIP network over a broadband network Systems and methods can include converting multi-channel circuit switched voice data to packet-switched voice over internet protocol (VoIP). A multi-channel connection originating from one or more customer premise equipment private branch exchanges can be terminated at a channel to packet gateway device. Call data originating from multiple customer premise equipment telephony devices can be received through the multi-channel connection associated with the one or more customer premise equipment private branch exchanges, and can be processed at the channel to packet gateway device responsive to call control instruction information. The payload data associated with the call data can be packaged according to predetermined packaging rules and transmitted according to VoIP.
US08730948B2	Method of terminating a call and voice-over-IP terminal A method of terminating a call is used by a voice over IP terminal (3A, 3B) registered with an IP network core (2) and comprises a step of detecting the terminal (3A, 3B) hanging up during the call, a step of sending a device of the IP network core (2) a message to release the resources allocated to the call, and after the detection step, a step of waiting a predetermined time before sending the resource-release message. The resource-release message is sent at the end of the waiting step if the terminal (3A, 3B) being picked up is not detected during the predetermined time.
US08730937B2	Method and an apparatus for synchronization among the neighboring base stations in the wireless communication system The object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for performing synchronization among neighboring base stations in the wireless communication network. According to the technical solution of the present invention, a base station turns off a transmitter randomly to receive a synchronization signal from neighboring base stations, and obtains a new local synchronization reference time based on the synchronization reference time of other neighboring base station. With the apparatus and the method provided by the present invention, the strongly robust synchronization among base stations is realized.
US08730936B2	Random access channel protocol The present invention provides an improved random access channel protocol, wherein different user elements may be associated with different priority levels. Based on relative priority, the user elements may have different probabilities for deciding when to retransmit a previously transmitted packet upon receiving information from an access point indicating that the packet needs to be retransmitted. A buffer is provided for storing a packet to transmit, and the buffer is associated with a stack counter, which is incremented or decremented to or from a nominal value to determine when to transmit or retransmit the packet stored in the buffer. Based on the relative priority, feedback information from the access point may cause the stack counter for a packet needing to be retransmitted to stay at the nominal value, wherein retransmission will occur at the next available time slot, or it may increase the stack counter by one or more levels.
US08730933B2	Method and apparatus for multiplexing data and reference signal in a wireless communication system Certain aspects of the present disclosure allow reference and data-conveying modulations symbols to be multiplexed in the time domain to form an SC-FDM waveform.
US08730923B2	Method for controlling resource allocation in a wireless communication system A resource allocation algorithm identifies a resource hogger in a wireless communication system data sharing arrangement and control shared resource overuse by the resource hogger. In one embodiment, the base station for a given sector in the system tracks the time-slot usage of each active user in the sector. If the usage for any user reaches a predetermined hogger threshold, normal target QoS enforcement is suspended for that user to allow more time slots to be allocated to the other, non-hogger users. When the resource hogger user's usage falls below the threshold, target QoS enforcement is returned to that user. Temporarily suspending target QoS enforcement for resource hoggers and allocating the remaining resources to other users prevents resource hoggers from deteriorating performance of the entire system.
US08730919B2	Method for performing mobility in wireless communication system and apparatus for the same A method for performing mobility by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes: receiving Physical layer Cell Identity (PCI) split information from a network, the PCI split information indicating a predetermined set of at least one PCI reserved for a predetermined cell type; receiving system information from at least one candidate cell, the system information comprising a PCI for each cell; measuring the at least one candidate cell; determining whether to apply the PCI split information for selecting a target cell; selecting the target cell; and performing the mobility to the target cell. If it is determined that the PCI split information is applied, the step of selecting the target cell includes: excluding at least one cell has a PCI included in the predetermined set; and selecting the target cell among at least one remaining cell.
US08730917B2	Method and system for realizing single radio voice call continuity The disclosure discloses a method for realizing single radio voice call continuity, which is applied in an IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem (IMS) network. The method includes: receiving, by a service continuity application server (SC AS), a handover request, and then updating, by the SC AS, a remote leg, and transmitting, by the SC AS, a handover notification message to a user terminal; receiving, by the user terminal, a handover command in a Packet Switch (PS) domain and the handover notification message, then adjusting, by the user terminal, an access mode to be accessing a Circuit Switch (CS) domain. The invention further discloses a system for realizing single radio voice call continuity. The method and system for realizing enhancement of single radio voice call continuity provided by the disclosure can effectively reduce the overlong interruption time in the prior art, and greatly improve the user experience.
US08730913B2	High data rate interface apparatus and method A data interface for transferring digital data between a host and a client over a communication path using packet structures linked together to form a communication protocol for communicating a pre-selected set of digital control and presentation data. The signal protocol is used by link controllers configured to generate, transmit, and receive packets forming the communications protocol, and to form digital data into one or more types of data packets, with at least one residing in the host device and being coupled to the client through the communications path. The interface provides a cost-effective, low power, bi-directional, high-speed data transfer mechanism over a short-range “serial” type data link, which lends itself to implementation with miniature connectors and thin flexible cables which are especially useful in connecting display elements such as wearable micro-displays to portable computers and wireless communication devices.
US08730909B2	Method and system for transitioning between radio access technologies (RATS) A method in a wireless communications device having a first protocol stack for use with a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second protocol stack for use with a second RAT, the first protocol stack comprising a reordering component associated with a first layer of the first protocol stack and arranged to implement a data reordering queue, the method for transitioning from the first RAT to the second RAT, the method comprising: determining that the device should transition from the first RAT to the second RAT; in response to determining that the device should transition, determining that data is present in a reordering queue implemented by the reordering component; sending the data present in the reordering queue to a second layer which is higher than the first layer; and attempting transitioning from the first RAT to the second RAT.
US08730908B2	Method of selecting target network for hand-over and method thereof A conventional handover method is performed in units of base stations, so that there is a problem in that a large amount of power for handover is consumed and implementation cost is high.Through dedicated protocol message exchanges between a user equipment and a network or between networks, resource availability of candidate networks is checked in advance, a handover target network is selected from among the candidate networks according to a result of checking, and the selected target network is designated as a network to which the user equipment is handed over.
US08730906B2	Apparatus and method for removing path management An apparatus and method are provided to identify an endpoint as a general packet radio service tunneling protocol endpoint, and configure a radio access bearer to skip a path management procedure. The apparatus and method also transmit the radio access bearer to a universal generic access network controller to prevent activation of the path management procedure to the general packet radio service tunneling protocol endpoint.
US08730905B2	Transmission resource reservation scheme A method, apparatus, and computer program for acquiring transmission resources during a transmission period is provided. A first communication apparatus is arranged to utilize at least one other communication apparatus to reserve at least one additional transmission band for the first communication apparatus during the transmission period of the first communication apparatus. Upon reception of a message indicating availability of additional transmission band(s) from the at least one other communication apparatus, the first communication apparatus is configured to increase its transmission band during the transmission period.
US08730903B2	Method and apparatus for channel estimation for radio link between a base station and a relay station A method and apparatus for channel estimation for radio link between a base station and a relay station in a radio communication system are disclosed. A method for receiving a downlink signal at a relay node in a wireless communication system, the method comprising receiving downlink control information by demodulating a R-PDCCH of a first RB pair based on a downlink channel estimated by a DMRS in the first resource block (RB) pair; and receiving downlink data by demodulating a PDSCH of the one or more RB pairs contiguous to the first RB pair based on a downlink channel estimated by a DMRS in the one or more RB pairs, wherein, if the PDSCH is assigned to the first RB pair, the downlink channel is estimated on the assumption that the same precoder is applied to one RB bundle including the first RB pair and the one or more RB pairs.
US08730900B2	Method and device for adaptive adjusting uplink and downlink bandwidth The present invention discloses a method for adaptively adjusting uplink and downlink bandwidth, which includes: a base station counting a usage status of the uplink and downlink bandwidth in a preset time, and obtaining a bandwidth amount ΔBWDL required to be coordinated of downlink bandwidth and a bandwidth amount ΔBWUL required to be coordinated of uplink bandwidth; the base station determining a direction, amount and location of the required change of the uplink and downlink bandwidth according to the obtained ΔBWDLand ΔBWUL; the base station carrying the determined direction, amount and location of the required change of the uplink and downlink bandwidth through residual ten bits in a logical channel message corresponding to a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) and informing a terminal of the direction, amount and location. The present invention also discloses a device for adaptively adjusting the uplink and downlink bandwidth.
US08730896B2	Transmit power control method and transmission apparatus In the system of a variable transmission bandwidth, transmit power control for minimizing an impact on a circuit is performed. There is provided a transmit power control method that is applied to a transmission apparatus that transmits data through the use of a different transmission format at each transmission opportunity, in which transmit power is controlled depending on the transmission format before digital/analogue conversion is performed on transmission data, and, based on the transmit power control, the transmit power is controlled on the transmission data that has been subjected for the digital/analogue conversion. In addition, the transmission format specifies a frequency bandwidth used for transmission of the transmission data.
US08730895B2	Method for aperiodic SRS subframe configuration and signaling A method, system and computer-usable medium for configuring UE-specific A-SRS subframes. More specifically, UE-specific Aperiodic Sounding Reference Signal (A-SRS) subframes are defined only within a radio subframe.
US08730893B2	Group resource allocation method in broadband wireless access system and apparatus therefor The present invention relates to a broadband wireless access system, and more specifically, to a reliable group resource allocation method and an apparatus therefor. A group resource allocation operating method of a terminal in a broadband wireless access system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of: receiving a message which includes group setup information from a base station; determining a channel identifier of a 1st map for group resource allocation received from the base station by using the group setup information; receiving a 2nd map from the base station which includes the channel identifier determined by the base station; comparing the channel identifier determined by the terminal with a channel identifier value included in the 2nd map; and transmitting an extended header which includes inconsistency information to the base station if the channel identifier of the 1st map determined by the terminal is inconsistent with the channel identifier value included in the 2nd map according to a comparison of the results.
US08730892B2	Method and device for scheduling terminals The present invention discloses a method and device for scheduling terminals based on the measurement gap. The method comprises: when the system side needs to schedule a terminal in a measurement state of measurement gap, not only judging whether the downlink scheduling information or the uplink authorization information of the terminal is sent during the period of measuring the measurement gap, but also judging whether the downlink scheduling feedback, the uplink data feedback or the uplink data corresponding to the uplink authorization is sent during the period of measuring the measurement gap, and scheduling the terminal normally when none of the above information is sent during the period of measuring the measurement gap; the device comprises a judging module, a scheduling module and a terminal information acquisition module. The present invention can simplify the processing for the terminal and save the resources of the system.
US08730886B2	Methods and apparatus for registration and data transmission using fast/zero contention resolution Example methods and apparatus for registration and data transmission using fast/zero contention resolution are disclosed. An example method for transmission on a random-access channel (RACH) involves transmitting a mobile station radio access capabilities (MS RAC) message to a network and receiving an identification (ID) from the network subsequent to the MS RAC. The ID is locally unique and provides contention resolution. A timing advance is determined and further transmissions are performed on the RACH using the ID and the TA.
US08730877B2	Pilot and data transmission in a quasi-orthogonal single-carrier frequency division multiple access system In a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) system that utilizes interleaved FDMA (IFDMA) or localized FDMA, multiple transmitters may transmit their pilots using time division multiplexing (TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), interleaved frequency division multiplexing (IFDM), or localized frequency division multiplexing (LFDM). The pilots from these transmitters are then orthogonal to one another. A receiver performs the complementary demultiplexing for the pilots sent by the transmitters. The receiver may derive a channel estimate for each transmitter using an MMSE technique or a least-squares technique. The receiver may receive overlapping data transmissions sent on the same time-frequency block by the multiple transmitters and may perform receiver spatial processing with spatial filter matrices to separate these data transmissions. The receiver may derive the spatial filter matrices based on the channel estimates for the transmitters and using zero-forcing, MMSE, or maximal ratio combining technique.
US08730875B2	Wireless communication terminal, wireless communication forwarding control system, wireless communication forwarding control method, and wireless communication forwarding control program There is provided a wireless communication terminal that autonomously determines whether the wireless communication terminal is in a state in which flooding should be performed or a state in which the flooding should not be performed in a wireless ad-hoc network. At each predetermined time, the wireless communication terminal that performs the flooding autonomously infers whether the wireless communication terminal is in a state in which the flooding should be performed or a state in which the flooding should not be performed from the number of flooding packets that are of a packet flooded from surrounding wireless communication terminals based on a hidden Markov model.
US08730874B2	Method of transmitting frames in a mesh network, mesh device and mesh network therefor The present invention relates to a method for transmitting frames from a transmitting mesh device to a receiving mesh device in a mesh network, comprising: storing frames received in the transmitting mesh device from a source mesh device and intended for a destination mesh device in a relay queue, the source mesh device and the destination mesh device being different from the transmitting device, storing frames generated by the transmitting mesh device in a local queue, different from the relay queue, selecting a frame from the relay queue or local queue based on a predetermined scheduling strategy, —transmitting the selected frame to the receiving mesh device.
US08730872B2	System and method for identification of mobile device users in an area of a wireless access point A method and system for determining that a first mobile communication device that is part of a designated group is in a proximate location to a second mobile communication device that is part of such designated group, by comparing an identifier or a MAC address of an access point that is detected by the first device with an identifier or MAC address of an access point that is detected by the second device. If both devices detect a presence of a same access point, as is indicated by the MAC addresses of the access point, a signal is sent to at least one of the devices to indicate that the devices are in proximate locations.
US08730868B2	Network node, time synchronization method and network system In order to select a synchronization signal higher in accuracy, thereby increasing the accuracy of the time synchronization, it is provided a network node for transferring data in a network, comprising: a network interface having a plurality of ports; a transfer control module; a time synchronizing module; a fluctuation measurement module; and a clock. The time synchronization module uses a received time synchronization packet to synchronize the clock. The fluctuation measurement module determines an accuracy of a time contained in the received time synchronization packet based on a result of comparison between the time contained in the received time synchronization packet and a time of the clock.
US08730856B2	Wireless communication system, mobile communication apparatus, and operating method thereof A wireless communication system is provided. The wireless communication system comprises a control apparatus, a first mobile communication apparatus and a second mobile communication apparatus. The first and second mobile communication apparatuses are within a wireless communication coverage of the control apparatus. The first mobile communication apparatus is in a standby period under an idle mode according to a wireless communication protocol; the second mobile communication apparatus is in an active period under the idle mode according to the wireless communication protocol and establishes a communication link with the control apparatus. The first mobile communication apparatus communicates with the control apparatus through the second mobile communication apparatus via a peer-to-peer (P2P) communication mechanism.
US08730853B2	Methods for responding to co-located coexistence (CLC) request from a mobile electronic device and communications apparatuses capable of controlling multi-radio coexistence A communications apparatus is provided. A first radio module provides a first wireless communications service and communicates with a first communications device in compliance with a first protocol. A second radio module provides a second wireless communications service and communicates with a second communications device in compliance with a second protocol. A Co-Located Coexistence radio manager detects activities of the first radio modules, obtains a first traffic pattern describing downlink and/or uplink traffic allocations of the first radio module from the first radio module, and generates a second traffic pattern of the second radio module according to the first traffic pattern to coordinate operations of the first and second radio modules. The second traffic pattern describes recommended downlink and/or uplink traffic allocations to a plurality of sub-frames for the second radio module, and each sub-frame defined by the second protocol includes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing symbols.
US08730850B2	Method and apparatus for transmitting reference signal in time division duplex system A method and apparatus of transmitting a reference signal in a time division duplex (TDD) system is provided. A base station (BS) generates a plurality of demodulation reference signals (DMRSs) for respective layers, maps the plurality of DMRSs to a downlink pilot time slot (DwPTS) region for downlink transmission within a special subframe and transmits the plurality of DMRSs through a plurality of antennas. The special subframe is a subframe for separating uplink and downlink between an uplink (UL) subframe and a downlink (DL) subframe within a frame.
US08730847B1	Conferencing using a mobile device A method for joining a conference using a mobile device includes receiving an invitation at the mobile device. The invitation includes a link associated with a conference bridge and a first identifier of the conference. The method also includes activating the link in the invitation, sending the first identifier of the conference from the mobile device to the conference bridge, and receiving a redirect message at the mobile device from the conference bridge. The redirect message is associated with a conferencing application on the mobile device and includes a second identifier of the conference. The method also includes launching the conferencing application on the mobile device and sending the second identifier of the conference from the mobile device to the conference bridge to establish the conference between the conference bridge and the conferencing application via the mobile device.
US08730846B2	System and method for detecting a target cell in a cellular network A method for detecting a target cell by a mobile device, the method comprising storing traversed paths of the mobile device, the stored traversed paths each comprising information to identify cells in a sequence of cells traversed by the mobile device referenced to the target cell, compiling information identifying cells traversed by the device in real time to produce current path information, comparing the current path information to the stored traversed paths and inferring from the comparison a relative proximity of the mobile device to the target cell and adapting a search for the target cell based on the relative proximity.
US08730845B2	Communications system providing mobile wireless communications device application module associations for respective wireless communications formats and related methods A communications system may include a plurality of electronic devices having respective different device types and each configured to wirelessly communicate via a plurality of different wireless communications formats. The system may also include a mobile wireless communications device including a plurality of application modules associated with respective electronic device types and configured to communicate via a first one of the wireless communications formats. The mobile wireless communications device may further include a control module configured to establish an initial wireless communications link with a given electronic device using a second one of the wireless communications formats, determine a respective device type for the given electronic device based upon the established initial wireless communications link, and cause a respective application module to establish a subsequent wireless communications link with the given electronic device using the second wireless communications format based upon the determined respective device type.
US08730843B2	System and method for tree assessment Tree assessment systems and methods are disclosed. An example of a method includes building a system tree in computer-readable medium, the system tree having a plurality of nodes, each node in the system tree representing a characteristic of a component of a system under consideration. The method also includes comparing nodes of the system tree stored in computer-readable medium, with nodes in other trees to identify at least one similar node for identifying similar trees. The method also includes extracting extracting a most similar tree from the similar trees based on the at least one similar node. The method also includes assigning characteristics from the most similar tree to the system tree.
US08730840B2	Node device cooperating with switch which implements zones in a fibre channel system In a system comprising a first fabric and a plurality of devices coupled to the fabric by Fiber Channel connections, the devices are logically grouped to form configurations and zones. A configuration includes at least one zone, and each zone includes at least one device as a member of the zone. Communications between the devices is restricted according to the configuration currently in effect. For example, one device may be permitted to communicate with another device only if they are members of a common zone.
US08730839B2	Control device, communication terminal, control method, communication control method, and integrated circuit In a power line communication system, a control device sets an intra-breaker communication period during which communication is performed between communication terminals connected to a single breaker, and an inter-breaker communication priority period during which communication is performed between communication terminals connected to different breakers from each other. The control device operates filters so that the filters allow signals that travel via breakers to pass through the filters during the inter-breaker communication priority period, and so that the filters block signals that travel via breakers from passing through the filters during the intra-breaker communication period.
US08730838B2	Communication method for mesh and star topology structure wireless sensor network A method of achieving wireless sensor network (WSN) communication in a mesh and star topology network (MSTN), including: a) connecting a plurality of nodes in a WSN to form a mesh and star hybrid topology structure; b) based on the topology structure, defining a superframe structure based on IEEE 802.15.4-2006; c) based on the topology structure and superframe structure, defining methods for long period data processing, connectivity assessment, medium access control, channel measurement, frequency hopping, beacon frame formation, and two-stage resource allocation; d) based on the topology structure, superframe structure, and methods, defining a method for network establishment; and e) based on the network establishment method, defining a method for MSTN communications. The method features real-time communication, high reliability, and low energy consumption.
US08730833B2	Coordination of co-spectrum users with wireless broadband networks Technologies are presented for enabling a relatively low power, limited range communications system (or, alternatively, a terminal in a directional, point-to-point communications link), using native data communications services provided by an overlying wireless network, to automatically (or semi-automatically) negotiate with that network for use of specific portions of the frequency band or bands that are used in common by the low power device and the overlying network. Frequency management capabilities inherent to the wireless network may be utilized to automatically execute the resulting frequency use coordination. Through the coordination, the low power (or point-to-point) communications system may be protected from potentially excessive interference from the overlying network and/or user devices operating on that network (and vice-versa) while minimizing any impact on performance and capacity of the overlying network.
US08730831B2	Method and system for acquiring route strategies A routing strategy provision unit sends routing strategies of local IP access to radio side network elements; the radio side network elements receive the routing strategies of local IP access. The radio side network elements are able to acquire the routing strategies of local IP access at the network element level or the user level, so that the radio side network elements transmit data according to the routing strategies, and the radio side network elements can effectively offload the data with the acquired routing strategies. Besides, the routing strategies might be for users, that is, different routing strategies might be made for different users, thereby improving the user experience and promoting generalization and popularization of services.
US08730825B2	Packet retransmission optimization in wireless network Embodiments of the present disclosure set forth methods for determining a probability of retransmitting a packet in a time slot for a source node in a wireless network. Some example methods include determining whether transmission of the packet in the time slot is successful, measuring a number of time slots accumulated since a most recent successful transmission of the packet by the source node, and determining a first value of the probability based on a second value associated with the number of time slots accumulated.
US08730817B2	Methods and apparatus to determine network link weights Methods and apparatus to determine network link weights are disclosed. An example method disclosed herein to determine link weights for routing in a communication network comprises iteratively updating a plurality of vectors using a genetic algorithm, the vectors including a plurality of individual values decodable into possible link weights, and decoding a first one of the vectors updated using the genetic algorithm into a first plurality of link weights providing a possible routing of a load through the communication network, the load to be split among a plurality of paths having respective path lengths determined from the plurality of link weights, at least two of the paths having different path lengths.
US08730812B2	Hierarchical rate color marker One embodiment provides a system that facilitates bandwidth-profile enforcement. During operation, the system indicates a packet's compliance with a bandwidth profile based at least on available high-compliance tokens and medium-compliance tokens. The system further converts, within different classes of service (CoSs), an overflow high-compliance token to a medium-compliance token, in a top-down or bottom-up fashion with respect to different CoS priorities.
US08730810B2	Medium access control forwarding protocol A method (300) for improving quality of service of a wireless link between a source device and a destination device by forwarding frames on an alternate path between the source device and destination device. The method comprises selecting by the source device at least one forwarding device to be included on the alternate forwarding path; constructing a medium access control (MAC) forwarding frame (200) to include at least an address of the at least one forwarding device (S310); and transmitting the MAC forwarding frame to a forwarding device next to the source device (S320).
US08730808B2	Aggregate transport control Example embodiments of methods and apparatus for data communication are disclosed. An example method includes establishing, at a data network communication device, respective data communication channels with a plurality of client network devices. The example method also includes allocating default size data transmission windows to the plurality of client network devices, monitoring use of the default size data transmission windows by the client network devices based on received data queued in a shared data buffer, allocating fixed size data transmission windows to client network devices of the plurality that are communicating data at a rate greater than a threshold data rate, the fixed size windows being larger than the default size windows. The example method also includes receiving data from the client network devices in accordance with at least one of the default size data transmission windows and the fixed size data transmission windows.
US08730807B2	Systems, methods, and devices for monitoring networks Certain exemplary embodiments comprise a method comprising: for selected traffic that enters a backbone network via a predetermined ingress point and is addressed to a predetermined destination, via a dynamic tunnel, automatically diverting the selected traffic from the predetermined ingress point to a processing complex; and automatically forwarding the selected traffic from the processing complex toward the predetermined destination.
US08730803B2	Quality of service support in a media exchange network A method for controlling communication of media content by a network device in a communication network includes providing, by the network device, a plurality of quality of service options corresponding to at least one media file selected for communication to a remote user via a communication channel; receiving a quality of service selection specifying at least one of the plurality of quality of service options; and communicating the at least one media file to the remote user utilizing the received quality of service selection. The providing may include displaying, by the network device, the plurality of quality of service options. At least a portion of specified parameters may be transferred to a first communication device coupled to the communication network. At least a portion of the communication channel may be configured by a second device utilizing the transferred at least portion of the specific parameters.
US08730801B2	Performing networking tasks based on destination networks Methods and systems which identify and interact with network interfaces based on the network to which they provide access. A computing device operating in accordance with one or more of the principles described herein may examine available network interfaces and identify the network to which the network interfaces provide access, and perform networking tasks on interfaces based on the network identified. For example, a user may instruct a computing device to connect to a specified network, and the computing device will select a particular network interface by which to connect from the one or more available network interfaces that are able to connect to that network. Alternatively, a user may manage policies (e.g., security, connection, and application policies) based on the network to which a network interface provides access and thereby manage a network regardless of which of multiple network interfaces is used to access the network.
US08730795B2	Methods and systems for automatically rerouting logical circuit data An example involves identifying a failure of a dedicated logical circuit connecting a host device to a remote device to communicate data that originates and terminates only at the host and remote devices. When a first logical circuit identifier of the dedicated logical circuit does not match a second logical circuit identifier of a logical failover circuit comprising an alternate communication path for communicating the data: the second logical circuit identifier is renamed to identify the logical failover circuit using the first logical circuit identifier when the logical failover circuit is a dedicated logical failover circuit to communicate only when the dedicated logical circuit fails, and the dedicated logical circuit is renamed to identify the dedicated logical circuit using the second logical circuit identifier when the logical failover circuit is to communicate regardless of failure of the dedicated logical circuit.
US08730793B2	Method and apparatus providing network redundancy and high availability to remote network nodes A method, apparatus and computer program product is presented. A first tunnel is provided across a layer 3 network from a first network device to a second network device. A first virtual interface (VI) is provided on the second network device, and assigned to the first tunnel. Information related to the first tunnel and the first VI is passed to a third network device, which is a member of a cluster with the second network device. A second tunnel is provided across the layer 3 network from the third device to the first network device, and a second virtual interface (VI) is provided on the third network device, and assigned to the second tunnel. Forwarding information is exchanged between the second network device and the third network device. The second network device and the third network device provide forwarding redundancy service to the first network device.
US08730791B2	Aircraft communication system An aircraft communication system includes primary and secondary networks. The system also includes an interconnection gateway with a filtered interface connected to only one of the primary and secondary networks, and an unfiltered interface connected to the other network. The filtered interface includes first incoming and outgoing buffers, a memory, and a selector. The unfiltered interface includes second incoming and outgoing buffers. The second incoming buffer sends all frames received from the other network to the first outgoing buffer for distribution through the only one network. The selector selects common data frames corresponding to virtual link identifiers in a stored list and copies only the selected common data frames from the first incoming buffer to the second outgoing buffer of the unfiltered interface for distribution through the other one of the networks.
US08730790B2	Method and system for cell recovery in telecommunication networks A method and system that helps to ensure that any cell crash (i.e., an involuntarily action occurring as a result of a software bug or malfunction) is localized to a single cell on a single modem board that supports multi-cell configuration. In this regard, the control plane and the remaining cells that are configured on the modem board should remain operational. Further the operator should be able to choose to take corrective action (i.e., reboot, reconfigure, delete, or create) with regard to a cell on the modem board without impacting the operations of the other configured cells.
US08730789B1	Transmit diversity technique based on channel randomization for OFDM systems A physical layer module includes a mapping module and a plurality of gain modules. The mapping module maps a plurality of coded data streams to a plurality of transmit antennas, in which each transmit antenna is associated with a respective radio frequency channel of a plurality of radio frequency channels. Each gain module is associated with a respective radio frequency channel of the plurality of radio frequency channels, and is configured to apply a complex gain to the coded data stream mapped to the respective radio frequency channel associated with the gain module. The complex gain applied by the gain module differs relative to that applied by other gain modules, and corresponds to the transmit antenna associated with the respective radio frequency channel.
US08730781B2	Light detecting element, and optical pick-up device and optical disc drive including the light detecting element Provided are a light detecting element, and an optical pick-up device and an optical disc drive including the light detecting element. The light detecting element includes a terminal resistance unit that is provided between an amplification unit and an output port to limit an electric current of the output signal.
US08730779B2	Test element having an optical data storage, device for reading the optical data storage of the test element and measuring system thereof A test element is disclosed for analyzing a human or animal body fluid sample. The test element includes a substrate carrying a test field with a reagent for effecting a detection reaction when exposed to the body fluid sample, and an optical data storage in which data regarding the test element, preferably calibration data, is stored. Accordingly, the data storage is a holographic data storage. A hologram reader also is disclosed for reading the data storage of such a test element. Moreover, a hologram label and a method for manufacturing a hologram label are disclosed, as is a medical product including a holographic data storage in which data regarding the product is stored.
US08730776B2	Recording device and stray light signal component cancellation method Provided is a recording device, including a light irradiation/receiving unit that irradiates an optical recording medium with first light and second light, and that receives backpropagating light of the second light from the optical recording medium, a recording unit that carries out recording on the optical recording medium, a playback signal generating unit that obtains a playback signal of a signal, and a stray light signal component canceling unit that generates, based on recording data, a stray light cancel signal for canceling a stray light signal component.
US08730775B2	Optical information reproducing device, optical information recording device, and method for recording optical information Multi-level recording is quite effective for attaining a larger capacity and a higher transfer rate in the case of an optical disk; however, with conventional technologies, a SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO of a signal deteriorates along with an increase in a multi-level degree, creating a factor for limitations to the multi-level degree. In order to solve problems, when optical information is recorded by use of a standing wave occurring due to interference between two light beams, at least one of the two light beams is modulated in multi-stages. Further, at the time of regeneration, a regeneration reference beam is caused to interfere with respective polarization components of a regeneration beam, the polarization components being orthogonal to each other, thereby concurrently generating not less than three interference beams differing in interference phase from each other before being detected.
US08730772B1	Minimization of VCM-resolution switching induced position error transients Systems, methods, and computer-readable mediums for handling of switching errors include, in at least one aspect, a method including: switching between a first mode and a second mode; obtaining a first error value associated with switching from the first mode to the second mode; obtaining a second error value associated with switching from the second mode to the first mode; determining a total error value based on the first error value and the second error value; and determining an adjustment value based on the total error value and a value of an associated resolution gain.
US08730769B2	Dial plate structure and watch A dial plate structure includes first and second dial plates, a rotary indicator and a cover member. The first dial plate has a cutout portion. The second dial plate is arranged under the first dial plate and has a plurality of function display portions exposed through the cutout portion. The rotary indicator is arranged between the first and second dial plates and has a function indicator to selectively indicate one of the function display portions by rotation. A part of the rotary indicator is exposed through the cutout portion. The cover member is arranged on the second dial plate. The plurality of function display sections are arranged radially outward than the rotary indicator. The cover member is arranged to face the outer periphery of the rotary indicator and to prevent the outer periphery of the rotary indicator from visually contacted through the cutout portion.
US08730768B2	Mechanism for selectively stopping the striking mechanisms of a timepiece according to the available drive torque A timepiece including a movement, a mechanism controlling the power reserve of a drive means with an arbor whose angular position indicates said available torque, a striking mechanism controlled by a striking mechanism control mechanism, and a locking lever arranged to lock said movement. The timepiece includes a selective stop mechanism according to the drive torque available in the drive means, which manages said available drive torque by limiting or not limiting the operation of all of part of the striking works of said striking mechanism, by a transmission mechanism controlling an isolating wheel set controlling the position of said locking lever and arranged to release or prevent the movement of a striking mechanism control rod linkage and/or to allow or prevent the strike of a hammer on a gong.
US08730767B2	Large aperture display for a timepiece The timepiece includes first (1) and second (2) rings to which indications (3, 4) are affixed for displaying, in combination with each other, a time-related magnitude (5), which appears in a large aperture (6). The rings (1, 2) have equal dimensions, are arranged one on top of the other and off-center in relation to each other such that, at the vertical of the large aperture, the outer edge (7) of the first ring (1) substantially borders the inner edge (8) of the second ring (2).
US08730761B2	Attenuating noise in seismic data The technologies described herein include systems and methods for reducing noise in seismic data. More specifically, implementations may determine an amount of over-sampling for a frequency range of seismic data. Then, implementations may determine frequency bands based on the over-sampling. For each frequency band minimum-noise seismograms may be selected from consecutively occurring blocks of seismograms, and the remaining seismograms within each block may be discarded. The minimum-noise seismograms may then be used to reconstruct the discarded seismograms. The reconstructed seismograms may contain less noise than the original seismograms and, consequently, the seismic data may contain less noise.
US08730760B2	Method for seismic surveying using wider lateral spacing between sources to improve efficiency A method for towing a marine seismic acquisition array in a body of water includes towing a plurality of laterally spaced apart sensor streamers behind a survey vessel in the water. A lateral spacing between adjacent streamers is represented by L. At least two laterally spaced apart seismic energy sources are towed behind the survey vessel. A lateral spacing between the at least two sources is represented by kL, wherein k is a constant and wherein k is at most equal to the number of streamers.
US08730753B2	Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, having a booster circuit capable of performing a boost operation with appropriate boost voltage arrival time without increasing the circuit size. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a timing generator circuit and a current load circuit which applies a current load to an output of a booster unit according to a signal from the timing generator circuit, thereby achieving an appropriate boost voltage arrival time by using the current load circuit in concert with the operation of erasing or writing on memory cells.
US08730751B2	Semiconductor memory device for controlling operation of delay-locked loop circuit A semiconductor memory device for controlling an operation of a delay-locked loop (DLL) circuit is provided. The semiconductor memory device includes a DLL circuit that receives an external clock signal and that performs a locking operation on the external clock signal and an internal clock signal, thereby obtaining a locked state. A control unit controls the DLL circuit to constantly maintain the locked state during an updating period of an auto-refresh period of an auto-refresh operation for refreshing memory banks.
US08730748B2	Semiconductor memory apparatus equipped with an error control circuit for preventing coupling noise A semiconductor memory apparatus includes a plurality of memory banks, wherein each memory bank includes a bank control unit configured to reduce a voltage level of a first node to a ground voltage level when the memory bank is selected to perform a predetermined operation; an error control unit configured to supply an external voltage to the first node when the memory bank is not selected to perform the predetermined operation; and a signal generation unit configured to generate a bank operation signal in response to the voltage level of the first node.
US08730747B2	Semiconductor device including semiconductor memory circuit The semiconductor device including a memory circuit is configured to include a mode switching circuit additionally provided with a data comparison circuit which detects that a serial signal supplied to an input terminal for communication and a serial signal supplied to an input terminal used for a purpose other than communication are reversed from each other, a decoder circuit which detects that a serial signal carries predetermined data and which outputs a detection signal, a control signal generating circuit which generates a control signal, and a circuit which outputs a signal for switching to a test mode on the basis of the signals.
US08730746B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a first pad allocated to receive a row address, a second pad allocated to discriminate a first input/output mode and a second input/output mode, a detector configured to generate a detection signal in response to logic levels of the first and second pads, and a column address controller configured to deassert a column address to a logic low level in response to a deasserted detection signal. The semiconductor integrated circuit may selectively support one of first and second memory capacities and one of the first and second input/output modes using the logic levels of the first and second pads.
US08730740B2	Semiconductor memory device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes units each including memory cells, a data bus connected to each of the units and having data lines, holding circuits configured to hold fail information supplied from the unit through the data bus as a verify result after writing data, and provided in association with the data lines, respectively, daisy chain circuits configured to shift a flag includes a logical sum of the fail information held in the holding circuits, and provided in association with the data lines, respectively, and a search circuit configured to search for fail bits in the units based on the flag.
US08730736B2	NAND step up voltage switching method Methods and memories having switching points for changing Vstep increments according to a level of a multilevel cell being programmed include programming at a smaller Vstep increment in narrow threshold voltage situations and programming at a larger Vstep increment where faster programming is desired.
US08730735B2	Method of programming a semiconductor memory device A method of programming a semiconductor memory device by applying a program voltage to a selected word line in an incremental step pulse program mode includes raising a voltage of precharging a bit line for program inhibition according to an increase in the program voltage applied to the selected word line.
US08730734B2	Access line dependent biasing schemes The present disclosure includes methods, devices, and systems for access line biasing. One embodiment includes selecting, using a controller external to the memory device, a particular access line dependent biasing scheme and corresponding bias conditions for use in performing an access operation on an array of memory cells of the memory device, and performing the access operation using the selected particular access line dependent biasing scheme and corresponding bias conditions. In one or more embodiments, the selected particular access line dependent biasing scheme and corresponding bias conditions is selected by the controller external to the memory device based, at least partially, on a target access line of the array.
US08730732B2	Semiconductor memory device and method of fabrication and operation A non-volatile semiconductor memory device comprises a semiconductor substrate and a plurality of gate structures formed on a cell region of the semiconductor substrate. The plurality of gate structures include: a first select-gate structure and a second select-gate structure disposed on the cell region, the first select-gate structure and the second select-gate structure spaced apart from each other, and a plurality of cell gate structures disposed between the first select-gate structure and the second select-gate structure. At least one of the select-gate structures comprises plural select gates.
US08730731B2	Semiconductor memory device for compensating for operating voltage difference between near cell and far cell in consideration of cell position, and memory card and memory system including the same A semiconductor memory device is provided. The semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array including a matrix of memory cells; a plurality of local bit lines divided into at least two local bit line groups arranged to be alternately connected with at least two global bit lines and coupled with the memory cells; a plurality of bit line selection drivers respectively connected to the local bit lines; an internal boosted voltage generator configured to generate at least two internal boosted voltages having different levels; and a power transmitter configured to respectively transmit the at least two internal boosted voltages to at least two bit line selection driver groups, into which the plurality of bit line selection drivers are classified according to arrangement of the local bit lines. Accordingly, repair efficiency can be increased and near-far compensation can be more correctly performed.
US08730730B2	Temporary storage circuit, storage device, and signal processing circuit A temporary storage circuit including a reduced number of transistors is provided. The temporary storage circuit includes storage elements, each of which includes a first transistor and a second transistor. A channel of the first transistor is formed in an oxide semiconductor layer. A signal potential corresponding to data is input to a gate of the second transistor through the first transistor which is turned on by a control signal input to a gate of the first transistor. Then, the first transistor is turned off by a control signal input to the gate of the first transistor, so that the signal potential is held in the gate of the second transistor. When one of a source and a drain of the second transistor is set to a first potential, the state between the source and the drain of the second transistor is detected, whereby the data is read out.
US08730729B2	Systems and methods for averaging error rates in non-volatile devices and storage systems A system for storing a plurality of logical pages in a set of at least one flash device, each flash device including a set of at least one erase block, the system comprising apparatus for distributing at least one of the plurality of logical pages over substantially all of the erase blocks in substantially all of the flash devices, thereby to define, for at least one logical page, a sequence of pagelets thereof together including all information on the logical page and each being stored within a different erase block in the set of erase blocks; and apparatus for reading each individual page from among the plurality of logical pages including apparatus for calling and ordering the sequence of pagelets from different erase blocks in the set of erase blocks.
US08730726B2	Multi-gate bandgap engineered memory Memory cells comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a source region and a drain region disposed below a surface of the substrate and separated by a channel region; a tunnel dielectric structure disposed above the channel region, the tunnel dielectric structure comprising at least one layer having a hole-tunneling barrier height; a charge storage layer disposed above the tunnel dielectric structure; an insulating layer disposed above the charge storage layer; and a gate electrode disposed above the insulating layer are described along with arrays and methods of operation.
US08730725B2	Method of programming/reading a non-volatile memory with a sequence A method of programming/reading a multi-bit per cell non-volatile memory with a sequence is disclosed. A plurality of less-significant-bit pages are programmed, and a plurality of consecutive most-significant-bit pages of a plurality of consecutive word lines are programmed one after the other in a consecutive order. The most-significant-bit pages through all word lines in at least one memory block of the non-volatile memory are programmed or read after the less-significant-bit pages through all the word lines in the at least one memory block are programmed or read.
US08730722B2	Saving of data in cases of word-line to word-line short in memory arrays Technique of operating a non-volatile memory are presented so that in case data that would otherwise be lost in the case of a word line to word line short is preserved. Before writing a word line, the data from a previously written adjacent is word line is read back and stored in data latches associated with the corresponding bit lines, but that are not being used for the data to be written. If a short occurs, as the data for both word lines is still in the latches, it can be written to a new location. This technique can also be incorporated into cache write operations and for a binary write operation inserted into a pause of a multi-state write.
US08730717B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device has multiple memory cell groups arranged at intersections between multiple word lines and multiple bit lines intersecting the word lines. The memory cell groups each have first and second memory cells connected in series. Each of the first and the second memory cells has a select transistor and a resistive storage device connected in parallel. The gate electrode of the select transistor in the first memory cell is connected with a first gate line, and the gate electrode of the select transistor in the second memory cell is connected to a second gate line. A first circuit block for driving the word lines (word driver group WDBK) is arranged between a second circuit block for driving the first and second gate lines (phase-change-type chain cell control circuit PCCCTL) and multiple memory cell groups (memory cell array MA).
US08730716B2	Embedded magnetic random access memory (MRAM) A magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cell includes an embedded MRAM and an access transistor. The embedded MRAM is formed on a number of metal-interposed-in-interlayer dielectric (ILD) layers, which each include metal dispersed there through and are formed on top of the access transistor. A magneto tunnel junction (MTJ) is formed on top of a metal formed in the ILD layers that is in close proximity to a bit line. An MTJ mask is used to pattern the MTJ and is etched to expose the MTJ. Ultimately, metal is formed on top of the bit line and extended to contact the MTJ.
US08730715B2	Tamper-resistant MRAM utilizing chemical alteration A magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) die may include an MRAM cell, a reservoir defined by the MRAM die, and a chemical disposed in the reservoir. At least one boundary of the reservoir may be configured to be damaged in response to attempted tampering with the MRAM die, such that at least some of the chemical is released from the reservoir when the at least one boundary of the reservoir is damaged. In some examples, at least some of the chemical is configured to contact and alter or damage at least a portion of the MRAM cell when the chemical is released from the reservoir.
US08730714B2	Magnetic tunnel junction and spin transfer torque random access memory having the same A magneto-resistance memory device includes a first pinned layer having a first magnetic polarity regardless of current applied to the first pinned layer, a first tunnel insulating layer arranged on the first pinned layer, a first free layer arranged on the first tunnel insulating layer and having a magnetic polarity that changes in response to current of a first amount, a second pinned layer coupled to the first free layer and having the first magnetic polarity regardless of current applied to the first pinned layer, a second tunnel insulating layer arranged on the second pinned layer, a second free layer arranged on the second tunnel insulating layer and having a magnetic polarity that changes in response to current of a second amount, wherein the second amount is smaller than the first amount, and a connection layer.
US08730713B2	SRAM cell writability Systems and methods for detecting and improving writeability of a static random access memory (SRAM) cell. A bias voltage value corresponding to an operating condition, such as, a process, a voltage, or a temperature operation condition that indicates a cell write failure condition of an external SRAM array comprising the SRAM cell is generated. This bias voltage value is applied to word lines of SRAM cells in a model SRAM array. A first delay for a trigger signal rippled through the model SRAM array is detected and compared to a reference delay. A write assist indication is generated if the first delay is greater than or equal to the reference delay. Based on the write assist indication, a write assist is provided to the SRAM cell.
US08730711B2	Low noise memory array A method of operating a memory circuit compatible with dynamic random access memories (DRAM) and static random access memories (SRAM) is disclosed. The method includes selecting a word line (708) connected to a row of memory cells in response to a plurality of row address signals and selecting a plurality of columns (706,710) of memory cells in response to a plurality of column address signals. A first part (714) of the plurality of columns is selected in response to a first voltage applied to the selected word line. A second part (716) of the plurality of columns is selected in response to a second voltage applied to the selected word line.
US08730710B2	Semiconductor memory device having stacked structure including resistor-switched based logic circuit and method of manufacturing the same Semiconductor memory device having a stacking structure including resistor switch based logic circuits. The semiconductor memory device includes a first conductive line that includes a first line portion and a second line portion, wherein the first line portion and the second line portion are electrically separated from each other by an intermediate region disposed between the first and second line portions, a first variable resistance material film that is connected to the first line portion and stores data, and a second variable resistance material film that controls an electrical connection between the first line portion and the second line portion.
US08730709B2	Memory component, memory device, and method of operating memory device A memory component including first and second electrodes with a memory layer therebetween, the memory layer having first and second memory layers, the first memory layer containing aluminum and a chalcogen element of tellurium, the second memory layer between the first memory layer and the first electrode and containing an aluminum oxide and at least one of a transition metal oxide and a transition metal oxynitride having a lower resistance than the aluminum oxide.
US08730708B2	Performing forming processes on resistive memory The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods for performing forming processes on resistive memory. A number of embodiments include applying a formation signal to the storage element of a resistive memory cell, wherein the formation signal includes a first portion having a first polarity and a first amplitude, a second portion having a second polarity and a second amplitude, wherein the second polarity is opposite the first polarity and the second amplitude is smaller than the first amplitude, and a third portion having the first polarity and a third amplitude that is smaller than the first amplitude.
US08730703B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit device Efficient reduction in power consumption is achieved by combinational implementation of a power cutoff circuit technique using power supply switch control and a DVFS technique for low power consumption. A power supply switch section fed with power supply voltage, a circuit block in which a power cutoff is performed by the power supply switch section, and a level shifter are formed in a DEEP-NWELL region formed over a semiconductor substrate. Another power supply switch section fed with another power supply voltage, a circuit block in which a power cutoff is performed by the power supply switch section, and a level shifter are formed in another DEEP-NWELL region formed over the semiconductor substrate. In this arrangement, there arises no possibility of short-circuiting between different power supplies via each DEEP-NWELL region formed over the semiconductor substrate.
US08730702B2	Very high efficiency three phase power converter A DC-to-AC power converter is disclosed which provides current regulated three-phase AC outputs and very high conversion efficiencies. The converter sinks power from an external DC current source and steers that current directly into two phases of a three-phase load by using complementary semiconductor switches in disparate half-bridges of a six-pole bridge. The steering switch selection rotates every 60° to direct current into the two phases with the largest voltage differential at any given time. The remaining half-bridge acts as a high-frequency, bi-directional current source to balance the three-phase load currents. This topology and control method significantly reduces power conversion losses. Prior art converters first convert “soft” DC sources to voltage sources and then to AC current sources. The invention eliminates the need for large filter inductors and DC bus capacitors used in prior art converters. The invention is optimized for photovoltaic, utility-grid-interactive applications.
US08730697B2	Method and apparatus for wireless power transmission using power receiver A rectifier is provided. The rectifier includes a first rectification unit having an anode connecting to a negative radio frequency (RF) port and a cathode connecting to a positive direct current (DC) port, a second rectification unit having an anode connecting to a positive RF port and a cathode connecting to the positive DC port, a third rectification unit having an anode connecting to a ground and a cathode connecting to the negative RF port, and a fourth rectification unit having an anode connecting to the ground and a cathode connecting to the positive RF port. The first rectification unit includes a plurality of first diodes that are connected in parallel, and the second rectification unit includes a plurality of second diodes that are connected in parallel.
US08730694B2	Signal transmission arrangement with a transformer A signal transmission arrangement includes a transformer with a first and a second winding. A damping circuit has an input terminal for receiving an input signal. The damping circuit is coupled to the first winding and is configured to have an electrical resistance that is dependent on the input signal. An oscillator circuit includes the second winding and is configured to provide an oscillating signal. An evaluation circuit is configured to receive the oscillating signal and to provide an output signal that is dependent on an amplitude of the oscillating signal.
US08730693B2	Control circuit of charge pump circuit for enhancing efficiency and driving capacity A control circuit of a charge pump circuit is disclosed, which includes a ring oscillator and a load status detection unit. The ring oscillator herein is for producing a clock signal and adjusting the frequency of the clock signal according to a first control signal, and stopping generating the clock signal according to an adjustment signal. The load status detection unit is for producing the first control signal and determining a time point to enable the first control signal according to the voltage drop variation of an output voltage of the charge pump circuit and the adjustment signal, wherein the pulse width of the adjustment signal gets narrower with a smaller drop in amplitude of the output voltage value.
US08730690B2	Systems and apparatus for reducing electromagnetic interference and methods of assembling the same An electric machine drive system is described. The system includes an inverter, an electric machine coupled to the inverter by at least one output conductor and including a ground connection, and an active common mode current reducing device coupled between the ground connection of the electric machine and the inverter.
US08730688B2	Flyback power converter with multiple outputs and a secondary side post regulator thereof A flyback power converter with multiple outputs is disclosed. The flyback power converter has a transformer, a first output circuit, a second output circuit, and a secondary side synchronous rectification controller. The transformer has a primary side winding, a first output winding, and a second output winding. The first output circuit has a first output capacitor for storing electric energy from the first output winding. The second output circuit has a second rectifying switch and a second output capacitor. The second output capacitor is utilized for storing the electric energy from the second output winding. The secondary side synchronous rectification controller controls the conduction time of the second rectifying switch according to a detecting signal of a secondary-side conduction period. The electric energy in the first output capacitor may be transferred to the second output capacitor through the second output winding and the second rectifying switch and vice versa.
US08730687B2	Switching controller with valley-lock switching and limited maximum frequency for quasi-resonant power converters The present invention provides a controller for a power converter. The controller comprises a PWM circuit, a detection circuit, a signal generator, an oscillation circuit, a valley-lock circuit, a timing circuit and a burst circuit. The PWM circuit generates a switching signal coupled to switch a transformer of the power converter. A feedback signal is coupled to control and disable the switching signal. The detection circuit is coupled to the transformer via a resistor for generating a valley signal in response to a waveform obtained from the transformer. The signal generator is coupled to receive the feedback signal and the valley signal for generating an enabling signal. The oscillation circuit generates a maximum frequency signal. The maximum frequency signal associates with the enabling signal to generate a turning-on signal. The turning-on signal is coupled to enable the switching signal. A maximum frequency of the turning-on signal is limited.
US08730685B2	Mounting apparatus assembly A mounting apparatus assembly includes a data storage bracket, a computer enclosure, a mounting member fixed on the data storage bracket and a guiding rail fixed on the computer enclosure. A mounting portion is installed on the mounting member. A plurality of mounting slots is located on the guiding rail. When the bracket rotates relative to the computer enclosure, the mounting portion moves along the guiding rail and engages with the plurality of mounting slots, and the data storage bracket is installed at a required position on the computer enclosure.
US08730682B2	Electronic apparatus on which plug-in unit can be mounted An electronic apparatus including a housing that includes a first connector, and a printed circuit board unit that includes a printed circuit board, a second connector that is connected to the first connector at the completion of insertion of the printed circuit board into the housing, a lever that is rotatably provided for the printed circuit board, and a lock mechanism that locks the lever in a predetermined position. Wherein when the printed circuit board is inserted into the housing, the lever in a first position comes into contact with the housing, when the printed circuit board is further inserted into the housing, the lever rotates in one direction while being in contact with the housing, and when the insertion of the printed circuit board into the housing is completed, the lever is in a second position, and the lock mechanism locks the lever in the second position.
US08730681B2	Power semiconductor module with wireless saw temperature sensor A power semiconductor module includes a housing, a base plate disposed in the housing, a plurality of substrates mounted to the base plate, a plurality of power transistor die mounted to the substrates and a plurality of terminals mounted to the substrates and protruding through the housing. The terminals are in electrical connection with the power transistor die. The power semiconductor module further includes a wireless surface acoustic wave (SAW) temperature sensor disposed in the housing of the power semiconductor module.
US08730676B2	Composite component and method for producing a composite component A composite component includes a first joining partner, at least one second joining partner and a first joining layer situated between the first joining partner and the second joining partner. In addition to the first joining layer, at least one second joining layer is provided between the first and the second joining partner; and at least one intermediate layer is situated between the first and the second joining layer.
US08730674B2	Magnetic fluid cooling devices and power electronics assemblies Magnetic fluid cooling devices and power electronic devices are disclosed. In one embodiment, a magnetic fluid cooling device includes a magnetic field generating device, a magnetic fluid chamber assembly, and a heat sink device. The magnetic field generating device includes a plurality of magnetic regions having alternating magnetic directions such that magnetic flux generated by the magnetic field generating device is enhanced on a first side of the magnetic field generating device and inhibited on a second side of the magnetic field generating device. The magnetic fluid chamber assembly defines a magnetic fluid chamber configured to receive magnetic fluid. The heat sink device includes a plurality of extending fins, and is thermally coupled to the magnetic fluid chamber assembly. Power electronic devices are also disclosed, wherein the magnetic fluid chamber may be configured as opened or closed.
US08730672B2	Power semiconductor system A power semiconductor system and method for producing a power semiconductor system. In one embodiment, the application relates to a power semiconductor system, comprising a line system for a fluid working medium; wall element having an outer side and an inner side; and a power semiconductor circuit arranged at the outer side of the wall element, wherein the inner side of the wall element forms a fluid-tight wall of the line system.
US08730669B2	Transformer case for notebook slate computer with wireless keyboard An approach is provided that uses a foldable transformable display case that includes two panels. The two panels are attached using a hinge. Two components are attachable to at least one of the panels. One of the two components is an integrated display screen. Another component is a keyboard unit. At least one of the components can be removed from the panels.
US08730663B2	Electronic apparatus An electronic apparatus is disclosed, which comprises: a housing, configured with a plurality of inlets and one outlet; a plurality of electronic elements, disposed inside the housing; and a plurality of gates, arranged at positions corresponding to the plural inlets in an one-by-one manner; wherein, the plural electronic elements are activated while the electronic apparatus is enabled for causing the temperature of the plural electronic elements to be raised to their respective working temperatures, thereby, causing a plurality of heating zones to be formed inside the housing at positions respectively corresponding to the plural inlets; and by enabling each gate to be configured with one thermal expansion element that is enabled to deform with the temperature variation of the corresponding heating zone, each gate is enabled to move between a first position and a second position according to the deformation of the corresponding thermal expansion element.
US08730662B2	Server rack system A server rack system includes a rack, servers, and a heat-dissipating wall. The rack has guiding rails, a front end, and a rear end opposite to the front end. The servers slidably configured on the guiding rails and in the rack are adapted for being moved into or out of the rack from the front end. The heat-dissipating wall is pivoted to the rear end and adapted for being folded against or unfolded away from the rear end. The heat-dissipating wall includes a fan wall. Fans lie on the fan wall. The fans are adapted for sucking cool air, such that the cool air enters the rack from the front end and passes through the servers. Heat exchange between the cool air and the servers is carried out to generate hot air that flows out of the rack through the heat-dissipating wall to dissipate heat of the servers.
US08730659B2	Mounting apparatus for expansion card A mounting apparatus for expansion card comprising a chassis, a mounting frame secured to the chassis and located in a first portion of the chassis, a hull secured to the chassis and located in a second portion of the chassis opposite to the first portion, and a mounting member. The mounting member comprises an elastically deformable latching portion. The hull comprises two limiting portions and defines a positioning opening, and the mounting member is engaged in the two limiting portions and is slidable relative to the hull. The mounting member is slid to a side edge of the hull towards to the mounting frame when the elastically deformable latching portion is engaged in the positioning opening.
US08730657B2	Mobile computing devices A mobile computing device includes a flexible display, a rigid-flex printed circuit board (PCB) arrangement, an electrically conductive memory fabric, and a controller. The rigid-flex PCB arrangement is connected to the flexible display, and has a honeycomb configuration. The electrically conductive memory fabric is connected to the flexible display and the rigid-flex PCB arrangement. The controller is configured to, by selectively controlling supply of electrical current to the electrically conductive memory fabric, control whether the electrically conductive memory fabric (i) straightens and resists flexing of the flexible display and the rigid-flex PCB arrangement or (ii) is relaxed and allows flexing of the flexible display and the rigid-flex PCB arrangement.
US08730656B2	Unitary housing for electronic device An electronic device having a unitary housing is disclosed. The device can include a first housing component having an open cavity, an internal electronic part disposed within the cavity, a second housing component disposed across the cavity, and a support feature disposed within the cavity and arranged to support the second housing component. The first housing component can be formed from metal, while the second housing component can be formed from a plurality of laminated foil metal layers. The second housing component can be attached to the first housing component via one or more ultrasonic welds, such that a fully enclosed housing is created. The fully enclosed housing can be hermetically sealed, and the outside surfaces thereof can be machined or otherwise finished after the ultrasonic welding.
US08730655B2	Side key connection device of mobile terminal A side key connection device of a mobile terminal simplifies a connection structure between a side key and a main circuit board. The mobile terminal includes a side key and a row and column terminal pad. The mobile terminal also includes a side key connection device installed between the side key and the row and column terminal pad. The side key connection device is electrically connected to the side key and the row and column terminal pad. Thereby, by simplifying a connection structure of a side key, a key cost, an assembly process, and a surface mounting cost can be reduced.
US08730652B2	Optimally shaped bus connector Power connectors and switchgear assemblies are presented herein. A power connector is disclosed for electrically coupling a circuit breaker to an electrically conductive bus bar. The connector includes a fork-shaped head for electrically connecting to the circuit breaker, and a base for electrically connecting to the bus bar. A yoke extends between and connects the base to the fork-shaped head. The yoke has a transverse cross-section with a length that is greater than a width. The length and/or width of the transverse cross-section varies between respective ends of the transverse cross-section.
US08730648B2	Electrical component An electrical component includes a ceramic base body. The ceramic base body includes several ceramic layers including a function layer and a composite layer bordering the function layer. The composite layer can include a zirconium oxide-glass filler mixture.
US08730645B2	Multilayer electrical component A multilayer electrical component is presented having at least one base body, which includes a stack of dielectric layers and electrode layers arranged one upon the other, wherein the multilayer component additionally has a resistor and a decoupling layer, wherein the decoupling layer chemically isolates the resistor from at least one portion of a multilayer element.
US08730643B2	Apparatus with arc generator for dispensing absorbent sheet products A dispenser can include a charge collector, an arc gap and a ground, where the arc gap is between the charge collector and the ground. The arc gap provides high impedance and can be set to a distance of from about 0.1 to about 0.01 inches. The technology operates by collecting charge from at one charge generating site with at least one charge collector and sending the charge to ground through the arc gap, the arc gap being between the at least one charge collector and the ground.
US08730641B2	Static electricity removing apparatus and method thereof A static electricity removing apparatus for removing static electricity of a charged object comprises a discharge electrode which generates an ionized air having a polarity opposite to that of the object by discharge, an auxiliary electrode which is provided with openings for the ionized air generated by the discharge electrode to pass through, and an electric field forming means which forms an electric field in a space between the auxiliary electrode and the object. The electric field forming means generates the electric field between the auxiliary electrode and the object by allowing a potential having a polarity opposite to that of the object to occur in the auxiliary electrode at the start of the static electricity removal and decreases the electric field between the auxiliary electrode and the object when an absolute value of the potential of the object is equal to or less than a predetermined value.
US08730640B2	DC pass RF protector having a surge suppression module A surge suppressor device includes a first housing defining a first cavity, input and output conductors disposed in the first cavity of the first housing, a capacitor connected in series with the input conductor and the output conductor, a first spiral inductor having an inner edge connected to the input conductor and an outer edge and a second spiral inductor having an inner edge connected to the output conductor and an outer edge. The surge suppressor device further includes a second housing defining a second cavity and connected to the first housing, a feed-through connecting the first cavity to the second cavity, a non-linear protection device positioned in the second cavity of the second housing and a first electrical wire passing through the feed-through and connecting the outer edge of the first spiral inductor to the non-linear protection device.
US08730639B1	Overvoltage protection for remote radio head-based wireless communication systems A surge suppression system provides surge protection both locally within the radio station building were the power plant and telecommunication equipment are located and remotely next to the radios and antennas located outside of the building on the communication tower. An aerodynamically shaped remote surge suppression unit provides a waterproof enclosure for both surge suppression devices and fiber optic connectors. The unit has reduced wind load and reduced weight and can be placed on a wide variety of different radio tower and building structures with tight space restrictions. A rack mountable surge suppression unit provides local in-line surge suppression protection for the electrical equipment located in the communication station. A unique surge suppression tray is hot swappable so that multiple surge suppression devices can be replaced at the same time without disrupting radio operation.
US08730638B2	Lightning surge detector, surge protective device, and management system for surge protective device A lightning surge detector 1 includes a first terminal unit 3 connected to a ground-side terminal unit of a surge protective device, a second terminal unit 4 connected with a ground wire, a conducting coupling bar 5 adapted to couple the first terminal unit 1 and the second terminal unit 4, a detection coil 7 placed in a vicinity of the conducting coupling bar 5 and adapted to detect a lightning surge current flowing through the conducting coupling bar 5, a waveform processing unit adapted to stretch a voltage waveform of the detected lightning surge current and thereby output a waveform-modified voltage, a computation control unit adapted to produce a calculation result of the lightning surge current from the waveform-modified voltage, and a display unit 40 adapted to display the calculation result, wherein all the above components are unitized by being housed in a casing 2.
US08730634B2	ESD protection circuit Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit including a first silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) and a trigger circuit; the trigger circuit including a first MOS transistor and a second transistor, triggering the first SCR and providing a second SCR shunt with the first SCR during ESD.
US08730632B2	Power interconnect integrity detection Embodiments include systems and methods for detecting and/or responding to deficiencies in power interconnect integrity. For example, a first module distributes power to a second module via a high-current mechanical power interconnect. Insufficient integrity in the interconnect can manifest as an impedance, causing potential thermal hazards. A separate (e.g., low-current) interconnect is used to monitor the power being received by the second module from the first module. Embodiments detect when a difference between the power supplied to and received by the second module exceeds a threshold difference, which can indicate deficient interconnect integrity (i.e., a fault). The supply of high-current power to the second module can be substantially immediately interrupted upon detecting the fault.
US08730631B2	Protective monitoring circuit and battery pack A protective monitoring circuit includes a protective circuit to detect at least one of overcharging, overdischarging, and overcurrent of a chargeable secondary battery to control whether to turn on or off a control transistor to protect the secondary battery, and a secondary-battery monitoring circuit, having a reduced size and having a breakdown voltage lower than a battery voltage of the secondary battery, to detect a status of the secondary battery, wherein the protective circuit generates a voltage that is commensurate with an output voltage of the secondary battery and that is within a predetermined tolerance voltage range of the secondary-battery monitoring circuit, and the secondary-battery monitoring circuit generates a detection value responsive to the generated voltage supplied from the protective circuit, the detection value being indicative of the output voltage of the secondary battery.
US08730629B2	Variable breakdown transient voltage suppressor A semiconductor die includes a substrate comprising a first layer of a first wide band gap semiconductor material having a first conductivity, a second layer of a second wide band gap semiconductor material having a second conductivity different from the first conductivity, in electrical contact with the first layer, a third layer of a third wide band gap semiconductor material having a third conductivity different from the first conductivity and second conductivity, in electrical contact with the second layer, a fourth layer of a fourth wide band gap semiconductor material having the second conductivity, in electrical contact with the third layer, and a fifth layer of a fifth wide band gap semiconductor material having the first conductivity and in electrical contact with the fourth layer, wherein the first layer, the second layer, the third layer, the fourth layer, and the fifth layer are sequentially arranged to form a structure.
US08730627B2	Decreasing voltage detection with control signaling Illustrative circuits and methods are provided. Circuitry is configured to detect a decrease in a monitored voltage at greater than a threshold rate. A fuse is deliberately blown in response to the detection. Power control circuitry is disabled and prevented from resuming normal operations by way of control signaling. The blown fuse ensures that at least one control signal is maintained until the blown fuse is replaced by service personnel. Shunt circuitry optionally discharges storage capacitors of the power control circuitry. Sensitive electronic components are protected against over-voltage or overcurrent damage in accordance with the present teachings.
US08730626B2	Electrostatic discharge protection A chip includes a first circuit, a second circuit, a first interconnect, and a least one protection circuit. The first circuit has a first node, a first operational voltage node, and a first reference voltage node. The second circuit has a second node, a second operational voltage node, and a second reference voltage node. The first interconnect is configured to electrically connect the first node and the second node to form a 2.5D or a 3D integrated circuit. The at least one protection circuit is located at one or various locations of the chip.
US08730625B2	Electrostatic discharge protection circuit for an integrated circuit An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit includes a clamping transistor and a trigger circuit. The clamping transistor is coupled between a first power supply voltage terminal and a second power supply voltage terminal. The trigger circuit includes a detection circuit, first and second transistors, and first, second, and third inverters. The detection circuit is coupled to monitor a power supply voltage. The first inverter has an input terminal coupled to a current electrode of the first transistor, and an output terminal coupled to a control electrode of the clamping transistor. The second inverter and the third inverter form a feedback path from the output of the first inverter to the control electrode of the first transistor. The second inverter has a switching voltage that is lower than a midpoint voltage of a power supply voltage provided to the first and second power supply voltage terminals.
US08730622B2	Disk drive with spoiler having shield member According to one embodiment, a disk drive includes a case including a base with a bottom wall, a drive motor on the bottom wall of the base, a plurality of disk recording mediums rotatable by the drive motor, a magnetic head configured to perform data processing on the recording mediums, a carriage on the bottom wall of the base, configured to support the magnetic head for movement relative to the recording mediums, a drive section including a yoke and a magnet on the bottom wall of the base and configured to drive the carriage, and a spoiler including a main body, which includes a magnetic shield member between the yoke and the recording mediums, and a baffle plate extending from the main body and between the adjacent disk recording mediums.
US08730621B2	Solder ball bridge, and methods of making An electrical connection between a first element and a second element formed by a solder ball bridge having at least three solder balls in physical contact with each other extending to electrically connect the first element and the second element. The solder ball bridge is particularly suitable for a disc drive system, to form an electrical connection between two elements such as between a piezoelectric microactuator element and the suspension assembly. Methods of making a solder ball bridge are also provided.
US08730613B1	Retracting an actuator An apparatus and associated methodology for retracting a first member in relation to a second member. The first member may be selectively moveable by a first motor and the second member may be selectively moveable by a second motor that operably generates a back electromagnetic force (BEMF) voltage VBEMF. In an embodiment a retract control circuit may control movement of the first member via the first motor in response to a loss of supply power to the second motor. An embodiment of the apparatus may include a backup power source storing a voltage VB after the loss of supply power. Another embodiment of the apparatus may include retract logic operative on the retract control circuit to divide the VB from the VBEMF to energize the first motor by the VBEMF and not the VB when the VB is greater than a predetermined threshold voltage and a loss of the supply power to the second motor is detected.
US08730611B2	Contact detection A method of detecting a contact between a transducing head and a storage medium is provided. The method applies an input signal, having a select power level and known frequency, to an actuator for actuating the head. An output signal is obtained in response to the input signal. At least one signal component is extracted from the output signal at the same or a harmonic of the same known frequency as the input signal applied to the actuator. Whether the at least one extracted signal component indicates a contact between the head and the medium is determined. The power level of the applied wave pattern is increased incrementally until the extracted signal component indicates a contact between the head and the storage medium.
US08730610B2	Closed loop fly height control A distance between a head and a storage media is measured. An amount of power applied to a heater element in the head is adaptively adjusted based on a difference between the measured distance and a reference position indicating a desired distance between the head and the storage media. Related circuits and devices are also discussed.
US08730607B1	Thermoelectric voltage-based differential contact sensor Approaches for a hard-disk drive (HDD) comprising a head slider comprising a thermoelectric embedded contact sensor. The thermoelectric embedded contact sensor may comprise a first and second conductive lead and a metallic component. The metallic component has a different Seebeck coefficient than the first and second conductive leads. A thermoelectric voltage across the metallic component is used to measure the distance between a head slider and a magnetic-recording disk without supplying an electrical current from a hard-disk drive to either of the first conductive lead or the second conductive lead.
US08730606B1	Read channel error correction using multiple calibrators Read channel circuitry comprises a decoder and error correction circuitry. The error correction circuitry is configured to calibrate a first set of filters using a read channel data signal, to determine first hard decision information regarding the read channel data signal using the calibrated first set of filters, to determine an error corrected read channel data signal using the first hard decision information, to calibrate a second set of filters using the error corrected read channel data signal, to determine second hard decision information regarding the error corrected read channel data signal using the calibrated second set of filters, and to decode the second hard decision information. The first set of filters and the second set of filters are calibrated in respective first and second calibrators.
US08730605B1	Write zero phase start for phase synchronization in bit patterned recording A bit patterned recording system includes a servo channel module configured to recover servo fields written with servo information. A field locator module is configured to locate a field printed to data islands of a medium based on a location of one of the servo fields. The servo islands and the data islands have different spacing. A servo clock has a different phase and frequency than a data clock. A phase error calculator module is configured to estimate a phase error of the data clock based on the field and the data clock. The phase error is used to adjust a phase of the data clock.
US08730603B2	Power management for storage device read channel A hard disk drive or other storage device comprises a storage medium, a read head configured to read data from the storage medium, and control circuitry coupled to the read head and configured to process data received from the read head. The control circuitry comprises read channel circuitry that includes a low-density parity check decoder or other type of decoder. Power management circuitry associated with the read channel circuitry is configured to detect a power control condition of the read channel circuitry and to control insertion of idle clock cycles in a clock signal supplied to the decoder responsive to the detected power control condition. For example, the read channel circuitry may comprise a clock generator configured to gate the clock signal responsive to a control signal from the power management circuitry.
US08730602B2	Method and apparatus for detecting touch-down and contact between a head and a storage medium using a sensor, and a disk drive and storage medium using the method A method and apparatus for detecting a touch-down and contact between a head and a storage medium by using a signal generated by a data storage device, specifically by a sensor installed in a slider. The method includes: separating a signal detected by a sensor into a direct current (DC) component and an alternating current (AC) component, wherein the sensor has an electrical characteristic that changes according to temperature; using the DC component to detect a touch-down state of the head during a touch-down test to determine a value of a control signal for adjusting the flying height of the head; and using the AC component to detect a contacting state between the head and the storage medium in an operating state of the apparatus.
US08730600B2	Lens barrel A lens barrel includes a plurality of lens groups including a retractable lens group, a plurality of lens retaining frames to respectively retain the plurality of lens groups, a movable lens barrel to retain the plurality of lens retaining frames therein, and a lens retaining frame driving device to drive the lens retaining frames via the movable lens barrel. The lens retaining frames, the movable lens barrel and the lens retaining frame driving device move the plurality of lens groups between a collapsed state and a photographing state. The retractable lens retaining frame is movable between a position on a photographing axis and a position inside a housing located outside an inside diameter position of the movable lens barrel in the collapsed state by moving in a direction inclined relative to the photographing axis and moving in a direction orthogonal to the photographing axis.
US08730598B2	Driving device for a lens assembly The present invention provides a simple and compact lens driving device with a shake suppression function. In a VCM lens driving device 10, the driving coil 15 mounted on the outer circumference of the lens holder 11 includes a first through third coils 15a-15c, and the permanent magnet 16 mounted on the casing 13 and opposite to the driving coil 15 with spacing includes a first through fourth magnets 161-164. The first magnet 161 and the second magnet 162 are facing the first coil 15a at the middle of the lens holder 11; the third magnet 163 is facing the first coil 15a and the second coil 15b at the imaged-object side of the first coil 15a; the fourth magnet 164 is facing the first coil 15a and the third coil 15c at the opposite side to the imaged-object side of the first coil 15a.
US08730597B2	Holding apparatus and optical apparatus A holding apparatus includes a structure and configured to hold an object so that a distance from a reference point of the structure to a reference point of the object in a direction along a reference axis is kept at a constant value. The holding apparatus further includes a plurality of holding members, each supported by the structure, including an inclined surface that is inclined relative to a plane orthogonal to the reference axis, and configured to hold the object via the inclined surface. The inclined surfaces are inclined so that the distance falls within a tolerance even if temperature of the object and the plurality of holding members change.
US08730592B2	Optical system An optical system for viewing a front object and a generally side object comprises, sequentially from the front object side, a first lens group having a negative refractive index, a second lens group including a reflective-refractive lens, an aperture stop, and a third lens group having a positive refractive index. The reflective-refractive lens is provided with a first surface formed on the front object side, a second surface formed on an image side, and a third surface formed circumferentially to surround an optical axis between the first surface and the second surface. The first surface is provided with a first transmission surface formed around the optical axis, and a first reflection surface that faces the image side and is formed around the first transmission surface. The first surface is defined by an aspherical surface consisting of a concave surface in the vicinity of the optical axis and a convex surface in the vicinity of the first reflection surface. The second surface is provided with a second transmission surface formed around the optical axis and a second reflection surface that faces the front object side and that is formed around the second transmission surface. The third surface is defined by a transmission surface.
US08730591B2	Negatively-refractive focusing and sensing apparatus, methods, and systems Apparatus, methods, and systems provide negatively-refractive focusing and sensing of electromagnetic energy. In some approaches the negatively-refractive focusing includes providing an interior focusing region with an axial magnification substantially less than one. In some approaches the negatively-refractive focusing includes negatively-refractive focusing with a transformation medium, where the transformation medium may include an artificially-structured material such as a metamaterial.
US08730586B2	Zoom lens system and electronic imaging apparatus provided with the same A zoom lens system includes a negative first lens group, positive second and third lens groups, wherein upon zooming from the short to the long focal length extremities, the distance between the first and second lens groups decreases and the distance between the second and third lens groups changes. The second lens group includes a biconvex positive lens element with an aspherical surface on each side, and a negative meniscus lens element with an aspherical surface, and a concave surface on the image side. The following condition (1) is satisfied: 5
US08730584B2	Variable magnification optical system, optical apparatus provided with same and method for variable magnification using variable magnification optical system A variable magnification optical system ZL to be mounted on an electronic still camera 1 or the like is configured to have, in order from the object side, a first lens unit G1 having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit G2 having a negative refractive power, a third lens unit G3 having a positive refractive power, a fourth lens unit G4 having a negative refractive power, and a fifth lens unit G5 having a positive refractive power, and configured in such a manner that, in variable magnification, the first lens unit G1 is fixed, that, in focusing, the third lens unit G3 moves, and that at least a part of the fifth lens unit G5 moves so as to have a component in a substantially orthogonal direction to the optical axis.
US08730582B2	Microscope apparatus A microscope apparatus includes a laser beam source for emitting a laser beam, an objective lens for irradiating a sample with the laser beam, a phase-modulating spatial light modulator placed between the laser beam source and the objective lens at a position optically conjugate with a pupil position of the objective lens, and a beam diameter variable unit placed between the laser beam source and the phase-modulating spatial light modulator for varying a beam diameter of the laser beam incident to the phase-modulating spatial light modulator.
US08730581B2	Head-up display for night vision goggles A head-up display system for a vehicle facilitating the use of night vision goggles for a person in the vehicle during night vision conditions. The system includes a light source for providing light to an image source. The image source is arranged to project an image on a semi-transparent combiner mirror. The combiner mirror is arranged to superimpose the projected image onto a view of the environment in front of the vehicle by transmitting light rays from the environment and at the same time reflecting the projected image towards the eyes of an observer. The system includes a first and a second light source for alternatively providing light to the image source. The first light source is arranged to emit light of a first color to be used during daylight conditions, and the second light source is arranged to emit light of a second color to be used during night vision conditions, wherein the second color is mainly yellow or mainly orange.
US08730580B2	Light diffusion cell for laser light, light source device and image display device using same A light diffusion cell for laser light where in a transparent cell in which a liquid can be sealed, a fine particle dispersion in which fine particles having an average particle size of 100 nm or more and 1.5 μm or less are colloidally dispersed in a liquid medium transmitting light, a same light diffusion cell including a reflection mechanism recursively using reflection light of incident light, a laser light source device including the light diffusion cell and a semiconductor laser light source and an image display device including the light diffusion cell or the laser light source device, and the light diffusion cell significantly reduces or removes speckle noise of semiconductor laser light. In addition, the light diffusion cell has an easy constitution, occupies a smaller volume and can be easily incorporated in any type of image display device using laser light. Therefore, it is possible to significantly reduce or remove speckle noise without large-sizing of an image display device using laser light or a higher cost-up.
US08730579B2	Optical sheet having enhanced optical characteristics An optical sheet includes a base film in which light is incident from a lower side, a plurality of prism patterns and a diffusion member. The prism patterns are protruded to be spaced apart from each other on the base film to enhance the front luminance of light incident from the lower side of the base film. The diffusion member is disposed between prism patterns to have a diffusion surface in parallel with the base film. The diffusion member includes a plurality of diffusion dots capable of enhancing the luminance uniformity of light incident from the lower side of the base film. Thus, front luminance and luminance uniformity may be enhanced due to a juxtaposition of the prism patterns and the diffusion portion, and the viewing angle of the LCD device may be enhanced.
US08730570B2	Optical pulse compressing based on chirped fiber bragg gratings for pulse amplification and fiber lasers Techniques and devices for using a chirped fiber Bragg grating to compress amplified laser pulses.
US08730562B1	Parallel optical sampler An optical sampler includes a first and second 1×n optical beam splitters splitting an input optical sampling signal and an optical analog input signal into n parallel channels, respectively, a plurality of optical delay elements providing n parallel delayed input optical sampling signals, n photodiodes converting the n parallel optical analog input signals into n respective electrical output signals, and n optical modulators modulating the input optical sampling signal or the optical analog input signal by the respective electrical output signals, and providing n successive optical samples of the optical analog input signal. A plurality of output photodiodes and eADCs convert the n successive optical samples to n successive digital samples. The optical modulator may be a photodiode interconnected Mach-Zehnder Modulator. A method of sampling the optical analog input signal is disclosed.
US08730560B2	Electrophoretic display device A pixel is formed by sealing an insulating liquid and floating particles in an area defined by a first substrate, a second substrate and partitions. The width of the partition has to be reduced in order to improve the pixel brightness by enlarging a flat electrode. In this case, the height of the partition has to be reduced for retaining the mechanical strength. If the height of the partition is reduced, an area of the partition electrode becomes small, thus failing to retain the memory effect. The planar surface of the partition is then formed into a zigzag shape so as to increase the area of the partition electrode.
US08730559B2	Multicolor display optical composition, optical device, and display method of optical device The present invention provides a multicolor display optical composition comprising a dispersion medium, a periodic structure having a porous structure inside communicated with the outside, and mobile particles contained in the dispersion medium so as to be movable and having a volume average primary particle diameter from 1 nm to 80 nm in a dispersion state in the dispersion medium, a volume average particle diameter of coagulated particles of 100 nm or larger in optical coagulation state by stimulation application, and having a refractive index different from that of the dispersion medium by 0.1 or more, wherein the mobile particles show no coloration in the dispersion state when the particles are dispersed in the dispersion medium and show white coloration with a predetermined whiteness value or higher in the coagulation state when the particles are coagulated, an optical device, and a display method of the optical device.
US08730558B2	Wavelength converting lighting device and associated methods A lighting device is described for receiving source light within a source wavelength range, converting the source light into a converted light, and reflecting the converted light to a desired output direction. The lighting device may use a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) device to receive and redirect the source light to the desired output direction. A conversion coating may be applied to the operative surface of the MEMS device to convert the source light into a converted light.
US08730556B2	In-band signaling in optical cross-connect switch using amplitude modulation Signals employed to align and cause dithering via MEMS mirrors in an optical cross connect switch are manipulated to impose, on the optical beam (steered via the MEMS mirrors) amplitude modulation and in particular a time-varying set of induced mirror angles that yield a desired time history of optical power level that is modulated according to a digital code in the amplitude modulation pattern. The controlled time sequence expressed as a time-varying optical power level can be used for in-band signaling along the same optical channels available for conventional optical data. The amplitude modulated signal is conveyed through the cross connect switch and is useful for example in control and command of the cross connect switch.
US08730553B2	Frameless interior rearview mirror assembly An interior rearview mirror assembly includes a housing and a mirror reflective element having a glass substrate. The housing includes an element that protrudes beyond a rear surface of the glass substrate and towards the front surface of the glass substrate when the reflective element is at least partially received at the housing. The glass substrate includes a slanted rear perimeter edge-portion along a perimeter circumference of the rear surface of the glass substrate to at least partially accommodate the element of the housing when the reflective element is at least partially received at the housing. The glass substrate includes a beveled front perimeter along a perimeter circumference of the front surface of the glass substrate. The beveled front perimeter of the glass substrate is exposed and viewable by the driver of the vehicle.
US08730546B2	Scanner device and method executed in scanner device A scanner device and a method executed in the scanner device are provided. The scanner device includes a generating unit that generates original image data representing a scanned original; a preparing unit that prepares one color-conversion profile among a plurality of color-conversion profiles having different data sizes, according to a feature of the original image data; and an outputting unit that outputs the original image data and the one color-conversion profile.
US08730545B2	Color imaging element, imaging device, and storage medium storing a control program for imaging device The precision of phase difference AF control is raised.An image pickup device includes a color filter that is provided with repeatedly disposed basic array patterns configured with a first array pattern and a second array pattern disposed symmetrically about a point, wherein the first array pattern includes a first filter placed over 2×2 pixels at the top left and a pixel at the bottom right of a 3×3 square array, a second filter placed over a right end pixel of a vertical direction center line of the square array and over a left end pixel a lower edge line, and a third filter placed over a pixel at the right end of the vertical direction upper edge line of the square array and over a center pixel of the lower edge line, and the second array pattern has the same placement of the first filter as that in the first array pattern and has a placement of the second filter and a placement of the third filter swapped over therefrom; and phase difference detection pixels that are placed at positions corresponding to 2 pixels that are adjacent in the horizontal direction out of the 2×2 pixels of at least one side of the upper side or lower side disposed first and second array patterns out of the 2 first array patterns and the 2 second array patterns configuring the basic array pattern.
US08730543B2	Detecting common errors in repeated scan workflows by use of job profile metrics Methods perform at least two different segments of a scan job by sequentially scanning the different segments using an optical scanner. Each of the different segments is scanned with the optical scanner manually set to different settings. The methods automatically combine the different settings to produce a recurring scan workflow. The recurring scan workflow includes such different settings of the different segments and information of the number of pages scanned in each of the different segments. Further, such methods perform at least one later scan job having later segments corresponding to the different segments of the original scan job after creating the recurring scan workflow. During the later scan job the computerized device automatically changes settings of the optical scanner between the later segments, without requiring the user to manually change the different settings between the later segments.
US08730542B2	Sheet feeding device A sheet feeding device including a roller to apply conveying force to one of a plurality of stacked sheets, a separator piece to apply conveying resistance to the stacked sheets and to nip the one of the stacked sheets in cooperation with the roller, a movable member being movable with respect to the roller, a pair of spring arms configured to contact the stacked sheets at an upstream position along a conveying direction with respect to a nipping position between the roller and the separator piece, and a bridge to bridge between the pair of spring arms, is provided. The bridge and the movable member are slidably in contact with each other at least when the sheet feeding device is in a conveyable condition.
US08730539B2	Image reading apparatus having auto document feeder An image reading apparatus having an auto document feeder includes a simplex path for simplex reading, a duplex path which is distinguishable from the simplex path and conveys a plurality of sheets of paper at different positions in a duplex reading mode, a path selecting element, and a flipping element which allows a second side of paper to be read first. Accordingly, in the duplex reading mode, a separation distance between sheets of paper is reduced, a returning path is reduced, the second side of paper is first read, and the paper is collated and then discharged after both sides of paper are read, thereby significantly improving duplex reading efficiency.
US08730537B2	Duplex scanning apparatus with elastic pressing member disposed between two scan positions A duplex scanning apparatus includes a passageway, a first optical module, a second optical module, a transporting mechanism and an elastic pressing member. The first optical module is disposed on one side of the passageway. The second optical module is disposed on the other side of the passageway. The transporting mechanism transports an original sheet through the passageway and past a first scan position of the first optical module and a second scan position of the second optical module, and images of front and reverse sides of the original sheet are obtained, respectively. The elastic pressing member, disposed between the first scan position and the second scan position, pushes the original sheet towards an original supporting plane.
US08730529B2	Document scanner A document scanner (10) includes an input tray (20) for holding documents; a transport system (45) for moving documents through the scanner; at least one document detection sensor (135A-135E) for detecting documents; an image capture device for capturing image data for a document; an image processor for determining characteristics of the document based on the image data; and wherein the processor compares characteristics of the document to ultrasonic data and excludes ultrasonic data which conflicts with image data.
US08730527B2	Embedding infrared marks in gloss security printing A processor controls a marking engine to print a uniform region having a visually uniform color for an observer within all areas of the uniform region. The processor also controls the marking engine to print different gloss patterns within the uniform region. The different gloss patterns have first and second gloss regions, and the gloss difference between the first and second gloss regions forms gloss marks. Additionally, the processor controls the marking engine to print different infrared patterns within the uniform region to form infrared marks. In some embodiments, the infrared patterns are only within the first gloss regions and are not within the second gloss regions.
US08730525B2	Method and device for proofing raster print data while maintaining the raster information The screened printing data are subjected to a filtering method, the raster information being maintained. Intermediate tonal values are produced by the filtering method, using the binary tonal values, the intermediate tonal values being configured in such a way that, by means of a color space transformation, transformed tonal values and/or intermediate tonal values can be formed which represent a true-to-color proof.
US08730524B2	Image processing apparatus to correct an image during double-sided printing A disclosed image processing apparatus performs an image processing operation to execute double-side printing on both sides of an image forming medium. The image processing apparatus forms a dot font including a dot pattern of a character in a character image that has undergone a halftone process using a predetermined coefficient for mitigating show-through when the double-side printing is performed; forms a correction dot for making a correction to reduce step-like irregularities along an outline portion of the character in the character image, which correction dot is formed based on an arrangement position, a color, and a dot size of the correction dot for reproducing a gradation that has undergone the halftone process using said predetermined coefficient; and combines the dot font and the correction dot.
US08730522B2	Image forming apparatus having plural deflection units and to perform positional shift correction An image forming apparatus includes a first light source that emits light when color print is specified; a first deflection unit that deflects the light emitted from the first light source; a first driving unit that drives the first deflection unit; a second light source that emits light when color print is specified and when monochrome print is specified; a second deflection unit that deflects the light emitted from the second light source; a second driving unit that drives the second deflection unit; a control unit that, when a image data receiving unit receives first image data and information specifying that the first image data is to be printed in monochrome and receives second image data and information specifying that the second image data is to be printed in color, causes the first driving unit to operate while a monochrome image corresponding to the first image data is being formed.
US08730521B2	Method and apparatus for using game mechanics to implement enterprise print governance A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and apparatus for processing a request to print using game mechanics are disclosed. For example, the method receives one or more parameters associated with the request to print, calculates a score for the request to print based upon the one or more parameters, updates an overall score of a user associated with the request to print based upon the score that is calculated and presents the overall score that is updated to a display device of the user.
US08730513B2	Image forming apparatus, and method for forming images on recording media such as paper having different sizes An image forming apparatus is provided with a storage unit for storing setting information including at least a size of a substitute recording medium, and a processing unit for executing a print instruction by automatically changing a size of a recording medium to be used to the size of the substitute recording medium based on the setting information stored in the storage means, when the size of the recording medium specified by the print instruction is not available.
US08730505B2	Image forming apparatus with document box for storing input data relating to execution conditions of functions executable by the image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes an execution controller for operating a function to be operated with function settings provided in a program. When a program is received by a program receiver, the execution controller causes a display controller to display box data stored in a document box related to the received program on a box data selection screen. Subsequently, after the box data selected and input on the displayed box data selection screen is received by a box data receiver, the execution controller handles the received box data as input data and operates the function to be operated with the function settings provided in the received program.
US08730504B2	Image acquisition using cloud services Apparatus having corresponding methods and computer-readable media comprise: a controller configured to generate a cloud scan request, wherein the cloud scan request represents a request to scan a document using cloud services; a transmitter configured to transmit the cloud scan request to a cloud print service; and a receiver configured to receive an image file from a cloud document service, wherein the file includes an image of the document.
US08730502B2	Method and system for managing print jobs using a cloud administration system A cloud administration system for managing print jobs may include a submission module, a processing module in communication with the submission module and a plurality of print devices, and one or more storage modules in communication with the processing module. The processing module may be located remotely from the plurality of print devices. The submission module may be configured to receive a print job from a source computing device. The source computing device may be located remotely from the submission module. The processing module may be configured to receive the print job from the submission module, store the print job in at least one of the storage modules, and transmit the print job to at least one of the plurality of print devices. The cloud administration system may operate as a shared resource for each of the plurality of print devices and the source computing device.
US08730498B2	Information processing apparatus, control method, and computer-readable storage medium An information processing apparatus for causing a printing apparatus to output content data included in a received print job as an output product according to information carried in a job ticket included in the print job includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire, out of a plurality of processing orders executable by the printing apparatus, information relating to a processing order that is executable by the printing apparatus when the print job is output as the output product, based on the information carried in the job ticket, a determination unit configured to determine the processing order to be executed by the printing apparatus when the print job is output, based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and a generation unit configured to generate a job ticket for the printing apparatus to execute the processing order determined by the determination unit.
US08730495B2	Image processing system An image processing system configured to perform image processing with a plurality of apparatuses operating in cooperation with one another includes a setting unit configured to set a cooperation destination apparatus in a cooperation wait state, a searching unit configured to search for the cooperation destination apparatus set to the cooperation wait state by the setting unit, a display unit configured to display a result of the search on a display device, and a control unit configured, using the apparatus included in the displayed search result as the cooperation destination apparatus, to perform image processing with a cooperation source apparatus and the cooperation destination apparatus operating in cooperation with each other.
US08730490B2	Printer driver, information processing apparatus, and computer program product A printer driver that cooperates with a plug-in that can be added thereto and removed therefrom includes: a determining unit that determines whether or not the plug-in is used at predetermined timing at which a printing process is hooked; a reading unit that reads the plug-in that is determined by the determining unit; and a calling unit that calls the plug-in read by the reading unit.
US08730487B2	Multifunction device configured for executing processes according to execution request information from an external memory device A multifunction device includes a memory reading unit for reading file information in a memory, a selecting unit for selecting an executable function based on said file information, a printing unit for printing out on a printing medium information bringing said file information into correspondence with said executable function, a medium scanning unit for scanning the printing medium, a detecting unit for detecting the file information requested for execution and the executable information from among information scanned out with the medium scanning unit, and an executing unit for executing a process corresponding to the executable function to a file corresponding to the file information based on the information detected with the detecting unit.
US08730484B2	Resonant cavity sensor having multiple input optical signals at different angles Embodiments of environmental stimulus sensors comprising multiple sources and detectors for interrogating one or more optically resonant cavities that are responsive to one or more environmental stimuli are disclosed. Such sensors have, among other advantages, improved immunity to source and/or detector noise.
US08730482B2	Method for measuring wear rate A wear rate measurement method includes thermally coupling a focus ring having a top surface and a bottom surface with a reference piece having a bottom surface facing a susceptor and a top surface facing the focus ring; measuring a first optical path length of a low-coherence light beam that travels forward and backward within the focus ring by irradiating the low-coherence light beam to the focus ring orthogonally to the top surface and the bottom surface thereof; measuring a second optical path length of a low-coherence light beam that travels forward and backward within the reference piece by irradiating the low-coherence light beam to the reference piece orthogonally to the top surface and the bottom surface thereof; and calculating a wear rate of the focus ring based on a ratio between the first optical path length and the second optical path length.
US08730476B2	Tunable wavelength illumination system A lithographic apparatus has an alignment system including a radiation source configured to convert narrow-band radiation into continuous, flat and broad-band radiation. An acoustically tunable narrow pass-band filter filters the broad-band radiation into narrow-band linearly polarized radiation. The narrow-band radiation may be focused on alignment targets of a wafer so as to enable alignment of the wafer. In an embodiment, the filter is configured to modulate an intensity and wavelength of radiation produced by the radiation source and to have multiple simultaneous pass-bands. The radiation source generates radiation that has high spatial coherence and low temporal coherence.
US08730474B2	Method and apparatus for measuring of masks for the photo-lithography The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for measuring masks for photolithography. In this case, structures to be measured on the mask on a movable mask carrier are illuminated and imaged as an aerial image onto a detector, the illumination being set in a manner corresponding to the illumination in a photolithography scanner during a wafer exposure. A selection of positions at which the structures to be measured are situated on the mask is predetermined, and the positions on the mask in the selection are successively brought to the focus of an imaging optical system, where they are illuminated and in each case imaged as a magnified aerial image onto a detector, and the aerial images are subsequently stored. The structure properties of the structures are then analyzed by means of predetermined evaluation algorithms. The accuracy of the setting of the positions and of the determination of structure properties is increased in this case.
US08730472B2	Method for predicting haze in lubricant base stocks The invention is a technique for predicting future haze formation in dewaxed, petroleum-derived, lubricant base stocks and, by extension, products made from such base stocks. In general, the technique measures the changes in light scattering caused by the formation and disappearance of wax crystals in a dilute test sample of neat base stock, over the course of a temperature profile. The data obtained is then compared to a previously formulated historical correlation of measurements taken using light scattering data to haze potential. The technique focuses on haze disappearance temperature as a reference point, as opposed to total wax formation. The technique also uses a solvent to accelerate the formation of wax crystals in the test sample. The technique provides a robust early warning system that allows refineries to rapidly and accurately determine the long term haze potential of a base stock production prior to release. The technique can be performed in real time, typically in less than an hour.
US08730471B2	DUV-UV band spectroscopic optical system and spectrometer using same Disclosed are a spectroscopic optical system and a spectrometer both enabling vertical illumination by means of an optical system using only refractive lenses and enabling wide-band color correction in the DUV-UV (190 to 400 nm) range. The spectroscopic optical system and spectrometer each comprise a light source (100), a folding mirror (110), a field stop (120), an object-side focusing lens system (130) for focusing light onto a sample, an image-side focusing lens (140) disposed on the image forming plane of the object-side focusing lens system, and a spectroscope (150) for dispersing regularly reflected light from the sample. The object-side focusing lens system (130) and the image-side focusing lens system (140) are each a spectroscopic optical system corrected with respect to color in a broad band of wavelength from 190 to 400 nm and configured from only refractive lenses enabling vertical illumination. The working distance (WD) of each lens is set shorter than a predetermined distance, and the doublet interval (D) is set longer than a predetermined distance.
US08730468B2	Methods, devices and kits for peri-critical reflectance spectroscopy Spectroscopy apparatuses oriented to the critical angle of the sample are described that detect the spectral characteristics of a sample. The apparatus includes an electromagnetic radiation source adapted to excite a sample with electromagnetic radiation introduced to a measurement site of the sample at a plurality of angles of incidence near a critical angle of the sample and a transmitting crystal in communication with the electromagnetic radiation source and the sample. The transmitting crystal may have a high refractive index adapted to reflect the electromagnetic radiation internally. The apparatus includes a reflector adapted to introduce the electromagnetic radiation to a measurement site of the sample at a plurality of angles of incidence near the critical angle between the transmitting crystal and sample. The apparatus includes a detector for detecting the electromagnetic radiation from the sample. Also, provided herein are methods, systems, and kits incorporating the peri-critical reflectance spectroscopy apparatus.
US08730462B2	Refractometry system and method A critical-angle refractometer which utilizes an in image of light reflected from an optical interface with a vessel containing a sample under test to determine an optical property of the sample, sample properties are evaluated to prevent improper testing of the sample. This evaluation includes establishing reflectance information associating the amount of reflection with locations in the image; and utilizing a plurality of properties of the reflectance information to determine if the vessel contains a proper sample under test.
US08730460B2	Paper based spectrophotometric detection of blood hemoglobin concentration The present disclosure relates to the use of a paper medium to measure blood hemoglobin concentration. In certain embodiments, spectrophotometric techniques are used to measure light transmission at specified wavelengths through a paper medium containing a blood sample. The light transmission information is then used in the calculation of blood hemoglobin concentration. In certain embodiments, the paper medium may be chemically treated to lyse the blood sample prior to measurement of the light transmission information.
US08730456B2	Compact monostatic optical receiver and transmitter A compact monostatic optical transmitter/receiver device simultaneously transmits an optical beam and collects returning light using a single lens or optical aperture. The system provides automatic alignment of the transmit and receive aperture and is compatible with fiber-coupled laser sources. Transmit light is emitted from a double-cladding fiber core while received light is coupled into the inner cladding of the same fiber. The transmit light propagating in the core and the received light propagating in the inner cladding are separated by the means of a diplexer comprised of a fused fiber coupler or a fiber-coupled micro-optic device.
US08730452B2	Source and mask optimization by changing intensity and shape of the illumination source and magnitude and phase of mask diffraction orders An illumination source is optimized by changing the intensity and shape of the illumination source to form an image in the image plane that maximizes the minimum ILS at user selected fragmentation points while forcing the intensity at the fragmentation points to be within a small intensity range. An optimum mask may be determined by changing the magnitude and phase of the diffraction orders to form an image in the image plane that maximizes the minimum ILS at user selected fragmentation points while forcing the intensity at the fragmentation points to be within a small intensity range. Primitive rectangles having a size set to a minimum feature size of a mask maker are assigned to the located minimum and maximum transmission areas ad centered at a desired location. The edges of the primitive rectangle are varied to match optimal diffraction orders O(m,n). The optimal CPL mask OCPL(x,y) is then formed.
US08730450B2	Immersion photolithography system and method using microchannel nozzles A liquid immersion photolithography system includes an exposure system that exposes a substrate with electromagnetic radiation and includes a projection optical system that focuses the electromagnetic radiation on the substrate. A liquid supply system provides liquid flow between the projection optical system and the substrate. The liquid supply system including a plurality of inlets to supply the liquid to the space, the inlets located between the table and a surface of the optical element, the surface arranged to be in contact with the liquid.
US08730448B2	Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method A lithographic apparatus includes a substrate table constructed to hold a substrate, a projection system configured to project a patterned radiation beam through an opening and onto a target portion of the substrate, and a conduit having an outlet in the opening. The conduit is configured to deliver gas to the opening. The lithographic apparatus further includes a cooling apparatus controlled by a control system. The cooling apparatus is configured to cool the gas such that gas which travels from the opening to the substrate has a predetermined temperature when the gas is incident upon the substrate.
US08730442B2	Liquid crystal display device and manufacturing method thereof A TFT substrate includes drain signal lines which are connected with respective pixels, source electrodes which are connected with the drain signal lines via channel portions of transistors, and pixel electrodes which are electrically connected with the source electrodes. The pixel electrode is, further, constituted of a contact-portion electrode which is connected to the source electrode, an opening-portion electrode which is an electrode in an opening portion which is not covered with a black matrix, and a channel upper electrode which is formed so as to cover the channel portion of the transistor of the neighboring pixel. By extending the channel upper electrode to the channel portion of the neighboring pixel, an area of the pixel electrode is increased, and a line width of the opening-portion electrode is made relatively small. Accordingly, the TFT substrate can hold a stable potential.
US08730441B2	Anti-reflection film The present invention provides an anti-reflection film which allows more appropriate black indication by reason of selectively restraining tinging with blue on the occasion of being provided for a transmission liquid crystal display surface to offer a black indication by changing the optical properties of the anti-reflection film. The anti-reflection film provided with visibility-average light transmittance absorption loss is within a range of 0.5% or more and 3.0% or less, a value obtained by subtracting a minimum value of light transmittance absorption loss at each wavelength in a visible light region from the maximum value thereof is within a range of 0.5% or more and 4.0% or less, and light transmittance absorption loss at each wavelength satisfies Q450>Q550>Q650 (Q450, Q550 and Q650: light transmittance absorption loss at a wavelength of 450 nm, 550 nm and 650 nm).
US08730438B2	Liquid crystal display panel with multi-domain unit pixels and an optical mask for manufacturing the same A liquid crystal display panel, including a unit pixel including a first substrate having a first alignment film, a second substrate having a second alignment film spaced apart from and facing the first alignment film, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first alignment film and the second alignment film; and first and second adjacent domains, each of which includes a domain boundary region defining part of an area between the adjacent domains, and a normal-luminance region adjacent to the domain boundary region, wherein pretilt angles of liquid crystal molecules near the first alignment film in the domain boundary regions are greater than pretilt angles of liquid crystal molecules near the first alignment film in the normal-luminance regions.
US08730436B2	Liquid crystal display and method for manufacturing the same Disclosed herein are a liquid crystal display (LCD) device and a method for manufacturing the same, capable of preventing problems (i.e., movement of balls, damage to the surfaces that face spacers upon application of predetermined pressure, and variation in cell gap) associated with the use of the ball spacers. The liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other, a spacer formed on the first substrate, wherein the spacer includes a plurality of balls and a solid to aggregate the balls together and adhere the balls to the first substrate, a hard coating layer formed on the second substrate facing the spacer, and a liquid crystal layer filled between the first substrate and the second substrate.
US08730434B2	Optical compensation film An optical compensation film according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: non-liquid crystal polymers arranged in a tilt alignment, wherein the optical compensation film satisfies the following expressions (1) and (2): 3 [nm]≦(nx−ny)×d; (1) and 5°<β, (2) where, when an X-axis and a Y-axis, which are plane direction axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system, are perpendicular to each other and an axis vertical to the X-axis and the Y-axis in a thickness direction is defined as a Z-axis, nx and ny indicate a maximum refractive index and a minimum refractive index in an XY-plane of the optical compensation film, respectively, d indicates a film thickness [nm], and β indicates an angle formed between a direction for providing the minimum refractive index ny and a direction for providing a maximum refractive index nb in a YZ-plane of the optical compensation film.
US08730432B2	Optical film and method for manufacturing the same and liquid crystal display device using the same An optical film is provided. The optical film includes a substrate, a first transmission medium, second transmission medium, and a reflective polarizing film. The first transmission medium is disposed at the front surface of the substrate and includes a plurality of embossed microlenses. The second transmission medium is disposed at the rear surface of the substrate and comprises a plurality of V-shaped prisms. The reflective polarizing film is disposed at the front surface of the first transmission medium. The substrate, the first transmission medium, and the second transmission medium are bounded to each other to form a unitary sheet.
US08730431B2	Liquid crystal display device The backlight has an anisotropic diffusion sheet disposed between the reflective polarizing plate and the optical path converter. The anisotropic diffusion sheet includes a refractive index anisotropic diffusion sheet stretched in an absorption axis direction in which a concave-convex portion is formed on a surface of the reflective polarized plate, and an isotropic material part laminated on a surface of the concave-convex part. The isotropic material part has an isotropic reflective index. The refractive index of the isotropic material part is the same as the refractive index in the transmission axis direction perpendicular to a stretching direction of the refractive index anisotropic sheet.
US08730430B2	Backlight assembly for supplying electric power to a light-emitting element via a connector and a backlight unit and a liquid crystal display which use the backlight assembly A light-emitting element substrate mounting light-emitting elements is arranged on a front face of a chassis. The light-emitting element substrate is connected to a first connector. A power supply substrate for supplying electric power to the light-emitting element substrate is arranged on a rear face of the chassis. A second connector is connected to the power supply substrate. In addition, the first and the second connectors are connected to each other, so that the power supply substrate supplies electric power to the light-emitting element substrate via the first connector and the second connector. The second connector may electrically be connected to the power supply substrate via a harness.
US08730429B2	Multi-layer printed circuit board and liquid crystal display device having the same A PCB and an LCD device with the same are disclosed. The PCB and the LCD device force an LED to directly contact either a heat radiation member or a metal plate. As such, heat generated in the LED is directly transferred to the heat radiation member or the metal plate without passing through wiring and prepreg layers. Therefore, the heat is effectively discharged to the exterior through a bottom cover. In other words, heat generated in the LED can be effectively discharged because of passing through the shortened heat radiation path.
US08730423B2	Display device, liquid crystal display device, and method for producing a display device A liquid crystal display device includes: a plurality of source lines (2) to which a signal voltage according to a source signal is applied; a first wire (3a) and a second wire (3b) for fixing a wire breakage that are configured so that they can be connected to opposite ends of at least one of the plurality of source lines (2); and a buffer section (4) provided between the first wire (3a) and the second wire (3b) for impedance conversion along the first wire (3a) and the second wire (3b), wherein the liquid crystal display device includes spare capacitors (10a) and (10b) for adjusting a signal waveform according to the source signal applied to the source lines (2a) and (2b) with the first wire (3a) and the second wire (3b) being connected to the source lines (2a) and (2b).
US08730421B2	Liquid crystal display device In a liquid crystal display which includes a liquid crystal layer between a TFT substrate and a counter substrate, a gate electrode, a gate insulator and a semiconductor layer are laminated. A pixel electrode is formed on the gate insulator and metal source and drain electrodes are formed on the semiconductor layer and gate insulator. At least upper surfaces of the source and drain electrode contain Mo. One of the source and drain electrodes is directly laminated on a portion of the pixel electrode, which portion is disposed on the gate insulating film.
US08730408B2	Lighting device, display device, and television receiver This backlight device 12 of the present invention includes: a cold cathode fluorescent tube; a chassis 14 that houses at least the cold cathode fluorescent tube on a front surface 14a1 side of a bottom plate 14a of the chassis; and a circuit substrate 32 having a front surface 32a on which electronic components 38a and 38b are disposed, the front surface 32a facing a rear surface 14a2 of the bottom plate 14a of the chassis 14. The heat generated from the electronic components 38a and 38b circulates towards the chassis 14 with ease, and therefore the heat generated from the electronic components 38a and 38b on the circuit substrate 32 can be effectively dissipated by the bottom plate 14a of the chassis 14.
US08730405B2	Display apparatus, remote controller, display control method, and control method In order to display selected content as desired by a viewer by performing an easy operation without interrupting current viewing, a display apparatus includes a reception unit for receiving from a remote controller for transmitting an operation instruction to the display apparatus operation information including the amount of operation of a selection member which is detected at the time of selecting content and identification information identifying selected content, a determination unit for determining an output attribute of the selected content identified using the identification information based on the amount of operation, an output image generation unit for generating an output image of the selected content based on the output attribute determined by the determination unit, and a display control unit for displaying the output image generated by the output image generation unit.
US08730402B2	Analog front end for DTV, DTV system having the same, and operation methods thereof Provided is an analog front end of a digital TV, a digital TV system having the same, and a method of operating the same. The analog front end includes: a first selection circuit which selectively outputs differential sound intermediate frequency signals or differential TV broadcast signals in response to a first selection signal; a second selection circuit which outputs a clock signal among a plurality of clock signals having a different sampling frequencies, in response to a second selection signal; and an analog-to-digital converter which converts output signals output from the first selection circuit to a digital code, according to a sampling frequency of a clock signal output from the second selection circuit.
US08730400B2	Image displaying apparatus and image processing apparatus An image displaying apparatus and an image processing apparatus are provided. The image displaying apparatus comprises a signal receiver unit, a signal processor unit, a display unit, a signal output unit, and a control unit. The signal receiver unit receives a broadcast signal or a signal provided from a signal source. The signal processor unit processes the received signal. The display unit displays the processed signal. The signal output unit comprises an output terminal configured to output the received signal, and a signal converter configured to convert the processed signal. The control unit controls the signal, provided from the signal receiver unit, to be outputted to the external device by using the signal output unit.
US08730397B1	Providing a photobook of video frame images Providing a photobook comprising video frames. One or more selectable images comprising video frames are selected by a computer. The selected one or more selectable images are sorted into related groups by the computer. The related groups are assigned to one or more pages of a photobook by the computer. The selected images of the related groups are positioned by the computer on assigned pages of the photobook.
US08730393B2	Gradient adaptive video de-interlacing In some embodiments, a method includes receiving a plurality of video signal fields, characterizing at least one portion of at least one of the plurality of video signal fields, determining a value for a pixel using inter-field de-interlacing if the characterization satisfies a first criteria, determining a value for a pixel using motion compensated de-interlacing if the characterization satisfies a second criteria, and determining a value for a pixel using intra-field de-interlacing if the characterization satisfies a third criteria. In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a storage medium having stored instructions that when executed by a machine result in the method.
US08730392B2	Frame rate conversion method and image processing apparatus thereof A frame rate conversion method includes detecting a plurality of input frames to determine an image mode corresponding to the plurality of input frames; performing motion estimation on the plurality of input frames to generate a motion estimation result; and interpolating a plurality of interpolated frames according to the determined image mode, the motion estimation result and the plurality of input frames to generate a plurality of converted output frames, wherein a frame rate of the outputted frames is different from that of the input frames.
US08730391B2	Adaptive control of LCD display characteristics based on video content Determining video content type of a video displayed on a LCD and triggering adjustment in drive power of the LCD based on the video content type. The video content type indicates relative content motion of the video. A video content type detection module is one or combination of a software and a hardware and directs the LCD to be driven relative slower or faster based upon video content. The module independently or in conjunction with another module identifies an active window from a plurality of windows corresponding to a plurality of applications running on the host device and sets the drive power of the LCD based on speed of a video displayed on the active window. The module may also adapt LCD drive power based upon user input and/or remaining battery life.
US08730387B2	Scan stand system for image capture Embodiments of scan stand systems or kits for positioning a document or other object to be imaged or scanned in relation to an imaging device are described. Also described are embodiments of systems for video conferencing/telephony/scanning and optical projection functions.
US08730385B2	Method of economizing power in image pickup system and image pickup system using the method A method of operating an image pickup system includes generating a first control signal in response to a long duration exposure mode selectively input by a user, setting circuits to process image data associated with modes other than long duration exposure mode to a standby mode in response to the first control signal, generating a second control signal when the standby mode has been established, opening a shutter in response to the second control signal, and performing a long duration exposure to accumulate a charge corresponding to an optical signal incident on an image sensor of the image pickup system when the shutter is open.
US08730383B2	System and method for controlling illumination in a vision system This invention provides a system and method for enabling control of an illuminator having predetermined operating parameters by a vision system processor/core based upon stored information regarding parameters that are integrated with the illuminator. The parameters are retrieved by the processor, and are used to control the operation of the illuminator and/or the camera during image acquisition. In an embodiment, the stored parameters are a discrete numerical or other value that corresponds to the illuminator type. The discrete value maps to a corresponding value in look-up table/database associated with the camera that contains parameter sets associated with each of a plurality of values in the database. The data associated with the discrete value in the camera contains the necessary parameters or settings for that illuminator type. In other embodiments, some or all of the actual parameter information can be stored with the illuminator and retrieved by the camera processor.
US08730378B2	Optical apparatus An optical apparatus includes: a first focus detection unit that detects a focusing condition of an image forming optical system through a first focus detection method and outputs a first focus detection signal; a second focus detection unit that detects the focusing condition of the image forming optical system through a second focus detection method different from the first focus detection method and outputs a second focus detection signal; a focus adjustment unit that executes focus adjustment for the image forming optical system based upon either the first focus detection signal or the second focus detection signal; and a notification unit that alters a focus detection method notification in correspondence to the focus adjustment that the focus adjustment unit executes.
US08730376B2	Lens barrel and imaging device The lens barrel is a lens barrel for forming an optical image of a subject on an imaging element, comprising a first lens unit, a second lens unit, a focus lens unit, a zoom mechanism, and a focus actuator. The focus lens unit is movably supported by the second lens unit in the optical axis direction. The operating force inputted to the zoom control is mechanically transmitted to at least one of the first lens unit and the second lens unit. The focus actuator is fixed to the second lens unit and electrically drives the focus lens unit relative to the second lens unit in the optical axis direction. The second lens unit or the focus lens unit is disposed nearest to the image plane in the optical system including the first lens element, the second lens element, and the focus lens.
US08730373B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes an image sensor comprising a plurality of pixels at least part of which form a plurality of focus detection pixel pairs, each receiving light rays passing through different pupil areas of an image forming optical system; a detection unit configured to detect a defocus amount, based on a phase difference between signals output from the focus detection pixel pairs in a focusing area; a judging unit configured to determine if a subject corresponds to a predetermined pattern, based on the signals output from the pixels other than the focus detection pixel pairs around the focus detection pixel pairs in the focusing area; and a focus control unit configured to drive the image forming optical system to be in an in-focus state based on the detected defocus amount. The judging unit changes focus control, performed by the focus control unit, based on the determination result.
US08730372B2	Partially lit sensor An image sensing system for an electronic device. The image sensing system includes a lens and an image sensor. The image sensor includes a indirectly lit area of pixels and a directly lit area of pixels. The lens is in optical communication with the directly lit area of pixels.
US08730368B2	Light transmittance adjusting device, image apparatus including the same, and method of fabricating the light transmittance adjusting device A light transmittance adjusting device is provided, including a first electrode, a second electrode, and a first elastomer layer disposed between the first and second electrodes. A light transmittance of the first elastomer layer is variable depending on a voltage applied thereto.
US08730361B2	Photoelectric conversion device and camera with gate-electrode covering film A photoelectric conversion device including a pixel region having a photoelectric converter, and a transfer MOS transistor for transferring charges in the photoelectric converter to a floating diffusion, comprises a first insulating film continuously arranged to cover the photoelectric converter, and a first side surface and a first region of an upper surface of a gate electrode of the transfer MOS transistor while not arranged on a second region of the upper surface, the first insulating film being configured to function as an antireflection film, a contact plug connected with the floating diffusion, and a second insulating film continuously arranged to cover a periphery of the contact plug on the floating diffusion, and the second side surface and the second region while not arranged on the first region, the second insulating film being configured to function as an etching stopper in forming the contact plug.
US08730360B2	Color imaging apparatus having color imaging element, method of controlling operation of same and image sensing system When a central pixel having a red component is generated by interpolation, mixing is performed using red-component pixels lying along the diagonal directions thereof. When a central pixel having a green component is generated by interpolation, mixing is performed using green-component pixels located above, below and to the left and right thereof. When a central pixel having a blue component is generated by interpolation, no mixing processing is executed. A reduction in image size is performed at the same time as pixel interpolation.
US08730359B2	Image processing Image processing apparatus comprises a demosaic processor for receiving a video signal comprising pixel data from an array of photosensors each having a respective color filter so as to restrict the sensitivity of that photosensor to a primary color range selected from a set of three or more primary color ranges, the array being such that the photosensors in alternate rows are sensitive to a first primary color range, and photosensors in intervening rows are sensitive to the other primary color ranges. The pixel data including pixel data from a first subset of the rows sensitive to the first primary color range, the first subset being the same from image to image of the video signal; and pixel data from a second subset of the rows of photosensors sensitive to the other primary color ranges, the second subset changing from image to image of the video signal.
US08730354B2	Overlay video content on a mobile device Methods, systems, and devices are described for providing overlay content to be placed over captured video content for display on a mobile device. In one embodiment, a system includes a video display, such as a TV, that displays video content. A mobile device with an integrated video camera and display may capture video data which includes the video content from the video display. The location of the video content within the captured video data may be tracked. The mobile device may access overlay content, and display the accessed overlay content over the tracked video content.
US08730353B2	Method of controlling adaptive auto exposure based on adaptive region weight Provided is a method of controlling adaptive auto exposure. In the method, a digital photograph captured from an object and a background is divided into an object region where the object is mainly located and a background region where the background is mainly located. Average luminances of the object and background regions are calculated, and a luminance difference between the average luminances of the object and background regions is calculated. If the luminance difference is within a predetermined range, an average luminance of the entire photograph is calculated by applying a weight to the average luminance of the object region, and exposure is controlled based on the calculated average luminance of the entire photograph so as to emphasize the object region.
US08730352B2	Image processing apparatus and image processing method An image processing apparatus and an image processing method that enable suitable contrast adjustment are provided. The image processing apparatus includes a region detection unit configured to detect predetermined first luminance level detection region and second luminance level detection region in a human face as a target to be photographed, a luminance amount calculation unit configured to calculate an absolute value of a difference between a luminance level of the first luminance level detection region and a certain reference luminance level as a high luminance amount and calculate an absolute value of a difference between a luminance level of the second luminance level detection region and the reference luminance level as a low luminance amount, and a determination unit configured to determine whether a difference or a ratio between the high luminance amount and the low luminance amount falls within a certain range.
US08730348B2	Recording apparatus and control method thereof A recording apparatus is disclosed that records information data and file system information for managing a file containing the information data in accordance with a predetermined file system to a recording medium having a plurality of blocks including an alternative block for a defect block, wherein a first threshold and a second threshold that is smaller than the first threshold are set, and recording of the information data to the recording medium is inhibited if an alternative block remaining amount in the recording medium is less than or equal to the first threshold, and an update of the file system information recorded in the recording medium is inhibited if the alternative block remaining amount is less than or equal to the second threshold.
US08730343B2	Color processing apparatus and method for performing color conversion using a color appearance model There is provided a color processing apparatus that performs color reproduction in accordance with the brightness of a subject at the time of photographing. An acquisition unit acquires image data. A setting unit sets viewing environment parameters for a plurality of luminance ranges based on a luminance histogram of the image data that is acquired. A processing unit performs color conversion processing using a color appearance model, using the viewing environment parameters that are set in accordance with the luminance of pixels of the image data that is acquired.
US08730342B2	Method and apparatus for robust image processing A method is provided for taking a digital picture of an image. The method can include: recording a first plurality of pixel values representing the image; generating a first compressed image data file based on the first plurality of pixel values; recording a second plurality of pixel values representing the image; generating a second compressed image data file based on the first plurality of pixel values; and processing the first and second plurality of pixel values in a compressed domain to generate a third plurality of pixel values, wherein processing includes combining the first and second compressed image data files by replacing portions of the second compressed image data file with corresponding portions of the first compressed image data file.
US08730337B2	Portable information device, imaging apparatus and information acquisition system An imaging apparatus includes an imaging portion that takes an image of a subject, a position information acquisition portion that acquires position information of an imaging position, and an orientation information acquisition portion that acquires orientation information representing an imaging direction at the imaging position.
US08730333B2	Image stabilization system An image stabilization system includes: a region vector detection unit configured to detect a motion vector of each of a plurality of regions in an image; a reliability determination unit configured to determine reliability of the motion vector of each of the regions; a region indicator configured to indicate, to the region vector detection unit, a new detection target region instead of a region whose motion vector is determined to have low reliability; an image vector computing unit configured to compute a motion vector of the entire image using a motion vector determined to have high reliability; and a stabilization unit configured to move an entire image to be output according to the motion vector of the entire image to compensate for sway of the image.
US08730330B2	Image sensors with dark pixels for real-time verification of imaging systems An imaging system may include an array of image pixels. The array of image pixels may be provided with one or more rows and columns of optically shielded dark image pixels. The dark image pixels may be used to produce verification image data that follows the same pixel-to-output data path of light-receiving pixels. The output signals from dark pixels may be continuously or intermittently compared with a set of expected output signals to verify that the imaging system is functioning properly. In some arrangements, verification image data may include a current frame number that is encoded into the dark pixels. The encoded current frame number may be compared with an expected current frame number. In other arrangements, dark pixels may be configured to have a predetermined pattern of conversion gain levels. The output signals may be compared with a “golden” image or other predetermined set of expected output signals.
US08730328B2	Frame buffer format detection In an example, a method includes generating a test frame of video data having a first format, and rendering the test frame of video data to a frame buffer, wherein the frame buffer is configured to store video data in a second format. The method also includes reading, from the frame buffer, a return frame of video data, wherein the return frame of video data comprises the video data of the test frame formatted in the second format, and determining the second format based on a comparison of the test frame having the first format and the return frame having the second format.
US08730327B2	System and method for video quality parametric tests A method for measuring the amount of noise in a video image includes receiving a signal from an imaging device; extracting a luma component from a color image; applying a filter to compute the second derivatives of the extracted luma component; determining a ratio of noise pixels to total pixels in the second derivative; and comparing the ratio to a pre-determined ratio.
US08730326B2	Driving attention amount determination device, method, and computer program A driving attention amount determination apparatus includes: an electroencephalogram measurement section for measuring an electroencephalogram signal of a driver; a central stimulation presentation section for presenting a visual stimulation in a central visual field of the driver; a peripheral stimulation presentation section for presenting a visual stimulation in a peripheral visual field of the driver; a threshold setting section for setting a determination threshold for attention amount determination from a distribution of amplitude of an event-related potential in the electroencephalogram signal based on a point of presenting the stimulation in the central visual field as a starting point; and an attention amount determination section for determining an attention amount through a comparison between the determination threshold and an amplitude of an event-related potential in the electroencephalogram signal based on a point of presenting the stimulation in the peripheral visual field as a starting point.
US08730325B2	Traveling lane detector A traveling lane detector according to the present invention includes: an imaging unit mounted on a vehicle to take a road surface image; and an image processor performing image processing on the image to detect lane marks on the road surface. The image processor judges whether the vehicle is crossing the lane marks, and, when the vehicle is not crossing any of the lane marks, defines first and second windows, in the image, for detecting the lane marks located respectively on left and right parts of a road surface in front of or behind the vehicle, performs image processing on the image in each of the windows to detect the lane marks, and, when the vehicle is crossing any of the lane marks, defines a third window including the currently-crossed lane mark in the image, performs image processing on the image in the third window to detect the lane mark.
US08730324B1	Integrated antenna system for imaging microsatellites Examples of imaging microsatellites are described that have an imaging system and antenna system disposed within the microsatellite body when the microsatellite is in a non-deployed state. The properties of the antenna system can be adjusted such that the antenna system does not impact, contact, or displace the imaging system when the microsatellite is in the non-deployed state. The properties of the antenna system can be adjusted such that the antenna system does not contact or impact the body of the microsatellite or any other structure when the microsatellite transitions to a deployed state. The antenna system can be configured to achieve a desired gain and/or data transmission rate by adjusting properties of the antenna system based on the radiation pattern of an antenna feed and geometric constraints imposed by the imaging system. Examples of methods for designing such imaging microsatellites are provided.
US08730320B2	Lighting apparatus Irradiation light LA and irradiation light LB, which are to be projected toward an irradiation target object from a plurality of irradiation light projection units, respectively, are corrected so as to be ached with outlines of the irradiation target object, which are viewed individually from the irradiation light projection units. In such a way, a surface of the irradiation target object is coated with irradiation light LA′ and irradiation light LB′, which are narrower in range than the irradiation light LA and the irradiation light LA. In such a way, the irradiation target object having an arbitrary shape is coated with the plural pieces of irradiation light with high accuracy.
US08730319B2	Display device, image data generating device, image data generating program, and display method According to one embodiment, a display device includes an image data generating unit and a display unit. The image data generating unit generates image data on an image. The display unit presents a video including the image data to an image viewer on a moving body to superimpose the video on an actual outside scene. The image data includes a first display object and a second display object. The first display object includes a lower part object. The lower part object has a lower part, an upper right part and an upper left part. A length of the lower part along a normal direction is longer than lengths of the upper right and upper left parts. The second display object is disposed in the image with reference to a display position of the first display object. The second display object includes information on the moving body.
US08730316B2	Cable apparatus A cable apparatus is provided and includes a cable to assume discrete positions, an actuator operably coupled to the cable and including a power source and a cable unit, which, when activated, causes the cable to translate and draws power from the power source and, when deactivated, draws no power and permits cable translation and a housing operably disposed along the cable and including a first element that rotates and translates with respect to the cable and a second element fixed to the cable, the first element being configured to cause the second element to rotate.
US08730311B2	Manufacturing device of a film patterned retarder for a three dimensional display device The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing device of a film patterned retarder for a three dimensional display devices. The present disclosure suggests a device for manufacturing a film patterned retarder comprising: a light source configured to irradiate an ultra violet light to an exposure area; a left polarizer and a right polarizer disposed in neighboring on a same leveled plane within the exposure area; a left pattern mask overlapping with the left polarizer and a right pattern mask overlapping with the right polarizer; and a film roller configured to rotate with a constant speed, to contact a base film on its surface and to move the base film with the constant speed. The manufacturing process is very simple and the cost for manufacturing the film patterned retarder according to the present disclosure is saved.
US08730310B2	Reproducing device, reproduction control method and program A reproducing device includes a reproducing section that reproduces a two-dimensional video and a three-dimensional video recorded on a predetermined video recording medium, and a reproduction controller that controls to reproduce a three-dimensional test video for confirmation of stereovision by a viewer before reproducing the three-dimensional video, when the video reproduced by the reproducing section is switched from the two-dimensional video to the three-dimensional video.
US08730306B2	3-D projection full color multimedia display Methods and systems are described herein which produce polarization-independent full color images suitable for rear-projection television sets and other multimedia displays. The system uses illumination with R, G, B light from two different light sources for each color. A viewer wears glasses with narrowband optical filters, preferably holographic filters. The R, G, B light from the light sources is slightly offset at each of the 3 emission wavelengths, with one set of R, G, B light being filtered by the holographic filter in front of the left eye of the, and the other set of R, G, B light being filtered by the holographic filter in front of the viewer's right eye.
US08730305B2	Digital photographing apparatus having common angle of view display function, method of controlling the digital photographing apparatus, and medium for recording the method A digital photographing apparatus includes a plurality of image pickup units that capture a plurality of images, a first image processing unit that generates a single input image from the plurality of images, a second image processing unit that generates a display image comprising common angle of view information in which the angle of view information of each of the plurality of image pickup units with respect to the single input image overlap, and a display unit that displays the display image. Each of the plurality of images shows a different parallax with respect to a subject, and each of the plurality of image pickup units have angle of view information.
US08730301B2	Service linkage to caption disparity data transport A method of processing disparity data for closed captions for three dimensional video involves receiving closed caption data including closed caption text within a service block having a service number in the range of 1-6; mapping the service number to a corresponding mapped extended service having a service number in the range of 7 through 63; parsing the disparity data from the closed caption data appearing in the mapped extended service; receiving closed caption text data; and processing the caption text and disparity data to produce an output suitable for defining a rendering of a three dimensional image on a display of the caption text at a z-axis position defined by the disparity data. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US08730295B2	Audio processing for video conferencing Methods, systems, and computer program products for enhancing transmitted audio signals for a video conference call are disclosed. Facial recognition technology and audio processing techniques determine a position of a speaking member of a party on a video conference. Based on the determined position of the speaking member, the directionality of the received audio signals can be adjusted towards the speaking member. The video conference system can transmit the adjusted audio signals.
US08730294B2	Internet protocol television audio and video calling A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a computer-readable storage medium in a media controller having computer instructions to execute a soft-phone client application on the media processor, receive an audio call or a video call originating from an IP Multimedia Subsystem network where the calls are directed to the media processor by a gateway having a switch that routes the audio call or video call in accordance with a destination address included in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) header message, and selectively answer one of the audio call or the video call. The computer instructions can be operable to present an audio portion of the audio call through a speaker of a presentation device when an audio call is answered. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US08730289B2	Light emission apparatus, optical scanning apparatus including the light emission apparatus, and image forming apparatus including the optical scanning apparatus In a light emission apparatus which is connected to a board to which a VCSEL is bonded, and to a laser holder and which is configured to bring the VCSEL on the board into contact with a contact portion provided on the laser holder, through elastic deformation, the board is deformed due to fluctuations in the state of elastic deformation of a connection member, and electrical connection with the VCSEL is cut off by this deformation wherein a plate spring configured to press the connection member toward the laser holder side is provided.
US08730287B2	Ribbon drive assembly A ribbon drive assembly for optimizing the tension across a ribbon supply in a thermal transfer printer comprising a supply spindle and a take up spindle operable for cooperating with each other such that the ribbon supply is fed from the supply spindle through a print station and metered onto the take up spindle. Each spindle is provided with and connected to a motor, a plurality of gears, and a rotary encoder such that the spindles may be independently controlled by a control processor. The control processor is operable for monitoring, detecting, and controlling the operation of the motors and spindles. During operation and in order to maintain a constant ribbon tension, the torque on the motors are continuously adjusted in accordance with various data provided by the printer's processor.
US08730286B2	Thermal head manufacturing method, thermal head, and printer A method of manufacturing a thermal head, including: forming a concave being, which is open on one surface of a support-substrate made of an alumina material; forming an intermediate-layer made of a glass paste by printing the glass paste made of a first-glass-material on the one surface of the support-substrate and baking the glass paste; bonding an upper-substrate to the one surface of the support-substrate by arranging the upper-substrate on the intermediate-layer formed on the one surface of the support-substrate in a laminated state and heating the upper-substrate at a temperature of an annealing point thereof or higher and a softening point thereof or lower, the upper-substrate being made of a second-glass-material having a softening point lower than a softening point of the first-glass-material; and forming a heat generating resistor on a surface of the upper-substrate bonded to the support-substrate at a position opposed to the concave portion.
US08730284B2	Printing apparatus and control method thereof A printing apparatus includes an ink ribbon on which a plurality of color inks are arranged frame-sequentially, a printing unit configured to be able to print by a predetermined length by transferring the plurality of color inks onto roll paper by one cycle of the ink ribbon, and a print control unit configured to control the printing apparatus to successively print two calendar sheets in case that the printing apparatus is instructed to print a calendar sheet having a length larger than the predetermined length. The calendar sheet includes an image area corresponding to the predetermined length and a date area having a length not larger than substantially 0.5 times of the predetermined length. The print control unit controls the printing apparatus to rotate, through 180°, one of the two calendar sheets to be successively printed, and print.
US08730283B2	Credential substrate feeding in a credential processing device Embodiments of the invention generally relate to credential processing devices and methods of feeding credential substrates in a credential processing device. One exemplary embodiment of the credential processing device includes a processing path, a print head, a transport mechanism, a first motor, a substrate input and an input feed mechanism. The print head is configured to print to a surface of a credential substrate that is fed along the processing path. The transport mechanism comprises one or more transport feed rollers that are configured to feed individual credential substrates along the processing path. The first motor is configured to drive the one or more transport feed rollers. The substrate input comprises an input feed roller configured to feed individual substrates from a supply to the transport mechanism. The input feed mechanism has an activated state, in which the input feed roller is mechanically coupled to the motor, and a deactivated state, in which the input feed roller is mechanically decoupled from the motor.
US08730281B2	Image display device The invention provides an image display device that has an especially satisfactory display quality for animated images, and sufficiently suppresses the irregularities of display quality among pixels. The image display device includes a light emitting drive means that drives a light emitting means, based on an analog display signal inputted to the pixels, and a light emitting control switch for controlling a light-on or light-off of the light emitting means on one end of the light emitting drive means in each pixel.
US08730277B2	Driving device, driving method, image display device, television receiver, display monitor device, program and record medium A driving device of a embodiment of the invention for driving a pixel array section includes a generation device (weighted average calculation section) for generating pixel values of driving signals of at least one color for pixels of the at least one color among driving signals of colors to be supplied sequentially to the pixel array section, the generation device being configured to generate the pixel values for each pixel of the at least one color on (i) a pixel value of the pixel in a current frame of the color of the pixel and (ii) a pixel value of the pixel in a previous of the same. This makes it possible to create a subframe appropriate in display position and luminance, thereby realizing an image display signal device, driving method, image display device, television receiver, and display monitor device, in which color breaking is effectively alleviated.

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