| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US09002585B2 |
Control system for grounds maintenance vehicle, and grounds maintenance vehicle including same
A control system for electronically controlling engine speed and PTO clutch mechanism engagement of a grounds maintenance vehicle such as a lawn mower. In one embodiment, an electronic controller (electronic control unit or ECU) may receive operator inputs from a speed setting switch and an on/off PTO clutch engagement switch. The ECU may take these inputs and make intelligent decisions as to when to engage/disengage the clutch mechanism and may change engine speed automatically prior to, during, and/or after clutch mechanism engagement/disengagement. In one or more of these speed setting switch positions, the switch may set a speed of the engine to a first speed when the clutch mechanism is disengaged, and a second speed (different than the first speed) when the clutch mechanism is engaged. |
| US09002584B2 |
Rain onset detection glazing auto-close
A vehicle system may include a plurality of exterior capacitive sensors, such as door handles, and a controller in communication with the plurality of capacitive sensors. The controller may be configured to identify a rain condition based on sensor data received from at least one of the exterior capacitive sensors of the vehicle; ensure an absence of a key fob in proximity of the at least one locked handle and an absence of a subsequent door opening occurrence when unlocked to confirm the rain condition; and initiate a closure action to a power actuator associated with an open vehicle window for a confirmed rain condition. |
| US09002583B2 |
Method and device for the compensation of steering wheel rotary oscillations in a steering system
A torque actuator is regulated so as to permit an activation of the torque actuator such that steering wheel rotary oscillations that occur can be compensated. For this purpose, in one embodiment, a torsion bar torque is detected. A compensation torque is determined as a function of the detected torsion bar torque by means of a variable-frequency disturbance variable and state variable calculator. The compensation torque or a signal corresponding to the compensation torque is then taken into consideration during activation of the torque actuator. |
| US09002580B2 |
System and method for controlling electrically-powered steering apparatus of vehicle
A system and a method for controlling an electrically-powered steering apparatus of a vehicle may include a selection switch adapted to select any of a plurality of steering modes, a control switch adapted to change a current for controlling the steering force, a control portion adapted to determine the current according to a signal received from at least one of the selection switch and the control switch and to transmit a control signal according to the determined current, and a drive portion adapted to control the steering force according to the control signal received from the control portion. |
| US09002579B2 |
Steering assist device
A steering assist device capable of appropriately reducing a steering load on a driver is provided. A steering assist device for assisting a steering operation of a driver who drives a vehicle, comprises: an auxiliary torque generation section for causing a steering device of the vehicle to generate an auxiliary torque that assists a steering force of the driver; a first torque control section for controlling the auxiliary torque so as to cause the vehicle to perform turning in accordance with a curvature of a travel lane in which the vehicle travels; a second torque control section for controlling the auxiliary torque so as to bring the position of the vehicle close to a center line of the travel lane; a lane change determination section for determining whether or not the vehicle is performing lane change; and a control suppression section for suppressing the control of the auxiliary torque by the second torque control section when it is determined that the vehicle is performing lane change. |
| US09002577B2 |
Turn signal cancelling device for vehicle
A turn signal cancelling device for a motorcycle includes turn signal cancellation control unit configured to automatically deactivate a second turn signal after a second predetermined time has passed or after the motorcycle has travelled a second predetermined distance since an activation the second turn signal. The turn signal cancellation control unit is configured to automatically deactivate the second turn signal in a case where the activation of the second turn signal is performed before a first predetermined time has passed or before the motorcycle has travelled a first predetermined distance since an activation of a first turn signal is performed when a vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed. |
| US09002576B2 |
Control device and method for operating a motor vehicle
A control device of a motor vehicle, which control device receives, from at least one body-side sensor, a vibration actual value of at least one corresponding body-side reference point and receives, from at least one chassis-side sensor, a vibration actual value of at least one corresponding chassis-side reference point, the control device making a decision on the reference point or points for which actuating signals for the actuators of the active assembly bearings are generated, and on which vibration desired value is used, in such a manner that the respective vibration actual value follows the respective vibration desired value. |
| US09002575B2 |
Vehicle security system and method
A method and apparatus for validating a vehicle operator. In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises an input device for allowing entry of vehicle operator identification information, a transceiver for transmitting a message and receiving a response to the message, an interface for allowing a processor to communication with a vehicle sub-system, and a processor connected to the input device, the transceiver, and the interface, the processor for receiving the vehicle operator identification information from the input device, for generating the message comprising the vehicle operation identification information and providing the message to the transceiver, for receiving the response from the transceiver and for controlling the vehicle sub-system, via the interface, based on the response. |
| US09002573B2 |
Electronic control unit and information management system
A VIN storage electronic control unit stores a vehicle identification number (VIN). A standby RAM that holds data constantly with an electric power supplied by a battery stores failure diagnosis related information and a rewriting history flag. When the VIN storage electronic control unit rewrites the VIN upon receiving a request signal for rewriting the VIN, the standby RAM updates the rewriting history flag so as to switch into a set status indicating the rewriting is made. When receiving a request signal for eliminating the failure diagnosis related information, the failure diagnosis related information stored in the standby RAM is reset and the rewriting history flag is switched into a reset status. In addition, while the rewriting history flag is in the set status, a malfunction indicator lamp is turned on. |
| US09002572B2 |
Docked/undocked vehicle communication interface module
A diagnostic system that includes a vehicle communication interface (VCI) and a diagnostic tool is provided. When the VCI and the diagnostic tool are coupled together through a wired connection, the VCI and the diagnostic tool can communicate with each other and provide power, as needed, to each other. The VCI and the diagnostic tool can also communicate with each other wirelessly when they are not directly coupled to each other. The VCI and the diagnostic tool are configured so that communication is uninterrupted when going from the wired connection to the wireless connection and vice versa. |
| US09002565B2 |
GNSS and optical guidance and machine control
A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and gyroscope control system for vehicle steering control comprising a GNSS receiver and antennas at a fixed spacing to determine a vehicle position, velocity and at least one of a heading angle, a pitch angle and a roll angle based on carrier phase position differences. The system also includes a control system configured to receive the vehicle position, heading, and at least one of roll and pitch, and configured to generate a steering command to a vehicle steering system. A vehicle control method includes the steps of computing a position and a heading for the vehicle using GNSS positioning and a rate gyro for determining vehicle attitude, which is used for generating a steering command. Relative orientations and attitudes between tractors and implements can be determined using optical sensors and cameras. Laser detectors and rangefinders can also be used. |
| US09002564B2 |
Enhanced park assist wheel speed compensation technique
A method of parking a vehicle includes calibrating a wheel speed count of the vehicle based on a measured length that is external to the vehicle, and parking the vehicle based on the calibrated wheel speed count. |
| US09002557B2 |
Systems and methods for maintaining an industrial lift truck within defined bounds
Systems and methods maintain a lift truck within defined bounds. A controller analyzes actual and/or predicted lift truck behavior, and based on the analyzed lift truck behavior, the controller control at least one lift truck performance parameter. The performance parameter is controlled to maintain the lift truck center of gravity within a stability map, the stability map to define a three-dimensional range of center of gravity positions that maintains lift truck stability. The performance parameter is also controlled to maintain an intended path of the lift truck within an allowable deviation map, the allowable deviation map defining a two-dimensional envelope of allowable lift truck travel deviation from the intended path of the lift truck. |
| US09002550B2 |
Use of torque model at virtual engine conditions
A torque estimation system for a vehicle comprises an operating parameter module, a torque estimation module, and an estimation control module. The operating parameter module determines an estimated engine operating parameter based on engine speed. The torque estimation module estimates engine torque based on the engine speed and the estimated engine operating parameter. The estimation control module provides a plurality of engine speeds to the operating parameter module and the torque estimation module to determine estimated engine torque as a function of engine speed. |
| US09002549B2 |
Multimedia information and control system for automobiles
In a multimedia information and control system for use in an automobile, at least one interface is employed which enables a user to access information concerning the automobile and control vehicle functions in an efficient manner. The user may select one of a plurality of displayed options on a screen of such an interface. Through audio, video and/or text media, the user is provided with information concerning the selected option and the vehicle function corresponding thereto. Having been so informed, the user may activate the selected option to control the corresponding vehicle function. |
| US09002546B2 |
Control of automatic guided vehicles without wayside interlocking
A vehicle management system for automatic vehicles running on a guideway independent of wayside signals or interlocking devices includes intelligent on-board controllers on each vehicle for controlling operation of the vehicle. The on-board controllers communicate with each other as well as individual wayside devices and a data storage system to identify available assets needed to move along the guideway and to reserve these assets for their associated vehicle. |
| US09002541B2 |
Method, device, and computer redable media for automatic management of configuration and reconfiguration of a plurality of systems of an aircraft
Methods, devices, and computer readable media are disclosed for automatic management of configuration and reconfiguration procedures of a plurality of systems of an aircraft, for example and without limitation, for aircraft operational and maintenance uses. In some aspects, a centralized device for automatic management of configuration and reconfiguration procedures of a plurality of systems of an aircraft includes a central unit for automatically generation control commands for automatic control of at least one action to be executed for one or both of the configuration or reconfiguration procedure, data links for automatic dispatch of control commands to corresponding systems for automatic execution. |
| US09002539B2 |
Vehicle operated in a self-propelled program-controlled manner for measuring, marking and at least pre-punching or pre-drilling holes for foundation devices
A vehicle operated in a self-propelled program-controlled manner, in particular without a driver, for automatically measuring, marking and/or pre-drilling predetermined desired positions for foundation devices to be introduced into the ground, possibly also for introducing the foundation devices themselves. The vehicle includes a working device, which can be pivoted about pivoting axes and is equipped with a device for automatically detecting and correcting misalignments of the axis thereof and which brings the vehicle to the desired positions with a locating device, which establishes the actual position thereof, and a data processing system, which is loaded with the desired positions in such a way that it can perform the prescribed working steps in a program-controlled manner. |
| US09002536B2 |
Key fob security copy to a mobile phone
A mobile device enabling one or more processors to receive vehicle key security codes from a vehicle key. The mobile device may receive a signal from a transmitter associated with a vehicle key, the signal being indicative of one or more security codes associated with the vehicle key. The mobile device may store the one or more security codes in memory and configure a mobile device application to implement one or more vehicle control functions using the security codes. The mobile device may wirelessly transmit commands for implementing the one or more vehicle control functions using the security codes to a vehicle associated with the key. The wireless transmission of commands may include short range wireless communication. |
| US09002534B2 |
System for identifying the components of a vehicle
A system for identifying a plurality of components of a vehicle that includes a plurality of non-volatile memories for storing identifiers associated with the plurality of vehicle components, a controller of the plurality of the vehicle components, a communication network configured for connecting the controller to the plurality of memories, and an identifiers memory including a portion to store a list of a plurality of type-approved identifiers associated with the plurality of type-approved vehicle components. The controller receives the identifiers, reads from the portion of the identifiers memory the list of type-approved identifiers, and checks if the identifiers of the plurality of components are included in the list of the type-approved identifiers, and when the controller detects that an identifier associated with a component out of the plurality of components is not included in the list, the controller blocks operation of the component. |
| US09002531B2 |
System and method for predictive peak load management via integrated load management
Devices, methods, and systems for predictive peak load management via integrated load management comprising the steps of: determining a target peak load based on a capacity of an energy storage device and a value of a load management capacity of a set of one or more manageable load assets, determining for each period of a defined time period, an expected peak load based on the determined target peak load, engaging the energy storage device, wherein the energy storage device is engaged based on an energy supply level of the energy storage device and the expected peak load, and performing load management on the set of one or more manageable load assets based on the engaged energy storage device and the determined target peak load. |
| US09002525B2 |
Updating control software on a network-connected HVAC controller
Apparatus, systems, methods, and computer program products are disclosed for providing software updates to client devices. A client device (such as a thermostat) executes software to perform one or more functionalities of the device. Upon receiving an indicating that a software update is available, the device waits to download the software update until pre-download conditions are satisfied. Once the software update is downloaded, the device then waits to install the software update until pre-install conditions are satisfied. If the software update is non-critical and received during an initial installation of the device, the software update may not be installed until after installation of the device is complete. If the device is a thermostat, the device may delay installation of the software update until a controlled HVAC system in inactive. Control of the HVAC system may be disabled during installation of the software update. |
| US09002518B2 |
Maximum torque driving of robotic surgical tools in robotic surgical systems
In one embodiment of the invention, a control system for a robotic surgical instrument is provided including a torque saturation limiter, a torque to current converter coupled to the torque saturation limiter, and a motor coupled to the torque to current converter. The torque saturation limiter receives a desired torque signal for one or more end effectors and limits the desired torque to a range between an upper torque limit and a lower torque limit generating a bounded torque signal. The torque to current converter transforms a torque signal into a current signal. The motor drives an end effector of one or more end effectors to the bounded torque signal in response to the first current signal. |
| US09002514B2 |
Wafer position correction with a dual, side-by-side wafer transfer robot
Methods and systems for positioning wafers using a dual side-by-side end effector robot are provided. The methods involve performing place moves using dual side-by-side end effector robots with active wafer position correction. According to various embodiments, the methods may be used for placement into a process module, loadlock or other destination by a dual wafer transfer robot. The methods provide nearly double the throughput of a single wafer transfer schemes by transferring two wafers with the same number of moves. |
| US09002513B2 |
Estimating apparatus, estimating method, and computer product
An estimating apparatus includes a processor configured to update a state of a first particle group indicating a state of a mobile body, from a current state to a next state through a simulation that is based on a state equation of the mobile body in a space using a particle filter; measure at each update, a distance between the mobile body and an object in the space; generate at each update, a second particle group indicating a state of a specific area in the space; calculate a level of likelihood for each particle of the first particle group and for each particle of the second particle group, based on the measured distance, the updated first particle group, and the generated second particle group; and identify a position of the mobile body in the space, based on the level of likelihood calculated for each particle. |
| US09002512B2 |
Robot and method of controlling walking thereof
Disclosed are a robot, which generates a stable walking pattern similar to that of a human, and a method of controlling walking thereof. The method includes generating a walking pattern of a leg connected to a torso of the robot; detecting whether or not a singularity pose of the leg walking according to the walking pattern is generated; and changing the walking pattern by adjusting a yaw direction angle of the torso when the singularity pose is generated. |
| US09002510B2 |
System and apparatus for item management
Item-management systems, apparatus, and methods are described, preferably for management of items such as medicaments. In embodiments, an item-management system comprises a holder defining plural cells, a docking station configured to receive the holder, at least one indicator selectively-operable to indicate the holder cell into which an item is to be loaded, and at least one controller operable to selectively operate each at least one indicator to indicate the cell into which the item is to be received. In embodiments, indicators are provided on the holder. In other embodiments, the indicators may by on a guide associated with the docking station to assist the user in loading the holder. The contents of the loaded holder may be easily loaded, for example, into an automated dispensing machine for packaging and subsequent administration to a patient or for another use. |
| US09002508B2 |
RFID for location of the load on a tower crane
A radio frequency identification (RFID) tower crane load locator is disclosed. One example includes at least four RFID components to provide RFID range measurements between the at least four RFID components. In addition, a load position determiner utilizes the RFID range measurements to determine a location of the load. A load information generator provides the location of the load information suitable for subsequent access by a user. |
| US09002506B1 |
Item retrieval using a robotic drive unit
Disclosed are various embodiments that may facilitate items being retrieved from a storage location. A robotic drive unit transports a carrier storage unit to be proximate to a target storage unit that comprises a container in which an item is located. The robotic drive unit aligns a receptacle in the carrier storage unit with the container in the target storage unit. The container is transferred from the target storage unit to the carrier storage unit. The robotic drive unit transports the carrier storage unit with the container to a destination. |
| US09002504B2 |
Method of wafer system interlock for the protection of equipment and product in semiconductor processing bridge tool
The present disclosure is directed to methods and systems for evaluating wafer size handling capabilities of wafer handling robots and wafer stations in a wafer processing environment. In one embodiment, a method is provided in which size parameters for each of one or more wafer stations and one or more robot hands of a wafer handling robot are set based on user input. A user command identifying a desired robot hand and a desired wafer station is received. A first size parameter of the desired robot hand is compared to a second size parameter of the desired wafer station. If the first size parameter is equal to the second size parameter, or if the second size parameter is an all-size parameter, the user command is executed. If the first size parameter is not equal to the second size parameter, an error is generated. |
| US09002503B2 |
Method and program for calculating correction value for machine tool
The present invention provides a method of computing a correction value for the machine tool having two or more translational axes and one or more rotational axes for correcting error in a position and an orientation of the tool with respect to a workpiece due to the geometric error. The method includes a rotational axis correction value computing step (S3) for computing a correction value for the rotational axis by use of a geometric parameter representing the geometric error, and a translational axis correction value computing step (S4) for computing a correction value for the translational axis by use of a command value for each of the rotational axes, a command value for each of the translational axes, and the geometric parameter. |
| US09002502B2 |
Method and program for calculating correction value for machine tool
The present invention provides a method and the like that are capable of calculating a correction value for a rotational axis and make it possible to correct an error in position or position and posture of a tool, which results from a geometric error, correct an error in posture of the tool, and also enhance the accuracy in machining by preventing a translational axis from operating in an infinitesimal manner due to a correction command. In a machine tool having two or more translational axes and one or more rotational axes, a correction value for each of the translational axes is calculated using a command position of each of the rotational axes, a coordinate value of a correction reference point as one point designated in advance in a command position space of each of the translational axes, and a geometric parameter representing the geometrical error. |
| US09002501B1 |
Rapid production turnkey system and related method
A system and related method providing a turnkey arrangement for the rapid production of parts using one or more CNC machines. The system includes a set of functions arranged to generate a rapid production technical data package that may be used by the manufacturer to fabricate a part quickly, efficiently and accurately. The package includes a First Article inspection certificate, a three-dimensional solid model, setup and process instructions, G and M Post codes, holding fixtures, cutting tools and revision control. The method includes steps leading to the creation of the rapid production technical data package. The steps include the gathering of part information, populating a database with CNC machine information, including Post codes, designing manufacturing instructions using a single CAD/CAM platform, integrating model and fixture information to generate a Smart Part model for any CNC machine, establishing Post codes for all CNC machines in the database, and proving out the model. |
| US09002499B2 |
Methods for determining a recovery state of a metal alloy
Methods for determining a recovery state of a metal alloy are disclosed herein. In one example, a fluctuation in a crystallographic grain orientation of the metal alloy is determined by utilizing electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data of the metal alloy. A processor of an electron backscatter diffraction machine utilizes a local orientation deviation quantifier to correlate the fluctuation in the crystallographic grain orientation of the metal alloy with a plastic strain recovery of the metal alloy. Other examples of the method are also disclosed herein. |
| US09002498B2 |
Tool function to improve fab process in semiconductor manufacturing
The present disclosure relates to a process tool system that utilizes tool sensor data and an embedded or built-in tool model to facilitate semiconductor fabrication. The process tool system includes a sensor data component, the tool model, and an execution system. The sensor data component is configured to provide the tool sensor data. The tool model is built in a process tool and is configured to generate model outputs based on model inputs. The manufacturing execution system is configured to provide tool process data, including actual metrology and previous process data, to the sensor data component. Additionally, the execution system provides the model inputs to the tool model and receives the model outputs from the tool model. The execution system provides one or more execution system outputs based on the sensor data and the model outputs. The sensor data can include measured semiconductor device characteristics. |
| US09002494B2 |
Substrate transfer method and storage medium
There is provided a substrate transfer method capable of preventing fine particles from adhering to a wafer. A substrate processing system 10 includes process modules 12 to 17 each having therein an inner space S1; a transfer module 11, having an inner space S2, connected to the process modules 12 to 17; and opening/closing gate valves 30 each partitioning the inner space S1 and the inner space S2. The transfer module 11 includes in the inner space S2 a transfer arm device 21 for holding a wafer W and for loading/unloading the wafer W into/from the process modules 12 to 17. The transfer arm device 21 holds the wafer W at a retreated position deviated from a facing position facing the gate valve 30 during an opening motion of the gate valve 30. |
| US09002493B2 |
Endpoint detector for a semiconductor processing station and associated methods
A semiconductor processing apparatus includes a semiconductor processing station for a semiconductor wafer, and an endpoint detector associated with the semiconductor processing station. The endpoint detector includes a non-contact probe configured to probe the semiconductor wafer, an optical transmitter configured to transmit an optical signal to the non-contact probe, and an optical receiver configured to receive a reflected optical signal from the non-contact probe. The controller controls the semiconductor processing station based on the reflected optical signal. |
| US09002491B2 |
Method and apparatus for generating a surface of an optical lens
A method of generating a target surface {tilde over (S)}( λ) of an optical lens for the manufacture of the optical lens according to optical lens parameters λ, the method comprising: providing a set of L first surface difference data E(λj) each first surface difference data E(λj) corresponding to the surface difference between a pre-calculated surface Sλjpc(αλj) (j=1, . . . , L) and an initial surface Sλjini (j=1, . . . , L), from which the target surface will be generated, according to the expression: E(λj)=Sλjpc(αλj)−Sλjini (j=1, . . . , L) where λj (j=1, . . . , L) correspond to the optical lens parameters of the pre-calculated optical lenses; providing a set of second surface difference data {tilde over (E)}( λ) corresponding to the surface difference between the target optical surface {tilde over (S)}( λ) and the initial surface S λini by linear interpolation of the first surface difference data E(λj) according to the expression: E ~ ( λ _ ) = ∑ j = 1 L w j λ _ E ( λ j ) , where wj λ represents an interpolation coefficient; and; determining the target surface {tilde over (S)}( λ) by combining the second surface difference data {tilde over (E)}( λ) and the initial surface S λini according to the expression: {tilde over (S)}( λ)={tilde over (E)}( λ)+S λini. |
| US09002490B2 |
Methods and systems for generating frictionless social experience environment
Methods for implementing shared experiences using mobile computing devices comprise capturing audio waves associated with a media using a built-in microphone of a mobile computing device, the mobile computing device including a processor, a memory, a display screen, a built-in battery to power the mobile computing device, and a built-in communication module to enable wireless communication. A signature is generated from the audio waves captured by the microphone. Based on the signature being recognized as a known signature, the signature and positioning information are transmitted to an audio server using the wireless communication. The positioning information identifies a specific moment in the media that a user of the mobile computing device is listening, the audio server and the mobile computing device connected to a network. Activity information is received from the audio server. The activity information is related to the media and associated with a third party server connected to the network. The user of the mobile computing device is enabled to use the activity information to interact with the third party server. |
| US09002489B2 |
Signal processing apparatus, signal processing method, and program
A signal processing apparatus includes an absolute value unit configured to convert an audio signal into absolute values, a representative value calculation unit configured to calculate representative values of consecutive sample values included in blocks of the audio signal which has been converted into the absolute values using at least maximum sample values among values of the samples included in the blocks for individual blocks, an average value calculation unit configured to determine a section which includes a predetermined number of consecutive blocks as a frame and calculate a maximum value of the representative values of the blocks included in the frame and an average value of the representative values of the blocks included in the frame, and a detector configured to detect click noise in the frame on the basis of a ratio of the maximum value to the average value. |
| US09002488B2 |
Clock synthesis systems, circuits and methods
A clock synthesis system may include a feed forward divider circuit configured to divide a source clock signal by one of a plurality of integers in response to a select signal to generate a reference clock that is synchronous to a synchronous pulse; a modulator that modulates the select signal in response to at least a difference value; a multiplier circuit that frequency multiplies the reference clock to generate an output clock; and a timing circuit that generates the difference value in response to the source clock and synchronous pulse. |
| US09002487B2 |
System and method for data reception and transmission in audible frequency band
Disclosed are a system and a method for transceiving data in an audio frequency band. The system includes a data input unit to input data for acoustic communication into an audio signal, a transmitting unit to transmit the audio signal including the data in the audio frequency band, and a receiving unit that receives the audio signal including the data and performs synchronization of the audio signal through a matched filtering using a matched filter in order to extract the data according to predetermined extraction processing. The data to be transmitted are added to an audio signal and the audio signal is transmitted in the audio frequency band, so that the data for the acoustic communication are effectively transmitted to the recipient in the audio frequency band. |
| US09002482B2 |
Cleaning robot
A cleaning robot (1) is provided with: a main body housing (2) that moves along a floor in a self-propelled manner with a suction port (6) and an exhaust port (7) open; a motor fan (22) positioned inside the main body housing (2); a dust collection part (30) driven by the motor fan (22) so as to collect airflow dust that has been suctioned from the suction port (6); an infrared remote controller (60) that specifies an arbitrarily-defined location in space for setting up the main body housing (2) by emitting infrared rays; and an infrared sensor (18) that detects the specified location specified by the infrared remote controller (60). The cleaning robot moves to the specified location detected by the infrared sensor (18) and then carries out a cleaning operation, or carries out a cleaning operation while moving to the specified location. |
| US09002481B2 |
Building controllers with local and global parameters
A building controller is configured to designate one or more stored parameters as local or global. Parameters that are designated as global may be selectively communicated to remote devices and, parameters that are designated as local, may remain local to the building controller. In some instances, the remote devices may be selectable by a user, include all the other devices on the network, and/or include devices that share a common wireless accessory (e.g. an outdoor temperature sensor). |
| US09002477B2 |
Methods and devices for performing electrical stimulation to treat various conditions
In certain variations, systems and/or methods for electromagnetic induction therapy are provided. One or more ergonomic or body contoured applicators may be included. The applicators include one or more conductive coils configured to generate an electromagnetic or magnetic field focused on a target nerve, muscle or other body tissues positioned in proximity to the coil. One or more sensors may be utilized to detect stimulation and to provide feedback about the efficacy of the applied electromagnetic induction therapy. A controller may be adjustable to vary a current through a coil to adjust the magnetic field focused upon the target nerve, muscle or other body tissues based on the feedback provide by a sensor or by a patient. In certain systems or methods, pulsed magnetic fields may be intermittently applied to a target nerve, muscle or tissue without causing habituation. |
| US09002476B2 |
Lead body with inner and outer co-axial coils
A biomedical conductor assembly adapted for at least partial insertion in a living body. The conductor assembly includes a plurality of the first electrical conductors each covered with an insulator and helically wound in a first direction to form an inner coil with a lumen. A plurality of second electrical conductors each including a plurality of un-insulated wires twisted in a ropelike configuration around a central axis to form a plurality of cables. Each cable is covered with an insulator and helically wound in a second opposite direction forming an outer coil in direct physical contact with the inner coil. The inner and outer coils are covered by an insulator. A method of making the conductor assembly and implanting a neurostimulation system is also disclosed. |
| US09002471B2 |
Independently actuatable switch for selection of an MRI compatible bandstop filter placed in series with a particular therapy electrode of an active implantable medical device
An MRI-compatible electronic medical therapy system includes an active medical device connected to a plurality of electrodes. An independently actuatable switch selectively electrically connects at least one circuit protection device in electrical series with the electrodes and the medical device. The circuit protection device is adapted to permit current flow therethrough during normal medical device related therapy, but substantially prevent current flow therethrough in the presence of an induced electromagnetic field. |
| US09002467B2 |
Modular antitachyarrhythmia therapy system
This document discusses, among other things, a modular antitachyarrhythmia therapy system. In an example, a modular antitachyarrhythmia system includes at least two separate modules that coordinate delivery an antitachyarrhythmia therapy, such as defibrillation therapy. In another example, a modular antitachyarrhythmia therapy system includes a sensing module, an analysis module, and a therapy module. |
| US09002462B2 |
Downloadable filters for a visual prosthesis
The present invention is an improved method of providing flexible image possessing in a visual prosthesis by providing downloadable video filters. In a visual prosthesis, the input video image is normally higher resolution than the output stimulation of the retina, optic nerve or visual cortex. It is advantageous to apply video processing algorithms (filters) to help provide the most useful information to the lower resolution electrode array. Different filters are more effective in different environments and for different subjects. Examples of situation dependent filters include reverse image, contrast increasing, edge detection, segmentation using chromatic information and motion detection. Filters loaded in the video processing unit may be selected dynamically to suit the situation or the user's preference. It is therefore advantageous to provide flexibility in applying filters. However, it is also important to maintain the security necessary for a medical device. |
| US09002458B2 |
Transdermal electrical stimulation devices for modifying or inducing cognitive state
Portable transdermal electrical stimulation (TES) applicators for modifying a subject's cognitive state. In general, the portable applicators described are specifically configured and adapted to be lightweight and may be wearable, and to deliver a high-intensity TES able to evoke or enhance a predetermined cognitive effect. These TES applicators may include a pair of electrodes and a TES control module comprising a processor, a timer and a waveform generator. TES control module is adapted to deliver a biphasic electrical stimulation signal of 10 seconds or longer between the first and second electrodes having a frequency of 400 Hz or greater, a duty cycle of greater than 10 percent, an intensity of 3 mA or greater, with a DC offset. |
| US09002453B2 |
Devices, systems and methods to perform arrhythmia discrimination based on R-R interval stability corresponding to a plurality of ventricular regions
Described herein are implantable systems and devices, and methods for use therewith, that can be used to perform arrhythmia discrimination. A plurality of different sensing vectors are used to obtain a plurality of different IEGMs, each of which is indicative of cardiac electrical activity at a different ventricular region. The plurality of different IEGMs can include, e.g., an IEGM indicative of cardiac electrical activity at a first region of the patient's left ventricular (LV) chamber and an IEGM indicative of cardiac electrical activity at a second region of the patient's LV chamber. Additionally, the plurality of different IEGMs can further include an IEGM indicative of cardiac electrical activity at a region of a patient's right ventricular (RV) chamber. For each of the IEGMs, there is a determination of a corresponding localized R-R interval stability metric indicative of the R-R interval stability at the corresponding ventricular region. This can include, e.g., determining, for each of the IEGMs, a plurality of R-R intervals corresponding to a plurality of consecutive cardiac cycles of the IEGM. For each IEGM, a measure of variation (e.g., standard deviation, range or variance, but not limited thereto) can then be determined for the plurality of R-R intervals to thereby determine the localized R-R interval stability metric for the IEGM. Arrhythmia discrimination is then performed using the plurality of determined localized R-R interval stability metrics. |
| US09002452B2 |
Electrical therapy for diastolic dysfunction
Pacing pulses are delivered to one or more cardiac regions to improve diastolic performance in patients having diastolic dysfunction and/or heart failure. A cardiac pacing system executes a pacing algorithm using a parameter indicative of the diastolic performance as an input. The pacing pulses excite the one or more cardiac regions to redistribute the loading on the ventricular wall during diastole, thereby improving the diastolic performance by lowering the degree of cardiac wall motion dyssynchrony associated with diastolic dysfunction. |
| US09002451B2 |
Implantable electrode array assembly with extraction sleeve/tether
An implantable electrode array including a carrier on which plural electrodes are disposed. Also disposed on the carrier is an array antenna over which signals are wirelessly received. A tether is connected to the carrier. A tether antenna is attached to the tether. After the electrode array is implanted, during a trial period instructions and power are transmitted to the array antenna over the tether antenna. If the trial is successful, the tether is disconnected from the electrode array. If the trial is not successful and extraction of the array is necessary, extraction is accomplished by pulling on the tether. Electrode array removal may be facilitated by the pulling of the array into an extraction tube disposed over the tether. |
| US09002450B2 |
Systems and methods for assessing the sphericity and dimensional extent of heart chambers for use with an implantable medical device
Techniques are provided for use with an implantable medical device for assessing left ventricular (LV) sphericity and atrial dimensional extent based on impedance measurements for the purposes of detecting and tracking heart failure and related conditions such as volume overload or mitral regurgitation. In some examples described herein, various short-axis and long-axis impedance vectors are exploited that pass through portions of the LV for the purposes of assessing LV sphericity. In other examples, impedance measurements taken along a vector between a right atrial (RA) ring electrode and an LV electrode implanted near the atrioventricular (AV) groove are exploited to assess LA extent, biatrial extent or mitral annular diameter. The assessment techniques can be employed alone or in conjunction with other heart failure detection techniques, such as those based on left atrial pressure (LAP.) |
| US09002449B2 |
Implantable cardiac devices and methods
Embodiments relate to an implantable cardiac system, including a housing, electronic circuitry for controlling one or more of power management, processing unit, information memory and management circuit, sensing and simulation output. The system also includes diagnosis and treatment software for diagnosing health issues, diagnosing mechanical issues, determining therapy output and manage patient health indicators over time, a power supply system including at least one rechargeable battery, a recharging system, an alarm (or alert) system to inform patient of energy level and integrity of system, communication circuitry, one or more electrodes for delivering therapeutic signal to a heart and one or more electrodes for from delivering electrocardiogram signal from the heart to the electronic circuitry. The power sources can include rechargeable batteries. The housing can include receptacles that receive a probe that mechanically and electrically connects to circuitry to recharge the device and receive data from the device. |
| US09002446B2 |
Acquiring nerve activity from carotid body and/or sinus
An exemplary embodiment includes acquiring an electroneurogram of the right carotid sinus nerve or the left carotid sinus nerve, analyzing the electroneurogram for at least one of chemosensory information and barosensory information and calling for one or more therapeutic actions based at least in part on the analyzing. Therapeutic actions may aim to treat conditions such as sleep apnea, an increase in metabolic demand, hypoglycemia, hypertension, renal failure, and congestive heart failure. Other exemplary methods, devices, systems, etc., are also disclosed. |
| US09002445B2 |
Charger with orthogonal PCB for implantable medical device
An external charger for an implantable medical device, comprises a housing, an alternating current (AC) coil and substrate contained within the housing, and one or more electronic components mounted to the substrate. The AC coil is configured for wirelessly transmitting magnetic charging energy to the implantable medical device. The AC coil is disposed in a first plane, with the magnetic charging energy having a field directed perpendicular to the first plane. At least a portion of the substrate has a surface extending along a second plane that is substantially perpendicular to the first plane. |
| US09002444B2 |
Apparatus to measure skin moisture content and method of operating the same
A method of measuring skin moisture content, the method including: measuring a differential rate of a skin impedance of a predetermined skin area of a user for a predetermined period of time; and determining that the skin area is a moist area when the differential rate of skin impedance is greater than or equal to a predetermined value for a predetermined period of time, and determining that the skin area is a dry area when the differential rate of skin impedance is less than the predetermined value for the predetermined period of time. |
| US09002442B2 |
Beat alignment and selection for cardiac mapping
A method including: measuring signals at one or more catheter electrodes in response to electrical activity in a heart cavity and collecting additional data signals; defining a template set including information related to the additional data signals; computing criteria for each of the additional data signals based on a comparison of the additional data signals and the template set; synchronizing the measured signals with one another by calculating a single synchronization offset that is a time value based on the computed criteria and the difference between a marker in the template set and a point in the additional data signals; selecting a subset of the synchronized signals by determining whether to include the signals for a heartbeat in the subset based on the computed criteria; and determining physiological information at multiple locations of the endocardium surface based on the measured signals by processing the selected subset. |
| US09002441B2 |
Electronic fetal monitoring applications and display
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for managing healthcare environments are provided. In embodiments, a first waveform tracing for data received from one or more medical devices for a first individual is displayed. A second waveform tracing for data received from one or more medical devices for a second individual is displayed. In response to the determination to hide the first waveform tracing, only displaying the second waveform tracing. |
| US09002438B2 |
System for the detection of gamma radiation from a radioactive analyte
A system for the measurement of radiation emitted from an in-vivo administered radioactive analyte. The system employs a sensor having a scintillation material to convert gamma radiation to visible light, which enables embodiments of the sensor to be ex vivo. A light detector converts the visible light to an electrical signal. This signal is amplified and is processed to measure the captured radiation. Temperature of the sensor may be recorded along with this radiation measurement for temperature compensation of ex vivo embodiments. The sensor enables collection of sufficient data to support separate application to predictive models, background comparisons, or change analysis. |
| US09002437B2 |
Method and system for position orientation correction in navigation
A method performed in a medical navigation system includes driving a transmitter at a first frequency and a second frequency to generate first and second electromagnetic fields, wherein the first and second frequencies are sufficiently low such that the first and second electromagnetic fields are frequency independent; receiving first and second distorted fields corresponding to the first and second electromagnetic fields, respectively, with each of at least two electromagnetic (EM) sensors attached to a surgical device; generating first and second signals in response to receiving the first and second distorted fields, respectively, using each of the at least two EM sensors; and determining a distortion in the first and second signals based at least on a distance between the at least two EM sensors and a difference between the first and second signals generated by each of the at least two EM sensors. |
| US09002434B2 |
Medical device position detecting system, medical device guiding system, and position detecting method for medical device
Position detection of a medical device is prevented from being impossible even when the frequency characteristic of a magnetic induction coil is varied in accordance with the state of an external magnetic field for guiding the medical device. A medical device position detecting system is a medical device position detecting system which is inserted into the body of a subject and guided by an external magnetic field, and it is equipped with a resonance circuit that is mounted in the medical device, contains a magnetic induction coil having a magnetic material inside and generates an alternate magnetic field, an alternate magnetic field detecting device that is disposed at the outside of an operation region of the medical device and detects the alternate magnetic field generated by the magnetic induction coil, a position information calculator for calculating position information of the medical device on the basis of the detected alternate magnetic field, and a frequency setting unit for setting at least one of the frequency of the alternate magnetic field detected by the alternate magnetic field detecting device and the frequency of the alternate magnetic field generated by the magnetic induction coil on the basis of at least one of the intensity and direction of an external magnetic field at the position of the magnetic induction coil. |
| US09002430B2 |
System and method for combined time-resolved magnetic resonance angiography and perfusion imaging
A method for performing magnetic resonance angiography and perfusion imaging using the same pulse sequence is provided. Time-resolved image data is acquired as a contrast agent passes through a subject. This image data is acquired by sampling Cartesian points in k-space that are contained within either a central region of k-space, or one of a plurality of different sets of radial sectors extending outwards from the central region. The image data is combined to form individual image frame data sets that are then reconstructed to produce a time series of image frames. From this time series, MR angiograms and perfusion maps are produced. With the added acquisition of calibration data, T1 relaxation parameters are estimated and quantitative perfusion maps produced. |
| US09002429B2 |
Digital drug delivery
For delivery of a chemical to a target region of a subject's brain, an apparatus comprising a storage medium on which is stored digital representations of subject-specific selective visual stimuli that, when viewed, selectively stimulate blood flow to the target area of the brain; and an electronic display device coupled thereto and configured for converting the stored digital representations to images viewable by the subject; wherein the one or more selective visual stimuli were determined by exposing the subject to a plurality of potential stimuli; measuring the blood flow response to multiple regions of the brain, including the target area and one or more non-target areas; comparing the blood flow responses to the potential stimuli, and selecting as selective stimuli potential stimuli that result in relatively more blood flow to the target area and relatively less blood flow one or more non-target areas. |
| US09002427B2 |
Apparatus and method for continuous noninvasive measurement of respiratory function and events
An apparatus and method for non-invasive and continuous measurement of respiratory chamber volume and associated parameters including respiratory rate, respiratory rhythm, tidal volume, dielectric variability and respiratory congestion. In particular, a non-invasive apparatus and method for determining dynamic and structural physiologic data from a living subject including a change in the spatial configuration of a respiratory chamber, a lung or a lobe of a lung to determine overall respiratory health comprising an ultra wide-band radar system having at least one transmitting and receiving antenna for applying ultra wide-band radio signals to a target area of the subject's anatomy wherein the receiving antenna collects and transmits signal returns from the target area. |
| US09002425B2 |
Physiological sensor with offset adhesive layer
An exemplary sensor includes a sensor pad defining a perimeter, a light source, a light detector, and an adhesive layer. The light source is configured to generate near-infrared light and transmit the near-infrared light through part of a patient's body. The light detector is configured to receive the near-infrared light generated by the light source after it has traveled through part of the patient's body. The light received by the light detector indicates an amount of oxygen in the part of the patient's body through which the near-infrared light traveled. The adhesive layer is offset relative to the sensor pad to, for example, allow a clinician to easily remove the sensor from the patient. |
| US09002424B2 |
Superconducting film-forming substrate, superconducting wire, and superconducting wire manufacturing method
A tape-shaped superconducting film-forming substrate is disclosed, which includes a film-forming face for forming a laminate including a superconducting layer thereon, a rear face that is a face at a side opposite to the film-forming face, a pair of end faces connected to the film-forming face and the rear face, and a pair of side faces connected to the film-forming face, the rear face, and the pair of end faces, in which each of the pair of side faces includes a spreading face that spreads toward an outer side in an in-plane direction of the film-forming face from an edge part of the film-forming face toward the rear face side. A superconducting wire and a superconducting wire manufacturing method are also disclosed. |
| US09002422B2 |
Engagement features and adjustment structures for electronic devices with integral antennas
Electronic devices may be provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include antenna structures that are formed from an internal ground plane and a peripheral conductive housing member. The internal ground plane and peripheral conductive housing member may be separated by a gap. The internal ground plane may be formed from sheet metal structures having engagement features such as tabs bent upwards at an angle. Plastic structures may be insert molded over the engagement features. When the internal ground plane is mounted in the electronic device, the plastic structures may bridge the gap between the internal ground plane and the peripheral conductive housing member. An adjustable structure such as a washer with a selectable thickness may be mounted to the peripheral conductive housing member opposing conductive structures across the gap. The thickness ma be adjusted to adjust antenna performance. |
| US09002421B2 |
Antenna assembly for portable device
An antenna assembly for a portable device is provided. The antenna assembly includes a battery cover including a metal material, a short-range wireless communication module electrically connected to the battery cover, and a main antenna electrically connected to the short-range communication module. |
| US09002420B2 |
Watch having an interface to a mobile communications device
A watch worn by a user for interfacing with a mobile communication device. The watch includes an electronic display worn by user. The electronic display includes an interface for wirelessly interfacing with a mobile communication device carried by the user. The user interfaces with the electronic display to perform operations upon the mobile communication device. The watch also includes a mechanism to wirelessly establishing a voice channel with the mobile communication device for performing operations upon the mobile communication device. Additionally, the watch includes a mechanism for projecting directional sound to the user. |
| US09002419B2 |
Portable electronic apparatus
A portable electronic apparatus includes a housing having a first face and first and second side faces rising from the first face, a display unit having a first side and a second side, a touch panel disposed so as to be stacked on the display unit and being capable of detecting a distance to an indicator using an electric field, first and second conductive members respectively disposed at end parts of the display unit along the first side and the second side, and third and fourth conductive members disposed along a bottom face of the display unit and electrically connected to the first and second conductive members respectively. The display unit and the third and fourth conductive members are accommodated in a concave part configured by the first side face, the first face and the second side face. |
| US09002418B2 |
Devices, systems and methods for identification through a mobile device
Devices, systems and methods are disclosed which relate to a smart cover for a mobile communications device. The smart cover includes a housing plate, a secure element coupled to the housing plate, a transceiver in communication with the secure element, and an antenna coupled to the transceiver. The transceiver and the antenna are coupled to the housing plate as well. The housing plate couples to the mobile communications device. A user having a mobile communications device with a smart cover may enter secure areas, pay funds from an account, or anything else requiring positive identification by holding the mobile communications device up to a smart cover reader. The smart cover reader communicates with the smart cover to identify the user. The user may allow others to use the smart cover by decoupling the smart cover from the user's mobile communications device and coupling it to the other's mobile communications device. |
| US09002417B2 |
Electronic device
An electronic device that can suppress galvanic corrosion from occurring on a metal constituent member and a metal screw member is provided. The electronic device according to the present invention includes a first constituent member in which a first screw hole is provided, a second constituent member through which a second screw hole is provided at a position facing the first screw hole, and a screw member that penetrates through the second screw hole to the first screw hole. A first seal member that surrounds edges of the first screw hole and the second screw hole is arranged on the first constituent member and the second constituent member, a second seal member that covers the screw member and an edge thereof is arranged on the second constituent member, and a third constituent member that covers the second seal member is fitted on the second constituent member. |
| US09002414B2 |
Power management of a radio data transceiver
Methods and apparatuses for operating a wireless mobile station configured to communicate with a wireless access point are described. A first awake timer may be started in response to receiving a beacon signal from the wireless access point. The beacon signal may indicate that data is available or pending for the wireless mobile station. A second awake timer may be started in response to data received from the wireless access point. When the second awake timer expires, the wireless mobile station may return to the sleep state. In one embodiment, the first awake timer counts for a first period of time and the second awake timer counts for a second period of time which is shorter than the first period of time. The RF radio may be in a higher power state when the first and/or the second awake timers are counting. In one embodiment, the wireless mobile station and the wireless access points may be synchronized using target beacon transmission times of the beacon signal. |
| US09002413B2 |
Battery cell phone combination
A battery cell phone combination for use in a cell phone or other electronic device having a case or housing is provided. The battery cell phone combination has a primary battery and a secondary battery each being shaped so as to be able to be received in the case. When the primary battery is drained the user can enable the secondary battery in a rapid manner and for a fee or for free. The primary and secondary batteries are isolated from each other such that there is no current seepage between the two. The cell phone is continuously powered when switching from the primary battery to the secondary battery such that calls are not dropped during the switching process. |
| US09002411B2 |
Method and system for providing electronic media on wearable displays
An approach for providing electronic media on clothing is described. A media to be presented on a wearable device that includes one or more displays is determined. A determination is made as to whether the wearable device is registered with a media delivery service offered by a service provider. The transfer of the media is initiated over a wireless network to a mobile device if the wearable device is registered with the media delivery service, wherein the media is presented on the one or more displays of the wearable device. |
| US09002410B2 |
Method and apparatus for creating, using, and disseminating customized audio/video clips
A system for creating, using, and disseminating audio/video clips on a mobile device and in other contexts is disclosed. |
| US09002409B2 |
Method of processing radio frequency signal in mobile terminal, and mobile communication system and mobile terminal using the same
A mobile terminal adapted to process a received call signal or message signal by mapping a response mode corresponding to present user status information and a method thereof are provided. The method includes confirming user status information in the mobile terminal according to the received radio frequency signal, mapping a response mode corresponding to the confirmed user status information, and processing the radio frequency signal according to the mapped response mode. |
| US09002408B2 |
Mobile terminal device and display method of mobile terminal device
A mobile terminal device includes a display section having a display surface for displaying a screen including information, an accepting section which accepts a moving operation for moving the screen, and a display control section which controls the display section based on the moving operation. When the moving operation for moving an end of the screen inside the end of the display surface is performed, the display control section controls the display section so that the screen is deformed to a moving direction of the screen in a direction of movement of the screen by the moving operation. |
| US09002399B2 |
Mobile phone docking station multi-network telephony hub
A docking station includes a first docking port configured to physically dock with a first mobile device, wherein the first docking port includes a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. The docking station includes a subscriber line interface connected to one or more Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) phones. The docking station further includes a switch configured to: receive a first call via the first mobile device docked in the docking station, and route the first call to the subscriber line interface, wherein the subscriber line interface rings the one or more Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) with a first ringtone specific to the first mobile device. The first mobile device comprises a portable digital computing device that includes the capability to communicate via a mobile carrier network or via other network connections. |
| US09002398B2 |
Method and arrangement in a wireless network for determining an uplink received power target value
A method in a wireless network containing a first node and an adjacent second node for determining an uplink received power target value of the second node to be used by a user equipment which is to be served by the second node includes establishing the uplink received power target value of the first node. The method also includes obtaining the downlink power capacity of the first node and obtaining the downlink power capacity of the second node. Additionally, the method includes calculating the difference in downlink power capacity between the first node and the second node and determining the uplink received power target value of the second node based on the calculated difference in downlink power capacity between the nodes and the established uplink received power target value of the first node. |
| US09002397B2 |
Method and apparatus for device transmit power capping in wireless communications
Methods and apparatuses are provided for determining a transmission power cap for one or more devices based at least in part on pathloss measurements to one or more access points received from the one or more devices. A common transmission power cap can also be computed for assigning to devices communicating with an access point, and the transmission power cap for a given device can be adjusted when the transmission power is at or a threshold level from the common power cap to conserve signaling in the wireless network. Adjustment of the transmission power cap can additionally or alternatively be based on a received power at an access point related to signals from the device, an interference report from one or more access points, and/or the like. |
| US09002392B2 |
Method for performing carrier management procedure in a multi-carrier supported wideband wireless communication system and apparatus for the same
A method and apparatus for performing a carrier management in a broadband wireless communication system supporting multi-carriers are discussed. According to an embodiment, a method for a mobile station to perform a carrier management procedure with a base station supporting multiple carriers, includes receiving, by the mobile station from the base station, an instruction for a primary carrier change; transmitting, by the mobile station to the base station, an acknowledgement message indicating that the instruction is successfully received; and changing, at a specific time, a current primary carrier to one of the multiple carriers within the base station, wherein the specific time is determined based on the instruction. |
| US09002390B2 |
Systems and methods for processing and transmitting sensor data
Systems and methods for continuous measurement of an analyte in a host are provided. The system generally includes a continuous analyte sensor configured to continuously measure a concentration of analyte in a host and a sensor electronics module physically connected to the continuous analyte sensor during sensor use, wherein the sensor electronics module is further configured to directly wirelessly communicate sensor information to one or more display devices. Establishment of communication between devices can involve using a unique identifier associated with the sensor electronics module to authenticate communication. Times tracked at the sensor electronics module and the display module can be at different resolutions, and the different resolutions can be translated to facilitate communication. In addition, the frequency of establishing communication channels between the sensor electronics module and the display devices can vary depending upon whether reference calibration information is being updated. |
| US09002389B2 |
Method, apparatus, and terminal for determining transmission mode
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, an apparatus, and a terminal for determining a transmission mode, which relate to the field of communications technologies and are invented to enable a selection of a transmission mode with lower power consumption for a terminal to reduce the power consumption of the terminal. The method includes: selecting a transmission mode for a terminal according to a network resource condition; judging whether the selected transmission mode matches according to capability information reported by the terminal and if the selected transmission mode matches, setting the transmission mode as a current transmission mode of the terminal. The embodiments of the present invention are mainly applicable to a Long Term Evolution Advance (LTE-A) system. |
| US09002387B2 |
Method and arrangement in a telecommunication network with intercell interference coordination
Methods and arrangements in a telecommunication network for intercell interference coordination. The telecommunication network comprises a first base station, acting as serving base station for a mobile station, and a second base station. The method comprises determining that transmission interference to the mobile station is to be limited. The method also comprises triggering the mobile station to send a signal on a radio resource, which signal is to be received by the second base station, enabling the second base station to select a transmission parameter that limits interference for the mobile station. |
| US09002382B2 |
Method and apparatus for identifying neighboring device
A method and apparatus for identifying a neighboring device are provided. The method of identifying a neighboring device, which is performed in a user terminal, includes: obtaining identification information and location information of a plurality of neighboring devices that can wirelessly communicate with the user terminal; extracting the identification information of one of the neighboring devices, the neighboring device being in the actual location range within the field of vision of the user terminal; and using the extracted identification information to request that the neighboring device perform wireless communication with the user terminal. According to the method and apparatus, identification information of a neighboring device with which a user terminal desires to perform wireless communication can be obtained using a viewfinder or liquid crystal display of the user terminal. |
| US09002379B1 |
Groups surrounding a present geo-spatial location of a mobile device
A method, apparatus, and system of interaction between groups surrounding a present geo-spatial location of a mobile device are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of a geo-spatial groups server includes verifying a particular user based on a verification code of the particular user placed through a mobile device communicatively coupled to the geo-spatial groups server. The method creates a group tied to geo-spatial vicinity surrounding a current geo-spatial location of the mobile device. The method associates a name identifier to the group and also permits a different user in the geo-spatial vicinity surrounding the current geo-spatial location of the mobile device to access the group. Further, the method automatically denies a requester user access to the group when the requestor user is outside an outer boundary of the geo-spatial vicinity surrounding the current geo-spatial location of the mobile device. |
| US09002376B2 |
Systems and methods for gathering information about discrete wireless terminals
The present invention is broadly directed to systems and methods for gathering information about wireless transceiver devices in a defined boundary region. To this end, the disclosure is more particularly directed to gathering movement information (e.g., via detection and location) about two-way end-user wireless terminals within three-dimensional boundaries of defined local space (“DLS”) to allow for selective control of the terminals and other subsystems, as desired. Additionally, the data collected can be used to improve accuracy and precision regarding the prediction of behavior characteristics and tendencies of populations based on a sampling of observed terminals. |
| US09002373B2 |
Monitoring a location fingerprint database
Methods, program products, and systems for monitoring a location fingerprint database are described. A location fingerprint database can store location data associated with multiple signal sources. A mobile device can use signals of the signal sources and the location data to determine a current location. A location server can monitor the location fingerprint database, including detecting if any one of the signal sources has moved or otherwise becomes unsuitable for location determination. The location server can prevent location data associated with the unsuitable signal source from being used by the mobile device to determine the current location of the mobile device |
| US09002368B2 |
Locating method
The invention relates to a method for locating a first mobile terminal within a radio network. Said method comprises the following steps: a first locating process is carried out to determine an initial position of the first terminal; the first locating process is deactivated; a second locating process is carried out to at least approximately determine the current position of the first terminal relative to the initial position; and the first locating process is activated and carried out again to determine a new initial position of the first terminal when the current position reaches a minimum distance from the initial position. The invention also relates to a method for determining cliques of mobile terminals in a radio network encompassing a plurality of mobile terminals. Said method comprises the following steps: one or more independent numbers of terminals is determined, each couple of terminals of each of the independent numbers being located at a distance from each other that is greater than a predetermined threshold value; and at least one clique of terminals is determined, the couples of which are located at a shorter distance from each other than a predetermined threshold value, each independent number containing a maximum of one terminal of the clique. |
| US09002366B2 |
Wireless communication apparatus
A wireless communication apparatus compatible with a plurality of communication schemes includes a first communicator that performs a communication in a first communication scheme, a second communicator that performs a communication in a second communication scheme, a signal generator that generates a signal for commanding startup of a communicator of the wireless communication terminal which performs a communication in the second communication scheme when the reception quality in the first communication scheme is equal to or higher than a threshold value, provided that the first communicator is in a state of communicable with the wireless communication terminal and that the communicator of the wireless communication terminal is not started, and a threshold value setting section that sets the threshold value based on information indicating the reception qualities in the first and second communication schemes. |
| US09002351B2 |
Method for switching communication links to a mobile terminal device which is associated with a local radio area of a network
A mobile terminal device determines whether it is located in the local radio area of the network or in another radio area and the determined radio area is indicated to an application of the network. The application is used to control a communication request addressed to the mobile terminal device. Communication requests coming in on the network can be directly switched to the local radio area using the application or can be directly forwarded to the mobile radio address in the mobile radio network of which the mobile terminal device is located, thereby avoiding or substantially reducing roaming or forwarding of communication requests from the local radio area to another radio area and thereby achieving an economical operation of mobile telephone terminal devices with local radio area. |
| US09002343B2 |
Disabling a mobile phone suspected of being a trigger for a bomb
Methods, systems, and computer program products for disabling a mobile phone suspected of being a trigger for a bomb are provided. Embodiments include tracking, by one or more data communications servers of the data communications network, location, motion, and usage of a mobile phone; determining, by the one or more data communications servers, whether the location, the motion, and the usage of the mobile phone matches a suspect pattern of location, motion, and usage; and disabling, by the one or more data communications servers, the mobile phone only from receiving messages if the location, the motion, and the usage of the mobile phone matches a suspect pattern of location, motion, and usage. |
| US09002340B2 |
Method and apparatus for backup communication services
A method and apparatus is disclosed for backup communication services. An apparatus that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a wireless interface having a detection module to detect an interruption in a portion of communication services supplied to a plurality of residences by a central office over communication lines coupled to a cross-connect operating in a service area interface (SAI), and a controller module to direct a wireless transceiver to establish communications with a wireless station in response to the interruption, and to direct the cross-connect to provide communication services to a portion of the plurality of residences affected by the interruption by way of the wireless transceiver. Additional embodiments are disclosed. |
| US09002334B2 |
Systems and methods for delivering multimedia information to mobile devices
Systems and methods for distributing data associated with a caller to a mobile device, in which the caller data may be presented by the mobile device upon receiving a first incoming call from the caller, are provided. In some embodiments, an image associated with the caller may be obtained by the mobile device such that the image may be displayed along with other call screening data during a first incoming call from the caller. In some embodiments, termination of the incoming call is held by a service control point while the data is transmitted to the mobile device over a data channel. Once termination of the incoming call is released by the service control point, the mobile device receives the incoming call and may present the data as call screening information. In some embodiments, the data channel may include a warm socket. |
| US09002333B1 |
Mobile device reputation system
A reputation system aids in the prevention of unwanted spam or malicious communications from being sent to a mobile device, such as a cell phone. A collaborative process is used to determine ratings for a collection of source identifications of the communications. The source identifications are caller identifications (IDs) of a corresponding voice or SMS communication. A collection of opinions is maintained regarding the caller IDs. The reputation system then uses a method of making automatic predictions about the caller IDs by collecting caller ID information from many users to populate the database of maintained opinions. As such, caller IDs of users who have sent spam or malicious messages can be blocked by using collaborative information from many users, as opposed to relying on individual users to block unwanted communications. |
| US09002332B2 |
Method and apparatus for performing call switching
A call switching method and a mobile device are provided that rapidly and conveniently switch calls. The method includes establishing, by the mobile device, a first call with a first device; receiving, by the mobile device, a request for a second call from a second device, during the first call; informing a user of the mobile device of the call request; determining, by the mobile device, whether the user moves the mobile device from a first ear to a second ear; and accepting, by the mobile device, the second call with the second device, when the mobile device is moved from the first ear to the second ear. |
| US09002330B2 |
System and mobile phone for determining using state of other mobile phones
An exemplary mobile phone is for determining a using state of each of other mobile phones communicatively connected with the mobile phone. The mobile phone includes a first communicating unit, a power switch, a using state determining unit, a second communicating unit, and a control unit. The using state determining unit determines the using state of the mobile phone by monitoring the first communicating unit and the power switch. The control unit controls the second communicating unit to transmit a contact ID and the using state of the mobile phone to a mobile switching center (MSC) via a base station (BS). Each one of the other mobile phones obtains the using state of the mobile phone from the MSC by transmitting the contact ID of the mobile phone via the BS, and updates the using state of the contact ID in the address list with the obtained using state. |
| US09002328B2 |
Electronic calendar for automatically scheduling a plurality of events based on a scheduling request and obtained additional information
An electronic calendar is provided to a user that receives a request to schedule an event from the user. Additional information related to the user and/or the event is obtained by prompting the user for the additional information and/or obtaining the additional information from a database communicatively coupled to the electronic calendar. A plurality of events are scheduled based on the request to schedule an event and the obtained additional information. |
| US09002324B2 |
Mobile communication method and mobile management node
In an attach process executed as a relay node RN, the wasteful use of a resource is avoided. A mobile communication method according to the present invention includes a step of transmitting, by a radio base station DeNB, “(S1) Initial UE message” indicating the attach process executed as the relay node RN to a mobile management node MME in response to “Attach Request (RN)” received from the relay node RN having a secure channel established between the relay node RN and USIM-RN, a step of starting, by the mobile management node MME, “EPS-AKA” between the relay node RN and the USIM-RN in response to the “(S1) Initial UE message”, and a step of failing in the “EPS-AKA” when it is determined that the USIM-RN cannot be used for the attach process executed as the relay node RN. |
| US09002321B2 |
Methods, apparatuses, system, related computer program product and data structures for informing of roaming restrictions
It is disclosed a method (and related apparatus) comprising transmitting, after a network entry authentication procedure, between an access network gateway entity and one of a terminal and a serving entity, generated terminal mobility restriction information in the form of at least one text information element comprised in an authentication notification message, and receiving the terminal mobility restriction information; and a method (and related apparatus) comprising transmitting, via network entity management procedures, terminal mobility restriction information in the form of at least one additional leaf node being added to a network entity management object, and receiving the terminal mobility restriction information. |
| US09002320B2 |
Advanced predictive intelligence for termination bypass detection and prevention
Provided are methods and systems for detecting and preventing bypass fraud in telecommunication networks, primarily for detecting and preventing SIM box fraud in telecommunication networks. The methods include generating one or more test calls from a remote agent to a local agent where the remote agent can be a roaming agent or a remote dialer. The local agent is a subscriber number. The methods further include facilitating call forwarding of the test calls from the local agent to a local number. The methods include identifying the presence of bypass fraud by analyzing caller identification information of the test call received on the local number. Finally, the methods include preventing future use of a detected SIM box. |
| US09002314B2 |
Method that enables the user of a wireless telephone terminal to establish an emergency connection in a local network, and terminal and server for carrying out this method
When establishing an emergency connection in a wireless network having an authentication server, wherein a user terminal is a non-subscriber to the network, a dialed number is recognized as an emergency number and the terminal sends a start-up message to a radio access point of the network. The terminal receives a first message that requests the identity of the terminal, from the access point in response to the start-up message, and sends a second message, which contains the identity of the terminal and an indication indicating that the terminal is attempting to make an emergency call. An authentication server determines that the second message contains an indication that the call is an emergency call, and sends an acceptance message to the terminal via the access point wherein a port of the access point is validated to permit the terminal to establish an emergency connection. |
| US09002311B2 |
Frequency domain interference cancellation and equalization for downlink cellular systems
Methods and apparatus are described for interference cancellation of interference components of a time domain signal in the frequency domain. A communications device receives a time domain sequence and generates overlapping time domain segments from the time domain sequence. The overlapping time domain segments are then converted to the frequency domain to generate frequency domain representations of the overlapping time domain segments. The frequency domain representations are stored in a residual memory, and interference components are directly removed from the frequency domain representations stored in the residual memory in the frequency domain. |
| US09002309B2 |
Tunable multi-band receiver
A tunable multi-band receiver supporting operation on a plurality of frequency bands is disclosed. In an exemplary design, the tunable multi-band receiver includes an antenna tuning network, a tunable notch filter, and at least one low noise amplifier (LNA). The antenna tuning network tunes an antenna (e.g., a diversity antenna) to a receive band in a plurality of receive bands. The tunable notch filter is tunable to a transmit band in a plurality of transmit bands and attenuates signal components in the transmit band. One LNA among the at least one LNA amplifies an output signal from the tunable notch filter. The tunable multi-band receiver may further include one or more additional tunable notch filters to further attenuate the signal components in the transmit band. |
| US09002308B1 |
Receiver automatic gain control (AGC) and slicer
A system is disclosed that may include an Automatic Gain Control (AGC) module configured to automatically adjust the gain of a receiver, which is configured to receive a signal. The signal includes a number of commands, which have a characteristic command length and a characteristic command interval. The command length may have a substantially shorter duration than the command interval. The system may also include a slicer configured to interface to a command processor. The system includes a command processor communicatively coupled with the AGC module and/or the slicer for providing a notification to the AGC module and/or the slicer associated with the ends of the commands. The AGC module is configured to adjust the gain of the receiver and the slicer threshold voltage is updated when the notification is received from the command processor. |
| US09002303B2 |
Method and apparatus for programmable envelope shaping circuit based on piecewise linear interpolation
An analog envelope shaper within an envelope tracking power amplifier system detects an envelope voltage of a transmission signal and generates a shaped envelope amplifier control signal based upon a programmable threshold, below which the output does not fall, and a plurality of different voltages centered around a corresponding threshold input voltage, a selectable spacing of which controls the shape of the transition between negative clipping and linear regions of the envelope detector output function. The programmable features and the resulting piecewise linear shaping allow for tailoring of the envelope response to balance linearity and efficiency, without negating the efficiency benefits of envelope tracking power amplification. Since the analog envelope shaper employs no high speed data converter functions, the resulting power dissipation will be substantially less than digital designs. |
| US09002298B2 |
Capacitive data transfer through a user's body
A wireless communications device includes a Personal Area Network (PAN) transceiver that communicates data with a corresponding PAN transceiver disposed in a hands-free visor. The device also includes a short-range transceiver that communicates with a corresponding short-range transceiver in the hands-free visor. Both the wireless communications device and the hands-free device are configured to select which of these transceivers it is to use to transmit data based on predefined criteria. |
| US09002295B2 |
SAW-less receiver including an if frequency translated BPF
A SAW-less receiver includes an FEM interface module, an RF to IF receiver section, and a receiver IF to baseband section. The RF to IF receiver section includes a mixing module, a mixed buffer section, and a frequency translated BPF (FTBPF) circuit module. The mixing module converts an inbound RF signal into an in-phase (I) mixed signal and a quadrature (Q) mixed signal. The mixed buffer section filters and buffers the I mixed signal and filter and buffer the Q mixed signal. The FTBPF circuit module frequency translates a baseband filter response to an IF filter response such that the FTBPF circuit module filters undesired signal components of the IF I signal and the IF Q signal to produce an inbound IF signal. The receiver IF to baseband section converts the inbound IF signal into one or more inbound symbol streams. |
| US09002291B2 |
Standing wave detection method, standing wave detection apparatus and base station
A standing wave detection method, a standing wave detection apparatus, and a base station are disclosed. The method includes collecting, a feedback signal from a feedback path of a base station which uses a baseband multi-tone signal as a transmission signal; performing calibration on the feedback signal by using stored calibration data to obtain a reflected signal in the feedback signal; and obtaining a standing wave detection value according to the transmission signal and the reflected signal that is in the feedback signal. |
| US09002287B2 |
System for testing multi-antenna devices
A test system for testing multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) systems is provided. The test system may convey signals bidirectionally between two test chambers. Each test chamber may be lined with foam to minimize electromagnetic reflections. Each test chamber may include structure three-dimensional array of test antennas. The test antennas may be mounted in a sphere using an antenna mounting structure. The antenna mounting structure may include multiple rings of different sizes. Test antennas may be embedded in the inner walls of the antenna mounting structure. There may be multiple receiving antennas located in each test chamber. One test chamber may include a device under test inside an array of test antennas and another test chamber may include base station antennas inside another array of test antennas. Signals may be conveyed between the test chambers using channel emulators. |
| US09002284B2 |
Wireless communication apparatus, wireless communication method, computer program, and wireless communication system
A wireless communication apparatus includes: a first wireless communication section performing wireless communication on the basis of a first communication mode; a second wireless communication section performing wireless communication on the basis of a second communication mode using a different frequency band from the first communication mode; a beam learning signal generation section generating a beam learning signal for specifying a beam pattern at the time of the communication based on the second communication mode and transmitting the beam learning signal from the second wireless communication section; a response information acquisition section acquiring response information responding to the transmitted beam learning signal; and a preliminary information generation section generating preliminary information so as not to cause interference among a plurality of wireless communications using the second communication mode on the basis of the response information and transmitting the preliminary information from the first wireless communication section. |
| US09002283B2 |
Antenna switching system with adaptive switching criteria
Electronic devices may be provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry coupled to multiple antennas. Signal strength measurements may be gathered using the antennas and corresponding signal strength difference measurements may be produced to reflect which of the antennas is exhibiting superior performing. The signal strength difference measurements may be filtered using time-based averaging filters with different speeds. Corresponding filtered difference measurements may be compared to antenna switching criteria such as antenna switching thresholds. An antenna switching threshold may be adjusted in real time based on computations of how much variation is exhibited as a function of time between the difference measurements filtered using the filters of different speeds. Information on device movement or other data may be used in making threshold adjustments. |
| US09002280B2 |
Intercell frequency offset compensation for frequency domain interference cancellation and equalization for downlink cellular systems
Methods and apparatus are described for interference cancellation of interference components of a time domain signal in the frequency domain. A time domain sequence is received, and a plurality of overlapping time domain segments is generated from the time domain sequence. Frequency offset compensation to compensate for frequency offset associated with a serving cell is performed in the time domain, and the overlapping time domain segments are then converted to the frequency domain. Additional frequency offset compensation may be performed to compensation for the frequency offset associated with interfering cells. |
| US09002279B2 |
System and method for aligning interference in uplink
Provided is a method of generating a transmit beamforming vector and a receive beamforming vector to substantially eliminate the effect of interference transmitted from macro terminals to a pico base station in a hierarchical cell environment. Also, provided is a method of selecting, from a plurality of macro terminals, a macro terminal for transmitting data to a macro base station. |
| US09002276B2 |
Image providing apparatus, image output apparatus, and image output system
In an image providing apparatus capable of performing close-proximity wireless communication, it is determined whether or not the image providing apparatus come to an active state by moving close to the image output apparatus (whether or not the apparatus has been remotely woken up) if a connection through close-proximity wireless communication is established. It is decided that the image output apparatus is the primary controller after the connection if the image providing apparatus has been remotely woken up, and the use of an appropriate protocol for the primary controller is decided on. On the other hand, if the image providing apparatus has not been remotely woken up, it is decided that the image providing apparatus is the primary controller after connection, and the use of a corresponding protocol is decided on. |
| US09002268B2 |
Multi-frequency NFC antenna
An antenna system is proposed that consists of a radiator integrated into the display of a mobile device. The antenna can be configured to service multiple frequency bands to include NFC (Near Field Communication), FM, TV, GPS, and/or Bluetooth/WiFi. When optimized for the NFC function, the display of the mobile device can be pointed in the direction of or positioned in close proximity to the NFC reader to facilitate the transaction, providing a more natural set of motions for the user. The antenna can contain multiple feed or connect points, and can contain active components to switch to or optimize for the various frequency bands. |
| US09002265B2 |
Method, system and apparatus for galvanic isolation of gate-controlled devices
In one aspect, a method of galvanic isolation for a gate-controlled device is described. One embodiment of the method comprises receiving, by a gate-controlled device, wireless receive signals, wherein said wireless receive signals are received by a wireless receiver associated with the gate-controlled device. |
| US09002259B2 |
Transmission channel substitution
Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for receiving an identifier of a first transmission channel for a first media station, determining whether content of the first media station is available via a second transmission channel for the first media station, and automatically initiating transmission of content of a second media station to a client computing device over a transmission channel for the second media station based on results of the determining. |
| US09002257B2 |
Image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus including a sheet roll supporter disposed below a main body of the image forming apparatus to support a sheet roll such that a sheet is fed from the sheet roll, an image forming unit to form an image on the sheet fed from the sheet roll, a sheet discharger disposed downstream from the image forming unit in a direction of conveyance of the sheet to discharge the sheet having the image thereon in a sheet discharging direction, a guide unit to guide the sheet discharged from the sheet discharger to the front of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a stacking unit on which the sheet passing the guide unit is stacked. Upper and front parts of the sheet roll are covered with the guide unit and the stacking unit across a width direction of the sheet perpendicular to the sheet discharging direction. |
| US09002256B2 |
Adaptive scheduler that corrects for paper process directional arrival errors to print engine registration subsystem
Systems and methods are described that facilitate correcting for paper process direction arrival errors during a print job in a marker module of a print engine. Paper sheet arrival time is determined at a first registration point in a print engine or marker module thereof, and an average arrival time is compared to an expected arrival time to determine whether the pages are arriving on time, early, or late. The arrival time error is used to generate or look up a correction factor, which is added to an expected arrival time at a second registration point in the marker module or print engine to generate an updated expected arrival time. Print engine control parameters (e.g., sheet feeder timing, toner application, paper path speed, etc.) are adjusted according to the updated expected arrival time at the second registration point. |
| US09002251B2 |
Fixing device and image forming apparatus incorporating same
A fixing device includes a fixing member including a heat generator and an induction heater to heat the fixing member by electromagnetic induction. The induction heater includes an excitation coil, a ferromagnetic core to form a magnetic path to direct magnetic flux arising from the excitation coil to the fixing member, and a holder to hold the excitation coil and the ferromagnetic core. The holder has a surface facing the heat generator. The surface has a plurality of slits extending parallel to a direction of rotation of the fixing member. The ferromagnetic core is coupled to the holder and covers an open bottom portion of each slit of the plurality of slits to form a plurality of bottomed grooves. |
| US09002248B2 |
Fuser device and image forming apparatus provided with same
A magnetic core surrounds a coil and has a plurality of first core sections arrayed along the widthwise direction of a recording medium orthogonally to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and a second core section disposed at both ends in the widthwise direction within a hollow section of the coil. The second core section is formed so that the cross-sectional area thereof in the conveyance direction of the recording medium grows progressively larger from the center of the widthwise direction towards the end thereof. |
| US09002246B2 |
Transfer device and image forming apparatus for increasing relative positional accuracy between a transfer member and a wound member
A transfer device includes a first support member that supports a wound member, an endless transferred body being wound around the wound member; a second support member that supports a transfer member, the transfer member and the wound member pinching the transferred body and a recording medium, the transfer member causing a developer image on the transferred body to be transferred onto the recording medium; a coupling portion that couples the second support member to the first support member so that an angle of the second support member is changeable relative to the first support member; and an urging portion that is provided at the first support member and urges the second support member in a direction in which the transfer member presses the wound member. |
| US09002237B2 |
Electrostatic imaging member and methods for using the same
Embodiments pertain to a novel imaging member, namely, an electrostatic latent image generating member, and methods for using the same, that can generate an electrostatic latent image through charge acceptance control and without the need for conventional post charging photodischarge, eliminating process steps and avoiding limitations in system speed due to the transit time of charge carriers after light exposure. |
| US09002236B2 |
Cleaning device for removing a developer from the surface of an image bearing member and process cartridge
A cleaning device, which is detachably attached to a main body of an image forming apparatus, includes a fixing portion provided at a frame member, a cleaning member fixed to the fixing portion for removing a developer from an image bearing member, the cleaning member including a blade portion configured to contact the image bearing member and a flexible support member for supporting the blade portion, a container formed by the frame member and configured to contain the developer removed from the image bearing member, and a restricting member configured to engage with the support member and being capable of restricting the support member from being deformed. |
| US09002230B2 |
Electrophotographic color image forming apparatus with movable cartridge carrying member and associated electrical contacts
A color electrophotographic image forming apparatus is usable with process cartridges that each include an electrophotographic photosensitive drum. The image forming apparatus includes a movable member that is movable between an inside of the main assembly of the apparatus and an outside of the main assembly of the apparatus in a direction crossing with a longitudinal direction of the drum while carrying the cartridges. A main assembly electrical contact is provided inside the main assembly along a movement path of the movable member. An intermediary electrical contact is provided and includes a first electrical contact portion that is disposed inside the movable member, with the intermediary electrical contact being electrically connectable to a cartridge electrical contact of a cartridge, and a second electrical contact portion is disposed outside the movable member, with the second electrical contact portion electrically connectable to a main assembly electrical contact provided in the main assembly. |
| US09002227B2 |
Image forming apparatus
A control unit is provided which controls at least one of a first power supply unit (a secondary transfer power supply connected to a secondary transfer roller) and a second power supply unit (high-voltage power supplies connected to a conductive brush and a conductive roller) so that a current supplied to a primary transfer region from a beginning of primary transfer until a beginning of secondary transfer has a magnitude larger than a magnitude of a current supplied to the primary transfer region from a beginning of image formation until the beginning of the primary transfer. |
| US09002221B2 |
Cleaning device for image carrier and image forming apparatus including cleaning portion for image carrier
A cleaning device includes a cleaning portion and a pressing portion. The cleaning portion comes into contact with an image carrier that is adapted to carry a toner image. The pressing portion includes a clamping surface and a protruding portion and presses the cleaning portion against the image carrier. The clamping surface clamps the cleaning portion from both sides in cooperation with the image carrier. The protruding portion protrudes from the clamping surface toward the image carrier. |
| US09002220B2 |
Fixing device and image formation apparatus
A fixing device for fixing an unfixed toner image on a recording sheet by passing the recording sheet through a fixing nip and applying heat and pressure to the recording sheet, the fixing device comprising: a heater including a resistance heater part and a supporting member, the resistance heater part having a positive resistance-temperature characteristic in a temperature range above a predetermined level, and the supporting member being insulative and supporting the resistance heater part such that the resistance heater part applies heat to the recording sheet; a current detector detecting a current supplied to the resistance heater part; and an abnormality determiner determining whether the resistance heater part has an abnormality, based on an initial current detected by the current detector at a predetermined time after a beginning of power supply to the resistance heater part and before the temperature of the resistance heater part reaches the predetermined level. |
| US09002217B2 |
Image forming apparatus with cartridge moving member having detection unit for adjacent cartridge
The present invention provides an image forming apparatus including a moving member configured to support a first process cartridge and move the first process cartridge to a position for forming an image, and a detection unit configured to detect a state of a second process cartridge, in which the moving member holds the detection unit. |
| US09002216B2 |
Image forming apparatus that forms a test pattern and carries out correction
An image forming apparatus, includes an image forming unit configured to form a reference pattern and a test pattern on a sheet, a measurement unit configured to detect the reference pattern formed on the sheet and to measure the test pattern formed on the sheet, and a control unit configured to control a measurement timing of the test pattern by the measurement unit according to a detection interval between two reference patterns detected by the measurement unit. |
| US09002213B2 |
Apparatus for power equalisation and phase correction
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for performing power equalization and phase correction of two signals (400). The apparatus comprises a first hybrid coupler (401) configured to operate as a power combiner, and a second hybrid coupler (402) configured to operate as a power divider, wherein the apparatus is configured to provide an output (406) of the first hybrid coupler as an input (407) to the second hybrid coupler. |
| US09002209B2 |
Forward discrete/inverse-discrete Fourier transform device and method for optical OFDM communication and transmitting and receiving apparatus comprising the device
Disclosed are a forward discrete/inverse-discrete Fourier transform device and method for optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication and a transmitting and receiving apparatus. The forward inverse-discrete Fourier transform device includes N 1:N splitters for splitting subcarrier signals received from N inputs corresponding to the number of optical frequencies of subcarriers, a phase shift delay array module for shifting phases of the split signals from the 1:N splitters, N N:1 power couplers for coupling signals output from the phase shift delay array module, a time delay array module for performing time delay on optical OFDM symbols from the N:1 power couplers, and an N:1 power coupler for coupling signals output from the time delay array module. |
| US09002206B2 |
Wavelength based optical power positioning for information and communications technology systems
Wavelength-based optical power provisioning is provided by multiplexing a plurality of continuous wave light beams at different wavelengths onto a single optical fiber as a multiplexed light source and demultiplexing the multiplexed light source based on wavelength at a photonic unit coupled to the optical fiber to recover the continuous wave light beams. The recovered continuous wave light beams are split into a plurality of light beams by the photonic unit, each light beam having the same wavelength and the same or lower power as one of the recovered continuous wave light beams so that at least one of the light beams generated by the photonic unit has a higher power than the other light beams generated by the photonic unit. |
| US09002203B2 |
Data processing of an optical network element
A method for data processing of an optical network element is provided, wherein a configuration information is received at the optical network element and a light signal is adjusted to a wavelength or wavelength range indicated by said configuration information; wherein an incoming optical signal is demodulated via the light signal and mixed as an electrical demodulated signal with a signal of an oscillator; wherein the signal of the oscillator is tuned to improve a reception of the incoming signal at the optical network element; and wherein the light signal is used for upstream modulation to provide a modulated optical upstream signal. Furthermore, an according device and a communication system are suggested including at least one such device. |
| US09002201B2 |
Apparatus for testing an optical network
For testing an optical network, a transmission module transmits a first optical power level on a first optical port of an optical assembly. The optical assembly includes the first optical port, one or more of an optical cable and an optical waveguide, and a second optical port. The optical assembly is installed in an assembled computer in a state suitable for an end user. A measurement module measures a second optical power level on the second optical port, and a determination module determines a quality level by determining if the second optical power level is below a quality threshold value. The transmission module, the measurement module, and the determination module function within an assembled computer in a state suitable for an end user. |
| US09002200B2 |
Dynamic evaluation of the optical multiplex section per-channel pre-emphasis power
An apparatus and method of pre-emphasising a launch power profile of a section in an optical network is provided. The method comprises measuring the output power at the output of the section, determining the predicted output power associated with a flat launch power profile using design characteristics of the section and determining the total power deviation between the measured output power and the predicted output power. Also, the method comprises determining the signal to noise ratio deviation and the nonlinear phase shift deviation as a function of the total power deviation, and pre-emphasising the launch power profile based on a function of the calculated signal to noise ratio deviations of each span and the calculated nonlinear phase shift deviations of each span, such that the sum of the nonlinear phase shift deviations and the sum of the signal to noise ratio deviations of each channel are reduced by an equal amount. |
| US09002199B2 |
Apparatus and method for monitoring optical line
An apparatus and method for monitoring an optical line is provided. The optical line monitoring apparatus may include a comparison unit to extract first identification information about an optical network terminal (ONT) from reflected data that is reflected and received from the optical line, and to compare the extracted first identification information to predetermined second identification information about the ONT, and a processor to analyze a state of the optical line using the reflected data when the first identification information is identical to the second identification information. |
| US09002198B2 |
Optical transmission system
An optical transmission system for optically transmitting information between apparatuses via an optical transmission path. The system includes: a sending unit that emits, to the optical transmission path, excitation light for detecting an inter-apparatus connection via the path; a responding unit that receives the excitation light from the path and emits detection light to the path using light energy of the excitation light; a response receiving unit that receives the detection light from the path and outputs a detection light current; a detecting unit that detects presence/absence of the inter-apparatus connection based on the detection light current; a light signal transmitting unit that emits, to the path, a light signal for optically transmitting the information based on the detection result by the detecting unit; and a light signal receiving unit that receives the light signal from the path. |
| US09002197B2 |
Sequence-based link fault localization
Methods and apparatus for a network element or server end station to determine an estimated physical location of a fault in a communications link utilized by two network elements. In an embodiment, the first and second network elements generate link failure indications including time values representing when the respective network element detected the fault. In other embodiments, the link failure indications include time values transmitted over the communications link between the first and second network elements. A time distance between these time values is calculated, which is used to calculate the estimated physical location of the fault. In some embodiments, the link failure indications include sequence numbers transmitted or about to be transmitted over the communications link between the network elements. Sequence distances are calculated between the sequence numbers, and are used to calculate the estimated physical location of the fault. |
| US09002196B2 |
Self-healing repeater node
A device may include a component, a first switch, a repeater, and a second switch. The component may configure optical paths between ports. The component may comprise a first pair of optical ports connected to a first pair of optical fibers, and a second pair of optical ports connected to a second pair of optical fibers. The first switch may be configured to output one of two optical signals received by the first pair of optical ports from the first pair of optical fibers. The repeater may reshape or amplify the outputted optical signal. The second switch may be configured to direct the reshaped or amplified signal to one of the second pair of optical ports. |
| US09002189B2 |
Long-range optical device having image stabilization and improved pivot detection
A long-range optical device has at least one tube in which an optical system is positioned and has at least one image stabilization unit which moves at least one optical assembly of the optical system relative to the at least one tube. The device has at least one signal processing unit which actuates the at least one image stabilization unit in one mode of a plurality of modes where a respective movement situation of the long-range optical device is assigned to each mode. The device also has a mode detection unit that determines the mode and ascertains at least one comparative value from a respective location derivative value of a trajectory formed from a first movement and a second movement of the long-range optical device and compares the at least one comparative value to a respective limiting value. |
| US09002175B1 |
Automated video trailer creation
Methods, systems, and computer program products for automatic creation of video trailers are provided. A computer-implemented method may include computing blended audience retention for video segments based on audience retention rates for each of the video segments across corresponding points in time, analyzing the blended audience retention for the video segments across corresponding points in time, identifying one or more audience engagement peaks for the video segments based on the analyzing, selecting one or more video clips from the video segments based on the identified audience engagement peaks, and generating a video trailer using the selected video clips into a new video. |
| US09002173B2 |
Digital security surveillance system
A digital security surveillance system allows a user to store selected security surveillance feeds while the user is simultaneously watching or reviewing another feed. User control commands are accepted and sent through the system. The system parses the resulting digital stream and generates identifying information associated with at least one video segment of the digital stream. The video segments are stored on a storage device. When a security surveillance feed is requested for display, a corresponding stored digital stream is found and its video segments are extracted from the storage device and sent to a decoder that converts the digital stream into display output signals. The security surveillance feeds can be simultaneously sent to an external storage device such as a DVD recorder or VCR. |
| US09002172B2 |
Electronic apparatus and image processing method
According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus includes an indexing module, a first playback module, a first image select module, an image extraction module, and a second playback module. The indexing module is configured to generate index information indicative of attributes of a plurality of still images. The first playback module is configured to play back a first moving picture by using the plurality of still images. The first image select module is configured to select a first still image from the plurality of still images. The image extraction module is configured to extract a still image group including still images relevant to the first still image, based on the index information. The second playback module is configured to play back, in place of the first moving picture, a second moving picture by using the still image group. |
| US09002171B2 |
Recording/reading apparatus, method of generating tag list for recording/reading apparatus, and control unit for recording/reading apparatus
According to one embodiment, there is provided a control block including a read control processor for reading designated content, a time information processor for processing time information. A controller returns, to a user terminal, a response signal, and information indicating a second absolute time point when an operation is executed in response to a request signal generated by the user terminal at a first absolute time point. The controller stores time difference information indicating a time difference between the first and the second absolute time points. When responding to a further request signal sent from the requester via the network, the controller sets, as tag time information, time information obtained by correcting, using the time difference information, a current relative time period for which the designated content is read. |
| US09002168B2 |
Cleave holder, an assembly, and methods for cleaving ends of optical fibers and securing them to a multi-optical fiber connector module
A cleave holder is provided that allows the ends of optical fibers to be precisely stripped and cleaved and then secured at precise locations in a multi-optical fiber connector module. The cleave holder is secured to length-wise portions of optical fibers that extend through the cleave holder. The cleave holder has reference holes formed in its lower surface that allow it to be mounted on a fixture having pins on it that mate with the reference holes. Once the ends of the fibers have been stripped and cleaved, the cleaved ends are secured to precise locations within a connector module. The cleave holder and the connector module form an assembly that can be used together, with the cleave holder acting as a mounting structure for the assembly and as a strain relief mechanism. |
| US09002166B2 |
Slidable fiber optic connection module with cable slack management
A fiber optic telecommunications device includes a frame and a fiber optic module. The fiber optic module includes a main housing portion defining fiber optic connection locations for connecting cables to be routed through the frame and a cable management portion for guiding cables between the main housing portion and the frame. The main housing portion of the fiber optic module is slidably mounted to the frame, the main housing portion slidable between a retracted position and an extended position along a sliding direction. The cable management portion of the fiber optic module includes a radius limiter slidably coupled to both the main housing portion and the frame. Movement of the main housing portion with respect to the frame moves the radius limiter with respect to the frame along the sliding direction and with respect to the main housing portion along a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. |
| US09002165B2 |
Optical waveguide device
Provided is an optical waveguide device capable of reducing stress that occurs inside an optical waveguide substrate due to a difference in a coefficient of thermal expansion. The optical waveguide device (10) includes an optical waveguide substrate (11) having a thickness of 30 μm or less, and a liquid crystal polymer substrate (12) which holds the optical waveguide substrate (11) and has permittivity lower than that of the optical waveguide substrate (11). The optical waveguide substrate (11) and the liquid crystal polymer substrate (12) are bonded to each other by an adhesive layer (14). Coefficients of thermal expansion of the optical waveguide substrate (11) and the liquid crystal polymer substrate (12) have anisotropy in each substrate plane, and a relative direction between the optical waveguide substrate (11) and the liquid crystal polymer substrate (12) is adjusted in such a manner that anisotropic axial directions of the optical waveguide substrate (11) and anisotropic axial directions the liquid crystal polymer substrate (12) are aligned. |
| US09002164B2 |
Optical fiber and method of manufacturing the same
An optical fiber is provided. The optical fiber has a refractive index profile that includes a central core, an inner cladding layer, a trench layer, and an outer cladding layer. A trench layer is provided with a reduced refractive index. The optical fiber has a large effective area without having an increase of a cutoff wavelength, and exhibits low macrobending loss. |
| US09002161B2 |
Optical module
A low-cost optical module with highly consistent properties. The optical module includes, in a housing, an optical waveguide array, an optical functional element array, lens optics using one or a plurality of lenses for optically coupling the optical waveguide array and the optical functional element array, and a mirror disposed so as to convert the propagation direction of optical beams transmitted by the lens optics such that the optical beams are incident on the optical incidence ports of the optical functional element array. The optical functional element array is affixed to the housing, and the angle of the mirror is fixed in place after the angle of the mirror is adjusted such that the optical waveguide array and the optical functional element array are optically coupled. |
| US09002160B2 |
Optical switch having a multirow waveguide array
An optical switch platform allowing dual and/or multicast optical switch geometries is disclosed. Only two waveguide arrays are used, one for the input, and one for the output. Multi-row waveguide array(s) can replace individual multiple single-row waveguide arrays for optical switch configurations employing a beam director configured to dispose a plurality of input optical beams in a multi-row pattern of optical beams at an angle-to-offset (ATO) optical element. |
| US09002151B2 |
System and method for nonlinear optical devices
Systems for enhancing the sensitivity of detecting an optical signal using nonlinear optics and method of performing the same. In one embodiment, a single-photon detection system includes an optical amplifier realized in a waveguide, and a photodetector coupled to an output of the optical amplifier. A light detection and ranging system includes the optical amplifier coupled to an optical source and one photodetector. In another embodiment, a photodetection system includes a plurality of optical frequency converters, coupled to an optical source, that sequentially convert a wavelength of photons of the optical source to a final wavelength, and a single-photon photodetector coupled to the optical frequency converters to detect single photons produced by the optical source. In another embodiment, an optical sensor includes an optical pump, and a transducer including an optical ring cavity coupled to the optical pump and configured to utilize optical four-wave mixing to detect an external stimulus. |
| US09002149B2 |
Distributed fibre optic sensing for event detection
A fiber optic sensing method and apparatus for determining location and direction information of disturbances occurring in the environment of a sensor optical fiber are provided. The method comprises launching optical pulses into at least one polarisation eigenmode of a polarisation maintaining fiber as the sensor optical fiber, detecting temporal speckle patterns of light backscattered from the at least one polarisation eigenmode of the fiber, comparing the temporal speckle patterns to determine the location and direction information of a disturbance in the environment of the sensor optical fiber. The location information may be a distance along the fiber, and the direction information may be a direction radially from the axis of the fiber. The apparatus or instrument may be used to detect disturbance over long distances such as pipes, pipelines, or wells. Other applications include detecting intruders entering a controlled area. |
| US09002143B2 |
Tunable RF filter device using optical waveguides with dispersion slopes of opposite signs and related methods
A tunable Radio Frequency (RF) filter device includes a tunable optical source configured to generate an optical carrier signal, and a modulator coupled to the tunable optical source and configured to modulate the optical carrier signal with an RF input signal. The tunable RF filter device may also include first and second optical waveguides coupled to the modulator and having first and second dispersion slopes of opposite sign, and an optical-to-electrical converter coupled to the first and second optical waveguides and configured to generate an RF output signal with a frequency notch therein based upon the tunable optical source. |
| US09002142B2 |
Method for generating a customized composite map image and electronic apparatus for implementing the same
A method is to be implemented by an electronic apparatus having a map database established therein, and includes the steps of: receiving a user-specified input image of an area of interest, and obtaining from the map database a reference map that encompasses the area of interest; selecting a set of feature points in the user-specified input image, and a set of map points in the reference map that correspond in geographical features to the feature points; transforming the user-specified input image according to positional differences between the feature points and the corresponding map points to thereby obtain a to-be-registered image having adjusted feature points corresponding in position to the map points; overlaying the to-be-registered image onto the reference map to thereby obtain a customized composite map image; and outputting the customized composite map image. |
| US09002135B2 |
Form image management system and form image management method
A form image management system includes: a storage apparatus that stores a plurality of types of master images; and a computer that obtains a form image, that retrieves, from the storage apparatus, a master image having the highest correlation with the obtained form image from among the plurality of types of master images, that generates, as common-difference data, data of an image indicating a common-difference portion present in both a difference between the plurality of form images and a difference between the retrieved master image and one of the plurality of form images, that stores the common-difference data, that generates, in relation to each of the obtained form images, difference data relative to data which is the retrieved master image on which an image indicated by the common-difference data has been superimposed, and that stores the generated difference data in the storage apparatus. |
| US09002133B2 |
Multi layered image enhancement technique
A system for enhancing an input image including receiving an input image and filtering the input image with a plurality of non-linear smoothing filters providing a respective plurality of filtered outputs. The system processes a plurality of the filtered outputs with respect to at least one of another of the filtered outputs and the input image to determine a plurality of detail layers. The system filters the plurality of detail layers with a plurality of non-linear smoothing filters providing a respective plurality of smoothed layers. The system adjusts the plurality of smoothed layers in such a manner that regions closer to an edge are enhanced to a lesser extent than regions farther from an edge and combining the adjusted the smoothed layers to provide an enhanced output image. |
| US09002131B2 |
Method and system for enhancing image quality
The present disclosure relates to image filtering techniques for enhancing image quality. In one embodiment, two filtering techniques are applied on an image. Firstly, an adaptive weighted median filtering operation is performed on an acquired low contrast image corrupted by impulsive noise. Subsequently, a guided image filtering on the image obtained from adaptive weighted median filtering operation to de-blur and enhance the contrast that ultimately assures to preserve the edges of the images. In addition, the image filtering for enhancing image quality is enhanced by several variations of data adaptive guided image filtering and adaptive window sizes for guided image filtering techniques. |
| US09002125B2 |
Z-plane compression with z-plane predictors
A method for compressing graphics data comprises selecting z-planes from a plurality of z-planes. The selected z-planes are predictor z-planes. A residual is determined for each sample not covered by one of the predictor z-planes. A sample is covered by one of the predictor z-planes when the predictor z-plane correctly defines a z-value of the sample. A residual comprises a value that is a difference between a predicted z-value provided by one of the predictor z-planes and an actual z-value for the sample. The predictor z-planes and the residuals are stored in a z-buffer. |
| US09002124B2 |
Moving picture coding method and moving picture decoding method
According to a picture coding method, a coded picture is stored, as a reference picture, into a storage unit; commands indicating correspondence between reference pictures and reference indices for designating reference pictures and coefficients used for generation of predictive images are generated; a reference picture being used when motion compensation is performed on a current block in a current picture to be coded is designated by a reference index; a predictive image is generated by performing linear prediction on a block being obtained by motion estimation within the designated reference picture, by use of a coefficient corresponding to the reference index; a coded image signal including a coded signal obtained by coding a prediction error being a difference between the current block in the current picture to be coded and the predictive image, the commands, the reference index and the coefficient is outputted. |
| US09002121B2 |
Method and apparatus for encoding geometry patterns, and method for apparatus for decoding geometry patterns
3D models often have a large number of small to medium sized connected components, with small numbers of large triangles, often with arbitrary connectivity. The efficiency of compact representation of large multi-component 3D models can be improved by detecting and representing similarities between components thereof, even if the components are not exactly equal. The invention uses displacement maps for encoding two or more different but similar geometry patterns differentially, based on clustering and a cluster representative surface. A method for encoding a plurality of geometry patterns comprises detecting and encoding identical copies of geometrical patterns, detecting and clustering similar geometry patterns, and detecting partial similarity. The detecting partial similarity comprises generating a cluster representative surface, generating for at least one clustered geometry pattern a displacement map, and encoding the common surface and the displacement maps. |
| US09002118B2 |
Image feature extraction device, image feature extraction method, and image recognition device
An image feature extraction device according to an embodiment includes a gradient image calculator generates intensity gradient data with respect to two different directions based on intensity data of image data; and a gradient count unit calculates a covariance matrix for each partial area obtained by dividing the image data based on the intensity gradient data. The image feature extraction device according to the embodiment further includes a feature data output unit calculates two parameters related to a major axis and a minor axis of an ellipse expressed by the covariance matrix, quantizes a range of the logarithms of the parameters for each of the partial area using a predetermined division number, and outputs a feature vector which contains a value only at a dimension corresponding to the quantized range different from the other dimensions. |
| US09002114B2 |
Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to measure geographical features using an image of a geographical location
Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to measure geographical features using an image of a geographical location are disclosed. An example method includes dividing, with a processor, an image of a geographic area of interest into a plurality of geographical zones, the geographical zones being representative of different geographical areas having approximately equal physical areas, measuring, with the processor, a geographical feature represented in the image for corresponding ones of the plurality of geographical zones, storing descriptions for the geographical zones in a computer memory, and storing values representative of the geographical feature of the geographical zones. |
| US09002112B2 |
Video alignment system
A video alignment system is described in which the location of a modulated spot in a video scene is estimated with correlation techniques including tracking multiple camera phase shift candidates and normalizing correlation sums with a voting system. |
| US09002111B2 |
Determining scaling factors for devices
An image scaling service includes determining an image as a candidate for a scaling process, scanning the image for an initial text value, and scaling the image to a next lower resolution. The image scaling service also includes iteratively performing the scaling process until a threshold value of a readability metric is reached, the scaling process includes scanning the scaled image for a scaled text value, comparing a difference between the initial text value and the scaled text value, the difference indicative of the readability metric, and scaling the scaled image to a next lower resolution. In response to reaching the threshold value of the readability metric, the image scaling service further includes selecting from scaled images an image having a lowest resolution resulting from the scaling process before the threshold value of the readability metric was reached. |
| US09002108B2 |
Color processing device that converts combination of colors into larger number of combination of colors, color processing method, and storage medium
A color processing device includes a converter that converts a combination of values of N−1 colors obtained by eliminating a specific color included in N colors from an input color signal expressing a color by a combination of values of the N colors, into a corresponding combination of values of M−1 colors, N being 4 or larger, M being larger than N; and an output unit that, if a total value of the values of the M−1 colors after the conversion by the converter and a value of the specific color included in the input color signal exceeds a predetermined limit value, changes a value of at least one of M colors obtained by adding the specific color to the M−1 colors such that the total value becomes the limit value or smaller, and outputs values of the M colors as an output color signal. |
| US09002107B2 |
Color balance correction based on skin color and highlight color
An image processing apparatus for applying a color balance correction to input image data, comprises a detection unit which detects an object included in the image data; an object color calculation unit which calculates an object color as a color of the object; an acquisition unit which acquires a highlight color in the image data; a calculation unit which calculates a correction value for the object color and the highlight color based on a relative positional relationship between the object color and the highlight color on a color space; and a color balance correction unit which applies the color balance correction to the highlight color and the object color using the correction value. |
| US09002106B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium
An image processing apparatus detects boundaries from an image; extracts straight-line segments from the boundaries; detects a region where differences between pixel values of near pixels located across the segments are larger than, or at least a predetermined first value; classifies the segments in the region into four sides of quadrangles; detects colors or densities in outer areas of the four sides; selects combinations that differences between the colors or the densities corresponding to the segments in the combinations are no more than, or smaller than a predetermined second value, from the combinations of the four sides that possibly form the quadrangles; detects coordinates of four vertexes obtained when the segments in the combinations are extended, and a combination that an area of a quadrangle formed by the corresponding four coordinates satisfies a predetermined condition; and corrects the quadrangle formed by the combination to a rectangle. |
| US09002104B2 |
Image processing apparatus
An image processing apparatus includes a reduction unit and a compression unit. The reduction unit is configured to execute color-number reduction processing for each block configured by a plurality of pixels included in a processing target image expressed by processing target image data, the color-number reduction processing including reducing the number of colors expressed by the plurality of pixels in the block to generate image data having the reduced number of colors from the processing target image data, a gradation-number of each color value included in the image data having the reduced number of colors being the same as a gradation-number of each color value included in the processing target image data. The compression unit is configured to execute compression processing using the image data having the reduced number of colors to generate compressed image data. |
| US09002102B2 |
Generating training documents
A method of generating training documents for training a classifying device comprises, with a processor, determining a number of sub-samples in a number of original documents, and creating a number of pseudo-documents from the sub-samples, the pseudo-documents comprising a portion of the number of sub-samples. A device for training a classifying device comprises a processor, and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor. The memory comprises a sampling module to, when executed by the processor, determine a number of sub-samples in a number of original documents, a pseudo-document creation module to, when executed by the processor, create a number of pseudo-documents from the sub-samples, the pseudo-documents comprising a portion of the number of sub-samples, and a training module to, when executed by the processor, train a classifying device to classify textual documents based on the pseudo-documents. |
| US09002101B2 |
Recognition device, recognition method, and computer program product
According to an embodiment, a recognition device includes a generation unit to select, plural times, groups each including learning samples from a storage unit, learn a classification metric for classifying the groups selected in each selection, and generate an evaluation metric including the classification metrics; a transformation unit to transform a first feature value of an image including an object into a second feature value using the evaluation metric; a calculation unit to calculate similarities of the object to categories in a table using the second feature value and reference feature values; and a registration unit to register the second feature value as the reference feature value in the table associated with the category of the object and register the first feature value as the learning sample belonging to the category of the object in the storage unit. The generation unit performs the generation again. |
| US09002089B2 |
Image data registration for dynamic perfusion CT
A method of registering a 4D contrast enhanced image data set, wherein the 4D contrast enhanced image data set includes image data of the same volume of interest acquired at different timeframes with changing contrast enhancement, the volume of interest includes moving structure, and the different timeframes correspond to a predetermined motion phase of interest in different motion cycles of the moving structure, the method, comprising: registering image data corresponding to a plurality of the different timeframes with reference image from one of the timeframes. |
| US09002088B2 |
Method and apparatus for creating nondestructive inspection porosity standards
A method and apparatus for establishing nondestructive inspection porosity standards. In one illustrative embodiment, a plurality of samples is formed using a different technique for each sample in the plurality of samples such that each sample in the plurality of samples has a different porosity from other samples in the plurality of samples. Each sample in the plurality of samples has a same set of selected properties as a selected part type. A porosity level is identified for each sample using volumetric data extracted from a three-dimensional image for each sample generated using a computed tomography system. A group of standards is established for a group of selected porosity levels from the plurality of samples based on the porosity level identified for each sample in the plurality of samples. The group of standards is configured for use in performing nondestructive inspection of a part of the selected part type. |
| US09002087B2 |
Method and apparatus for processing image, ultrasound diagnosis apparatus, and medical imaging system
An image processing apparatus including an image data acquiring unit for acquiring ultrasound image data indicating information about an object; a standard image generating unit for generating an ultrasound standard image of the ultrasound image data; and a display unit for displaying the ultrasound standard image. |
| US09002085B1 |
Systems and methods for automatically generating descriptions of retinal images
Embodiments disclose systems and methods that aid in screening, diagnosis and/or monitoring of medical conditions. The systems and methods may allow, for example, for automated identification and localization of lesions and other anatomical structures from medical data obtained from medical imaging devices, computation of image-based biomarkers including quantification of dynamics of lesions, and/or integration with telemedicine services, programs, or software. |
| US09002084B2 |
Systems and methods for summing signals from an imaging detector
A system includes a detector and a processing module. The detector includes pixels configured to detect an event corresponding to energy from a radiopharmaceutical. The processing module is configured to receive a request for each pixel that detects energy during a reading cycle. The processing module is configured to determine an energy level for each requesting pixel. For each requesting pixel, the processing module is configured to count the event when the energy level corresponds to an energy of the radiopharmaceutical, and to determine a combined energy level of the pixel and at least one adjacent pixel when the energy level does not correspond. The processing module is configured to count the event when the combined energy level corresponds to the energy of the radiopharmaceutical, and to disregard the event when the combined energy level does not correspond to the energy of the radiopharmaceutical. |
| US09002079B2 |
Systems and methods for motion detecting for medical imaging
Systems and methods for medical imaging are provided. One method includes obtaining image information including timing information and obtaining motion information corresponding to an external movement by a patient being imaged. Obtaining the motion information includes detecting motion of the patient with a sensing device that does not engage the patient. The motion information includes motion timing information. The method further includes associating the motion information with the image information using the image timing information and the motion timing information. The method further includes forming an image representative of a portion of the patient using the associated image and motion information. |
| US09002078B2 |
Method and system for shape-constrained aortic valve landmark detection
A system and method for performing shape-constrained aortic valve landmark detection using 3D medical images is provided. A rigid global shape defining initial positions of a plurality of aortic valve landmarks is detected within a 3D image. Each of the plurality of aortic valve landmarks is detected based on the initial positions. |
| US09002076B2 |
Method and apparatus for optimal trajectory planning
A system and method can increase confidence or other factors of a trajectory, path, etc. for a procedure. The system can use various weighting or determining factors to identify confidence of identified trajectories. The identified trajectories can be used for various purposes, such as diagnosis or treatment. |
| US09002075B2 |
Interpretation support system
A medical image storage unit stores medical image. A medical image observation terminal adds interpretation information for medical image and the creator name for interpretation information to the supplementary information of medical image. A reference terminal obtains medical image from the medical image storage unit in order to display medical image. An evaluation management unit instructs the reference terminal to display an evaluation input screen for medical image to allow an evaluation to be entered if the interpretation information has been added to the supplementary information of medical image obtained in the reference terminal, and it then adds evaluation to the supplementary information of medical image stored in the medical image storage unit after receiving an input from the reference terminal and transmits evaluation to the destination for the evaluation that corresponds to the creator name added to the supplementary information of medical image. |
| US09002073B2 |
Mobile identity platform
The present disclosure is directed towards a compact, mobile apparatus for iris image acquisition, adapted to address effects of ocular dominance in the subject and to guide positioning of the subject's iris for the image acquisition. The apparatus may include a sensor for acquiring an iris image from a subject. A compact mirror may be oriented relative to a dominant eye of the subject, and sized to present an image of a single iris to the subject when the apparatus is positioned at a suitable distance for image acquisition. The mirror may assist the subject in positioning the iris for iris image acquisition. The mirror may be positioned between the sensor and the iris during iris image acquisition, and transmit a portion of light reflected off the iris to the sensor. |
| US09002064B2 |
Visual tracking framework
A computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable storage medium includes instructions that when executed by a processor perform a method. The method includes identifying a frame of a video sequence, transforming a model into an initial guess for how the region appears in the frame, performing an exhaustive search of the frame, performing a plurality of optimization procedures, wherein at least one additional model parameter is taken into account as each subsequent optimization procedure is initiated. A system includes a computer readable storage medium, a graphical user interface, an input device, a model for texture and shape of the region, the model generated using the video sequence and stored in the computer readable storage medium, and a solver component. |
| US09002063B2 |
Method for identifying and defining basic patterns forming the tread pattern of a tyre
A tire tread, having circumferentially juxtaposed elements separated from one another by identically shaped boundaries and having a least one basic pattern, is inspected by: producing an image of the tire tread; identifying tread wear indicators on the image; grouping together sub-sets of the indicators according to the basic pattern(s) included in the indicators; determining a characteristic point of each of the sub-sets of the indicators; determining a sequence of distances by computing distances between the characteristics points of each of the sub-sets of the indicators; comparing and the sequence of distances with a known sequence of distances between characteristic points of the basic pattern(s) to confirm coincidence thereof; and projecting a shape of a boundary between elements of the tire tread onto a surface to be inspected according to the known sequence of distances between characteristic points of the basic pattern(s). |
| US09002060B2 |
Object retrieval in video data using complementary detectors
Automatic object retrieval from input video is based on learned, complementary detectors created for each of a plurality of different motionlet clusters. The motionlet clusters are partitioned from a dataset of training vehicle images as a function of determining that vehicles within each of the scenes of the images in each cluster share similar two-dimensional motion direction attributes within their scenes. To train the complementary detectors, a first detector is trained on motion blobs of vehicle objects detected and collected within each of the training dataset vehicle images within the motionlet cluster via a background modeling process; a second detector is trained on each of the training dataset vehicle images within the motionlet cluster that have motion blobs of the vehicle objects but are misclassified by the first detector; and the training repeats until all of the training dataset vehicle images have been eliminated as false positives or correctly classified. |
| US09002056B2 |
Image processing method and apparatus
An image processing method includes segmenting a series of obtained images, calculating a central point of each segment, and obtaining a target object based on movement variance of the central points of segments in the series of images. |
| US09002037B2 |
MEMS structure with adjustable ventilation openings
A MEMS structure includes a backplate, a membrane, and an adjustable ventilation opening configured to reduce a pressure difference between a first space contacting the membrane and a second space contacting an opposite side of the membrane. The adjustable ventilation opening is passively actuated as a function of the pressure difference between the first space and the second space. |
| US09002035B2 |
Graphical audio signal control
Signal processing section of a terminal converts acquired audio signals of a plurality of channels into frequency spectra set, calculates sound image positions corresponding to individual frequency components, and displays, on a display screen, the calculated sound image positions results by use of a coordinate system having coordinate axes of the frequency components and sound image positions. User-designated partial region of the coordinate system is set as a designated region and an amplitude-level adjusting amount is set for the designated region, so that the signal processing section adjusts amplitude levels of frequency components included in the frequency spectra and in the designated region, converts the adjusted frequency components into audio signals and outputs the converted audio signals. |
| US09002033B2 |
Scaling a plurality of signals to prevent amplitude clipping
Systems and methods for amplitude compressing a digital signal. An input signal is divided into frames having a first and second sets of samples. The samples in the second set are also in a subsequent frame. Peak values are determined for the first and second sets. One or more slopes are calculated based on the peak values. The slopes are used to define a scale factor which is applied to the first set to produce the output signal. For example, if the first peak value exceeds an amplitude threshold, first and last samples in the first set to exceed the amplitude threshold are found. Slopes are calculated for each of three regions of the first set demarcated by the first and last samples. In each region a slope is selected. These slopes along with an initial scale factor are used to calculate the scale factor. |
| US09002032B2 |
Parametric signal processing systems and methods
A signal processing system for generating a parametric signal comprises an audio compressor, operable to compress a dynamic range of an audio input signal, and an equalization network, operable to equalize the audio signal. A low pass filter is operable to remove high portions of the audio signal and a high pass filter is operable to remove low portions of the audio signal. An oscillator circuit is operable to generate a carrier signal, and a modulation circuit is operable to combine the audio signal with the carrier signal to produce at least one modulated carrier signal. |
| US09002030B2 |
System and method for performing voice activity detection
A Voice Activity Detection (VAD) algorithm provides a simple binary signal indicating the presence or absence of speech in a microphone signal. The VAD algorithm includes a first step of noise suppression which both estimates and removes (i.e., filters) ambient noise from the microphone signal to create a filtered signal. The magnitude of the filtered signal is then compared to a threshold in order to produce a VAD output signal. The threshold is dynamic and may be derived either from the filtered signal itself, or from a noise spectrum estimate calculated by the noise suppression step. |
| US09002029B2 |
Howling canceller
A howling canceller applied to an acoustic system having a speaker and a microphone comprises: a filter insertion unit for inserting a notch filter at a frequency of an audio signal picked up by the microphone; a setting unit for setting the insertion time of the notch filter on the basis of the frequency at which the notch filter is inserted; and a releasing unit for, when the insertion time set by the setting unit has elapsed, releasing the notch filter, the insertion time of which has elapsed. The setting unit sets the insertion time of the notch filter to be shorter as the frequency at which the notch filter is inserted increases. |
| US09002028B2 |
Noisy environment communication enhancement system
A communication system enhances communications in a noisy environment. Multiple input arrays convert a voiced or unvoiced signal into an analog signal. A converter receives the analog signal and generates digital signals. A digital signal processor determines temporal and spatial information from the digital signals. The processed signals are then converted to audible sound. |
| US09002023B2 |
In-ear audio device customization
An in-ear audio device has a casing on which is disposed one or more bags are positioned to be filled with fillable material during a customization process in which a test sound is acoustically output into an ear canal by an acoustic driver of the in-ear audio device while the one or more bags are being filled, and a microphone acoustically coupled to the ear canal is employed to detect sounds within the ear canal that are indicative of the frequency response of the acoustic output of the acoustic driver to determine when the degree of sealing of the ear canal by the one or more bags is sufficient to achieve a desired quality of frequency response. |
| US09002022B1 |
Methods for non-destructive inspection of thick fiber-reinforced composite parts
A fiber-reinforced composite part comprises structural fiber strands and linear electromagnetic-to-acoustic transducers embedded in a polymeric matrix. When these internal transducers are activated in sequence, the propagating acoustic waves are detected by an array of external acoustic-to-electric transducers acoustically coupled to external surfaces of the part. These external transducers convert impinging acoustic waves into electrical signals that carry information concerning acoustic wave amplitudes and phase shifts relative to the excitation of the internal transducers. The electrical signals are processed by a computer which is programmed to determine the location and orientation of each internal transducer and ultimately the structural integrity of the composition. |
| US09002014B2 |
On-die cryptographic apparatus in a secure microprocessor
An apparatus providing for a secure execution environment, including a secure non-volatile memory and a microprocessor. The secure non-volatile memory stores a secure application program. The secure application program is encrypted according to a cryptographic algorithm. The microprocessor is coupled to the secure non-volatile memory via a private bus and to a system memory via a system bus. The microprocessor executes non-secure application programs and the secure application program. The non-secure application programs are accessed from the system memory via the system bus. Transactions over the private bus are isolated from the system bus and corresponding system bus resources within the microprocessor. The microprocessor has a cryptographic unit, disposed within execution logic. The cryptographic unit is configured to encrypt the secure application program for storage in the secure non-volatile memory, and is configured to decrypt the secure application program for execution by the microprocessor. |
| US09002013B2 |
System and apparatus for information display
An apparatus for displaying information received from a communication apparatus including a key information producing unit configured to produce key information used to authenticate the communication apparatus; a key information distributing unit configured to distribute the key information; an authentication information receiving unit configured to receive authentication information; an authenticating unit configured to authenticate the communication apparatus by verifying whether or not the authentication information was formed based upon the key information; and a display information receiving unit configured to receive display information from the authenticated communication apparatus, wherein the authenticated communication apparatus has a distribution range during reception of the key information such that the outputted key information can be acquired. |
| US09002011B2 |
Method for generating consistent cryptographic key based on wireless channel features
The present invention discloses a method for generating a consistent cryptographic key based on wireless channel features. First of all, channel estimated values ĥa, ĥb and channel estimate mean square error MSE are obtained through channel estimate, and then quantized channel eigenvectors {tilde over (h)}a and {tilde over (h)}b are obtained through quantization coding; next, inconsistency between {tilde over (h)}b and {tilde over (h)}a is equivalent to obtaining {tilde over (h)}b at end B through virtual channel noise adding the channel eigenvector {tilde over (h)}a sent by end A, and Signal-to-Noise ratio SNR Γ of the virtual channel is determined; a proper coding mode ENC is determined according to the virtual channel SNR Γ; both communication parties perform corresponding coding and decoding according to ENC and thereby obtain an estimated value {tilde over (ĥ)}a of {tilde over (h)}a; finally, a cryptographic key generating function is applied to {tilde over (h)}a and {tilde over (ĥ)}a, whereby a cryptographic key Kc is obtained. The present invention increases the validity of consistent dynamic cryptographic key generating and achieves information security and privacy at the physical layer. |
| US09002009B2 |
Quantum key distribution using card, base station and trusted authority
Techniques and tools for quantum key distribution (“QKD”) between a quantum communication (“QC”) card, base station and trusted authority are described herein. In example implementations, a QC card contains a miniaturized QC transmitter and couples with a base station. The base station provides a network connection with the trusted authority and can also provide electric power to the QC card. When coupled to the base station, after authentication by the trusted authority, the QC card acquires keys through QKD with a trusted authority. The keys can be used to set up secure communication, for authentication, for access control, or for other purposes. The QC card can be implemented as part of a smart phone or other mobile computing device, or the QC card can be used as a fillgun for distribution of the keys. |
| US09002006B2 |
Efficient broadcast entitlement management message delivery mechanism using a scheduled delivery window
Systems and methods include broadcasting an entitlement management message (EMM) in a communication system using a scheduled delivery window. The systems and methods including receiving a EMM broadcast window from a distribution system, listening for the EMM during the EMM broadcast window, and receiving the EMM from the distribution system during the EMM broadcast window. |
| US09002005B2 |
On-demand switched content encryption
A number of encryption system types utilized by subscriber terminal devices currently requesting tuning to a particular switched digital video (SDV) content selection is determined in response to each change in a number of the subscriber terminals requesting tuning to the particular SDV content selection. SDV content associated with the particular SDV content selection is encrypted as either encrypted SDV content or multiply partially encrypted SDV content based upon the determined number of encryption system types beginning from a current play location indicated for the SDV content selection within an electronic program guide (EPG). Either the encrypted SDV content or the multiply partially encrypted SDV content is distributed as part of an outgoing SDV content stream to the subscriber terminals currently requesting tuning to the particular SDV content selection. |
| US09002001B1 |
Prime field elliptic curve cryptography processor
A system including a processor, a field addition circuit, and a field multiplication circuit. The processor is configured to execute instructions for performing elliptic curve operations on data. The elliptic curve operations include field operations performed in a prime field. The field addition circuit is configured to perform a field addition on the data in the prime field in response to the instructions requiring the field addition. The field multiplication circuit is configured to perform a field multiplication on the data in the prime field in response to the instructions requiring the field multiplication. |
| US09001999B2 |
Updating stored passwords
A device may include an authentication server and a server. The authentication server may receive a first form of a password from a client in accordance with an authentication protocol, and authenticate the client based on a comparison of the first form to a value derived from a second form of the password stored in a password database. The comparison fails when the first form is not comparable to a value derived from the second form. The server may establish a secure connection to the client, receive a plain-text password from the client over the secure connection, authenticate the client by comparing a value derived from the plain-text password with a value derived from the second form, and update the password database with a third form of the password that permits the authentication server to successfully authenticate the client when the authentication server receives the first form. |
| US09001997B2 |
Telephone with handsfree function
An exemplary embodiment of a telephone with handsfree function includes a telephone set and a handset. Two metal pieces are fixed in the handset, and two electromagnetic valves are fixed in the telephone set. A processing circuit in the telephone set powers on the electromagnetic valves when the handsfree function of the telephone is enabled to generate an electromagnetic field. The electromagnetic valves magnetically attract the metal pieces, such that the handset is firmly held on the telephone set. |
| US09001995B2 |
Telecommunications module with disconnection feature
A telecommunications module (1) comprises at least one pair of contact elements (13, 15) each extending between opposed sides (7, 8) of the module and having contacts (9, 10) at each end to which connections can be made. Each contact element comprises first and second parts (17, 19), the first part being resiliently-biased into engagement with the second part at a disconnection point (21), and a separating member (23) is located between the disconnection points of the pair of contact elements. The separating member (23) is shaped to deflect a probe (29), inserted into the module from one of the opposed sides, towards the disconnection point of a selected one of the pair of contact elements to break the engagement between the first and second parts of that contact element. |
| US09001991B1 |
Conveying in-application behavior via a telephone
In response to a user instruction, an electronic device contacts a representative associated with a software application (such as customer support or sales) using a telephone number of the representative. In addition, the electronic device provides an identifier via a telephone connection with the representative to specify the information about the user known to a provider of the software application to allow the representative to access the information. For example, the identifier may include a numerical value (such as an extension), and providing the identifier may involve appending the numerical value to the telephone number prior to the establishment of the telephone connection with the representative. Alternatively or additionally, the identifier may be provided after the telephone connection is established with the representative. |
| US09001988B1 |
Optional services provisioning systems and methods
A system and method can respond to a network user request for information by offering optional services to the user. The system and method can obtain the user request and determine a response to the user request. Based on user information available from the network and the determined response, the system and method can determine the optional services available to the user. The system and method can provide the user with a listing or menu of the optional services available for selection by the user. Once the user has made a selection, the system and method can transfer the user to a platform appropriate for delivery of the selected service. |
| US09001986B2 |
System, method, and computer-readable storage medium for telecom billing outsourcing
A system, method, and computer-readable storage medium for outsourcing telecom billing are disclosed for issuing one or more first billing statements and one or more second billing statements from a first telecom network; and transmitting at least the one or more first billing statements to a second telecom network. The one or more first billing statements may reflect one or more charges from the first telecom network to the second telecom network, and the one or more second billing statements may reflect one or more charges from the second telecom network to one or more customers thereof. The one or more charges of the first and second billing statements may reflect the same service(s). |
| US09001983B2 |
Digital photo frame with dial-a-tag functionality
A method for communication using a digital photo frame, including rendering a digital photo with a plurality of different objects appearing in the photo, the digital photo having one or more name tags associated therewith, wherein a name tag for a digital photo corresponds to an object appearing in the photo, receiving a user input phone call command for any selected one of the name tags associated with the rendered digital photo, and in response to the receiving: automatically determining a phone number for the object corresponding to the selected name tag, and automatically dialing the phone number for the object corresponding to the selected name tag. |
| US09001974B2 |
System for providing telephony and data services
A telephone on-hook/off-hook state communication system. The system includes a first part, for example in the form of an In-Line Analog POTS presentation Adapter, which is operable to interconnect between a telephone apparatus and a pair of conductors, and a second part operable to interconnect between the pair of conductors and a telephone adapter unit, the first part including a variable impedance and means for changing the impedance of the variable impedance such that a property of the impedance at a predetermined frequency (f) greater than zero changes in response to the telephone apparatus transitioning between an on-hook state and an off-hook state, the second part including a detector for detecting the change in the impedance of the variable impedance of the first part via the pair of conductors. |
| US09001971B2 |
X-ray diagnostic apparatus and X-ray beam limiting control method
According to one embodiment, an X-ray diagnostic apparatus includes an X-ray generation unit, X-ray detection unit, X-ray beam limiting unit, and X-ray beam limiting control unit. The X-ray generation unit generates X-rays. The X-ray detection unit detects the X-rays generated by the X-ray generation unit and transmitted through an object placed on a tabletop. The X-ray beam limiting unit includes a plurality of filters to harden radiation quality of the generated X-rays. The X-ray beam limiting control unit controls the X-ray beam limiting unit to place a filter between the X-ray generation unit and the object, which filter is specified from the plurality of filters based on the thickness of the object and the distance between the X-ray generation unit and the X-ray detection unit. |
| US09001965B2 |
Method for representing the radiation exposure of an examination area of an object caused by radiological imaging and corresponding imaging device
A method for representing an exposure to radiation of an examination area of an object caused by radiological imaging is proposed. A 3D image of the examination area of the object being examined is acquired. Absorption coefficients of the examination area are determined. The radiation exposure of the examination area caused by radiological imaging is determined and is represented in the 3D image. A termination criterion is queried. The radiation exposure of the examination area is iteratively determined till the termination criterion is fulfilled. |
| US09001963B2 |
Method and apparatus for generating computed tomography images with offset detector geometries
In accordance with one aspect of the invention a method and apparatus for generating complete scout scans with CT imaging devices having offset detector geometries is provided. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method and apparatus for increasing the reconstructable field of view for CT imaging devices having offset detector geometries is provided. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method and apparatus for image reconstruction for region of interest and full-body imaging with CT imaging devices having offset detector geometries is provided. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a combined x-ray and SPECT imaging system is provided. |
| US09001960B2 |
Method and apparatus for reducing noise-related imaging artifacts
A method for reconstructing an image of an object includes acquiring a set of measured projection data, reconstructing the measured projection data using a first algorithm to generate a first reconstructed image dataset, reconstructing the measured projection data using a second algorithm to generate a second reconstructed image dataset, the second algorithm being utilized to improve the temporal resolution of the second reconstructed image dataset, and generating a final image dataset using both the first and second image datasets. |
| US09001959B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device that includes transistors having the same polarity consumes less power and can prevent a decrease in amplitude of a potential output. The semiconductor device includes a first wiring having a first potential, a second wiring having a second potential, a third wiring having a third potential, a first transistor and a second transistor having the same polarity, and a plurality of third transistors for selecting supply of the first potential to gates of the first transistor and the second transistor or supply of the third potential to the gates of the first transistor and the second transistor and for selecting whether to supply one potential to drain terminals of the first transistor and the second transistor. A source terminal of the first transistor is connected to the second wiring, and a source terminal of the second transistor is connected to the third wiring. |
| US09001953B2 |
Phase interpolation circuit and receiver circuit
A phase interpolation circuit includes: a first circuit configured to generate a first intermediate signal by weighting first reference signals having different phases with a first ratio and combining weighed first reference signals; a second circuit configured to generate a second intermediate signal by weighing second reference signals having phases different from the phases of the first reference signals by a certain value with a second ratio equal to the first ratio and combining weighted second reference signals; and a third circuit configured to generate an output signal by combining the first intermediate signal and the second intermediate signal. |
| US09001949B2 |
Methods and QAM receiver for performing timing recovery
A method in a QAM receiver (100) for performing timing recovery. The QAM receiver (100) is configured to receive a sequence of symbols. Each symbol is represented by a respective IQ pair comprising a respective inphase component I and a respective quadrature component Q. The QAM receiver (100) samples the respective I component and the respective Q component with a relative timing offset between the sampling of the respective I component and the respective Q component. The QAM receiver (100) establishes a first value associated to a quality of the I component samples, and a second value associated to a quality of the Q component samples, and compares the first value and second value to determine if the sampling timing should be advanced or delayed to improve the sample quality. The QAM receiver (100) adjusts subsequent sampling by advancing or delaying a sampling timing based on the comparison. |
| US09001948B2 |
Pulse shaping in a communication system
A transmitter used in a communication system includes a raised cosine filter for transmit pulse shaping. A receiver in the communication system, designed to receive and demodulate transmissions from the transmitter, includes a root-raised cosine filter for receive pulse shaping. The use of a raised cosine filter in the transmitter enables reduction of peak-to-average ratio (PAR) of the output of a power amplifier used in the transmitter, enabling the power amplifier to be implemented to have relatively higher power efficiency than otherwise. In an embodiment, the transmitter and receiver employ π/2-shift binary phase-shift keying (π/2 BPSK), and the raised cosine filter in the transmitter is implemented to have a roll-off factor of 0.5 and a total length of four symbol periods. In an embodiment, the root-raised cosine filter is implemented to have a roll-of factor of 0.2 and a length of four symbol periods. |
| US09001947B2 |
Linearization of multi-antenna receivers with RF pre-distortion
A receiver includes a first receiver chain configured to receive a first input signal and a second receiver chain configured to receive a second input signal. A first phase predistorter is provided in the first receiver chain and is configured to shift a phase of the first input signal by a first phase shift φ′A(f). A combiner is coupled to the first receiver chain and the second receiver chain and combines the first and second input signals. The first phase shift is selected to cause undesired signal components received in the first and second input signals to combine destructively. |
| US09001944B2 |
Inter-carrier interference reduction for multi-carrier signals
In mobile wireless communication systems the channel between the transmitter and receiver varies during a transmission. This is often referred to as fading, of which different kinds exist—each resulting in different impairments with specific properties. A low complexity scheme is described to reduce the noise created by inter-carrier interference or ICI. The method makes use of the guard interval and assumes slow variation of the channel. It is not restricted to wireless communication and can be used in any environment with varying channels. |
| US09001943B2 |
Digital equalizer adaptation using on-die instrument
Systems and methods are provided for adjusting gain of a receiver. Adaptation circuitry is operable to identify, based on a matrix representation of a receiver's output generated from horizontal and vertical sweeps of the receiver's output, an eye opening of the receiver's output. The adaptation circuitry is also operable to determine whether a size of the eye opening needs to be changed. When it is determined that the size of the eye opening needs to be changed, the adaptation circuitry is operable to generate a digital signal to change a gain setting of the receiver. When the signal at the receiver's output is under-equalized, the AC gain of the receiver is increased. When the signal at the receiver's output is over-equalized, the AC gain of the receiver is decreased. |
| US09001941B2 |
Method and apparatus to independently control front end gain and baseband gain
The invention may provide a receiver including a front-end block to provide a front-end gain on a radio-frequency input signal. The front-end block may include a mixer to convert the radio-frequency input signal to a baseband signal. The receiver also may include a wide-band peak detector coupled to the front-end block and a baseband block to provide a baseband gain on the baseband signal. An analog-to-digital converter may convert the baseband signal to a digital signal. The receiver may further include narrow-band peak detector coupled to an output of the analog-to-digital converter. An automatic gain control circuit may independently control the front-end gain and the baseband gain based on outputs from the wide-band peak detector and narrowband peak detector. |
| US09001940B2 |
Frequency offset acquisition method and apparatus thereof
A frequency offset acquisition method includes: receiving a specific sequence signal transmitted through a channel; shifting a frequency of the specific sequence signal at a plurality of different frequencies in frequency domain to thereby generate a plurality of shifted sequence signals respectively; and determining an estimated frequency offset value between a transmitter and a receiver according to the shifted sequence signals. |
| US09001929B2 |
Method and apparatus for transmitting symbol repeatedly in wireless communication system
A method and an apparatus for a transmitter to transmit data in a wireless communication system are provided. This method includes: generating a first signal field including at least one symbol; generating a second signal field configured by repeating at least one symbol of the first signal field; and transmitting a frame including the first signal field, the second signal field, and a data field and a first symbol of the second signal field is modulated through binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and symbols from a second symbol of the second signal field are modulated through Q-BPSK. According to the present invention, a service filed can be extended while maintaining compatibility with a wireless communication system in the related art by transmitting a frame using symbol repetition. |
| US09001926B2 |
Common mode signal reduction in powerline communication devices
An active common mode current limiting mechanism limits common mode currents in a powerline communication device. A powerline coupler determines a common mode signal component of an output signal of the powerline communication device. The powerline coupler provides voltage estimates of the common mode signal component to a signal processing unit. The signal processing unit generates samples of the voltage estimates of the common mode signal component. The signal processing unit adjusts transmit voltage levels of the powerline communication device based on the samples of the voltage estimates of the common mode signal component to limit the common mode signal component of the output signal. |
| US09001924B1 |
Matrix inversion
An apparatus relating generally to matrix inversion is disclosed. This apparatus includes a matrix inversion module coupled to receive matrix information and to provide an approximation of an inversion of the matrix information. The matrix inversion module comprises a decomposition block coupled to receive the matrix information and to decompose the matrix information into diagonal matrix information and off diagonal matrix information, and an expansion block. The expansion block is coupled to receive the diagonal matrix information and the off diagonal matrix information, and to invert a matrix sum of the diagonal matrix information and the off diagonal matrix information by generation of a portion of a series expansion. |
| US09001922B2 |
Power transmitter and wireless power transmission system
A power transmitter 50 is usable in a wireless power transmission system for transmitting power wirelessly. The power transmitter 50 includes a power transmitting section 51 for transmitting power; a communication section 52 for communicating information, for controlling the transmission of the power, with the power receiver 60; and a control section 53 for controlling the power transmitting section 51 such that the power to be sent out by the power transmitting section 51 is higher while the communication section 52 is performing the communication. |
| US09001919B2 |
Communications system using adaptive frequency notching
A communications system includes a receiver unit connected with a transmission channel. The receiver unit determines a signal power of a first communications signal received over the transmission channel. A transmitter unit is connected with the transmission channel and transmits a second communications signal, wherein a gain of the communications signal being output by the transmitter unit is controllable. A control unit controls the gain of the transmitter unit in response to the determined signal power. At the receiver unit, detection of broadcast signal ingress during data communication is improved and methods for avoiding disturbances between coexisting communications systems may become more reliable. Different distances between successive training symbols suitable for channel estimation may be provided to enhance the noise measurement. |
| US09001915B2 |
Communication apparatus, communication method, and transmitting device
In MIMO communication, a communication device is provided that transmits a transfer rate request signal while reducing it and reducing the interference and power consumption when the transfer rate request signal is transmitted substantially without lowering the transmission efficiency. A modulation encoding unit encodes and modulates transmission data transmitted to a communication partner and the transfer rate request signal in the plurality of transmission antennas. A transmission unit and a transmission antenna transmit a signal from the modulation encoding unit. A transmission control unit controls transmission of a signal transmitted from the transmission antenna and transmits a transfer rate request signal of one transmission antenna via the transmission antenna according to a comparison result between a difference of the transfer rate request signal in the respective transmission antenna of the communication partner and a predetermined value. |
| US09001911B2 |
Discrete multi-tone systems for half-duplex IP links
A DMT system for a half-duplex two-way link carries Internet protocol encoded video stream on a coaxial cable that also carries a baseband rendition of the same video stream. A plurality of downlink symbols modulated on a subband of subcarriers in a downlink signal are decoded. The symbols may carry data encoded on a subband using a constellation of QAM symbols assigned to the subband. Other subbands may be associated with different QAM constellations. Lower-order constellations of QAM symbols may be assigned to subbands that include higher-frequency subcarriers and higher-order constellations of QAM symbols may be assigned to subbands that include lower-frequency subcarriers. A block error correction decoder may be synchronized based on an identification of the first constellation of QAM symbols and information identifying boundaries between the plurality of downlink symbols. |
| US09001905B2 |
Distance estimation
A method, comprising: periodically enabling reception of a signal at a receiver, every first time; transforming the received signal in order to determine data in the received signal; comparing the determined data with reference data; and using the difference between the determined data and the reference data to estimate a correction to a multiple of the first time in order to determine a distance between the receiver and an origin of the signal. |
| US09001903B2 |
Communication system, communication device, and method for operating communication system
A communication system includes a first communication device and a second communication device for performing power line communication using a power line as a transmission line with the first communication device, and in the communication system, the first communication device includes a detection mechanism for detecting a zero crossing timing of a commercial power supply and transmitting mechanism for transmitting a transmission signal modulated in OFDM mode at the zero crossing timing, the transmitting mechanism first transmits a header signal having a preamble as the transmission signal when the power line communication is started, and the transmitting mechanism transmits a data signal having no preamble as the transmission signal after the header signal is transmitted, and the second communication device includes a receiving mechanism for performing a demodulation process on the transmission signal which is received, to thereby obtain receiving data. |
| US09001902B2 |
Transmission system
A transmission system includes: a transmitter configured to transmit a first signal; a receiver configured to receiver a second signal from the transmitter; and a bias circuit configured to regulate a direct current bias level of an input terminal of the receiver, wherein the transmitter includes a first amplitude converter configured to convert the first signal to the second signal having a smaller amplitude than an amplitude of the first signal, wherein the receiver includes a second amplitude converter configured to convert the second signal to a third signal having a larger amplitude than the amplitude of the second signal, and wherein the first amplitude converter includes a first capacitance that restricts an amount of charge to be supplied to the receiver. |
| US09001901B2 |
Receiver and semiconductor integrated circuit having the same
A receiver includes a positive pulse determination circuit and a negative pulse determination circuit. The positive pulse determination circuit outputs a first L-level between when a pulse signal having a negative amplitude is detected and when neither a pulse signal having a positive amplitude nor a pulse signal having a negative amplitude is detected; otherwise a first H-level if a pulse signal having a positive amplitude is detected during another period. The negative pulse determination circuit outputs a second L-level between when a pulse signal having a positive amplitude is detected and when neither a pulse signal having a positive amplitude nor a pulse signal having a negative amplitude is detected; otherwise a second H-level is output if a pulse signal having a negative amplitude is detected during the other period. |
| US09001899B2 |
Video information processing system with selective chroma deblock filtering
A video information processing system including a processing circuit and a deblocking filter. The processing circuit provides video information including a chroma component and a luma component. The deblocking filter has an input receiving the video information and an output providing filtered video information, and is configured to selectively disable chroma deblock filtering while luma deblock filtering is enabled. The processing circuit may include a video encoder or a video decoder. The processing circuit may further include control logic providing a control signal to disable chroma deblock filtering within either or both the encoder and decoder. The video encoder may incorporate control information in the output bitstream to control deblock filtering in the downstream decoder to maintain consistency between the encoder and the decoder. |
| US09001897B2 |
Video quality estimation apparatus, video quality estimation method, and program
This invention provides a video quality estimation apparatus (1) including a packet analysis unit (10) that derives the bit rate of an encoded video packet contained in an input packet, and the bit amount of the encoded video packet for each encoded video frame type, a video subset frame characteristic estimation unit (11) that derives the frame characteristic of each video frame type from the bit rate derived by the packet analysis unit (10), and an encoding quality estimation unit (12) that derives, based on the bit rate and the bit amount of each video frame type, a video quality value quantitatively representing the quality of encoded video data that is affected by encoding degradation. The video quality estimation apparatus performs more accurate video quality estimation by taking account of the bit amount of each video frame type. |
| US09001896B2 |
Multistandard video decoder
Methods and systems for processing video are disclosed. The method may include performing by one or more processors and/or circuits on a chip, receiving packetized data within an encoded video stream. An identifier may be determined within the received packetized data that defines one of a plurality of encoding types associated with packets in the encoded video stream. A decoding process may be selected from a plurality of decoding processes based on the determined identifier. The plurality of decoding processes may include a fixed length coding (FLC) process, a variable length coding (VLC) process and/or a context adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC) process. At least a portion of the received packetized data in the encoded video stream may be decoded on the chip, utilizing the selected decoding process. A start code may be determined within the received packetized data that separates packets within the encoded video stream. |
| US09001895B2 |
Image display device and image processing device
An image display device includes: an interpolation phase generator that generates an interpolation phase on the basis of downsampling frame information representing a downsampling timing at which at least one frame image of the image signal is thinned, and an interpolation frame generator that generates an interpolation frame image corresponding to the interpolation phase. The interpolation phase generator generates the interpolation phase such that a phase distance between a first interpolation frame image from among a plurality of interpolation frame images within one period of downsampling periods, and a second interpolation frame image that follows the first interpolation frame image becomes equal to a phase distance between mutually adjacent interpolation frame images obtained when phase distances between a plurality of interpolation frame images are equalized within one period of the downsampling periods. |
| US09001891B2 |
Moving picture coding apparatus and moving picture decoding apparatus
A video encoder (70) for coding moving pictures comprising a buffer (16c) with a plurality of memory areas capable of storing frames composed of top fields and bottom fields, a motion estimation unit (19) operable to code, field by field, inputted pictures performing moving estimation and moving compensation by referring, field by field, to the picture data stored in a memory area, a motion compensation unit (16d), a subtractor (11), a transformation unit (13) and a quantization unit (14), a memory management unit (71) operable to manage, frame by frame, a plurality of memory areas, an inverse quantization unit (16a) and inverse discrete cosine transform unit (16b) operable to decode picture data in coded fields and store the picture data in the decoded field in any of the plurality of memory areas under the management by the memory management unit (71). |
| US09001889B2 |
Methods and apparatus for improved quantization rounding offset adjustment for video encoding and decoding
There are provided methods and apparatus for improved quantization rounding offset adjustment for video encoding and decoding. An apparatus includes a video encoder for encoding an input coding unit by determining a residual for the input coding unit corresponding to a difference between the input coding unit and a reference coding unit, applying a transform to the residual to obtain at least one transform coefficient, and quantizing the at least one transform coefficient by selecting a particular quantization step size and a rounding offset. |
| US09001887B2 |
Double register array buffer for motion compensation
Provided are a method and apparatus for buffering image data for motion compensation. One of two buffers of a double register array buffer, i.e., a first buffer, is selected as a buffer in which data corresponding to a row of a block of an image is to be written and the other of the double register array buffer is selected as a buffer from which data corresponding to another row of the block is to be read, thereby speeding up motion compensation processing when compared with the use of a single register array buffer. |
| US09001885B2 |
System and method for dynamically determining multimedia transmission based on communication bandwidth
A system and method is provided for dynamically adjusting one or more characteristics of a multimedia transmission between a content provider and a content recipient. In one embodiment, the system responds to a change in available bandwidth between the content provider and the content recipient. |
| US09001882B2 |
System for entropy decoding of H.264 video for real time HDTV applications
An embodiment relates to a decoder for decoding CABAC encoded video data in real time for HDTV applications. The decoder comprises a binary arithmetic decoder block for converting an input bit stream into a bin string, a context memory for storing a plurality of context values, and a plurality of finite state machines. Each of the finite state machines is adapted for decoding a particular one of the H.264 syntax elements by providing the binary arithmetic decoder block with an index of the relevant context value within the context memory and by converting the resulting bin stream into a value of the current syntax element. In this manner, a performance of one bin per cycle may be achieved. |
| US09001879B2 |
Apparatus, system and method of beam selection for beamformed diversity wireless communication
Some demonstrative embodiments include devices, systems and/or methods of beam selection for beamformed communication. For example, an apparatus may include a controller to control a plurality of antenna subarrays to form a plurality of directional beams for communicating a beamformed diversity wireless transmission over a plurality of selected directional links, which are selected based on at least one predefined selection metric. |
| US09001878B2 |
Method and apparatus to determine time and distance between transceivers using phase measurements
Systems, apparatuses and methods are disclosed for estimating a signal travel time, and thus distance between transceivers, in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system. The signal travel time is measured between a transmit time (tT) and a receive window time (twindow) adjusted by the phase delay (TΦ). The phase delay (TΦ) is determined as a difference between a receive time (tR) and the receive window time (twindow). The receive time (tR) may be determined based on either an amplitude of the received signal at the receive window time (twindow) or when the received signal crosses a positive-negative axis. In synchronous systems, either a one-way time (OWT) or round-trip time (RTT) may be used for estimation. In asynchronous systems, an RTT is used for estimation. |
| US09001877B2 |
Signal processing for diversity combining radio receiver
A signal processing device for a diversity combining radio receiver is disclosed. Said device comprises a plurality of receive branches and a joint detector adapted to determine a joint received symbol based on a combined signal. Said device also comprises a control unit adapted to determine a branch signal error based on the joint received symbol and the input signal of that receive branch. Each receive branch further comprises an adaptive filter. The control unit is adapted to update the coefficients of the adaptive filter of each receive branch based on a weighted signal error combination, wherein weight of the weighted signal error combination is selected based on channel conditions. A corresponding diversity combining radio receiver, a corresponding electronic apparatus, a corresponding method, a corresponding computer program product, and a corresponding computer readable medium are also disclosed. |
| US09001872B1 |
Flexible data transmission scheme adaptive to communication channel quality
Methods and apparatus for transferring data along a link with a 10GBASE-T transceiver at a variable data rate are disclosed. One exemplary method includes detecting a link quality metric; and selecting a symbol transmission rate and a data modulation scheme based on the detected link quality metric. In many implementations, for a selected symbol transmission rate, if the detected link quality metric is less than a link quality threshold, then the selecting of the data modulation scheme is performed such that a data bit per symbol value represented by the selected data modulation scheme is decreased by at least ½ data bit per symbol. The selected symbol transmission rate and the selected modulation together represent a selectable data rate from a selection of data rates. |
| US09001868B2 |
Systems and methods for enhancing GNSS numerically controlled oscillators
Systems and methods for enhancing numerically controlled oscillators are provided. In certain embodiments, a numerically controlled oscillator enhancer includes a desired rate interface configured to receive a desired numerically controlled oscillator rate from an external device and a closest quantized rate identifier configured to identify a closest quantization rate that is closest to the desired numerically controlled oscillator rate. Further, the numerically controlled oscillator enhancer includes a quantization rate corrector configured to identify the quantization rate correction that, when applied to the closest quantization rate, constrains an accumulated quantization error within an error range and a rate output configured to output a corrected quantized numerically controlled oscillator rate. |
| US09001856B1 |
Diode laser bar mounted on a copper heat-sink
A diode-laser bar package includes a water cooled metal heat-sink. An electrical-insulator-plate is bonded to the heat-sink with a soft solder. A metal sub-mount and a first electrode are bonded, spaced apart, on the electrical-insulator-plate. A solder-bridge fills the space between the first electrode and the sub-mount. A diode-laser bar is bonded to the sub-mount. A second electrode is bonded to the first electrode with an electrically insulating bond. Electrical connection between the second electrode and the diode-laser bar is made by a plurality of wire-bond electrical leads. |
| US09001855B1 |
Methods and systems for reducing slow axis divergence in laser diodes
A method, and systems to implement the method, for reducing slow axis divergence in a laser diode bar including tailoring a power deposition profile across the emitter so as to reduce thermal gradients, thereby resulting in a substantially (nearly) uniform temperature across the width of the emitter. |
| US09001844B2 |
Overlapping priority contention windows for G3 power line communications networks
Embodiments of methods and systems for overlapping priority contention windows in G3-PLC networks are presented. In one embodiment, a Normal Priority Contention Window (NPCW) is allowed to overlap with a High Priority Contention Window (HPCW). The minimum contention window for the normal priority frames (i.e., NPCW) is equal to or longer than the contention window for high priority frames (i.e., HPCW). By making the NPCW longer than the HPCW, the high priority frames will have a better chance than normal priority frames to get access to the channel on transmission reattempts. |
| US09001842B2 |
Parallel receiver interface with receiver redundancy
A communications parallel bus receiver interface having N data lines and method of operation. The parallel bus interface employs receiver redundancy at the bus level such that there are N+1 receiver devices. An input switching network is configured to receive and couple N parallel data signals along respective paths to corresponding parallel-configured bit receiver devices, and adapted to couple one received data signal to two adjacent bit receivers. A calibration device calibrates one of the two adjacent bit receivers, and a qualification device qualifies data decisions made during calibration processes performed by the calibration device. The method cycles through each of N+1 receivers to periodically recalibrate each receiver (one at a time) while N inputs are processed continuously and uninterrupted. The interface is configured such that another receiver is receiving the same data as the receiver that is being calibrated, and the qualifications for receiver calibration can be made with minimal circuit overhead. |
| US09001841B2 |
Communication control device, parallel computer system, and communication control method
A communication control device includes a plurality of inputting units to which a packet is inputted a plurality of outputting units to which the packet is outputted a selector that selects an output packet to output from an identical outputting unit among a plurality of conflict packets having the identical outputting unit as a destination, the plurality of conflict packets being selected among a plurality of packets inputted to the plurality of inputting units, based on priority information set in each conflict packet and a processing unit that updates the respective priority information of unselected packets not selected as the output packet by the selector among the plurality of conflict packets based on weighting information in accordance with a packet size. |
| US09001838B2 |
Centralized broadband gateway for a wireless communication system
A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a centralized broadband gateway for a wireless communication system, including: a router/gateway module which receives encoded compressed audio/video (A/V) streams and distributes the encoded compressed audio/video A/V streams; multiple audio/video decoders which receive the encoded compressed A/V streams from the a router/gateway module, decode the encoded compressed A/V streams, and output uncompressed A/V streams; and an integrated Wireless High Definition Multimedia Interface (WHDMI) which receives the uncompressed A/V streams from the multiple audio/video decoders and transmits the uncompressed A/V streams wirelessly to media devices, without deploying individual media processors at each media device. Other embodiments are disclosed. |
| US09001829B2 |
Techniques for routing data between network areas
Techniques for routing data between network area are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for routing data between layer 2 network areas of backbone bridges comprising the steps of receiving data at a network element containing an internally terminated Network to Network Interface (NNI) for a plurality of network areas, identifying a destination address associated with the data, determining a network area of the plurality of network areas associated with the data, and performing one or more data flow treatments associated with the data using the internally terminated Network to Network Interface (NNI). |
| US09001828B2 |
Method and apparatus for pre-classifying packets
The disclosed embodiments relate to a system that provides an intelligent port infrastructure for communication network devices. This is accomplished by incorporating a highly configurable pre-classifier module into the port infrastructure. This pre-classifier makes it possible to realign packet data to add a configurable number of bytes to the front of the packet, and also to select interesting data from incoming packets for further analysis. The selected data is sent into a configurable classification engine, which generates instructions that specify how to determine associated packet attributes. The packet attributes are then generated based on the instructions, and are forwarded along with the packet to downstream processing units. |
| US09001827B2 |
Methods for configuring network switches
Network switches may be configured using flow tables. Flow table entries may contain header fields and associated actions. When a packet is received by a network switch, the network switch can compare fields in the packet to fields in the flow table entries and can take corresponding actions when matches are detected. A controller server can determine the topology of a network and can gather information on the capacities of network switches and other network switch capabilities. Based on this information and network configuration rules, the controller server can generate flow tables for the network switches that direct the switches to forward packets along desired paths through the network. The flow table entries for switches that are nearer the network core can be provided with more wildcarding than switches nearer the network edge. Traffic can be forwarded through encapsulation and deencapsulation engines to allow tunneling between isolated network domains. |
| US09001826B2 |
Method, apparatus, system, and article of manufacture for reliable low-bandwidth information delivery across mixed-mode unicast and multicast networks
A system and method are provided wherein information is disseminated using a reliable IP multicast network implementation coupled with dynamically assigned proxy nodes serving as zonal aggregation points. These nodes share information with each other over the reliable IP multicast network, augmenting this function with a reliable point-to-point communication infrastructure between proxy nodes in those instances where IP multicast is not available or prone to error. |
| US09001824B2 |
Fabric formation for virtual cluster switching
One embodiment of the present invention provides a switch system. The switch includes a port to couple to a second switch and a control mechanism configured. During operation, the control mechanism receives from the second switch a set of configuration information. Based on the received configuration information, the control mechanism invites the second switch to join a virtual cluster switch. |
| US09001823B2 |
Method and system for service clock transparent transmission in optical transport network
A method and system for service clock transparent transmission in an optical transport network (OTN) are provided. The system includes a service accessing end and an OTN receiving end; the method includes the following steps: the OTN receiving end performs de-mapping operation to an OTN frame after receiving the OTN frame, and performs two-level buffering operation to the service data flow recovered therefrom, a first buffering unit performs a homogenization treatment to the service data flow and then outputs to a second buffering unit, which the second buffering unit outputs the service data flow according to the service clock after receiving the service data flow. After adopting the present invention, it is able to ensure that the quality of the recovered service clock is relatively higher, which meets the customer requirement on the related specification of the service clock. |
| US09001822B2 |
Method and system for utilizing a 10/100/1G/10G Base-T PHY device for single channel and shared channel networks
Aspects of a method and system for utilizing a 10/100/1G/10GBase-T PHY device for single channel and shared channel networks are provided. In this regard, at least one switching element may be utilized to configure an Ethernet over twisted pair PHY device for communication over a single and/or shared channel. The switching element may enable switching between a transmitter being coupled to a shared channel and a receiver being coupled to a shared channel. Additionally, the switching elements may be based on whether the transmitter is connected to a standard 10/100/1G/10GBase-T network, or to a single and/or shared channel network, for example. In this manner, the configured PHY device may remain compatible with existing Ethernet networks. The PHY device may be configured externally and/or internally. The polarity of transmitted and/or received data may be configured based on a polarity of data received from a shared channel. |
| US09001817B2 |
Method and system for maintaining wireless links in a communication network
A method of operating a communication system comprises sending a frame by an access node to a wireless device where the frame comprises a packet. A counter is initialized and a timer for each frame is initiated. The method continues with the access node determining if a response associated with the packet is received before the expiration of the timer. If the response is received prior to the expiration of the timer, the counter and the timer are reset. If a response is not received prior to the expiration of the timer, the counter is incremented. Upon the counter meeting a criteria of a certain quantity of lost packets, the access node performs a synchronization process. |
| US09001815B2 |
Method and apparatus for signaling transmission characteristics in a wireless communication network
A wireless network uses an improved frame structure to increase timing acquisition capabilities as well as reduction of spectral lines. In one aspect, the frame packet can be used to communicate the different modes of operation under which the packet was created. |
| US09001814B2 |
Method for transmitting uplink signals
A method for transmitting uplink signals, which include ACK/NACK signals, control signals other than the ACK/NACK signals, and data signals, is disclosed. The method comprises serially multiplexing the control signals and the data signals; sequentially mapping the multiplexed signals within a specific resource region in accordance with a time-first mapping method, the specific resource region including a plurality of symbols and a plurality of virtual subcarriers; and arranging the ACK/NACK signals at both symbols near symbols to which a reference signal of the plurality of symbols is transmitted. Thus, the uplink signals can be transmitted to improve receiving reliability of signals having high priority. |
| US09001813B2 |
Radio system with configurable links
A system includes radio devices where radio links between the devices are configured by bringing the radio devices in close proximity for a few seconds. A proximity detector of a radio device detects the proximity of another radio device and an automatic registration process begins to configure a link between the devices. One-to-one or one-to-many links may be established. Links may be cancelled by repeating the process. The devices may include an indicator to indicate establishment of the link. |
| US09001804B2 |
Sharing multi description coded content utilizing proximate helpers
An apparatus, system, and method utilizing multi-description coding (MDC) and one or more cooperative helper nodes to send streaming content on an uplink to a client over multiple paths. The client receives the multiple descriptions and aggregates them together to ideally obtain the original content at its original quality; however, if one or more of the descriptions is lost in the transmission, then the entire content can be generated from the remaining one or more descriptions that did arrive successfully. |
| US09001803B2 |
Method and system for switched beam antenna communications
A system for processing an RF signal received via a plurality of antenna elements includes a connection arrangement for selecting a sub-set of a given number of RF signals received from the antenna elements as well as a processing arrangement for combining the received RF signals of the selected sub-set into a single RF signal for demodulation. The system includes an RF phasing circuit for producing selective combinations of the received RF signals by applying relative RF phase shift weights to the RF signals that are combined; each combination includes RF signals received from a number of adjacent antenna elements equal to the number of the RF signals in the sub-set to be selected. A radio performance estimator generates for each selective combination of RF signals at least one non-RF radio performance indicator representative of the quality of the RF signals in the combination. A decision block identifies the sub-set of received RF signals to be selected as a function of the one radio performance indicator generated for the selective combinations of the received RF signals. |
| US09001799B2 |
Method of transmitting and receiving signal in a distributed antenna system
A method of transmitting a signal from a base station to a user equipment in a multi-node system comprises down-link-transmitting a signal at a first zone of a radio frame by using centralized antennas (CAs); and downlink-transmitting a signal at a second zone used for a backhaul link of a relay in the radio frame by using distributed nodes, wherein the first zone and the second zone are multiplexed by time division. |
| US09001796B2 |
Temporary medium handover
A system and method are disclosed that reduce collisions on a wireless medium shared by devices associated with a wireless network, thereby improving throughput on the wireless medium. For some embodiments, a first device reserves access to the medium for a first interval, and then grants medium access to a second device for a remainder of the first interval. If the second device transmits data during the remainder of the first interval, medium access is maintained with the second device and then the second device is prevented from contending for medium access during a subsequent contention period. Otherwise, medium access is returned to the first device and the second device is allowed to contend for medium access during the contention period. |
| US09001795B2 |
Power control loop for a CDMA system
In a method and a device improved power control for the inner loop of a CDMA system is provided. A model for the power coupling caused by the SIR target inner loop is provided. Hereby a decoupling function for the power coupling caused by the SIR target inner loop can be provided and used when controlling the power in the inner loop. |
| US09001794B2 |
Methods and devices for assigning a wireless communication device to a wireless coverage area based on early termination gain
Methods and systems for assigning a wireless communication device (WCD) to a wireless coverage are a based on early termination gain (ETG) are presented. In particular, a RAN may receive a request, from a WCD, for an assignment to one of a plurality of wireless coverage areas. In response to receiving the request, the RAN may select a wireless coverage area of the plurality that has a highest ETG, and assign the WCD to the selected wireless coverage area. Prior to selecting this wireless coverage area, the RAN may optionally remove one or more wireless coverage areas with high utilization from consideration. |
| US09001793B2 |
Communication system, communication apparatus, communication method and computer program product
A relay node (or relay station) assists in providing asymmetric communications with a mobile station. When resources are less than ideal for providing a direct uplink or downlink with the mobile station to a first base station, the relay station is employed to provide an uplink or downlink to a second base station. The mobile station may still maintain a direct downlink/uplink to the first base station when adequate resources are present. To assist in resource coordination the first and second base stations share scheduling information for the mobile station. This approach allows a second base station to server as a surrogate base station for a first base station, when inadequate resources are available for a direct uplink or downlink to the mobile station. The relay node makes it possible for the mobile station to maintain the uplink (or downlink) with the second base station, while remaining assigned to the first base station. |
| US09001790B2 |
Processing apparatus, mobile communication system, base station apparatus, method for switching connection of mobile station, and non-transitory computer readable medium storing program
A processing apparatus operates aiming to realize handover to each mobile station while reducing a failure rate of the handover even when PSC Confusion is generated. More specifically, when a connection of the mobile station is switched from a first base station to a second base station, the processing apparatus determines the second base station by selecting from a plurality of base stations according to connection history information indicating a success or a failure of past switching of the connection from the first base station to at least one of the plurality of base stations. |
| US09001787B1 |
System and method for implementing handover of a hybrid communications module
A system and process for switching to or between multiple networks to optimize communication between an energy device, e.g., meter, in proximity to at least one of the multiple networks and a head end server to facilitate communication of energy-related data therebetween is described. The system includes a communications module associated with the energy device for controlling the switching between networks and/or the directing of energy-related data communications over different networks in accordance with data type. |
| US09001785B2 |
Access control method, access control apparatus and communication system
An access control method, an access control apparatus and a communication system are disclosed, and a mechanism for processing Emergency Call (EMC) services is disclosed, and such mechanism ensures continuity of the EMC service while implementing the access control under a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) mechanism. The access control method includes: obtaining CSG area information of a target area; and controlling the access of a User Equipment (UE) to the target area according to the CSG area information of the target area and/or whether an EMC service exists on the UE. The present invention is applicable to the scenario in which the UE accesses a network. |
| US09001784B2 |
Handover of multimode user equipment between radio access technologies for reduced call setup time
A communication system that employs Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWAN) of different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) ensures that simultaneous handover to 1×RTT and 1×EVDO is attempted only when warranted. The User Equipment (UE) that has multiple transceivers and is actively involved in a packet data session can be transferred from LTE to 1×EVDO. A criterion (e.g., cost, subscriber preference, operator preference, or network data traffic) can be used to determine when it is warranted to incur the setup delay time to perform simultaneous handover of both a voice connection and a packet data session. Conversely, if there is no active data session, generally the UE can be handed over only to 1×RTT for the voice/Short Message Service (SMS) call. In an aspect, the criterion can still dictate setting up simultaneously even for an active packet data session, such as for maintaining a time critical function of the device. |
| US09001783B2 |
Dual base stations for wireless communications systems
A network apparatus comprises a controller to determine a first base station for transmitting data and to determine a second different base station for receiving data. In one embodiment, the network apparatus further comprises a transceiver to transmit data to the first base station while associated with the second base station. The transceiver is operable to receive data from the second base station while associated with the first base station. |
| US09001782B2 |
Concentrator for multiplexing access point to wireless network connections
Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate multiplexing communications from multiple downstream access points to one or more upstream access points. In particular, a concentrator component is provided that can establish a single transport layer connection with an upstream access point along with multiple application layer connections over the single transport layer connection for each of multiple downstream access points and/or related mobile devices. The downstream access points and/or mobile devices can provide identifiers to the concentrator component, which can utilize the identifiers to track communications with the upstream access points. In this regard, the upstream access points can additionally include identifiers received from the concentrator component in subsequent communications to facilitate identifying the appropriate downstream access point and/or mobile device. |
| US09001779B2 |
Method for transmitting pilot signal for machine to machine communication in wireless communication system and apparatus thereof
A method for transmitting a pilot signal for machine to machine (M2M) communication in a wireless communication system and an apparatus thereof are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of configuring a basic unit including a plurality of pilot resource elements (REs) and data resource elements; allocating pilot signal to the plurality of pilot resource elements to the basic unit; and transmitting the basic unit to a receiver in a subframe unit in accordance with a rule which is previously defined, wherein the resource elements are time-frequency resources defined by one symbol index and one subcarrier index, and the basic unit is transmitted at a subframe except for a subframe at which a control channel is transmitted. |
| US09001767B1 |
Selection of wireless backhaul links based on uptime factors
Systems, methods, and software for providing a wireless local area network to user devices using a wireless access node are provided herein. In one example, a method of operating a wireless access node is provided. The method includes providing a wireless local area network for user devices, selecting a first wireless backhaul link for communications of the wireless local area network from among a plurality of wireless links provided by a plurality of wireless access nodes based on at least signal strengths of the wireless links, and selecting a second wireless backhaul link as a backup for the first wireless backhaul link from among the plurality of wireless links based on at least the signal strengths and uptime information of the wireless links. |
| US09001766B2 |
Method for re-direction of uplink access
Disclosed are methods for prompt re-direction of uplink access of a specific user equipment and controlling random access. Specifically, for initial random access to a network, if a user equipment (UE) transmits a preamble (S201), which includes information related to random access, to a network node, the network node sends grant/rejection information of the preamble and re-direction information as a response message to the preamble (S203) to the UE. |
| US09001763B2 |
Wireless service access method and apparatus
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a wireless service access method and apparatus. In the method, a group policy of a wireless access point AP and a group priority of a virtual access point VAP are configured, an access priority of a service access request of a user is determined according to the group policy of the AP and the group priority of the VAP, and a service access operation is executed according to the access priority. In the embodiments of the present invention, a differential QoS guarantee based on a user priority is provided, and QOS of a high priority user and a high priority service in a situation that wireless resources are constrained or environment is severe can be ensured. |
| US09001761B2 |
Method of transmitting and receiving signal in a distributed antenna system
A method of transmitting a signal from a base station to a user equipment in a distributed antenna system (DAS) comprises equally broadcasting DA common broadcast information, which includes information required for initial access, into a cell through a plurality of DA groups of the base station; and independently broadcasting DA specific broadcast information, which includes information on the number of antennas of each DA group, through each DA group of the base station, wherein the DA group includes one or more DAs. |
| US09001758B2 |
Flexible bandwidth small cells
Methods, systems, and devices for utilizing flexible bandwidth carriers for small cells are provided. Bandwidth scaling factor(s) for a small cell may be determined. A flexible bandwidth carrier may be generated for the small cell utilizing the bandwidth scaling factor. Some embodiments provide assistance with active hand-in due to more available PN offsets in the flexible bandwidth domain. Some embodiments enhance small cell discovery with high bandwidth scaling factor beacon-like small cells with little more power than that corresponding to the same power spectral density for normal bandwidth small cell. Some embodiments reduce the interference caused by small cell to macrocell users using an adaptive bandwidth scaling factor for small cells based on number of users supported and their traffic demand, to control the extent of overlap the macrocell has with small cell and the interference to macrocell mobiles. Some embodiments utilize self-configuration for small cells utilizing flexible bandwidth channels. |
| US09001757B2 |
Communication apparatus, communication method, computer program and communication system
A communication apparatus to transmit a plurality of frames in a network, where each frame includes one or more symbols having a symbol length, includes a data processing unit. The data processing unit acquires an inter-frame space between two consecutive frames from the plurality of frames. The data processing unit further adjusts the inter-frame space between the two consecutive frames upon determination that the inter-frame space is not an integral multiple of the symbol length. The communication apparatus also includes a transmitter unit to transmit the adjusted consecutive frames. |
| US09001753B1 |
Assignment and use of wireless LAN channels in high station density environments
An access point operates in a frequency spectrum which is divided into master channels, each master channel further having a plurality of sub-channels, each sub-channel capable of supporting a wireless LAN session independently of any other said sub-channel. The access point assigns one of the sub-channels within the master channel to a requesting station according to a maximum number of user assigned to the particular sub-channel, or alternatively, the access point makes the assignment of a particular sub-channel to a particular station according the bandwidth requirement bandwidth requirement. |
| US09001748B2 |
Method for scheduling traffic of home node, and applied to the same
Disclosed are a method of scheduling traffic at a home node and an apparatus employing the same. The home node integrated with the femtocell function to interwork with a mobile phone, the home gateway function to control electronic devices, and a set-top box function schedules traffic data transmission according to the characteristics of available services, thereby ensuring the optimum QoS (Quality of Service) according to the service characteristics. Accordingly, the QoS of mobile communication services requiring real time is ensured independently from that of Internet application services. Priorities are assigned to Internet application services according to the characteristics thereof, so that data requirements are satisfied according to services. |
| US09001746B2 |
Network-initiated data transfer in a mobile network
A method for IP [=Internet Protocol] communication to/from a mobile terminal via a network element in a mobile network. The mobile terminal uses an in-band trigger for establishing an IP connection. The network element uses an out-band trigger (3-8) for initiating IP connection establishment. The mobile terminal responding to the out-band trigger by using an in-band trigger for establishing the IP connection (3-10). After the data transfer (3-12), the mobile terminal and the network element maintain the IP connection for a predetermined time after the latest transaction (3-14). |
| US09001737B2 |
EMBMS service activation and maintenance procedure in multi-frequency networks
A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. The apparatus receives a user service description (USD) message. When a frequency indicated in the USD message is not a current frequency, the apparatus determines that a system information message is received, determines that the frequency indicated in the USD message is included in the system information message, determines that the frequency is a neighboring cell frequency, sets a priority of the frequency to a highest priority, and measures a signal strength of the frequency when the frequency is included in the system information message, performs a cell reselection determination procedure based on the signal strength of the frequency, performs cell reselection to the neighboring cell based on a result of the cell reselection determination procedure, and acquires the multicast service in the neighboring cell on the frequency. |
| US09001735B2 |
Method and apparatus for high rate packet data transmission
In a data communication system capable of variable rate transmission, high rate packet data transmission improves utilization of the forward link and decreases the transmission delay. Data transmission on the forward link is time multiplexed and the base station transmits at the highest data rate supported by the forward link at each time slot to one mobile station. The data rate is determined by the largest C/I measurement of the forward link signals as measured at the mobile station. Upon determination of a data packet received in error, the mobile station transmits a NACK message back to the base station. The NACK message results in retransmission of the data packet received in error. The data packets can be transmitted out of sequence by the use of sequence number to identify each data unit within the data packets. |
| US09001734B2 |
Method and system for measurement report in coordinated multi-point transmission and reception system
A method and system for measurement reporting in a Coordinated Multipoint transmission/reception (CoMP) system are disclosed in the present invention. The method includes: according to a CoMP measurement configuration message sent by a serving cell, when a measurement event report triggering criterion is satisfied, a terminal reporting a measurement report to the serving cell; wherein, the measurement event report triggering criterion includes: a movement speed measurement value of the serving cell being lower than a preset first measurement threshold, and a ratio of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement value of the serving cell to an RSRP measurement value of a measuring cell being lower than a preset second measurement threshold. |
| US09001733B2 |
Offloading running a needed edge application to a neighboring basestation in a mobile data network
Mobile network services are performed in a mobile data network that includes a radio access network and a core network. A breakout component in the radio access network breaks out data coming from a basestation connected to user equipment, and hosts edge applications that perform one or more mobile network services at the edge of the mobile data network. When a breakout component is not running a needed edge application, and the needed edge application is running in a neighboring basestation, the breakout component can route the request for the needed edge application to the neighboring basestation via the overlay network. The neighboring basestation processes the request using the needed edge application, then returns the data to the original basestation via the overlay network. The original basestation thus maintains the subscriber session with the user equipment while offloading the work of the needed application to a neighboring basestation. |
| US09001732B2 |
Packet radio network and method
A packet radio network provides a facility for communicating internet packets to and/or from a mobile user equipment. In response to a packet data protocol activation request message requesting a common packet data protocol context, a serving support node is operable in combination with a gateway support node to establish a common packet data protocol context in association with a packet communications bearer. The common packet data protocol context is established to communicate internet protocol packets via the packet communications bearer according to an internet protocol version specified by the mobile user equipment for one or more communications sessions. |
| US09001730B2 |
Method and system for message routing in IMS and circuit switched networks
Method and gateway unit for registering a user terminal (34) of a multimedia subscriber being a subscriber of a circuit switched network (32), in an IP multimedia system (IMS) network (31). Registration in the IMS network (31) of a first contact address associated with a circuit switched communication capability of the user terminal (34) for regular communication purposes is used, as well as registration in the IMS network (31) of a second contact address associated with a circuit switched communication capability of the user terminal (34) for messaging purposes. |
| US09001728B2 |
Data transmission across independent streams
Various systems and methods are provided for transmission of related data components across independent streams. In one embodiment, among others, a transmitting device may separate transmission data into related data components and transmit each related data component in an associated transport stream. Each related data component includes a synchronization tag associated with synchronization of the related data component within the transmission data. In another embodiment, a receiving device may receive related data components transmitted in separate transport streams and decode the related data components based at least in part upon a synchronization tag included in each related data component. In another embodiment, among others, a method for includes receiving data components transmitted on a plurality of transport streams, separating related data components from unrelated data components in the transport streams based at least in part upon a synchronization tag of each related data component; and decoding the related data components. |
| US09001725B2 |
Multicast broadcast single frequency network data scheduling and handling
A system is provided for scheduling for a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN). The system includes a central control configured to promote a plurality of enhanced node Bs (ENBs) transmitting one or more multicast traffic channels (MTCHs). The one or more MTCHs are provided during a variable scheduling period (SP) and include a data portion that contains MBSFN traffic content and a variable scheduling portion that contains scheduling information related to the MBSFN traffic content. |
| US09001722B2 |
Device for selection of bearer channel type for broadcasting contents to communication terminals
A device is dedicated to selection of a type of bearer channel for broadcasting contents between a service platform adapted to set up point-to-point and point-to-multipoint type bearer channels and a terminal, each content being associated with at least one set of broadcast parameters defining at least the type of bearer channel for broadcasting it and the frequency channel on which it is broadcast on a bearer channel of the type. This device comprises: i) control module adapted, in case of selection of a content by the user of a communication terminal, to determine data representing at least one set of broadcast parameters associated with the selected content, and ii) selection module adapted, in the presence of a set that has been determined designating an accessible point-to-multipoint bearer channel, to communicate to the terminal the broadcast parameters of that set so that it can receive the selected content on the designated point-to-multipoint type bearer channel, and if not, to request the creation by the service platform of a point-to-point type bearer channel with the terminal so that it can receive the selected content on the point-to-point type bearer channel that has been created. |
| US09001721B2 |
Device, system and method of power management in a wireless area network
Device, system, and method of power management. In some demonstrative embodiments, a device may include a wireless communication unit to transmit to a control point of a wireless area network an information request frame identifying at least one other wireless communication device in the wireless area network, wherein the wireless communication unit is to receive from the control point a response including wakeup information defining a wakeup schedule including at least one wakeup period of the other wireless communication device, and wherein, based on the wakeup information, the wireless communication unit is to transmit a wireless transmission directly to the other wireless communication device during the wakeup period. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US09001720B2 |
Power save with data fetch time, with end of data indication, and with more data acknowledgement
A particular method includes receiving a power save polling frame from a station at an access point. The method also includes, in response to receiving the power save polling frame, transmitting a frame from the access point to the station indicating whether traffic associated with the station is buffered at the access point. Another particular method includes transmitting a frame from the station to the access point indicating that the station is to enter the power save mode and refraining from entering the power save mode until receipt of an end of data frame. Yet another particular method includes receiving a fetch trigger frame at an access point and refraining from transmitting one or more fetched data frames from the access point until a fetch time has elapsed or a delivery trigger frame is received. The access point is configured to communicate with other stations during the fetch time. |
| US09001718B2 |
Key storage and retrieval in a breakout component at the edge of a mobile data network
Mobile network services are performed in a mobile data network in a way that is transparent to most of the existing equipment in the mobile data network. The mobile data network includes a radio access network and a core network. A breakout component in the radio access network breaks out data coming from a basestation, and performs one or more mobile network services at the edge of the mobile data network based on the broken out data. These services may require the use of keys. Keys are stored and retrieved from a non-volatile key storage in a way that assures subsystems that need the keys have access to the keys. The keys retrieved from the non-volatile key storage are stored in a shared memory in the requesting subsystem, which allows any applications that requires access to the keys to directly access the keys in the shared memory. |
| US09001717B2 |
Method and apparatus of transmitting and receiving signal in a distributed antenna system
A method of transmitting a signal from a base station to a user equipment in a multi-node system is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of allocating a resource of a certain zone to each of nodes in accordance with a radio resource multiplexing scheme; and transmitting the signal to the user equipment by using a resource zone allocated to the node. |
| US09001711B2 |
Uplink feedback method, system and device
There are disclosed a method of and system and apparatus for performing an uplink feedback, applicable to a dynamic sub-frame system, so as to avoid collision of ACK/NACK resources between a non-dynamic system and a dynamic system from occurring. The method includes: determining ACK/NACK resource for carrying ACK/NACK, corresponding to downlink data in a sub-frame n according to a set of sub-frames including a sub-frame in which the downlink data is received; and transmitting ACK/NACK information corresponding to the downlink data over the ACK/NACK resource in the sub-frame n, wherein the set of sub-frames includes a first set of sub-frames and/or a second set of sub-frames; the set of sub-frames is determined by obtained uplink/downlink sub-frame configuration information and flexible sub-frame information; the uplink/downlink sub-frame configuration information indicates the type of each sub-frame in a radio frame as an uplink sub-frame, a downlink sub-frame and a special sub-frame; and the flexible sub-frame information indicates the type of each sub-frame in a radio frame as an uplink sub-frame, a downlink sub-frame, a special sub-frame and a flexible sub-frame, wherein the flexible sub-frame can be used for transmission of uplink or downlink data. |
| US09001709B2 |
Method and apparatus for rebalancing the sizes of the downlink (DL) association sets for component carriers having different time division duplex subframe configurations
Methods, apparatus and computer program products are provided for rebalancing the sizes of downlink (DL) association sets for component carriers having different time division duplex subframe configurations. A method is provided that includes determining DL subframes that are included in a DL association set for each of a plurality of component carriers. In an instance in which the number of acknowledgement (ACK)/negative acknowledgement (NACK) bits corresponding to the DL subframes included in the DL association sets for respective component carriers differ by at least a predetermined amount, the method modifies the number of ACK/NACK bits corresponding to the DL subframes that are included in the DL association sets for each of the respective component carriers. The method may also cause transmission of the ACK/NACK bits in accordance with the DL association sets, as modified, via the respective component carriers. Corresponding apparatus and computer program products are also provided. |
| US09001706B2 |
Method and apparatus for improved data communication in cellular access systems
A method for use in a cellular access system is disclosed. The system comprises at least one Radio Base Station (RBS) and a User Equipment (UE), which can send and receive data blocks to and from each other, comprising sequence numbers. The method, performed by a reporting party, comprises sending a transmission comprising a report to the report receiving party, said report comprising information on whether or not data blocks have been received successfully. The method further comprises sending said report together with data to the report receiving party or to another party. The method further comprises attaching addresses for a recipient of the data blocks and for the report in the transmission. The method further comprises deciding the contents of the report using at least one of a list of priority rules which have been given an internal priority ranking. |
| US09001705B2 |
Mobile communication system and radio base station
A mobile communication system according to the present invention is configured such that a relay node RN is configured to time-share a subframe for transmission and reception in a Un interface and a subframe for transmission and reception in a Uu interface, and a radio base station DeNB is configured to transmit SI, which is to be transmitted in a subordinate cell, to the relay node RN via individual signaling. |
| US09001704B2 |
Automatic gain control apparatus and method in a wireless communication system
An apparatus and method for adaptively adjusting a target Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) for Automatic Gain Control (AGC) in a full-duplex relay apparatus with an interference cancellation function. A Signal to Interference Ratio (SIR) estimation block estimates an SIR based on an interference signal estimated from a received signal and an interference-cancelled signal determined by cancelling the estimated interference signal from the received signal. A target RSSI determination block determines a target RSSI according to the estimated SIR. An AGC block adjusts a gain for the received signal based on the determined target RSSI. |
| US09001703B2 |
Scalable broadband group call via unicast downlink traffic consolidation and local re-broadcast
A method, system, and device consolidate unicast downlinks in a broadband radio access network (RAN) for a requested group call. A subset of subscriber devices of the group in sufficiently close proximity is detected, one subscriber device in the subset is selected to act as a subscriber device to subscriber device broadcast downlink repeater (SD-BDR), and group call data is transmitted to each subscriber not in a subset via a separate unicast downlink, and to each subset via a single outbound unicast link to the selected subscriber device. The selected SD-BDR in each subset then re-broadcasts the group call data to the other members of the subset, thereby reducing outbound broadband resource usage in the broadband RAN. |
| US09001701B1 |
Priority assignment and signaling of scalable video in a switch based system
Techniques for assignment and signaling of the priority information within the scalable video bitstream in a switch-based conferencing system are provided. The assignment of the priority across layers is made that achieves improved user experiences in common use cases, and a signaling scheme is provided that allows the server to efficiently forward the bitstream to each receiver according to its service request and downlink conditions. The impact of uplink bandwidth changes is considered intelligently so that the server can run with very low cost/high capacity, which is important to cloud-based services. Bit fields are defined in the Real-Time Protocol (RTP) extension headers to carry the priority information. |
| US09001700B2 |
Scheduling and resourcing allocation across multiple domains
A telepresence conferencing system is disclosed in which scheduling and resource and personnel reservations may be made across various entities (i.e.; domains). Additionally, each location that is part of the telepresence conference may selectively, and independently of the other locations, designate all or selected portions of its media stream be carried over a different network from the one used to setup, control, and reserve resources for the telepresence conference. |
| US09001696B2 |
Distributed dynamic virtual machine configuration service
An approach is provided in which a local module receives a discovery message from a virtual network endpoint that is devoid of a corresponding virtual IP address. The local module sends one or more unicast network configuration messages to a dynamic configuration service and, in turn, the local module receives one or more unicast network configuration responses from the dynamic configuration service. One of the unicast network configuration responses includes one or more network configuration parameters. The local module configures the virtual network endpoint according to one or more of the network configuration parameters. |
| US09001693B2 |
Enhanced discovery procedures in peer-to-peer wireless local area networks (WLANs)
Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally provide methods and apparatus for enhanced discovery procedures in peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless local area networks (WLANs). With these procedures, discovery duration may be decreased, battery power consumption may be reduced during discovery, provided services may be ascertained during the device discovery phase without performing a separate service discovery phase, and/or the discovery range may be extended in an effort to discover a greater number of devices. |
| US09001692B2 |
Route calculation apparatus and route calculation method
A route calculation apparatus calculates an intra-domain route in a target domain assigned with the route calculation apparatus. The intra-domain route is a part of a route for a target path in a network divided into plural domains. Each of the plural domains includes at least one node device. The target path passes through transit domains out of the plural domains from a source node device included in a source domain to a destination node device included in a destination domain. The route calculation apparatus includes a calculator and a route calculation requester. The calculator calculates the intra-domain route in the target domain. The route calculation requester requests a first route calculation apparatus assigned to the destination domain to calculate an intra-domain route in the destination domain when the target domain is one of the plural domains except the destination domain and except domains adjacent to the destination domain. |
| US09001691B2 |
Messaging systems and methods
Apparatus, methods, and machine-readable articles of manufacture improve reliability and scalability of a messaging system. In some embodiments, the system's configuration data and subscriber information are stored in a central repository of a core node, and replicated to one or more non-core nodes. Data replication may be performed in real-time or near real-time, periodically, sporadically, or otherwise. Nodes may rely on the replicated data to provide the system's subscribers and outside callers with services that do not involve updating of configuration or subscriber data. In this way, the non-core nodes may continue to process calls when the core node is unavailable. For example, the non-core nodes can route calls to the appropriate subscribers without relying on the core. As another example, die non-core nodes can take messages from callers when the core node is unavailable. The messages may be queued for posting and delivery when the core node becomes available. |
| US09001688B2 |
Dynamic balancing of a traffic mix for data center device testing
There is disclosed a method for testing a network device comprising defining a traffic profile wherein the traffic profile defines a type of network traffic comprising a sequence of packets and wherein the traffic profile associates the network traffic with a communication axis. The method also comprises defining a traffic template wherein the traffic template comprises one or more traffic profiles, a relative weight to identify a weight of the profile within an overall traffic configuration, and a load rate that defines the maximum amount of packets that can be transmitted at a certain time. The method further comprises generating network traffic based on the traffic template, and transmitting the network traffic to a device under test wherein the relative weight of the traffic profile may be changed dynamically in real-time. |
| US09001687B2 |
Packet interception and timestamping for error estimation in active measurement protocols
A method in a network device. The method is one of estimating a time delay between when a software timestamp is generated for an active measurement protocol test packet and when the active measurement protocol test packet is transmitted from the network device onto a link. The method includes generating an error estimation packet, generating a software timestamp (ts) for the error estimation packet, and transmitting the error estimation packet toward a network interface. The method also includes intercepting the error estimation packet before it is transmitted from the network device onto the link, and generating an interception timestamp (ti) for the error estimation packet after intercepting the error estimation packet. The time delay is estimated based on a difference between the interception timestamp and the software timestamp. |
| US09001685B1 |
Bi-directional real-time data connection troubleshooting
A method of troubleshooting a communication service is disclosed. The method comprises creating an association between a customer premise equipment (CPE) in a customer network and a communication service provider router providing the communication service. The method also comprises determining a CPE configuration of the CPE in the customer network and a router configuration of the communication service provider router providing communication services to the CPE based on the association. The method also comprises determining CPE measurements associated with the CPE and router measurements associated with the router based on the association, and determining whether the CPE measurements and the router measurements are normal based on an analysis of the CPE configuration and the router configuration. The method then identifies a cause of the abnormal measurements, determines a corrective action for the identified cause, and issue a trouble ticket indicating the cause and the corrective action. |
| US09001684B2 |
Link supportability in a WCDMA communications system
A method, computer program product, and system are provided for computing link supportability in a WCDMA communications system. For example, the method can be used to calculate link supportability of a transponder in satellite communications system (e.g. MUOS) in a user-to-base direction. This method can include expressing a carrier signal to noise ratio spectral density for a communication link of interest in terms of a transponder input power of the communication link of interest, a spectral overlap factor representative of one or more interfering communication links, and a transponder input power of the one or more interfering communication links. Assumptions and approximations can be made to simplify the spectral density expression in order to reduce a dimensionality of terms used in the computation of the expression. As such, in reducing dimensionality, the expression becomes a manageable computation for WCDMA communication systems to evaluate. |
| US09001676B2 |
Collecting power outage notifications in a frequency hopping communication network
In one embodiment, a device in a frequency hopping communication network operate in a first mode according to a common broadcast schedule for the network that simultaneously overlays a first configured portion of all independently determined unicast listening schedules in the network. In response to determining a power outage condition, the device switches to operation in a power outage mode where the common broadcast schedule for the network in the power outage mode simultaneously overlays a second configured portion of all independently determined unicast listening schedules in the network, the second configured portion greater than the first configured portion. In one embodiment, the device broadcasts one or more power outage notifications (PONs) in response to determining the power outage condition as a reduction of a main power supply at the device. In another embodiment, the device receives a PON while powered as the power outage condition. |
| US09001665B2 |
Network control
A method and network node for controlling operation of first and second wireless communication networks both operating in a predetermined frequency band. The first communication network is operable to communicate within a plurality of first network channels within the predetermined frequency band. The second communication network is operable to communicate within at least one second network channel within the predetermined frequency band. Each of the second network channels co-exist in a frequency range occupied by a plurality of the first network channels. The method comprises the steps of: determining that there may be data to be communicated within a network channel of one of the first and second wireless communication networks, transmitting a channel restriction message to another of the first and second wireless communications networks, the channel restriction message instructing prevention of communication within the another of the first and second wireless communications networks on at least one network channel in the another of the first and second wireless communications networks coexisting in a frequency range occupied by the network channel; and instructing communication within the one of said first and second wireless communication networks on said channel. Receiving an indication of quality of service of data traffic in said first and second wireless communication networks and scheduling transmission of said channel restriction message to minimize disruption to said data traffic in said first and second wireless communication networks. |
| US09001662B2 |
Control method, control device, and communication system
A control method includes: acquiring information that indicates a predicted position of a mobile terminal that requests data that is able to be received from a first communication device; identifying, based on the acquired information, a second communication device that is able to communicate with the mobile terminal located at the predicted position; and causing, by a processor, the second communication device to start receiving the data from the first communication device before the identified second communication device becomes able to communicate with the mobile terminal, and to transmit the received data to the mobile terminal after the second communication device becomes able to communicate with the mobile terminal. |
| US09001658B2 |
Method for reducing energy consumption in packet processing linecards
The present invention refers to a method for reducing energy consumption in a packet processing linecard of a packet transmission network, said packet processing linecard comprising a plurality of microprocessors aimed at processing packet traffic wherein the number of active microprocessors is dynamically adjusted as a function of the computation of a traffic estimator based on a recurrent estimation of at least two statistical parameters including the average and a parameter representative of the statistical distribution of the packet traffic. |
| US09001657B2 |
Mesh network node with multiple automatic repeat requesters
A device may receive a packet, may identify a first packet characteristic associated with the packet, may identify a second packet characteristic associated with the packet, and may store information associated with the packet in a queue based on the first packet characteristic and the second packet characteristic. The device may service the packet from the queue based on an automatic repeat requester (“ARQ”) mechanism. The ARQ mechanism may specify a maximum quantity of times that the packet should be serviced before being dropped, when a packet acknowledgement is not received, may specify a time period between packet service attempts, and may be based on the first packet characteristic and the second packet characteristic. |
| US09001647B2 |
Distributed failure recovery in a routed ethernet network
Link identifiers such as VIDs, selected from a defined range of values, are locally assigned by each node on a link state protocol controlled Ethernet network to each of its links or adjacencies. The link identifiers are assigned by the nodes such that each link or adjacency at the node is uniquely identified by a different link identifier. A link state protocol adjacency notification mechanism or other flooding mechanism is used to disseminate the locally assigned link identifiers to other nodes on the link state protocol controlled Ethernet network. The link identifiers are added by the nodes to their topology databases to enable detour routes to be locally calculated by the nodes on the network in a distributed manner. Upon occurrence of a failure, the link identifiers are used to source route traffic around the failure so that traffic may continue to traverse the link state protocol controlled Ethernet network. |
| US09001644B2 |
Ethernet virtual private network system for providing fast protection for access rings
In one embodiment, a method includes obtaining a first indication from a first source included in an Ethernet ring and obtaining a second indication from a second source associated with a provider edge (PE) node The method also includes determining when the first indication and the second indication are indicative of a direct failure of the PE node and determining when the first indication and the second indication are indicative of a ring partition failure associated with the Ethernet ring. The direct failure of the PE node is identified when it is determined that the first indication and the second indication are indicative of the direct failure of the PE node, and the ring partition failure associated with the Ethernet ring is identified when it is determined that the first indication and the second indication are indicative of the ring partition failure associated with the Ethernet ring. |
| US09001642B2 |
Selective downlink data encryption system for satellites
A method and apparatus for a satellite system. A satellite system is comprised of a communications system in a satellite and a number of computers associated with the satellite. The communications system is configured to receive first information and transmit second information from the satellite to a remote platform over a number of communications links. The number of computers is configured to identify a block of information for encryption from instructions in the first information. The number of computers is further configured to generate a key from a portion of the block of information based on the instructions. The number of computers is further configured to perform an exclusive OR operation on the block of information using the key to form a block of encrypted information. The number of computers is further configured to transmit the block of encrypted information. |
| US09001640B1 |
Transmit diversity technique based on channel randomization for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems
A physical layer device including a mapping module to map a plurality of data streams to a plurality of transmit antennas. Each transmit antenna is associated with a respective radio frequency channel. A first gain module communicates with a first transmit antenna, receives a first plurality of signals generated based on the plurality of data streams, and applies a first complex gain corresponding to the first transmit antenna to each of the first plurality of signals. A second gain module communicates with a second transmit antenna, receives a second plurality of signals generated based on the plurality of data streams, and applies a second complex gain corresponding to the second transmit antenna to each of the second plurality of signals. The second plurality of signals is different than the first plurality of signals. The second complex gain is different than the first complex gain. |
| US09001635B2 |
Optical element and optical head apparatus including the same
An optical element having compatibility among two or more wavelengths and having an excellent converging performance for light with each wavelength, and an optical head apparatus using the optical element are provided. An optical element according to the present disclosure has a first region including an optical axis and a second region formed around the outer circumference of the first region. The first region and the second region respectively have a first diffraction structure and a second diffraction structure each cyclically formed on an aspheric surface and having a step-like cross section. In the first region, the number of steps included between top portions of the first diffraction structure is different from the number of steps included between the optical axis and a top portion that is closest to the optical axis in the first diffraction structure. |
| US09001631B2 |
Method and apparatus for offset and gain correction
Aspects of the disclosure provide a signal processing circuit that has fast response time to sudden profile changes in an electrical signal. The signal processing circuit includes a processing path configured to process an electrical signal that is generated in response to reading data on a storage medium, and a feed-forward correction module. The feed-forward correction module is configured to detect a profile variation based the electrical signal in a time window, and correct the electrical signal in the time window based on the detected profile variation. |
| US09001630B1 |
Energy assisted magnetic recording medium capable of suppressing high DC readback noise
A perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) disk used in energy assisted magnetic recording drives is described. The PMR disk includes a substrate, a magnetic recording layer disposed above the substrate, an exchange coupling layer disposed above the magnetic recording layer, and a capping layer disposed above the exchange coupling layer. The capping layer has a Curie temperature greater than the Curie temperature of the magnetic recording layer. |
| US09001629B1 |
Systems and methods for suppressing background energy of a waveguide in an energy assisted magnetic recording system
Systems and methods for suppressing the background energy of a waveguide in an EAMR system are provided. One such system includes a near field transducer having a disk section and a pin section extending from the disk section to an air bearing surface of a slider, a waveguide having a core and a cladding, where the waveguide is configured to couple light energy to the near field transducer, where the cladding is configured to substantially surround the core, and a recess portion positioned between the core and the air bearing surface. |
| US09001628B1 |
Assistant waveguides for evaluating main waveguide coupling efficiency and diode laser alignment tolerances for hard disk
A heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) transducer on a slider and including first and second opposing surfaces, wherein the first surface is aligned to an air bearing surface (ABS) of the slider and the second surface is aligned to a surface of the slider opposite the ABS, a target waveguide having an entrance at the second surface, the target waveguide being configured to direct energy provided by a light source from the entrance toward the first surface, wherein the target waveguide expands in cross-section area with distance from the entrance to form an inverse taper waveguide, a plurality of assistant waveguides each having an entrance at the second surface, wherein the plurality of assistant waveguides are configured to direct energy to the plurality of output devices. |
| US09001626B1 |
Piezoelectric acceleration timer
A timer for measuring a time lapsed during an acceleration is disclosed. The timer may include a piezoelectric sensor, an energy storage device and a measurement module. The piezoelectric sensor includes a piezoelectric material for generating an electric potential in response to the acceleration. The energy storage device is electrically coupled to the piezoelectric sensor and is configured for receiving the electric potential generated by the piezoelectric sensor. The measurement module is electrically coupled to the energy storage device. The measurement module measures the electric potential received at the energy storage device and determines the time lapsed during the acceleration based on the electric potential received at the energy storage device. |
| US09001625B2 |
Wearable electronic device
An analog wearable electronic device that is operationally coupleable to a transmitting device. The transmitting device includes means for viewing a simulation of a display provided on the wearable electronic device, changing information displayable on the simulated display and transmitting the changed information and/or information from which the changed information is derivable to the wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device includes a receiver for receiving from the transmitting device the changed information and/or the information from which the changed information is derivable. A controller assembly processes the changed information and/or derives the changed information, and an actuation mechanism moves a display indicator based at least in part on the changed information. The changed information is thereafter reflected on the display of the wearable electronic device by the display indicator. |
| US09001620B2 |
Method for echo processing in a pulse-echo ranging system
In a pulse-echo ranging system an energy pulse is transmitted to a target, echo pulses are received and converted into an echo signal that is processed to identify an echo from the target and to determine the distance from the propagation time of the identified echo, where the advanced stage of the processing is performed digitally. Instead of storing and processing the echo signal, the first derivative of the whole echo signal is stored in digital form and then processed to allow for storing as large a number of samples possible in a limited memory without reducing the resolution and without complicating the processing. |
| US09001618B2 |
Method of attenuating noise in marine seismic streamers utilizing varied sensor spacing and position-dependent band-pass filters
The invention comprises a system for attenuating noise in seismic signals detected in a marine seismic streamer. In a particular implementation the system may comprise seismic detectors positioned in the streamer and interconnected to form a plurality of wavenumber filters, with each of the wavenumber filters attenuating signals within a range of wavenumbers. The output signals from the wavenumber filters are operatively connected to a plurality of band-pass filters, and the output signals of the band-pass filters are combined by summation means. The range of wavenumbers attenuated by the wavenumber filters and the passbands of the band-pass filters are selected so that in the output signal of the summation means, signals within a selected frequency range of interest propagating along the cable within a selected velocity range are attenuated and signals within the selected frequency range of interest having a velocity range outside the selected velocity range are preserved. |
| US09001615B2 |
Oscillating flared streamers
The invention relates to a seismic acquisition process where the streamers are intentionally directed to follow an oscillating sweep pattern behind a tow vessel to counteract the effect of the large gaps between the streamers while acquire a wide sweep of data through each pass over the survey area. |
| US09001613B2 |
Tracking mechanisms
A tracking circuit in a memory macro includes a data line, a first tracking cell, and a plurality of transistors. The first tracking cell is electrically coupled to the data line. The plurality of transistors is electrically coupled to the data line. The plurality of transistors is configured to cause a delay on a transition of a signal of the data line based on a delay current. The signal of the data line is configured for use in generating a signal of a control line of a memory cell of the memory macro. |
| US09001608B1 |
Coordinating power mode switching and refresh operations in a memory device
Provided are a memory system, device, and method for determining to send a refresh command to a memory module according to a refresh rate and incrementing a postponed refresh count while the memory module is in an active mode in response to the determining to send the refresh command. The refresh command is not sent to the memory module when the postponed refresh count is incremented. A determination is made as to whether the postponed refresh count exceeds a count threshold. A refresh command is issued to the memory module to perform refresh in an active mode in response to determining that the postponed refresh count exceeds the count threshold. |
| US09001605B2 |
Method of overlapping interconnect signal lines for reducing capacitive coupling effects
Described herein are various principles for designing, manufacturing, and operating integrated circuits having functional components and one or more metal interconnect layers, where the dimensions of signal lines of the metal interconnect layers are larger than dimensions of the functional components. In some embodiments, a signal line may have a width greater than a width of a terminal of a functional component to which the signal line is connected. In some embodiments, two functional components formed in a same functional layer of the integrated circuit may be connected to metal signal lines in different metal interconnect layers. Further, the metal signal lines of the different metal interconnect layers may overlap some distance. |
| US09001597B2 |
Memory system, semiconductor memory device, and wiring substrate, the semiconductor memory device including termination resistance circuit or control circuit
A semiconductor device includes a first input terminal receiving a termination resistance control signal, and a termination resistance circuit that is able to be controlled to be turned on or off by the termination resistance control signal. The termination resistance circuit is turned off, irrespective of a level of said termination resistance control signal when the semiconductor device outputs data in response to a read command. |
| US09001596B2 |
Nonvolatile memory apparatus including sharing driver capable of performing both of read and write operation
A nonvolatile memory apparatus includes a read/write control unit and a voltage generation unit and the memory cell. The read/write control circuit is configured to supply a bias voltage in response to a read control signal, a write control signal and data. The voltage generation unit is configured to compare a level of the bias voltage with a voltage level of a sensing node and drive the sensing node at voltage having a constant level based on a result of the comparison. The memory cell coupled with the sensing node and configured to receive the voltage having the constant level. |
| US09001594B2 |
Apparatuses and methods for adjusting a path delay of a command path
Apparatuses and method for adjusting a path delay of a command path are disclosed. In an example apparatus, a command path configured to provide a command from an input to an output includes an adjustable delay. The adjustable delay is configured to add delay to the command path delay, wherein the delay of the adjustable delay is based at least in part on a phase relationship between a feedback signal responsive to the command propagating through the command path and a clock signal. An example method includes configuring a command path to add delay to a command path delay to provide an internal write command signal to perform a write operation on write data corresponding to the internal write command, and propagating the write data corresponding to the internal write command through a data path without further delaying the write data to match the command path delay. |
| US09001590B2 |
Method for operating a semiconductor structure
A method for operating a semiconductor structure is provided. The semiconductor structure includes a first conductor extending in a first direction, a second conductor extending in a second direction different from the first direction, and a dielectric layer between the first conductor and the second conductor. The method for operating the semiconductor structure comprises following steps. A current is provided to flow in the first direction in the first conductor. |
| US09001586B1 |
Semiconductor memory device capable of preventing degradation of memory cells and method for erasing the same
A semiconductor memory device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a memory cell array having a plurality of memory cells, a pass transistor group having normal pass transistors coupled between global word lines and local word lines to which the plurality of memory cells are coupled, and an address decoder coupled to the global word lines and a block word line to which gates of the normal pass transistors are coupled in common, wherein the address decoder gradually increases a voltage, obtained by subtracting a voltage of the global word lines from a voltage of the block word line, when an erase voltage is provided to a channel of the plurality of memory cells. |
| US09001583B2 |
On-chip HV and LV capacitors acting as the second back-up supplies for NVSRAM auto-store operation
Two on-chip capacitors including one HV capacitor VPPcap and one LV VCC capacitor VCCcap are built over a NVSRAM memory chip as a back-up second power supplies for each NVSRAM cell, regardless of 1-poly, 2-poly, PMOS or NMOS flash cell structures therein. The on-chip HV and LV capacitors are preferably made from one or more MIM or MIP layers for achieving required capacitance. A simplified VCC power system circuit without a need of a State machine designed for performing only one NVSRAM Program operation without Erase operations is proposed for initiating NVSRAM's Auto-Store operation without using any off-chip Vbat and Vcap. During the Auto-Store operation, all HV pumps and oscillators associated with the two on-chip capacitors are shut off once VCC voltage drop is detected by a VCC detector to be below 80% of regular VDD level. |
| US09001582B2 |
Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device having a column decoder with multiple data bus portions connected via a switch
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes memory cells arranged into memory strings with word lines each connected to a different memory cell of the memory strings. The device also includes bit lines each connected to a different memory string and a column decoder connected to the bit lines. The column decoder includes sense amplifiers, data latches, and a data bus connecting sense amplifiers and data latches. The data bus is divided into at least two portions and includes a first portion connected to a second portion by a switch. |
| US09001579B2 |
Semiconductor memory device for and method of applying temperature-compensated word line voltage during read operation
A semiconductor memory device configured to apply a temperature-compensated word line voltage to a word line during a data read operation includes a memory cell array including a plurality of word lines, a plurality of non-volatile memory cells connected to the word lines, and a word line voltage application unit configured to apply a temperature-compensated read voltage to a selected word line and to apply a temperature-compensated pass voltage to at least one unselected word line during a read operation. |
| US09001574B2 |
Spin logic based on persistent spin helices
A spin logic device which includes an electron confinement layer confining an electron gas in a two-dimensional area (2DEG) subtended by a direction x and a direction y, the latter perpendicular to the former. The spin logic device is configured for the 2DEG to support a persistent spin helix (PSH) formed therein with a given spin component oscillating with periodicity λ along direction x but not oscillating along direction y. Majority logic circuit of the spin logic device includes: at least one input device energizable to create respective local spin-polarizations of the 2DEG in first regions of the confinement layer. The input device is configured to detect in a second region of the confinement layer an average spin-polarization of the 2DEG diffused through resulting PSHs, wherein a projection of a distance between the second region and first regions onto direction x is equal to nλ/a, n integer, a equal to 2 or 4. |
| US09001573B1 |
Method and apparatuses for programming memory cells
Methods and apparatus for programming memory cells in a memory array are disclosed. A most recent programming time is determined, the most recent programming time being a time when a most recent programming operation was applied to a reference memory cell in the memory array. A programming signal is then applied to a target memory cell in the memory array, the programming signal having a programming parameter which depends at least in part on the most recent programming time. |
| US09001570B1 |
Pseudo retention till access mode enabled memory
A memory configurable to be used in an RTA mode includes an input latch configured to receive an input address bus and to generate a latched address bus that corresponds to a memory location. An address flop is configured to save the latched address and to generate a flopped address. A first block address pre-decoder stage is configured to generate a pre-decoded latched address to an RTA generation logic in response to the latched address bus; and a second block address pre-decoder configured to generate a pre-decoded flopped address to the RTA generation logic in response to the flopped address. The RTA generation logic generates an RTA enable signal one clock cycle before a memory block access, to activate a memory block corresponding to the memory location, such that an array supply voltage of the memory block starts charging one clock cycle before a memory block access. |
| US09001555B2 |
Small-grain three-dimensional memory
The present invention discloses a small-grain three-dimensional memory (3D-MSG). Each of its memory cells comprises a thin-film diode with critical dimension no larger than 40 nm. The thin-film diode comprises at least a small-grain material, whose grain size G is substantially smaller than the diode size D. The small-grain material is preferably a nano-crystalline material or an amorphous material. The critical dimension f of the small-grain diode is smaller than the critical dimension F of the single-crystalline transistor. |
| US09001554B2 |
Resistive random access memory cell having three or more resistive states
Provided are resistive random access memory (ReRAM) cells, each having three or more resistive states and being capable of storing multiple bits of data, as well as methods of fabricating and operating such ReRAM cells. Such ReRAM cells or, more specifically, their resistive switching layer have wide range of resistive states and are capable of being very conductive (e.g., about 1 kOhm) in one state and very resistive (e.g., about 1 MOhm) in another state. In some embodiments, a resistance ratio between resistive states may be between 10 and 1,000 even up to 10,000. The resistive switching layers also allow establishing stable and distinct intermediate resistive states that may be assigned different data values. These layers may be configured to switching between their resistive states using fewer programming pulses than conventional systems by using specific materials, switching pluses, and resistive state threshold. |
| US09001549B2 |
Semiconductor device
To provide a semiconductor device with high reliability in operation, in which data in a volatile memory can be saved to a non-volatile memory. For example, the semiconductor device includes an SRAM provided with first and second data storage portions and a non-volatile memory provided with third and fourth data storage portions. The first data storage portion is electrically connected to the fourth data storage portion through a transistor, and the second data storage portion is electrically connected to the third data storage portion through a transistor. The transistors are turned off when the SRAM operates, and the transistors are turned on when the SRAM does not operate, so that data in the SRAM is saved to the non-volatile memory. Precharge is performed when the SRAM is restored. |
| US09001548B2 |
Memory device interface methods, apparatus, and systems
Apparatus and systems for memory system are provided. In an example, an interface chip can include a memory controller configured to couple to a processor and to couple to a plurality of stacked memory arrays using a data bus and a maintenance bus, wherein the data bus is separate from the maintenance bus, the plurality of stacked memory arrays forming two or more memory chips, the memory controller configured to control access to memory locations within the plurality of stacked memory arrays. |
| US09001541B2 |
Switch control circuit, power factor corrector including the same, and driving method of the power factor corrector
The present invention relates to a switch control circuit, a power factor corrector including the same, and a driving method thereof. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a turn-on time of a power switch is controlled according to a zero crossing voltage to sense a voltage of both terminals of the power switch, and a turn-off time of the power switch is controlled according to a feedback voltage corresponding to the output voltage. At this time, the switching frequency of the power switch is sensed by the zero crossing voltage and the switching frequency is restricted by a predetermined threshold frequency. |
| US09001539B2 |
AC-DC resonant converter that provides high efficiency and high power density
The disclosed embodiments provide an AC/DC power converter that converts an AC input voltage into a DC output voltage. This AC/DC power converter includes an input rectifier stage which rectifies an AC input voltage into a first rectified voltage of a first constant polarity and a first amplitude. The AC/DC power converter also includes a switching resonant stage which is directly coupled to the output of the input rectifier stage. This switching resonant stage converts the rectified voltage into a second rectified voltage of a second constant polarity and a second amplitude. The AC/DC power converter additionally includes an output rectifier stage coupled to the output of the switching resonant stage, wherein the output rectifier stage rectifies the second rectified voltage into a DC voltage output. |
| US09001534B2 |
Transformer driver circuit with IC protection circuitry
A transformer driver circuit couples to a transformer having a primary winding, a secondary winding, and a transformer tap that is connected to a first voltage source. The primary winding electrically connects at its ends to respective unipolar controllable current sinks that form part of an integrated circuit. The transformer driver circuit operates by each current sink selectively sinking current from the end of the primary winding to which it is connected so as to cause current to flow in the secondary winding in a push-pull fashion. The transformer driver circuit further includes a load electrically connected to the secondary winding and protection circuitry operative to protect the integrated circuit from input levels greater than it can withstand. |
| US09001530B2 |
Integrated circuit with voltage conversion
An integrated circuit may include a signal generator configured to generate a switching signal and a switching unit coupled to the signal generator. The switching unit may be configured to generate a pulsed current based on the switching signal using a first voltage. The integrated circuit may also include an inductive unit coupled to the switching unit. The inductive unit may be configured to receive the pulsed current and to generate a second voltage different from the first voltage. |
| US09001523B2 |
Carrier device, arrangement comprising such a carrier device, and method for patterning a layer stack comprising at least one ceramic layer
A method for patterning a layer stack with at least one ceramic layer includes providing the ceramic layer, which has at least one plated-through hole. An electrically conductive layer is applied above the ceramic layer, such that the electrically conductive layer is electrically coupled to the at least one plated-through hole. A further layer is deposited onto the electrically conductive layer in the region of the at least one plated-through hole, wherein the further layer includes nickel. The electrically conductive layer is removed outside the region of the at least one plated-through hole. A carrier device patterned in this way can be electrically and mechanically coupled to an electronic component. |
| US09001521B2 |
Substrate assembly provided with capacitive interconnections, and manufacturing method thereof
An assembly including: a first substrate having a first surface and housing a first electrical-interconnection element and a second electrical-interconnection element in a position corresponding to the first surface; a second substrate having a second surface, housing a third electrical-interconnection element and a fourth electrical-interconnection element in a position corresponding to the second surface, and provided with a dielectric layer extending on top of the third interconnection element; and a first bump and a second bump made of conductive material, extending between the first electrical-interconnection element and the third electrical-interconnection element and, respectively, between the second electrical-interconnection element and the fourth electrical-interconnection element, at least partially aligned to the respective electrical-interconnection elements, the first bump being ohmically coupled to the first interconnection element and capacitively coupled to the third interconnection element, and the second bump being ohmically coupled to the second interconnection element and to the fourth interconnection element. |
| US09001518B2 |
Power module with press-fit clamps
According to an exemplary embodiment, a bondwireless power module residing on a top surface of a substrate includes at least one input power pad providing power to the module and at least one output current pad providing output current from the module. At least one press-fit input power clamp engages a top side of the at least one input power pad, and engages a bottom surface of the substrate. Also, at least one press-fit output current clamp engages a top side of the at least one output current pad, and engages the bottom surface of the substrate. The at least one press-fit input power clamp can include at least one top prong and at least one bottom prong. Furthermore, the at least one bottom prong can press the input power pad into the at least one top prong. |
| US09001516B2 |
Electronic circuit unit to be mounted on automatic transmission for vehicle and manufacturing method thereof
Provided is an electronic circuit unit to be mounted within a casing of an automatic transmission for a vehicle. An electronic circuit body including circuit-side terminals protruding in an outward direction from a main-body, connectors to be connected to the electronic circuit body, a cover, and a base member having a placing face on which the cover, the electronic circuit body and the connectors are placed. The cover is provided with a main-body covering part, fitting-portion covering parts and which cover a fitting-portion of the circuit-side terminals and fitting parts of the wire-side terminals from a side opposing to the placing face, and a restricting part for regulating the detachment of the connectors from the fitting position to the detached position. |
| US09001512B2 |
Heat spreader for electrical components
A heat spreader for a resistive element is provided, the heat spreader having a body portion that is arranged over a top surface of the resistive element and electrically insulated from the resistive element. The heat spreader also includes one or more leg portion that extends from the body portion and are associated with the heat sink in a thermally conductive relationship. |
| US09001510B2 |
System and method for positioning a midplane within a computer chassis
System and method for positioning a midplane within a computer chassis. In some embodiments, a computer system includes a chassis, a midplane disposed within the chassis, and a plunger pin coupled to the midplane. The plunger pin is selectably movable between a first position, wherein the midplane is immovable relative to the chassis, and a second position, wherein the midplane is moveable relative to the chassis. |
| US09001507B2 |
Mobile terminal
A mobile terminal is provided. The mobile terminal may include a window that at least partially covers the terminal body and is made of a light transmitting material, a non-transparent portion covering a portion of a surface of the window, a transparent portion provided within the non-transparent portion on the window to form a front image, and a front pattern plate mounted on a case of the mobile terminal to at least partially expose the pattern through the transparent portion. |
| US09001506B2 |
Battery ejection system for a portable computer
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a battery ejection system for a portable computer. According to one embodiment, the system includes at least one foot pad formed on an underside of the portable computer and a battery unit configured to releasably attach to the portable computer. Furthermore, the foot pad is configured to release the battery unit from the portable computer. |
| US09001504B2 |
Moveable display portion of a computing device
In one general aspect, a computing device can include a base portion including a keyboard, and a guide included in the base portion. The computing device can also include a display portion including a display and having a bottom portion coupled to the base portion via a hinge. The display portion can be configured to rotate about an axis using the hinge. The bottom portion of the display portion can be configured to slidably move along the guide over the keyboard of the base portion in a translational direction orthogonal to the axis. |
| US09001499B2 |
Jumper for electrically connecting electrical switching apparatus poles, and electrical switching apparatus including the same
An electrical switching apparatus includes a plurality of poles, each of the poles including a terminal. The terminal of a first one of the poles is proximate the terminal of a second one of the poles. A jumper is electrically connected between the terminal of the first one of the poles and the terminal of the second one of the poles. The jumper includes a plurality of heat transfer members, each of the heat transfer members being separated from others of the heat transfer members. |
| US09001497B2 |
Electrode foil and capacitor using same
An electrode foil includes a substrate and a coarse film layer having a void therein and formed on the substrate. The coarse film layer includes at least a first coarse film layer formed on the substrate. The first coarse film layer is composed of arrayed first columnar bodies. Each of the first columnar bodies is composed of metallic microparticles stacked on a surface of the substrate and extending in a curve from the surface of the substrate. |
| US09001495B2 |
High power and high energy electrodes using carbon nanotubes
An electrode useful in an energy storage system, such as a capacitor, includes an electrode that includes at least one to a plurality of layers of compressed carbon nanotube aggregate. Methods of fabrication are provided. The resulting electrode exhibits superior electrical performance in terms of gravimetric and volumetric power density. |
| US09001491B2 |
Multilayer ceramic capacitor and circuit board with multilayer ceramic capacitor mounted thereon
A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a ceramic body having first and second main surfaces opposing one another, first and second lateral surfaces opposing one another, and first and second end surfaces opposing one another. First and second internal electrodes have an overlap region with lead out portions exposed to the first lateral surface of the ceramic body. An insulating layer is formed to cover the overlap region of the lead out portions exposed to the first lateral surface of the ceramic body; and first and second external electrodes are formed on the first lateral surface of the ceramic body on which the insulating layer is formed and electrically connected to the first and second internal electrodes. Thicknesses of the insulating layer from the first lateral surface and the first and second external electrodes from the first lateral surface are specified. |
| US09001488B2 |
Static electricity dissipation drain and standoffs for by-pass conductors of floating roof tanks
A bonding system for a tank battery containing a flammable or combustible product being stored or conveyed, including a bonding conductor, an electrically conductive base member mounted on the tank, the electrically-conductive base member electrically connected to the bonding conductor and to ground installed within each tank and also including a flexible conductive medium with an upper end and a lower end and a plurality of fine electrically-conductive metal wires each having a proximal end and a terminal end, the proximal ends of which are intertwined with the flexible conductive medium to be in electrical connection with the electrical conductive medium, the upper end of the flexible conductive medium electrically connected with the electrically conductive base member and a plurality of static drains located proximate to the highest points of the tank battery and electrically bonded to said bonding conductor. |
| US09001487B2 |
Ionizer
An ionizer includes an electrode shaft, a fixing bar, a driver, and a controller. The electrode shaft includes first and second electrode rows, the first electrode row having a plurality of ionizer electrodes arranged in a first direction and the second electrode row having a plurality of ionizer electrodes arranged in the first direction and spaced apart from the first electrode row. The fixing bar includes a discharge area facing an object to be processed, and accommodates the electrode shaft so a single electrode row is disposed in the discharge area. The driver is inside the fixing bar so as to be coupled to both end portions of the electrode shaft, and controls a position of the electrode shaft. The controller controls the driver to replace the electrode row disposed in the discharge area with another electrode row according to a previously input replacement condition. |
| US09001480B2 |
Distributed energy resources control apparatus and distributed energy resources control method
A distributed energy resources control apparatus for controlling power from a distributed energy resource in a system section separable from a power system includes a detecting unit, a receiving unit, and a control unit. The detecting unit detects a fault of the power system. The receiving unit receives a signal indicating authorization for the distributed energy resource to perform independent operation as linking with the system section, when the system section is separated from the power system. The control unit controls a power converter converting power from the distributed energy resource and outputting to the system section, based on measurement results of a voltage and a frequency of the system section, when the fault is detected and the signal is received. |
| US09001479B2 |
ESD protection circuit
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit is provided. A first NMOS transistor is coupled to a power line. A second NMOS transistor is coupled between the first transistor and a ground. A detection unit provides a detection signal when an ESD event occurs at the power line. A trigger unit turns on the second NMOS transistor and the first NMOS transistor in sequence in response to the detection signal, such that a discharge path is formed from the power line to the ground via the first and second NMOS transistors. |
| US09001473B1 |
TMR/CPP reader for narrow reader gap application
The embodiments disclosed generally relate to a read head in a magnetic recording head. The read head utilizes a sensor structure having: a pinned magnetic structure recessed from a media facing surface; and a reader gap structure. The reader gap structure has a spacer layer recessed from the media facing surface and disposed on top of the pinned magnetic structure, a recessed first free layer partially recessed from the media facing surface and disposed on top of the barrier layer, a second free layer extending to the media facing surface an disposed on top of the barrier layer, and a cap layer extending to the media facing surface disposed atop the second free layer. The pinned magnetic structure, the spacer, and the first free layer have a common face which is on an angle relative to the media facing surface. |
| US09001472B2 |
Shield stabilization configuration with applied bias
An apparatus includes a sensor stack, first and second shields positioned on opposite sides of the sensor stack, and a first shield stabilization structure adjacent to the first shield and applying a bias magnetic field to the first shield. A second shield stabilization structure can be positioned adjacent to the second shield. |
| US09001468B2 |
Advanced air bearing slider with modulation decreasing stiffness
A data storage device may have at least a slider constructed with at least one feature positioned on an air bearing region and separated from a data transducer. The at least one feature can be configured to provide a slider stiffness that decreases modulation while the at least one feature is floating above or in contact with a data storage media. |
| US09001464B2 |
Read/write head with improved contact
A read/write head is provided with a body having a body length and a support surface to support data storage media as the data storage media is conveyed longitudinally across the support surface. The support surface of the body is curved about an axis in a widthwise direction of the elongate body. The support surface of the body has a reduced longitudinal length relative to the body length only in an intermediate region. At least one read/write device is provided on the intermediate region of the support surface of the body to read and/or write data on the data storage media as the data storage media is conveyed across the support surface. A tape drive system is provided with the read/write head, the at least one read/write device, and a motor to drive the data storage tape. |
| US09001460B2 |
Spindle motor, and disk drive apparatus
A spindle motor includes a stationary portion and a rotating portion. The stationary portion includes a shaft, a first cup portion. The first cup portion includes a circular plate member and an annular member. The rotating portion includes an annular concave portion that accommodates at least a lower end portion of the annular member. A lubricant is interposed in a gap between a surface of a stationary portion and a surface of the rotating portion. The shaft, the rotating portion, and the lubricant define a fluid dynamic pressure bearing. A connection gap that reaches an inner side of the first cup portion from an outer circumferential surface of the first cup portion is configured between the circular plate member and the annular member. At least a portion of the connection gap is filled with an adhesive. |
| US09001459B2 |
Motor with stator teeth having an increased width and slanted portion
A stator includes a stator core and a plurality of coils. The stator core includes a core-back and a plurality of teeth portions. Each of the teeth portions includes a coil winding portion, a tip end portion, and an increased width portion. The tip end portion has a circumferential width larger than a smallest width of the coil winding portion. The increased width portion has a circumferential width larger than the smallest width of the coil winding portion. The increased width portion includes a slanted portion extending radially outward and upward. An axial position of a magnetic center of the rotor magnet positioned radially outward of the stator overlaps with an axially extending range of the tip end portion. A thickness of the slanted portion in a direction perpendicular to an upper surface of the slanted portion is smaller than an axial thickness of the coil winding portion. |
| US09001456B2 |
Engaging test slots
In general, a test slot is engaged with automated machinery to inhibit movement of the test slot, thereby inhibiting transmission of vibration from the test slot to its surroundings. While the automated machinery is engaged with the test slot, the automated machinery is actuated to insert a storage device into the test slot, or remove the storage device from the test slot. |
| US09001453B1 |
Data storage device calibrating fly height actuator based on read mode touchdown resistance of touchdown sensor
A data storage device is disclosed comprising a disk, a head comprising a touchdown sensor, and a fly height actuator (FHA) configured to actuate the head vertically over the disk based on an FHA setting. The data storage device is configured into a read mode, and while in the read mode, the FHA setting is adjusted until the head contacts the disk and a touchdown read mode resistance of the touchdown sensor is measured. The data storage device is configured into a write mode and the FHA setting is adjusted so the head is not contacting the disk. While in the write mode, a non-touchdown write mode resistance of the touchdown sensor is measured, and a write touchdown FHA setting that will cause the head to contact the disk while in the write mode is estimated based on the touchdown read mode resistance and the non-touchdown write mode resistance. |
| US09001445B1 |
Multiple sync mark storage system
A data processing system includes a number of analog to digital converters operable to sample analog signals obtained from a magnetic storage medium to yield digital signals, multiple sync mark detectors operable to search for a number of different sync marks in the digital signals, and a sync mark detector output comparator operable to compare an output of each of the sync mark detectors to identify detection errors. |
| US09001444B1 |
Implementing spin torque oscillator power-on oscillation checker for microwave-assisted magnetic recording hard disk drives
A method, apparatus, and system are provided for implementing a power-on spin-torque oscillator (STO) oscillation checker to monitor STO resistance to identify STO oscillation with microwave assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) hard disk drives (HDDs). An amplitude modulated write coil drive current is applied to the write coil in the presence of a DC bias current applied to the STO. The amplitude modulated write coil drive current modulates the STO resistance monitored using an amplifier circuit to identify STO oscillation, used to ensure stable MAMR HDD write operation. |
| US09001440B2 |
Macro lens system
A macro lens system includes a positive first lens group, and a positive or negative second lens group, in that order from the object side, wherein at least the first lens group moves toward the object side when focusing on an object at infinity to an object at a close distance, wherein the second lens group includes a negative first sub-lens group and a positive second sub-lens group, in that order from the object side, wherein the following condition (1) is satisfied: −5.0 |
| US09001438B2 |
Imaging lens and imaging device
The present invention is to provide an imaging lens and an imaging device that achieve optical performance high enough for high-pixel imaging elements, and have the smallest possible sizes and thicknesses.A first lens having positive refractive power, an aperture stop, a second lens having positive or negative refractive power, a third lens having negative refractive power, a fourth lens having positive refractive power, and a fifth lens having negative refractive power are provided in this order from the object side, and the following conditional expressions (1), (2), and (3) are satisfied: (1) 0.80 |
| US09001435B2 |
Optical image capturing system
An optical image capturing system includes five lens elements with refractive power, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens element, a second lens element, a third lens element, a fourth lens element and a fifth lens element. The first lens element with positive refractive power has a convex object-side surface. The second lens element with negative refractive power has a concave image-side surface. The third lens element has negative refractive power. The fourth lens element with refractive power has a concave image-side surface, and the surfaces of the fourth lens element are aspheric. The fifth lens element with refractive power has a concave image-side surface, wherein at least one inflection point formed on the image-side surface thereof, and the surfaces of the fifth lens element are aspheric. |
| US09001427B2 |
Customized head-mounted display device
A head-mounted display device includes a modular frame assembly including one or more different components. Each of the different components may be selected from a component set including at least two or more differently-sized versions of each different component. The head-mounted display device also includes a modular see-through display sub-assembly including one or more mountings for selectably coupling the modular see-through display sub-assembly to the modular frame assembly. The modular see-through display sub-assembly may be configured to couple to any combination of differently-sized versions of different components of the modular frame assembly. |
| US09001420B2 |
Microscope optical system and microscope system
Provided is a microscope optical system in which the occurrence of flare due to unnecessary-order diffracted light exited from a diffractive optical element is suppressed. A microscope objective lens MS is configured by including an objective lens OL which has a diffractive optical element GD and converts light from an object into a substantially parallel light flux, and a second objective lens IL which forms an image of the object by focusing the substantially parallel light flux from the objective lens OL, and is configured such that, in case where an m-th order of diffracted light from the diffractive optical element GD is used for the image formation, the following expression is satisfied: |θ|>tan−1(0.06/D) when the light of a maximum NA emitted from the object located on an optical axis enters the diffractive optical element. |
| US09001411B2 |
Light control device and light control method
A light control device 1 includes a light source 10, a prism 20, a spatial light modulator 30, a drive unit 31, a control unit 32, a lens 41, an aperture 42, and a lens 43. The spatial light modulator 30 is a phase modulating spatial light modulator, includes a plurality of two-dimensionally arrayed pixels, is capable of phase modulation in each of these pixels in a range of 4π or more, and presents a phase pattern to modulate the phase of light in each of the pixels. This phase pattern is produced by superimposing a blazed grating pattern for light diffraction and a phase pattern having a predetermined phase modulation distribution, and with a phase modulation range of 2π or more. |
| US09001409B2 |
Electrically activatable light blocking cover for vehicle mirrors and method
A cover for use in connection with a mirror of a vehicle is provided. The cover is provided with a lens having an electrically activatable material. The lens is positioned in front of the vehicle mirror. The electrically activatable material blocks visible light directed towards the vehicle mirror such that the electrically activatable material prevents the visible light from being reflected off of the vehicle mirror when the electrically activatable material is set to a light inhibiting state. A device that holds the lens is securable to the vehicle mirror. The electrically activatable material of the lens is configured to be switched to the light inhibiting state in response to user operation such that the lens prevents reflection of the visible light off of the vehicle mirror to reduce observability of the vehicle mirror. |
| US09001406B2 |
Reflective display utilizing luminescence
A reflective color display pixel has a top surface for receiving ambient light, and a plurality of sub-pixels including a first sub-pixel. The first sub-pixel has a broadband mirror and a luminescent layer disposed over the broadband mirror. The luminescent layer contains a luminescent material for absorbing a portion of the ambient light and emitting light of a first color, and a light-absorbing material for absorbing light of wavelengths longer than a wavelength of the first color. |
| US09001395B2 |
Image reading device with illumination movement based on sheet characteristics, and sheet handling apparatus including the same
An image reading device includes an illuminating means for illuminating a reading position through which a sheet conveyed by conveying means passes, optical reading means for reading reflected light of the sheet illuminated by the illuminating means when the sheet passes the reading position, a white reference plate disposed opposite to the optical reading means with the reading position sandwiched therebetween, and moving structure means for moving a placement position of the illuminating means based on a placement position of the white reference plate, and storage means is included for storing information in a searchable manner. |
| US09001393B2 |
Program for reading characters, and character reader as well as method for reading characters
A character reading method performed by a computer connected to an imaging unit includes repeating processing of recognizing the character included in one-frame image input latest in parallel to input of the moving image, performing matching of a recognition result obtained by every piece of recognition processing in units of characters along a time axis, fixing the recognition result appearing with an appearance ratio larger than a reference value previously decided in the recognition processing continuously performed at least predetermined times, and outputting the fixed recognition result. |
| US09001390B1 |
Device, system and method for identifying sections of documents
A method for identifying sections of contracts. This method works well with documents that originated from scanned images, i.e., documents that could possibly include noise and misleading cues. |
| US09001389B2 |
Manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data
A method of manufacturing a physical medium configured to store data. A layout design of visible information to be printed with visible ink in a book is generated, the visible information including an article. A layout design of invisible information to be printed with invisible ink in a book is generated, the invisible information including a Universal Resource Locator (URL) of an address of a web server at which additional information is located, the URL being encoded in a code within the invisible information, the additional information being associated with the article. |
| US09001388B2 |
Imaging forming apparatus to merge print data with a rendering image, method of image forming, and computer-readable recording medium
An image forming apparatus includes a storage unit configured to store a rendering image having a plurality of tones, a communication interface unit configured to receive print data, a rendering unit configured to render the received print data to a bitmap image, a mergence unit configured to merge the bitmap image and the rendering image into a single mergence image, a binary coding unit configured to perform halftoning for the generated mergence image to generate binary data, and a print engine unit configured to form an image on a paper by using the generated binary data. |
| US09001385B2 |
Printer driver and image forming apparatus
A printer driver and an image forming apparatus for appropriately combining additional information (such as a stamp) and an original to print the combined image data. The printer driver according to one embodiment of the present invention, relates to a printer driver connected to a printer for registering form data transmitted from the printer driver, and for combining the registered form data and contents data. The printer driver transmits transparent data as form data and a command indicating that the form data is transparent data, to the printer. |
| US09001383B2 |
Image processing apparatus which performs image processing for correcting misregistration, control method of image processing apparatus, and storage medium
Correction amounts of pixels in a sub-scanning direction for correcting misregistration of an image are determined based on interpolation using the correction amount in the sub-scanning direction corresponding to a first segment and the correction amount in the sub-scanning direction corresponding to a second segment, both of which are configured by pixels in the image. |
| US09001381B2 |
Image forming apparatus which processes printing data including a transparency pattern, printing control terminal apparatus, and image forming method thereof
An image forming apparatus and a printing control terminal apparatus include an input unit to receive printing data, a rendering unit to transform the printing data into bitmap data, an image processor to determine whether the bitmap data includes a transparency pattern and if it is determined that the bitmap data includes the transparency pattern, perform smoothing processing with respect to the bitmap data; and an output unit to output the bitmap data processed by the image processor. Accordingly, an image quality of printing data including a transparency pattern can be improved. In addition, an image forming method includes receiving image data including a plurality of pixels, determining whether an area of pixels is a patterned area including a pattern, determining the patterned area is transparent when the pattern of the patterned area matches a pre-stored pattern, performing a smoothing process on the patterned area, and printing the image data after performing the smoothing. |
| US09001378B2 |
Print label producing apparatus, contents processing program, and contents processing method
The disclosure discloses a print label producing apparatus. The apparatus includes a producing apparatus side attaching/detaching portion to and from which a nonvolatile storage device can be attached and detached, an attachment determining portion configured to determine whether or not the storage device is attached to the producing apparatus side attaching/detaching portion, a selection information write portion configured to write unique selection material information to the storage device in an attached state, and a contents acquisition portion configured to acquire contents stored in the storage device and corresponding to the selection material information when the attachment determining portion determines that the storage device is attached to the producing apparatus side attaching/detaching portion. |
| US09001377B2 |
Image forming apparatus and method of controlling the image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus performs density correction. An image forming section forms a density detection image on a belt. A light source irradiates the image with light. A light receiving section receives light reflected from the image and outputs a plurality of intensity signals of the received light. An intensity obtaining section drives the belt and the light source, thereby illuminating the image a first number of times at intervals of a first distance as the belt runs, and the light receiving section receives the light reflected from the image, the first number of times being determined by at least the first distance and a second distance in which the first distance lies. A selecting section selects a second number of levels of light intensity from the plurality of intensity signals. A density correcting section performs print density correction using the second number of levels of light intensity. |
| US09001376B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image processing method, print order receiving apparatus, and print order receiving method
An image processing apparatus includes a receiver which receives original image data from a terminal, a converter which converts the original image data to tone-changed image, a storing unit which stores parameter groups for converting the original image data, the parameter groups including a first parameter group for RGB components and a second parameter group for YMCK components, a print size selector, and a print controller which issues a print instruction for the converted image data. A display controller allows the terminal to display the converted image data obtained by using the first parameter group. The print controller issues a print instruction for the converted image data obtained by using the second parameter group. |
| US09001369B1 |
Print job tracking and policy enforcement
Methods and apparatus enforce policy on print jobs and track them per users. A computing device has a layered service provider (LSP) and a spooler. The LSP determines whether data coining to it corresponds to print data or not. If so, it extracts user information and determines whether any imaging policies apply to the user. If policy applies, the LSP iteratively acknowledges to the spooler that data is being successfully transferred to an imaging device so the spooler will continue sending a remainder of the data corresponding to the print job. Upon receipt of an entire print job, the LSP enforces policy and notifies the user. It also notifies an accounting server to update its policies. Further embodiments note relationships between the LSP and spooler and their interaction with layers in a TCP/IP model. |
| US09001368B2 |
Image processing apparatus, operation standardization method, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with operation standardization program with an application program that supports both a touch panel capable of detecting only one position and a touch panel capable of detecting a plurality of positions simultaneously
An image processing apparatus includes a display portion, a touch panel, and a control portion. The control portion includes a touch event generating portion to output a touch event indicating a position detected by the touch panel, a gesture event determining portion to determine a gesture event on the basis of a set of touch events continuously output from the touch event generating portion, an application portion operable, when receiving process identification information, to perform a process corresponding to the process identification information, an association portion operable, at the stage when an application program is installed, to associate each of a plurality of types of processes determined by the application program with one of gesture events, a process specifying portion to specify the process associated with the gesture event determined, and an operation notification portion to output the process identification information of the specified process to the application portion. |
| US09001366B2 |
Control device
A control device for a function execution apparatus includes: a determination unit which, when a target function is selected from the plurality of functions, determines whether the function execution apparatus can execute the target function by using first data, based on the target function; and a processing execution unit which, when the function execution apparatus can execute the target function by using the first data, executes first processing for enabling the function execution apparatus to execute the target function by using the first data, and when the function execution apparatus is unable to execute the target function by using the first data, executes second processing for supplying second data to the function execution apparatus for enabling the function execution apparatus to execute the target function by using the second data converted from the first data. |
| US09001364B2 |
Management system, image forming apparatus, management system control method, and image forming apparatus control method for migration of setting values of an application that operates in the image forimng apparatus
An image forming apparatus receives at least one setting file including a first item for specifying an application and a second item for specifying an operation target setting content from a server apparatus. If a value specifying an application is set in the first item included in the received setting file, the image forming apparatus operates a setting value of the application according to a value set in the second item included in the received setting file. If a predetermined value defined for operating a setting value of the image forming apparatus is set in the first item included in the received setting file, the image forming apparatus operates the setting value of the image forming apparatus by using a value set in the second item included in the received setting file. The image forming apparatus transmits an operation result to the server apparatus. |
| US09001363B2 |
Printing control system, printing control method, and image processor
A printing control system includes a transmission part configured to transmit data from an information terminal to an image processor; an analysis part configured to analyze the data received from the information terminal; a format determining part configured to determine the data format of the received data based on the analysis result of the analysis part; a conversion requesting part configured to, in response to the format determining part determining that the data format of the received data is convertible into print data printable in the image processor, transmit the received data to a data converter and request the data converter to convert the received data into the print data; and a printing control part configured to print the print data returned from the data converter in response to the request of the conversion requesting part. |
| US09001362B2 |
Repository-based print services
An approach is provided for a service provider to identify documents to include in a client's repository and for the client to print the documents from the client's repository. In an embodiment, a computing device receives authentication information identifying a first user, receives first user information identifying a second user, receives information indicating selection of a one or more particular documents, from a set of one or more documents, and sends document information that at least identifies the one or more particular documents to a repository associated with the second user. A printing device receives second user information identifying the second user, and, in response to receiving the second user information, retrieves the one or more particular documents from the repository based, at least in part, on the second user information. The printing device processes at least one document of the one or more particular documents for printing. |
| US09001360B2 |
Information processing apparatus and information processing method
An information processing apparatus, which stores attribute data of a job executed by an image processing apparatus, and reference information of image data associated with the job in a storage device as a job log, saves image data corresponding to reference information in the storage device as cached data. Then, the apparatus acquires image data corresponding to reference information included in a job log from the cached data in the storage device, and outputs a job log appended with the acquired image data to an external system. |
| US09001359B2 |
Information processing apparatus capable of setting configuration information for use by an image processing apparatus, and control method and storage medium therefor
An information processing apparatus capable of easily registering and deleting configuration information and providing excellent user-friendliness. An integrated application that operates on the information processing apparatus capable of communicating with an image processing apparatus through a network sets configuration information for use by the image processing apparatus for data transmission, and instructs the image processing apparatus to display an icon corresponding to the configuration information on a touch panel of the image processing apparatus. When one of icons displayed on the touch panel is touched, data is transmitted from the image processing apparatus to a transmission destination represented by the confirmation information corresponding to the icon. If the data is successfully received by the transmission destination, the integrated application instructs the image processing apparatus to delete the configuration information corresponding to the touched icon. |
| US09001358B2 |
Image forming system
A tandem-type image forming system comprises: a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected in series, the image forming apparatuses which respectively perform image formation on sides of a sheet, thereby performing a job, the image forming apparatuses including: a first image forming apparatus; and a second image forming apparatus provided upper than the first image forming apparatus in a sheet conveying direction, wherein the first image forming apparatus includes: a controlling section which controls transmission of image data generated based on printing data of the job received by the first image forming apparatus to the second image forming apparatus, and the second image forming apparatus includes: a controlling section which controls feeding of a sheet on which the image formation is performed based on the image data received from the first image forming apparatus. |
| US09001355B2 |
Methods and structure for simplified enterprise printing from mobile devices
Methods and structure for flexible printing of documents from a mobile device in a printing enterprise. The mobile device is coupled with a remote print server through a public network and coupled with one or more printers of the enterprise through a private network. The mobile device serves as an intermediate device such that the printer is not connected directly to the remote print server. A user of the mobile device identifies a document to be printed and sends information relating to the identified document over the public network to the remote print server. The server renders the document and returns the rendered document to the mobile device that, in turn, transmits the rendered document to the printer over the private network to cause the document to be printed. Further, the user may select the printer by physically locating a preferred printer (in close proximity and/or equipped/configured as desired). |
| US09001351B2 |
Image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus includes first through third control units, with the first for processing input image information and each of the second and third for controlling an operation of an image forming unit by communication with the first. In a first mode, in which power is supplied to the first through third control units, the first and third control units communicate via the second control unit. In a second mode, in which the first control unit does not communicate with the second control unit, the first and third control units communicate via a communication line without communicating via the second control unit. The power consumption of the second mode is lower than that of the first mode. In the second mode, the first and third control units can transmit information for transition from the second mode to the first mode to each other via the communication line. |
| US09001350B2 |
Image processing apparatus, control method, and storage medium in which the load can be suppressed during a maintenance event
Provided is an image processing apparatus that detects a maintenance event required for the maintenance thereof and displays video data on a screen by reproducing the video data which indicates a maintenance procedure for resolving the detected maintenance event. Then, the image processing apparatus displays a specific scene included in the video data on the screen after completion of reproduction of the video data. |
| US09001341B2 |
Printing apparatus, control method for printing apparatus, and storage medium
A printing apparatus according to the present invention can change according to a type of a job whether to switch storage units within a group in accordance with an amount of sheets reaches a certain amount. |
| US09001338B2 |
Print control apparatus, print control method, and computer-readable recording medium for correcting print position
An apparatus includes an acquisition unit and a controller. The acquisition unit is configured to, in a case of a recording medium having different thicknesses along a direction crossing a feeding direction in which the recording medium is fed by a feeding unit, acquire correction information that is set on the basis of an orientation of the recording medium in a case where the recording medium is fed by the feeding unit. The controller is configured to move a print start position of a print unit in the direction crossing the feeding direction on the basis of the correction information acquired by the acquisition unit. |
| US09001337B2 |
Etching monitor device
An etching monitor device capable of high precision measurement in the presence of a mask region capable of producing interference. The device including an interference optical system which acquires reflected interference light containing three interference component signals, which are due respectively to optical path differences of reflected light between three sets of surfaces. The three interference component signals include a first interference based on an optical path between light reflected off of a mask surface and light reflected off of a top surface of the substrate, a second interference based on an optical path between the light reflected off of the top surface of the substrate and light reflected off of a surface to be etched, and a third interference based on an optical path between the light reflected off of the surface to be etched and the light reflected off of the mask surface. |
| US09001331B2 |
Arrangement adapted for spectral analysis of high concentrations of gas
A device adapted for spectral analysis having a transmitting means adapted for electromagnetic radiation, a delimited space,in the form of a cavity, serving as a measuring cell and intended to be capable of defining an optical measuring distance, a sensing means of the electromagnetic radiation passing the optical measuring distance from said transmitting means, and a unit at any rate connected to the sensing means performing the spectral analysis, the sensing means for the electromagnetic radiation is opto-electrically adapted sensitive to the electromagnetic radiation, which is intended to fall within the spectral range whose chosen wavelength components or spectral elements are to become objects of an analysis in the unit performing the spectral analysis for determining in this unit, over calculations, the relative intensity of radiation of the spectral element. |
| US09001324B2 |
Optical fiber surface enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS) probe
A surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) probe apparatus and a method of SERS probing employ Raman-active surfaces of a plurality of nanoscale field concentrator (NFC) structures at a terminal end of an optical fiber. The SERS probe apparatus includes an optical fiber having an optical path and a terminal end that terminates the optical path. The SERS probe apparatus further includes a plurality of NFC structures and nanoparticles on surfaces of the plurality of NFC structures. First ends of the NFC structures are adjacent to the terminal end of optical fiber. The nanoparticles are Raman active to an analyte. |
| US09001323B2 |
Method of fabricating gold nanostructures using electroless displacement plating
The present invention provides a method of fabricating gold nanoparticles using electroless displacement plating, the method including the steps of: depositing on a substrate a metal having a reduction potential lower than that of gold to form a metal layer; and reacting a gold ion-containing plating solution with the metal layer. The invention also provides gold nanoparticles fabricated by the method. According to the method, gold nanostructures can be fabricated in a simple, cost-effective and efficient manner, and the fabricated gold nanoparticles can be used to measure surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) signal or fluorescence. In addition, the invention enables the development of an optical sensor including the gold nanostructures. |
| US09001321B2 |
Microscope and observation method
Provided is a microscope and an observation method which can improve spatial resolution. A microscope according to an aspect of the invention includes a laser light source (10), an objective lens (16) that focuses light from the laser light source on a sample, and a detector (22) that detects the laser light as signal light from a sample (17) when the sample (17) is irradiated with the laser light. The light is applied to the sample with an intensity changed to obtain a nonlinear region where intensities of the light and the signal light have a nonlinear relation due to occurrence of saturation or nonlinear increase of the signal light when the light has a maximum intensity, and the detector (22) detects the signal light according to the intensity of the laser light to perform observation based on a saturation component or a nonlinear increase component of the signal light. |
| US09001317B2 |
Lighting devices with sensors for detecting one or more external conditions and networked system using such devices
Exemplary lighting devices have sensors, intelligence in the form of programmed processors and communication capabilities. Such a device is configured to monitor one or more conditions external to a lighting device not directly related to operational performance of the respective lighting device. One or more such devices can work in a networked system, to support a variety of applications separate and in addition to the lighting related functions of the devices(s). |
| US09001313B2 |
Laser radar device, safe landing sensor for planetfall, docking sensor for space apparatus, space debris collection sensor, and vehicle-mounted collision avoidance sensor
A laser radar device includes: a pulse laser that outputs transmission light to a target; an transmission optical system that makes the transmission light at a predetermined beam spread angle; a light-receiving element array that receives scattered light from the target and converts the light to an electric signal; an electric circuit array that detects a reception intensity and a reception time from the electric signal; a range/three-dimensional shape output unit that measures a range to the target or a three-dimensional shape of the target on the basis of the reception time; a determination unit that determines whether the beam spread angle is changed or not on the basis of the reception intensity and the reception time; and a control unit that changes the beam spread angle on the basis of a determination result. |
| US09001310B2 |
Lithographic systems and processes of making and using same
A lithographic system includes a projection system for projecting an object field through a projection system's pupil onto an image field. The projection system includes an optical element located at the projection system's pupil. The projection system's pupil is manipulable with respect to normalized pupil heights by the optical element. Related processes are also disclosed. |
| US09001307B2 |
Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method
An exposure apparatus and method exposes a substrate via a projection optical system and a liquid supplied to an immersion area below the projection optical system. First and second movable members move below the projection optical system. The first movable member has a mount area that mounts a substrate located in a hole of an upper surface of the first movable member. The upper surface outside the hole can maintain at least a part of the immersion area outside the substrate mounted in the hole. A drive system drives the first and second movable members to move the first and second movable members below the projection optical system relative to the liquid immersion region to replace one member positioned below the projection optical system with the other member such that the liquid immersion area is maintained below the projection optical system. |
| US09001302B2 |
Liquid crystal display and manufacturing method thereof
A manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display includes: forming a thin film transistor on a first substrate; forming a color filter on the thin film transistor; forming a pixel electrode on the color filter; and forming a light blocking member including a column spacer protruded from the light blocking member on the color filter. The forming the light blocking member uses a mask including a first region, a second region, and a third region. The first region passes light generated from a light exposer, the second region includes a blocking filter layer which selectively passes the light generated from the light exposer, and the third region blocks the light generated from the light exposer. |
| US09001300B2 |
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display includes an insulating substrate, gate and data lines formed on the substrate to define pixel areas, or collectively a display area. Gate signal interconnection wires are formed at a corner portion of the substrate outside the display area to transmit gate electrical signals, and provided with gate signal interconnection lines and first and second gate signal interconnection pads connected to both ends of the gate signal interconnection lines. A gate insulating layer, and a protective layer are further formed on the substrate, and provided with first and second contact holes exposing the first and second gate signal interconnection pads. Gate and data signal transmission films are attached to the substrate, and provided with first and second gate signal leads and first and second gate signal wires. The first and second gate signal leads are connected to the first and second gate signal interconnection pads through the first and second contact holes. The first or the second gate signal lead completely covers the first or the second contact hole at least in the longitudinal direction of the lead. |
| US09001299B2 |
Low resistance wiring structure and liquid crystal display device using the same
A low-resistance wiring structure and a liquid crystal display are disclosed. The liquid crystal display includes a first substrate; a thin film transistor (TFT) formed on the first substrate and formed of a gate wiring, a data wiring and a semiconductor layer; and a second substrate attached to the first substrate in a facing manner, wherein at least one of the gate wiring and the data wiring is formed as a first wiring made of copper, a second wiring made of a barrier metal preventing spreading of copper, and a metal oxide film pattern formed between the first and second wirings. A MO/Cu wiring structure is implemented by using pure molybdenum, so that the low-resistance wiring structure with high reliability can be formed at a low cost. |
| US09001294B2 |
Liquid-crystal display panel
A liquid crystal display panel includes a color filter substrate with four or more color layers of different colors and a light shielding layer, each pixel including a repeating unit composed of the four or more color layers overlap overlapping the light shielding layer, the liquid crystal display panel having a region where color layers of the same color in different pixels are arranged in the same rows or the same columns, and a color layer of a color with higher brightness overlaps a portion of the light shielding layer positioned between the color layer and another color layer of the same color with an overlapping width smaller than that with which a color layer of a color with lower brightness overlaps a portion of the light shielding layer positioned between the color layer and another color layer of the same color. |
| US09001290B2 |
Polarizer, display panel having the same and method of manufacturing the same
A polarizer includes a substrate, and a first metal layer and a second metal layer disposed on the substrate. The first metal layer includes a plurality of protrusions of a wire grid pattern. Each protrusion has a first width and adjacent protrusions are spaced apart by a second width. The second metal layer is disposed on each of the protrusions of the first metal layer, and includes molybdenum (Mo) and/or titanium (Ti). |
| US09001289B2 |
Polarizing layer of liquid crystal panel and manufacturing method for the same
The present invention discloses a polarizing layer of a liquid crystal panel and manufacturing method thereof. A polarized ultraviolet (UV) light is irradiated on a UV reactive liquid crystal layer to form a polarized UV reactive liquid crystal layer having polarization properties, and it is used as the polarizing layer of the liquid crystal panel. The present invention has advantages of being thin in the thickness thereof, in addition to having high temperature resistance, as well as a simple manufacturing process, thereby reducing production costs. |
| US09001284B2 |
Liquid crystal display and manufacturing method thereof
A liquid crystal display includes a gate line formed on an insulation substrate. A data line, insulated from the gate line, crosses the gate line. A first pixel is connected to the gate line and the data line. The pixel includes a thin film transistor having a control terminal connected to the gate line and an input terminal connected to the data line. A first liquid crystal capacitor has one end connected to an output terminal of the thin film transistor. A second liquid crystal capacitor has one end connected to the other end of the first liquid crystal capacitor. The first liquid crystal capacitor includes a first liquid crystal layer formed in a first microcavity and the second liquid crystal capacitor includes a second liquid crystal layer formed in a second microcavity. |
| US09001283B2 |
Shutter panel and display device including the same
Provided is a shutter panel including a first substrate on which a plurality of electric field forming electrodes are parallel to each other, a second substrate opposed to the first substrate, and a liquid crystal layer disposed on the first and second substrates. Each of the electric field forming electrodes has both side surfaces facing the adjacent electric field forming electrodes, and both side surfaces are provided with protrusion parts protruding toward the adjacent electric field forming electrodes. |
| US09001282B2 |
Variable power optical element
A variable power optical element is divided into cells which contain two liquid crystals mixed according to different proportions. The proportion of one of the liquid crystals in each cell increases on the basis of the radial distance between a central point of the optical element and said cell. An appropriate selection of the two liquid crystals results in a higher variation of the optical power between two control states of said optical element. More particularly, the optical element may consist of an ophthalmic lens which changes between a convergent lens state and a divergent lens state. |
| US09001278B2 |
Image display apparatus
An image display apparatus includes a first optical modulation device and a second optical modulation device configured to emit linearly polarized lights whose polarization directions are perpendicular to each other, first pixels and second pixels are arranged in each of the first optical modulation device and second optical modulation device, retardation layers are disposed on the light emission side of the first pixels or second pixels, the retardation layers configured to convert one linearly polarized light of the linearly polarized lights into the other linearly polarized light. Either arrangements of the first pixels and the second pixels or arrangements of the retardation layers is set so as to be the same in the first optical modulation device and the second optical modulation device, and the other is set so as to be the reverse in the first optical modulation device and the second optical modulation device. |
| US09001277B2 |
Television apparatus, electronic apparatus, and lens
An electronic apparatus includes, a printed wiring board, light emitting diodes provided on the printed wiring board and configured to emit light parallel to the printed wiring board, and a lens including light receiving parts corresponding to the light emitting diodes, respectively, and a display part configured to display light which has been emitted from the light emitting diodes and has entered through the light receiving parts. The lens is provided with a cutout portion extending from a position between the light receiving parts to the display part. |
| US09001274B2 |
Image processing method
An image processing method for processing an input image is provided. The image processing method includes: performing a plurality of first imaging processing operations on the input image to generate a first image; and performing a plurality of second imaging processing operations on the first image. Each of the first imaging processing operations is along a first direction, and the plurality of first imaging processing operations include a first scaling operation for increasing resolution. Each of the second imaging processing operations is along a second direction different from the first direction, and the plurality of second imaging processing operations include a second scaling operation for increasing resolution. |
| US09001272B2 |
Image synthesizing device, coding device, program, and recording medium
In order to prevent obstruction of a view of a subtitle due to synthesis of the subtitle onto an object area such as a person and display of the synthesized subtitle, an image synthesizing device includes: an image synthesizing unit which synthesizes a graphics object onto an image; and a display area detecting unit which outputs a display position of an area having the lowest spatial frequency; and a drawing control unit which causes the graphics object to be drawn at the display position. |
| US09001268B2 |
Auto-focus camera module with flexible printed circuit extension
A compact camera module is coupled at an image sensor end to a flexible printed circuit (FPC) and an FPC extension segment and is configured such that, upon folding the FPC onto the housing, one or more electrical contact pads disposed on the subject side of the optical train are coupled electrically with contact pads on the FPC extension segment from which MEMS actuator control signals are transmittable directly from the FPC to the MEMS lens actuator. |
| US09001266B2 |
Imaging device and light emission amount control method of the same
An imaging device performs control for changing evaluation values calculated for specific areas which are at least a portion of segment areas around a segment area where a brightness difference calculated by subtracting non-light emission image data from pre-light emission image data is negative or a segment area where a brightness difference calculated by subtracting the pre-light emission image data from the non-light emission image data is positive so that the evaluation values are reduced when the brightness difference is calculated by subtracting the non-light emission image data from the pre-light emission image data and an absolute value of the negative evaluation values are reduced when the brightness difference is calculated by subtracting the pre-light emission image data from the non-light emission image data, in a case where the brightness differences of all segment areas include negative and positive values together. |
| US09001264B2 |
Image pickup apparatus, accessory, and imaging system
The present invention relates to a camera and an interchangeable lens capable of further improving the operational performance while supporting an old-type interchangeable lens using a communication method in the related art.The camera to which the interchangeable lens is detachably attached and which is capable of switching between a first communication mode and a second communication mode as a communication method between the camera and the lens includes a first terminal and a second terminal used to communicate with the lens. In the first communication mode, the camera outputs a clock signal through the first terminal and receives information about the lens through the second terminal on the basis of the clock signal. In the second communication mode, the camera receives information about the lens through the first terminal and the second terminal without outputting a clock signal through the first terminal. |
| US09001263B2 |
Driver circuit for a camera voice coil motor
A driver circuit for a camera voice coil motor (VCM) is described. A first power switch selectively conducts current from a VCM node to a power supply node, and a second power switch selectively conducts current from the VCM node to a power return node. A pulse width modulation circuit controls the first and second power switches. In another embodiment, a switch mode current control circuit sources VCM current alternately from the power supply node and the power n node, into the VCM node. Other embodiments are also described and claimed. |
| US09001262B2 |
Image sensor and image capturing apparatus
An image sensor comprises a first imaging pixel and a second imaging pixel each of which detects an object image formed by a photographing optical system and generates a recording image. Each of the first imaging pixel and the second imaging pixel comprises a plurality of photoelectric conversion units segmented in a first direction, the plurality of photoelectric conversion units have an ability of photoelectrically converting images formed by split light beams out of a light beam from the photographing optical system and outputting focus detection signals to be used to detect a phase difference. A base-line length of photoelectric conversion units to be used to detect the phase difference included in the first imaging pixel is longer than that of photoelectric conversion units to be used to detect the phase difference included in the second imaging pixel. |
| US09001260B2 |
Imaging apparatus and imaging method
An imaging apparatus includes: a solid-state imaging device having pairs of phase-difference pixels for detecting a phase difference; a position control section which changes the relative position of an imaging optical system and the solid-state imaging device; a control section which causes the solid-state imaging device to perform plural provisional imagings while changing the relative position; and a regular-imaging position determination section which determines one of the relative positions that are obtained when the provisional imagings are performed, as a relative position in regular imaging, on the basis of, among plural captured image signals which are obtained in the provisional imagings, output signals which correspond to a part or all of the pairs included in the solid-state imaging device, and which are obtained from pixels in areas including the pairs. |
| US09001254B2 |
Digital photographing apparatus and method of controlling the same
A digital photographing apparatus is provided that enlarges and displays one area of a subject to be photographed for a self-timer photographing standby time, as is a method of controlling the digital photographing apparatus. The method includes: receiving a self-timer photographing input signal; enlarging and displaying one area of a displayed input image for a self-timer photographing standby time; and capturing the displayed input image after the self-timer photographing standby time elapses. The area of the subject to be photographed is enlarged and displayed for the self-timer photographing standby time so that a photographing state of the subject to be photographed may be checked and a desired image may be captured. |
| US09001252B2 |
Image matching to augment reality
Technology for augmenting reality using image matching is described. The technology can receive a captured image, determine location information relating to the received image, and transmit the location information to a server computing device. The technology may then receive one or more tags from the server computing device, wherein each tag can include one or more patches and supplementary information corresponding to at least one of the patches and each patch can be associated with the location information. The technology can then determine using an image matching process whether at least one of the received one or more patches appears in the received image, and if a patch appears in the received image, render the supplementary information corresponding to the patch. |
| US09001249B2 |
Solid-state image sensor and camera
A solid-state image sensor has a pixel array including pixel units and column signal lines. Each pixel unit includes a photoelectric converter and an amplifier transistor which outputs a signal to the column signal line. The sensor includes a cascode current source which supplies a current to the amplifier transistor and which includes cascode-connected first and second transistors, a first bias circuit which determines a voltage of a first node connected to a gate of the first transistor, and a second bias circuit which determines a voltage of a second node connected to a gate of the second transistor. |
| US09001247B2 |
Imaging system and method for driving imaging system
A method drives an imaging system including: a plurality of pixels; an amplifier having an input node connected to the plurality of pixels via an input capacitor, and an output node connected to the input node via a feedback capacitor; and a reset unit configured to reset the input node to a base potential. The method includes the steps of: causing the input capacitor to hold noise output from one of the plurality of pixels; adding signals output from the two or more pixels in the feedback capacitor; and obtaining a difference between a signal applying a gain to a base signal output from the amplifier according to the reset of the input node of the amplifier and the signal added in the feedback capacitor. |
| US09001234B2 |
Imager readout architecture utilizing A/D converters (ADC)
The invention provides an imager readout architecture utilizing analog-to-digital converters (ADC), the architecture comprising a band-limited sigma delta modulator (SDM) ADC; and a serpentine readout, which can be configured to allow the band-limited SDM to multiplex between multiple columns by avoiding discontinuities at the edges of a row. SDM ADC image reconstruction artifacts are minimized using a modified serpentine read out methodology, the methodology comprising using primary and redundant slices with the serpentine read out in opposite directions and averaging the slices. Advantageously, the invention can be used to develop a read out integrated circuit (ROIC) for strained layer superlattice imagers (SLS) using sigma delta modulator (SDM) based analog to digital converters (SDM ADC). |
| US09001227B2 |
Combining data from multiple image sensors
A method of combining data from multiple sensors is disclosed. The method includes providing a common control signal to multiple image sensors. Each of the multiple image sensors is responsive to the common control signal to generate image data. The method also includes receiving synchronized data output from each of the multiple image sensors. |
| US09001226B1 |
Capturing and relighting images using multiple devices
A system and method are provided for coordinating image capture using multiple devices, including for example multiple image capture devices (cameras), multiple lighting devices (flash), and/or the like. In at least one embodiment, the system of the present invention is configured to collect image information from multiple image capture devices, such as cameras, and/or to collect multiple images having different lighting configurations. The collected image data can be processed to generate various effects, such as relighting, parallax, refocusing, and/or three-dimensional effects, and/or to introduce interactivity into the image presentation. In at least one embodiment, the system of the present invention is implemented using any combination of any number of image capture device(s) and/or flash (lighting) device(s), which may be equipped to communicate with one another via any suitable means, such as wirelessly. A communication protocol is established for enabling such communication, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, or the like. |
| US09001225B2 |
Image capture apparatus and control method therefor
An image capture apparatus comprises a first shake detection unit configured to detect a shake of the image capture apparatus, a rotational shake calculation unit configured to calculate a rotational shake amount, a second shake detection unit configured to detect the shake of the image capture apparatus, a translational shake calculation unit configured to calculate a translational shake amount, a correction amount calculation unit configured to calculate, based on the rotational shake amount and the translational shake amount, a correction amount for correcting image blurring, and a correction unit configured to correct the image blurring, wherein the rotational shake calculation unit calculates a first translational motion component and perspective component, and wherein the correction amount calculation unit calculates a second translational motion component. |
| US09001222B2 |
Image processing device, image processing method, and program for image processing for correcting displacement between pictures obtained by temporally-continuous capturing
An image processing device of the present invention includes: a motion amount estimating unit which estimates, using feature points extracted from each of a first picture and a second picture, a motion amount indicating an amount of displacement of the second picture with respect to the first picture, the second picture being captured temporally after the first picture; a determining unit which determines, using the feature points, whether or not correction is made using the motion amount estimated by the motion amount estimating unit; and a picture correcting unit which corrects the displacement of the second picture with respect to the first picture using the motion amount so as to correct the displacement between the pictures, in the case where the determining unit determines that the correction is made using the motion amount. |
| US09001221B2 |
Method and apparatus for using motion information and image data to correct blurred images
Methods and apparatus for correcting blurred images captured by an imaging device. A method comprising recording image data and recording motion information, transmitting a portion of the image data and/or a portion of the motion information to a computer for processing. The computer may calculate an inverse filter from at least the motion information, and the computer may generate a corrected image by applying an inverse filter to the image data. |
| US09001220B2 |
Image sensor chip, method of obtaining image data based on a color sensor pixel and a motion sensor pixel in an image sensor chip, and system including the same
A method of operating an image sensor chip, which includes a color sensor pixel and a dynamic vision sensor (DVS) pixel sensing a motion of an object, is provided. The method includes enabling one of the color sensor pixel and the DVS pixel according to a mode selection signal and processing a pixel signal output from the enabled pixel. |
| US09001218B2 |
Camera module and image capturing device having decreased distortion in the vicinity of the maximum image height
A camera module (100) of the present invention includes: an optical section (1) including a lens section (11); and an OIS section (3) correcting misalignment of an optical axis. The lens section (11) has an image height-optical distortion curve in which an optical distortion is a positive maximum value in an intermediate image height region and the optical distortion gradually decreases from the maximum value as an image height approaches a maximum image height. |
| US09001215B2 |
Estimating shared image device operational capabilities or resources
This disclosure describes a number of devices or techniques that can be capable of obtaining an operational capacity for a shared image device; estimating at least one operational resource to perform a transformation of one or more images based at least in part on the obtaining the operational capacity; and sharing the one or more images with at least one other shared image device in a manner that performs the transformation of the one or more images. |
| US09001213B2 |
Monitoring video waveforms
A video signal waveform monitor is shown, which receives an input video signal composed of video lines. A video signal digitizer samples the input video signal at video sample points to generate a sequence of video pixel data, which is written into an acquisition framestore is organized into a video pixel array so as to represent a raster of the input video signal. A level analyzer reads the video pixel data row-by-row from segments of the video pixel array and increments video level data at addresses in cache memory in response to the serially-read video pixel data. This generates a sequence of video level data, which is written into an output framestore and which represents the level of the waveform of the input video signal. The segments of the video pixel array comprise at least one and less than all of the columns in the video pixel array. |
| US09001210B2 |
Surveillance camera system
A surveillance camera system includes a first camera 5 having an angle of view θ1, a second camera 6 which is a combination of two camera modules 6a, 6b each having an angle of view θ2, a third camera 7 which is a combination of three camera modules 7a, 7b, 7c each having an angle of view θ3, and a local camera 8 having an angle of view θs. The first to third cameras 5 to 7 act as area surveillance cameras to which the optimum shooting distance is set, respectively. The local camera 8 takes a shot of a local area, which is set in a shooting area of the third camera 7, at the narrowest angle of view θs. The respective cameras take a shot individually under automatic exposure control. |
| US09001208B2 |
Imaging sensor based multi-dimensional remote controller with multiple input mode
A method for generating a TV input command using a remote controller having an imaging sensor is presented. The method identifies the corners of a TV display screen from a graphical image captured by an imaging sensor of the remote controller. The method can then perform edge detection and segmentation of the graphical image using reference TV dimensions of the TV display screen to identify the pixel coordinates of the four corners of the TV display screen in the graphical image. The method can then map a camera center position in the pixel coordinates to virtual TV coordinates using a cross ratio algorithm, and then map a location of a cursor in the virtual TV coordinates to the coordinates of the TV display screen. |
| US09001207B1 |
Apparatus and method for motion detection in video
A motion detection method of a video camera includes calculating differences for a sum of accumulated differences (ΔSAD) for corresponding macro blocks in successive frames of video. The method may include identifying motion-generative macroblocks and regions of connected macroblocks. Candidate-motion regions may be defined in a frame and a bounding box may be formed around each of the candidate-motion regions. If corresponding bounding boxes in a plurality of successive frames have substantially the same location, size, and shape in the plurality of successive frames, and if the plurality of successive frames are in a temporal window of successive frames, then the corresponding bounding boxes may indicate motion. |
| US09001206B2 |
Cascadable camera tampering detection transceiver module
A cascadable camera tampering detection transceiver module has a processing unit and a storing unit, an information controlling module and an analyzing module. The storing unit stores a transceiving module. The detection module analyzes input video, detects camera tampering events, synthesizes the input video with the image of camera tampering result, and outputs the synthesized video. When the input video is an output from the detection module, the detection module separates the camera tampering result from the input video, and the result can be used to simplify or enhance the subsequent video analysis. Performing the existing analysis repeatedly may be avoided, and the user may re-define the detection conditions in this manner. When the camera tampering result is transmitted in the video channel, the detection module transmits the camera tampering result, and hence the detection module may be used in combination with surveillance devices having image output or input interfaces. |
| US09001205B2 |
System and methods for controlling a surveying device
A system and methods are provided for controlling a surveying device. In one embodiment, a method includes displaying a control screen including image data captured by a surveying device, detecting an input associated with the control screen, and determining a control command for the surveying device based on the input associated with the control screen. The method may further include controlling operation of the surveying device based on the control command, wherein the surveying device is configured to rotate in one more of a horizontal and vertical direction based on the control command. The device and methods may advantageously allow for precise pointing of a surveying device and translation of input position to surveying device commands. |
| US09001203B2 |
System and program for generating integrated database of imaged map
A photography unit photographs a target, a control unit acquires distance data between a photography position and a target to be photographed of the photography unit, an azimuth angle and an elevation/depression angle of a photography direction of the photography unit together with the image information by an angle distance measurement unit synchronously or asynchronously to the shutter operation of the photography unit. The angle distance measurement unit has a configuration without using an axis fixed onto a mobile object. Coordinate information of the photography position of the photography unit is acquired from the coordinate measurement unit synchronously to asynchronously to the shutter operation. The control unit calculates coordinate information of a photographing target, based on the data of the acquired distance data, the azimuth, elevation and depression angles, and the coordinate information. |
| US09001201B2 |
Component mounting apparatus and component detection method
A transfer pathway of mounting heads 10 in a component-mounting round during which the mounting head 10 moves back and forth between a component feeding unit 4 and a substrate conveyance mechanism 2 is derived by a transfer pathway calculation unit 25 for each component-mounting round from mounting program data 21a. On the basis of data pertaining to the thus-derived transfer pathway, image data output from a line sensor camera assigned to a head transfer range segment that the transfer pathway of the mounting head 10 crosses in each of component-mounting rounds are selected and captured by an image selection processing unit 24. The image data output from the line sensor camera whose focusing point substantially matches the imaging target can be used for detecting whether or not a component still exists. |
| US09001199B2 |
System and method for human detection and counting using background modeling, HOG and Haar features
A system for adaptive learning based human detection for channel input of captured human image signals, the system comprising: a sensor for tracking real-time images of an environment of interest; a feature extraction and classifiers generation processor for extracting a plurality of features and classifying the features associated with time-space descriptors of image comprising background modeling, Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) and Haar like wavelet; a processor configured to process extracted feature classifiers associated with plurality of real-time images; combine the plurality of feature classifiers of time-space descriptors; evaluate a linear probability of human detection based on a predetermined threshold value of the feature classifiers in a time window having at least one image frame; a counter for counting the number of humans in the real-time images; and a transmission device configured to send the final human detection decision and number thereof to a storage device. |
| US09001195B2 |
Image display device, image display viewing system and image display method
An image display device of present invention includes a signal control portion that receives input of an image signal, and outputs a signal that causes an image for a right eye and an image for a left eye to be displayed alternately, a display panel to which the signal converted by the signal control portion is input, and which alternately displays the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye, and a polarity reversing portion that performs polarity reversal of a drive voltage of the display panel due to the signal, at least every time both the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye are displayed. |
| US09001192B2 |
Storage medium having stored therein stereoscopic image display program, stereoscopic image display device, stereoscopic image display system, and stereoscopic image display method
A game device 10 displays an image on an upper LCD 22 capable of producing stereoscopic display using two images. Based on two captured images of a predetermined image-capture object captured respectively by two image-capturing devices, the game device 10 calculates a positional relationship between the predetermined image-capture object and each of the image-capturing devices. Then, the game device 10 determines a zero-parallax distance using at least one of the positional relationships so that it is a distance in accordance with a distance from the image-capturing device to the image-capture object, and determines display positions of the two captured images to be displayed on the upper LCD 22 in accordance with the zero-parallax distance. Moreover, the game device 10 produces two virtual images based on two virtual cameras which have been set using the positional relationships, and produces a synthesized image obtained by synthesizing the virtual image with the captured image to display the image on the upper LCD 22. |
| US09001191B2 |
Calibration device, image display system and shutter glasses
A calibration device including a communication section which communicates with a display device which displays images on a screen, a light sensor arranged in a position to receive transmitted light of a lens of shutter glasses, a signal processing section which processes an output signal of the light sensor, a processing section which determines a shutter opening/closing timing, and a shutter driving section which operates the opening and closing of shutters of shutter glasses in accordance with the shutter opening/closing timing determined by the processing section, where the communication section receives a standard pulse which shows a timing when images are switched from the display device, and the processing section determines an appropriate correction amount τ of the shutter opening/closing timing based on a change in the output of the light sensor when the shutter opening/closing timing is changed with regard to the standard pulse. |
| US09001187B2 |
Capsule imaging system having a folded optical axis
An optical imaging system having a folded optical axis. |
| US09001184B2 |
Apparatus and method for taking image and conducting video communication
A method and an apparatus for taking an image and conducting video communication are provided. The image-taking and video communication apparatus includes a transparent display, a front camera, and a controller. The front camera is positioned behind the transparent display and captures an image of an object in front of the transparent display through the transparent display. The controller synchronizes an image capture period of the front camera with a screen output period of the transparent display so that image capturing of the front camera alternates with screen output of the transparent display. |
| US09001180B2 |
Multiple-participant customer service conference
Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods and computer program products for receiving input to initiate a video conference with a first participant from a user; initiating the video conference between the user and the first participant; receiving a request to add at least a second participant to the video conference from at least one of the user and the first participant, the request comprising credentials associated with the second participant; determining that the second participant is authorized to join the video conference based on the credentials; and connecting the second participant to the video conference. |
| US09001177B2 |
Enabling UE access domain selection for terminated speech/video calls
There is discussed a method of selecting an access domain for receiving a speech and/or video call at a mobile station of a mobile communications network in which calls are routed via a central service control common to a plurality of access domains. The method comprises the central service control transmitting an invite to establish a call to the terminating mobile station; the mobile station deciding on an access domain for receiving the call taking into account the capabilities of the local access network, and transmitting the selected access domain to the central service control; and establishing the call in accordance with the selected access domain. |
| US09001176B2 |
Smart phone lens assembly
A lens assembly for a smartphone and a method of use is disclosed. In a first aspect, a lens assembly comprises a rotatable wheel; wherein the wheel includes at least two lenses. The lens assembly includes a skin portion coupled to the rotatable wheel, wherein the skin portion is adjustable to cover a smartphone. The at least two lenses of the wheel are positioned such that when one of the lens of the assembly is properly positioned it covers the lens of a camera on the smartphone. In a second aspect the method comprises providing a lens assembly over a camera lens of a smartphone chassis. The lens assembly includes a plurality of lenses that are rotatable. The method includes ensuring that the center of the smartphone lens is congruent with the center of the selected lens of the plurality of lens by referencing at least two surfaces of the smartphone chassis. |
| US09001175B2 |
Optical scanning device and method for operating the same and image forming apparatus
An optical scanning device comprising: a light source that emits a laser beam; and a driving unit connected to the light source and configured to drive the light source; the driving unit comprising: a first storage unit that stores in advance therein a setting value for controlling output of the laser beam; a second storage unit that stores temporally therein the setting value stored in the first storage unit; a storage controller connected to the first storage unit and the second storage unit; and a voltage detector connected to the storage controller and configured to detect a voltage value supplied to the driving unit, wherein the storage controller, upon the voltage detector detecting that the voltage supply is resumed, transfers the setting value stored in the first storage unit to the second storage unit automatically. |
| US09001171B2 |
Double-sided receipt printing method and double-sided receipt printer
A first printhead that prints on one side of the paper, a second printhead that prints on the other side of the paper, and a cutter are disposed to the paper conveyance path with a specific gap therebetween approaching the paper exit for the paper, and a conveyance unit that conveys the paper through the conveyance path in a device that prints duplex receipts. Based on reception of a transaction end statement, the printer prints part of the transaction information by the first printhead; prints the remaining part of the transaction information by the second printhead; prints store information, the length of which fits between the cutter and the first printhead, by the first printhead after printing the transaction information; and then cuts the paper by the cutter at a position between the area where the transaction information was printed and the area where the store information was printed. |
| US09001169B2 |
Printer and recording medium
The disclosure discloses a printer comprising a storage device, a feeder, a printing head, an instruction input portion, a first control portion, a detection determining portion, and a second control portion. The printing head performs desired printing on the print-receiving medium fed in a forward direction along a transport direction by a feeder. The instruction input portion inputs an operation instruction for starting print processing. The first control portion controls the feeder so as to start feeding of the print-receiving medium in the forward direction. The detection determining portion determines whether or not a detecting device detects the identifier after feeding in the forward direction was started. The second control portion controls the feeder so as to feed the print-receiving medium in a reverse direction, and to position a position of the print-receiving medium in a predetermined first initial position. |
| US09001167B2 |
Display panel having crossover connections effecting dot inversion
A display device having subpixel repeating groups is presented. Each subpixel repeating group has an even number of four or more subpixels and includes odd-numbered subpixels and even-numbered subpixels alternately arranged in a row direction, each subpixel having a color. A data driver is configured to provide data signals to the subpixels such that the odd-numbered subpixels have a polarity that is opposite that of the even-numbered subpixels in each of the subpixel repeating groups. A first subpixel repeating group and a second subpixel repeating group are adjacent in the row direction. The first subpixel of the first subpixel repeating group and the first subpixel of the second subpixel repeating group have the same color and opposite polarities. |
| US09001165B2 |
Method of operating an organic light emitting display device, and organic light emitting display device
A method of operating an organic light emitting display device including a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel, a blue sub-pixel and a white sub-pixel, wherein a first gamma voltage for the red, green and blue sub-pixels and a second gamma voltage for the white pixel are adjusted such that a sum of maximum luminances of the red, green and blue sub-pixels is substantially equal to a luminance of a white color displayed by the organic light emitting display device. With respect to a white portion of input data, a ratio of first data of the red, green and blue sub-pixels to second data of the white sub-pixel is adjusted based on a first accumulated driving amount of the red, green and blue sub-pixels and a second accumulated driving amount of the white sub-pixel. |
| US09001164B2 |
Electro-optical device and electronic device
A plurality of pixels are arranged corresponding to interconnection between a plurality of scan lines and a plurality of signal lines. A drive circuit alternately displays a right-eye image and a left-eye image on the plurality of pixels every display period. Specifically, the drive circuit sequentially selects the scan lines and supplies a preparation potential corresponding to given grayscale potential (for example, black grayscale) to each of the pixels corresponding to the scan line in a selection state, during a preparation of each of the display periods, and sequentially selects the scan lines and supplies grayscale potential that is in response to an assigned grayscale of the corresponding pixel to each of the pixels corresponding to the scan line in the selection state, during a drive period that starts before selecting the scan line during the preparation of each of the display periods. |
| US09001163B2 |
Method of driving image display device
A method of driving an image display device including (A) an image display panel in which pixels each having first to fourth subpixels displaying first to third primary colors and fourth color, respectively are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix, and (B) a signal processor, in an i-th image display frame, in the signal processor, first to fourth subpixel output signals are obtained on the basis of at least first to fourth subpixel input signals and a corrected expansion coefficient α′i-0, and output to the first to fourth subpixels, respectively, the maximum value Vmax(S) of luminosity with saturation S in an HSV color space is obtained in the signal processor or stored in the signal processor, and in the i-th image display frame, in the signal processor, (a) saturation Si and luminosity Vi(S) in pixels are obtained, (b) an expansion coefficient αi-0 is obtained, and (c) the corrected expansion coefficient α′i-0 is determined. |
| US09001154B2 |
Method for representing virtual information in a view of a real environment
A method for representing virtual information in a view of a real environment comprises providing a virtual object having a global position and orientation with respect to a geographic global coordinate system, with first pose data on the global position and orientation of the virtual object, in a database of a server, taking an image of a real environment by a mobile device and providing second pose data as to at which position and with which orientation with respect to the geographic global coordinate system the image was taken. The method further includes displaying the image on a display of the mobile device, accessing the virtual object in the database and positioning the virtual object in the image on the basis of the first and second pose data, manipulating the virtual object or adding a further virtual object, and providing the manipulated virtual object with modified first pose data or the further virtual object with third pose data in the database. |
| US09001153B2 |
System and apparatus for augmented reality display and controls
An augmented reality system includes a vision output device for displaying virtual images. A sensing device captures an image within a reference frame. The vision output device is captured within the image. A processing unit identifies the vision output device within the reference frame of the captured image and localizes the vision output device within the reference frame of the captured image for identifying an absolute position and orientation of the vision output device within the reference frame of the captured image. The vision output device generates virtual displays to a user at respective locations based on the absolute position and orientation of the vision output device within reference frame of the captured image. The sensing device captures a user's selection of a virtual control. The processing unit identifies the selection of the virtual control within the captured image and enables a control action of a controllable device. |
| US09001149B2 |
Max mode
A smartpad is provided that has various display modes. |
| US09001147B2 |
System and method for using an image to provide search results
A system and method uses an image manipulating application to define in an object image a plurality of discrete cells. Predefined image information is substituted for image information in selected ones of the plurality of discrete cells to form a translated version of the object image. The translated version of the object image may then be provided to an image recognition capable search engine to obtain search results. |
| US09001145B2 |
Image display device and image display method
An image display device has pixels each of which includes sub-pixels of four or more colors, and displays a high-definition image that has been subjected to sub-pixel-level filtering processing. The image display device includes a display panel in which color filters of sub-pixel colors including three principal colors of red, green, and blue as well as at least one color other than the three principal colors are arranged regularly; and an image processor that performs filtering processing with respect to an input image signal. The image processor includes: a principal color conversion section that generates sub-pixel signals corresponding to the sub-pixel colors, respectively, from the input image signals Rin, Bin, and Gin of the three principal colors; and a sub-pixel enhancement section that gives, to the sub-pixel signals, position information in accordance with an order of arrangement of the color filters of the sub-pixel colors in the display panel, and performs the filtering processing sub-pixel by sub-pixel. |
| US09001143B2 |
Color mapping
A method may include receiving, from a user, information identifying a first color, and identifying a first item having the first color to be output to a display. The method may also include generating information associated with the first item, the generated information including at least one of a pattern, text, a graphical symbol or an icon that will be used to identify the first color. The method may further include outputting the generated information to the display. |
| US09001141B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing independent gamut remapping for multiple screen subsections
An apparatus and method for providing display information generates, independently from an operating system, different screen subsections of a screen image using independent gamut remapping configurations to generate an output image in a target gamut space of a display. The method and apparatus also provides the generated output image for display or may display the generated output image. |
| US09001138B2 |
2-D gather instruction and a 2-D cache
A processor may support a two-dimensional (2-D) gather instruction and a 2-D cache. The processor may perform the 2-D gather instruction to access one or more sub-blocks of data from a two-dimensional (2-D) image stored in a memory coupled to the processor. The two-dimensional (2-D) cache may store the sub-blocks of data in a multiple cache lines. Further, the 2-D cache may support access of more than one cache lines while preserving a two-dimensional structure of the 2-D image. |
| US09001134B2 |
Display balance / metering
Method, apparatuses, and systems are presented for processing a sequence of images for display using a display device involving operating a plurality of graphics devices, including at least one first graphics device that processes certain ones of the sequence of images, including a first image, and at least one second graphics device that processes certain other ones of the sequence of images, including a second image, delaying processing of the second image by the at least one second graphics device, by a specified duration, relative to processing of the first image by the at least one first graphics device, to stagger pixel data output for the first image and pixel data output for the second image, and selectively providing output from the at least one first graphics device and the at least one second graphics device to the display device. |
| US09001132B1 |
Constraint scenarios for retargeting actor motion
A computer-implemented method for providing retargeting of actor motion includes: receiving, in a computer system, an input generated by user selection of at least one of multiple real-time constraint scenarios, each real-time constraint scenario corresponding to a relationship between motion capture information from an actor and a position or movement of a character driven by the motion capture information; activating, based on the selected real-time constraint scenario, one or more of multiple limb solvers for the character which determines at least a first joint angle for a corresponding character limb; registering, for at least one character limb where the corresponding limb solver is not activated, a corresponding joint angle from the motion capture information as a second joint angle; and determining a root location for the character based on at least the first and second joint angles. |
| US09001128B2 |
Efficient method of producing an animated sequence of images
A computer-based method of generating an animated sequence of images eliminates inefficiencies associated with a lighting process. The method begins with the provision of a frame for the animation sequence. The frame includes at least one asset, which may be a character, background, or other object. The frame is rendered to thereby produce a set of images each based upon a different lighting condition. The frame is then composited during which a subset of the images are selected from the set and then adjusted. Settings such as intensity and color balance are adjusted for each of the subset of images. |
| US09001124B2 |
Efficient determination of lighting effects in volume rendering
A two-dimensional representation of an object using volume rendering, with a representation of the object being used in which values of a quantity characterizing the object are given at spatial points of the object, is provided. A blended color value for the representation as pixels on a screen is calculated using a volume rendering technique that does not use an illumination model or uses a local illumination model. At least one ray emanating from a surface of the object is simulated for the purpose of calculating the effect of shadows or the effect of ambient occlusion. A value for the effect of shadows or a value for the effect of ambient occlusion is calculated using the at least one ray. The blended color value and the calculated value are combined in order to obtain a blended color value that takes into account the effect of shadows or ambient occlusion. |
| US09001123B1 |
Forming a polygon mesh without shifting vertex positions
A polygon mesh may have a plurality of vertices and a set of polygon faces. Each of the triangles defining candidate planes may include one of the vertices as an endpoint of each line segment. For each of the candidate planes, an area or a number of vertices, referred to as a point count, may be computed. The candidate planes may be ordered by decreasing area or by decreasing point count. A planar face may be selected in accordance with the ordering. The selected planar face may be added to a set of polygon faces for a modified polygon mesh. Non-selected ones of the candidate planes may be excluded, whenever the non-selected candidate plane overlaps in area with an already selected planar polygon face. The selecting and the excluding may be repeated until the modified polygon mesh is formed. The modified polygon mesh may be a tessellation in three dimensions. |
| US09001116B2 |
Method and system of generating a three-dimensional view of a real scene for military planning and operations
Generation of views of a real scene is based on selection of view criteria and the content of multiple types of source data. The viewpoint and at least one other criterion area used to determine which texture to sue for each surface, or portion of a surface, of a three-dimensional model. Regions of the images of the scene are associated with at least one portion of at least one surface of the three-dimensional model of the scene, wherein at least one of the portions is associated with the regions of at least two of the images. View selection criteria includes a criterion other than viewpoint. Based on the view selection criteria, selecting at least one of the regions for at least one of the portions and rendering a multi-view using the selected regions in combination with the three-dimensional model of the scene. |