最新美国发明专利第2015-06-02期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

Document	Document Title
US09045412B2	Reactive distillation process and plant for obtaining acetic acid and alcohol from the hydrolysis of methyl acetate A method and plant for obtaining acetic acid and methanol from the hydrolysis of methyl acetate by reactive distillation is disclosed. The reactive distillation column is configured as a divided wall reactive distillation column (1). A feed containing water and methyl acetate are brought into contact with a catalyst in a reactive space (19) to perform the hydrolysis of water and methyl acetate to methanol and acetic acid. The reactive space comprises at least a first rectification zone (32), a first stripping zone (34) and a first reaction zone (33). A catalyst is provided in the first reaction zone (33). The column further comprises a product space (29) with at least a second rectification zone (42) and a second stripping zone (44). The second stripping zone (44) shares at least a portion of the column sump (38) with the first stripping zone (34). A first head product is discharged from a reactive space head portion (45) and a bottom product is discharged from the column sump (38) and a second head product is discharged from a product space head portion (46) and an intermediate product is discharged from the product space (29).
US09045410B2	Nickel hydrogenation catalyst The invention relates to a catalyst comprising nickel and a solid silica support, to a process for preparing such a catalyst and to a process for the hydrogenation of an unsaturated fatty material. According to the invention there is provided a catalyst comprising nickel on a solid silica support, wherein said catalyst has a specific pore volume of at least 0.4 ml/g and a TPR peak maximum within the range of 360-420° C.
US09045402B2	Process for preparing chiral quinone The present invention relates to a process of preparing tocotrienol quinones. It has been found that this process allows the formation of the R-isomer in a high yield in a very efficient and economically interesting way. Said process is particularly useful when implemented in an industrial process. Furthermore, it has been found that this process allows using isomer mixtures as they result from traditional industrial synthesis.
US09045400B2	Fluorinated aromatic bis(acyl)-containing compounds and polyesters prepared therefrom A fluorinated bis(acyl-containing compound and a fluorinated polyester formed from the fluorinated diacyl are described. More particularly, the fluorinated diacyl has an aromatic ring bonded to two acyl groups plus at least one third group that contains a perfluoroalkylsulfonamido group. The fluorinated polyesters formed from the fluorinated diacyl-containing compound can be used to provide a low energy surface with a relatively low refractive index compared to many other polyesters.
US09045397B2	Processes for making magnolol analogs Described herein are high yield methods for making magnolol analogs which are 5,5′-dialkyl-bi-phenyl-2,2′-diols.
US09045396B2	Hydrolysable linkers and cross-linkers for absorbable polymers The present invention relates to the discovery of new class of linear and multiarmed hydrolysable linkers and cross linkers for use in the synthesis of biodegradable polymers such as, polyesters, polyurethanes, polyamides, polyureas and degradable epoxy amine resin. The linear and multiarmed hydrolysable linkers of the present invention include symmetrical and/or unsymmetrical ether carboxylic acids, amines, amide diols, amine polyols and isocyanates.
US09045394B2	Aromatic dicyanate compounds with high aliphatic carbon content Aromatic dicyanate compounds which comprise aliphatic moieties having at least about six carbon atoms and resins and thermoset products based on these compounds.
US09045392B2	Preparation of 4-amino-2,4-dioxobutanoic acid A process for synthesizing 4-amino-2,4-dioxobutanoic acid involves reacting diethyl oxalate with sodium ethoxide in ethanol to form a reaction mixture, and afterward adding ethyl cyanoacetate to the reaction mixture and allowing a reaction to proceed under conditions suitable to form a first reaction product of the formula diethyl-2-cyano-3-hydroxy-butenedioate, and then isolating the diethyl-2-cyano-3-hydroxybutenedioate, and afterward reacting the diethyl-2-cyano-3-hydroxy-butenedioate with aqueous sodium hydroxide under conditions suitable to form 4-amino-2,4-dioxobutanoic acid.
US09045391B2	Process for making nitriles Adiponitrile is made by reacting 3-pentenenitrile with hydrogen cyanide. The 3-pentenenitrile is made by reacting 1,3-butadiene with hydrogen cyanide. The catalyst for the reaction of 1,3-butadiene with hydrogen cyanide to make 3-pentenenitrile is recycled. At least a portion of the recycled catalyst is purified by an extraction process, which separates catalyst degradation products and reaction byproduct from the catalyst.
US09045386B2	Integrated process and methods of producing (E)-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene The present invention relates to methods, process, and integrated systems for economically producing (E)-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene via vapor phase and/or liquid processes.
US09045385B2	Conversion of propane to propylene A process is disclosed that includes brominating a C2, C3, C4, C5 or C6 alkane with elemental bromine to form a bromo-alkane. The bromo-alkane is reacted to form a C2, C3, C4, C5 or C6 alkene and HBr. The HBr is oxidized to form elemental bromine.
US09045383B2	Reductive biomass liquefaction The present invention provides methods, reactor systems, and catalysts for converting in a continuous process biomass to less complex oxygenated compounds for use in downstream processes to produce biofuels and chemicals. The invention includes methods of converting the components of biomass, such as hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin, to water-soluble materials, including lignocellulosic derivatives, cellulosic derivatives, hemicellulosic derivatives, carbohydrates, starches, polysaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, sugars, sugar alcohols, alditols, polyols, diols, alcohols, ketones, cyclic ethers, esters, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, and mixtures thereof, using hydrogen and a heterogeneous liquefaction catalyst.
US09045379B2	Plant growth substrate medium The present disclosure provides materials and methodology for growing plants, such as small fruit plants. For example, and in one embodiment, agricultural by-products, such as nut shells, could be used as or in a plant growth medium for growing a strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and/or black-raspberry.
US09045368B1	Flexible polymer concrete and methods for making flexible polymer concrete A composition that sets to produce a concrete includes Portland cement; a polymerizable material having bubbles dispersed in the polymerizable material; an aggregate; and water in a sufficient amount such that the composition sets to a concrete. A method for making a concrete article uses a paste that includes Portland cement and a polymerizable material having bubbles dispersed in the polymerizable material. The paste is added to an aggregate to create a settable composition, and the settable composition is allowed to set to a concrete article.
US09045367B2	Method for forming products from a flue gas desulfurization by-product and products formed thereby Compositions and methods for producing a manufactured product, a method for making a liquid absorbent, and processes for disposal of flammable liquids with a flue gas desulfurization by-product. The compositions for the manufactured products combine a binder and the by-product. The composition contains a greater percentage by weight of the by-product than the binder. The methods for producing manufactured products include dewatering the gypsum-depleted waste stream to reduce a water content, and forming the manufactured product. The method for making a liquid absorbent includes dewatering, granulating, drying, heating, and packaging a granulated gypsum-depleted composition as the liquid absorbent. The processes for disposal of flammable liquids include distributing a by-product into contact with flammable liquid, absorbing the liquid, transporting, and igniting the flammable liquid. The artificial soils are a combination of by-product and animal waste, human waste, or another bio-solid.
US09045365B2	Fusion-bonding process for glass When melting a glass layer 3 by irradiating a region to be fused R therealong with a laser beam L1, the region to be fused R is irradiated therealong with the laser beam L1 having a first heat input, so as to melt the glass layer 3, the heat input is switched when the melting ratio of the glass layer 3 in a direction substantially orthogonal to a moving direction of the laser beam L1 exceeds a predetermined level, and the region to be fused R is irradiated therealong with the laser beam L1 having a second heat input smaller than the first heat input, so as to fix the glass layer 3 to a glass member 4. This inhibits the glass layer 3 from falling into an excessive heat input state and thus deters the glass layer 3 from crystallizing during burning. The glass member 4 is fused to a glass member 5 through the glass layer 3 thus deterred from crystallizing, so as to yield a glass fusing structure 1.
US09045362B2	Bioactive glass scaffolds, and method of making A glass, glass-ceramic, or ceramic bead is described, with an internal porous scaffold microstructure that is surrounded by an amorphous shield. The shield serves to protect the internal porous microstructure of the shield while increasing the overall strength of the porous microstructure and improve the flowability of the beads either by themselves or in devices such as biologically degradable putty that would be used in bone or soft tissue augmentation or regeneration. The open porosity present inside the bead will allow for enhanced degradability in-vivo as compared to solid particles or spheres and also promote the growth of tissues including but not limited to all types of bone, soft tissue, blood vessels, and nerves.
US09045361B2	Coated article with heat treatable coating for concentrated solar power applications, and/or methods of making the same Certain example embodiments relate to heat treatable coated articles, e.g., suitable for concentrating solar power (CSP) and/or other applications. For instance, the heat treatable coated article may be a secondary reflector panel, primary reflector, etc., where a reflective coating is disposed on a glass substrate. A portion of the reflective coating may be removed and a frit material is disposed over the reflective coating. An elevated temperature may be applied to the glass substrate, the coating, and the frit material where the frit is cured. The coated article may be left flat, or optionally cold- or hot-bent into a desired shape suitable for a desired application.
US09045355B2	Nutrient recovery process An apparatus for recovering nutrients from digestate comprises one or more solid-liquid separation steps, and dryer, an ammonia stripping device, and an evaporator. In a process, digestate is separated into a solids portion and a liquid portion. Ammonia is stripped from the liquid portion and converted into an ammonium solution or salt which may be used as, or blended with, a fertilizer product. At least part of the remaining liquid portion is concentrated to produce brine. The brine is mixed with the solids portion. The mixture is dried and may be used as, or blended with, a fertilizer product.
US09045353B2	Filtering water bottle A portable, personal apparatus for treating drinking water comprises a generally tubular or cylindrical filter housing containing filtration media and water-permeable screen or mesh or felt or membrane or netting layer at the top and bottom ends of the filter. The design of the apparatus involves the bottle exterior and interior contouring to the filter and enables the efficient and rapid gravity flow of water in through the filter. The apparatus may be configured such that water is first passed through a top reservoir designed to receive water, followed by a porous mesh, followed by granular filtration and antimicrobial media agitated by turbulent motion of influent water, followed by a porous mesh before reaching a durable and reusable water containment vessel.
US09045350B2	Method for converting UO3 or U3O8 into hydrated UO4 A method for converting UO3 and/or U3O8 into hydrated UO4 of formula UO4.nH2O wherein n is 2 or 4, comprising the following successive steps: a) preparing an aqueous suspension of a UO3 powder and/or a U3O8 powder; b) adding hydrogen peroxide H2O2 to the aqueous suspension of a UO3 and/or U3O8 powder, converting the UO3 and/or U3O8 into hydrated UO4 and precipitating, crystallizing the hydrated UO4 in the suspension; c) recovering the precipitate, crystals of UO4 hydrate; d) optionally, washing the recovered UO4 hydrate precipitate, crystal(s); e) optionally, repeating step d); f) optionally, drying the precipitate, the crystals; wherein the addition of H2O2 to the aqueous suspension is carried out so that the suspension contains a stoichiometric excess of H2O2 relatively to the stoichiometry of the reaction from UO3: UO3+nH2O+H2O2→UO4.nH2O+H2O (1) or of the reaction from U3O8 UO2.67+1.33H2O2+nH2O→UO4.nH2O+1.33H2O (2), and the pH of the suspension is maintained in steps a) and b) at a value comprised between 2 and 3.
US09045348B2	Titanium-silicon protective film composition and apparatus The present disclosure relates to a protective layer composition that includes TixSiyA, where A is Cm, CmNl, OnCm, or OnCmNl and x, y, l, m, and n are positive integers. In one implementation, the protective layer composition has a ratio of x over (x+y) in the range of between about 0.1 and about 1.0. In another implementation, the protective layer composition has a ratio of x over (x+y) in the range of between about 0.3 and about 0.9. In yet another implementation, the protective layer composition has a ratio of x over (x+y) that is about 0.6. The protective layer composition may be amorphous. Also, the protective layer composition may include an atomic percentage of Ti that is less than about 20%. In one implementation of the protective layer composition, x is 2, y is 1, and A is C3.
US09045344B2	Method for producing aligned carbon nanotube aggregate A production method in accordance with the present invention includes the steps of: providing a catalyst support layer by applying, to a substrate, a catalyst support layer coating agent obtained by dissolving in an organic solvent (i) an organometallic compound containing aluminum and/or a metal salt containing aluminum and (ii) a stabilizer for inhibiting a condensation polymerization reaction of the organometallic compound and/or the metal salt; providing a catalyst formation layer by applying, to the catalyst support layer, a catalyst formation layer coating agent obtained by dissolving in an organic solvent (a) an organometallic compound containing iron and/or a metal salt containing iron and (b) a stabilizer for inhibiting a condensation polymerization reaction of the organometallic compound and/or the metal salt; and growing an aligned carbon nanotube aggregate on the substrate by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
US09045343B2	Carbon nanotube foams with controllable mechanical properties Syntheses of carbon nanotubes (CNT) are disclosed. The syntheses can take place on a thermally oxidized silicon surface placed inside a furnace prior to a reaction. The setup can have many variables that could affect the resulting CNT arrays, including flow rate and composition of carrier gas, flow rate and composition of precursor solution, and temperature. By varying such variables the density of the resulting CNT arrays can be controlled.
US09045340B2	Storage-stable aqueous solutions of chlorine dioxide and methods for preparing and using them The present invention is for extremely pure solutions of chlorine dioxide, methods for making such solutions and to compositions and methods for storing, shipping and using such solutions. Generally, the chlorine dioxide solutions of the invention are aqueous solutions containing about 2500 ppm or less of total impurities. The chlorine dioxide solution can be prepare by passing dilute highly pure chlorine gas through a bed of substantially solid sodium chlorite and contacting the resulting chlorine dioxide gas with a liquid.
US09045339B2	Storage-stable aqueous solutions of chlorine dioxide and methods for preparing and using them The present invention is for extremely pure solutions of chlorine dioxide, methods for making such solutions and to compositions and methods for storing, shipping and using such solutions. Generally, the chlorine dioxide solutions of the invention are aqueous solutions containing about 2500 ppm or less of total impurities. The chlorine dioxide solution can be prepare by passing dilute highly pure chlorine gas through a bed of substantially solid sodium chlorite and contacting the resulting chlorine dioxide gas with a liquid.
US09045334B2	Method for manufacturing a hydrogen tank with metal hydrides Systems and methods for manufacturing a tank for storing hydrogen in metal hydride powder are disclosed. The tank can include a closed enclosure divided into closed cells. Each of the cells can contain metal hydride powder. Each of the cells can also be manufactured successively by assembling the cells in order to form an open cavity or alveolar cell. One or more bulk pieces of a material capable of forming a metal hydride can be placed in the cavity. The cell can be closed with the bulk pieces by closing the cavity. After cells are closed, hydrogen can be introduced into the tank for transforming the bulk pieces into metal hydride powder.
US09045333B2	Composite micromechanical component and method of fabricating the same The invention relates to a method of fabricating a composite micromechanical component, particularly for timepiece movements, including steps: a) providing a substrate including a horizontal top layer and a horizontal bottom layer made of electrically conductive, micromachinable material, and secured to each other by an electrically insulating, horizontal, intermediate layer; b) etching a pattern in the top layer through to the intermediate layer, thereby forming at least one cavity in the substrate; c) coating the top part of the substrate with an electrically insulating coating; d) directionally etching the coating and the intermediate layer to limit the presence thereof exclusively at each vertical wall; e) performing an electrodeposition by connecting the electrode to the conductive bottom layer of the substrate to form at least one metal part of the component; g) releasing the composite component from the substrate.
US09045325B2	Plastic beer keg A plastic keg includes a liner including a neck portion and a body portion. A lid having an opening is disposed at least partially over the liner. A retainer is secured to the neck portion of the liner and aligned with the opening in the lid, the retainer including external threads. A locking ring having internal threads is secured to the external threads of the retainer. The internal threads of the locking ring and the external threads of the retainer include a ratcheting mechanism permitting attachment of the locking ring to the retainer and inhibiting removal of the locking ring from the retainer. A beer keg valve assembly includes a port having a head portion having a convex upper surface and at least one leg extending downwardly from a lower surface. The leg includes a stop surface projecting radially outward further than the head portion.
US09045324B2	Fuel dispenser management Automated systems and processes may provide fuel dispenser management. In one aspect, a system for managing a fuel dispenser may include a dispenser manager, a display, a user input device, a fuel controller, and a management module at the fuel dispenser. The dispenser manager may be operable to control electronic functions of the fuel dispenser. The display may be coupled to the dispenser manager and operable to visually present fueling session data, and the user input device may also be coupled to the dispenser manager and operable to detect user indications during a fueling session. The fuel controller may be coupled to the dispenser manager and operable to control fuel flow operations. The management module may be associated with the dispenser manager and operable to generate operational commands for the dispenser manager.
US09045321B2	Load transport system and method A motorized means of transporting loads includes a fork lift mechanism that features a set of anchored chains fitted to a set of lifting forks for lifting and lowering a load. With a combination electrical/hydraulic system, the lifting and lowering functions can be efficiently obtained. Two load supporting outriggers are provided which can be extended or retracted while transporting a load to aid in navigating constricted spaces. A tilting mast and fork assembly allows for a manipulation of the center of gravity while transporting loads. A joystick function controls the forward, turning, reverse, lifting, and extending and retracting the outriggers. A battery enabled transport provides for flash charging of the onboard batteries to extend useful life.
US09045314B2	Method for enabling the use of an elevator system by disabled persons using position changes, and an elevator system A method for enabling the use of an elevator system by disabled persons includes detecting at least one position change of a user using at least one sensor, said position change being in the form of at least one signal and at least one reference signal. The signal is then compared to the reference signal. At lease one signal status change is generated when at least one predefined comparison result is fulfilled. For the generated signal state change, the elevator system is at least partially brought to an operating mode enabling the use thereof by disabled persons.
US09045309B2	Paper sheet storing unit First retention member 40 and second retention member 42 are disposed so as to be separately arrayed along a direction orthogonal to a drawing direction, in which the first retention member 40 and the second retention member 42 are drawn from paper sheet storing unit. Upper opening of paper sheet storing bag 50 is sealed when the first retention member 40 moves toward and abuts on the second retention member 42. The first retention member 40 and the second retention member 42 is drawable to outside from the paper sheet storing unit only when the first retention member 40 and the second retention member 42 abut each other.
US09045308B2	Sheet processing apparatus and image forming system A sheet processing apparatus includes an overlap conveying unit that conveys two or more sheets in an overlapping manner; a stacking unit that stacks therein the sheets conveyed in the overlapping manner; an aligning unit that includes a rotating body and a regulating member and is configured to bring the rotating body into contact with a topmost sheet among the stacked sheets, so as to make the sheet abut the regulating member and align ends of the sheets; and a controller that controls the overlap conveying unit. The controller is configured to determine, according to sheet information, whether to make the topmost sheet overlap in a condition of projecting from the other sheets.
US09045307B2	Sheet sorting device and sheet sorting method According to an embodiment, a first discharging unit and a second discharging unit discharge a sheet. A first conveying path extends from a scanning unit to the first discharging unit. A second conveying path branches off from the first conveying path at a branch point of the first conveying path and extends to the second discharging unit. A conveying member discharges the sheet to the first discharging unit when a discharging destination of the sheet is the first discharging unit, and the conveying member makes part of the sheet project from the first conveying path to the first discharging unit, locates an upstream tip end of the sheet in a sheet conveying direction, at a position downstream in the sheet conveying direction from the branch point, and conveys the sheet to switchback to the second conveying path, when the discharging destination of the sheet is the second discharging unit.
US09045304B2	Suction-type transmission apparatus A suction-type transmission apparatus includes at least one suction region allocation member and a suction wheel member. The suction region allocation member has a chamber and through holes communicating with the chamber. The suction wheel member is pivoted to the suction region allocation member, and includes an inner lining body with gas flow channels disposed in parallel, and an outer ring sleeve. The inner lining body has gas holes corresponding to the through holes and being in communication with the gas flow channels. The outer ring sleeve with micro-pores in communication with the gas flow channels is sleeved on the inner lining body, and wraps the gas flow channels. The chamber is connected to a gas extraction port, and at least one sealing element is selectively disposed in the chamber to seal at least one of the through holes for forming a suction region of the suction wheel member.
US09045303B2	Mandrel cupping assembly A mandrel cupping assembly for releasably engaging unsupported ends of a plurality of mandrels is disclosed. The mandrel cupping assembly comprises a cupping arm turret having a cupping arm turret central axis, a mandrel cup cooperatively associated with each mandrel of the plurality of mandrels, and a first actuator.
US09045302B2	Image recording device having a compact form factor An image recording device is provided, having a recording unit configured to record an image on a sheet, and a tray disposed below the recording unit. The tray includes a sheet holding surface configured to hold the sheet. Additionally, the image recording device includes a sheet feeder disposed between the recording unit and the tray. The sheet feeder includes a roller for feeding the sheet from the tray. The roller is configured to move between a first roller position in which the roller contacts the sheet holding surface of the tray and a second roller position in which the roller is separated from the sheet holding surface. A return guide, disposed between the recording unit and the sheet feeder, defines a second conveying path to guide the sheet having an image recorded on one side thereof back to the feed guide. The return guide has a first opening configured to accommodate the roller of the sheet feeder when the roller is in the second roller position.
US09045301B2	Conveying apparatus, image recording apparatus, and method to be executed by conveying apparatus An image recording apparatus, including: a supply tray; a supply roller; a manual tray; a recording device; a motor; a supply driving power transmitter which transmits a reverse driving power of the motor to the supply roller; a conveyance driving power transmitter; a switcher switchable between a first state in which a driving power of the motor is transmitted to the supply driving power transmitter and a second state in which the driving power is not transmitted to the supply driving power transmitter; and a controller configured to, when an image is to be recorded on a sheet placed on the manual tray and when the switcher is in the first state, switches the switcher to the second state and rotates the motor reversely to rotate a conveyor roller in a second rotational direction reverse to a first rotational direction for conveying a sheet in a conveying direction.
US09045295B2	Motor-driven aligning and forwarding device for apparatus for processing paper documents and the like, in particular bank cheques The device (1) comprises a support housing (2-4) having first and second openings (3a, 3b) intended to be positioned during use facing an area (A) for the introduction of one or more documents (BC) to be processed, first and second rotatable gripping members (5, 6) for respectively performing aligning and forwarding, mounted in the housing (2-4) and designed to extend through the first and second openings (3a, 3b), respectively, these gripping members (5, 6) being rotatable about respective axes (V-V, U-U) oriented in different directions, and driving and control devices (10-17) designed to cause rotation of the gripping members (5, 6) about the respective axes (V-V, U-U) and their displacement through said openings (3a, 3b) between a retracted position and an extracted position with respect to the housing (2-4). The driving and control devices comprise: two cam members (10, 11) mounted rotatably in the housing (2-4), being rotationally locked together and having respective control profiles (16, 17) with respective profile portions (16a, 16b; 17a, 17b) situated at different levels along a direction parallel to the axis of rotation (X-X) of the cam members (10, 11). These control profiles (16, 17) cooperate with the gripping members (5, 6) such that a rotation of the cam members (10, 11) is capable of causing corresponding rotations of the gripping members (5, 6) about the respective axes (V-V, U-U) as well as synchronized displacements of these gripping members (5, 6) in respective directions essentially parallel to the axis of rotation (X-X) of the cam members (10, 11), through the corresponding openings (3a, 3b) of the housing (2-4). A single rotary motor (13) is coupled with the cam members (10, 11) so as to cause the rotation thereof.
US09045291B2	Device and method for discharging products, particularly product containers such as bottles A device and a corresponding method for discharging products, particularly product containers such as bottles from a transport path by means of one or more discharge segments, wherein the or each discharge segment comprises a carriage and a discharger, and the discharger can effect discharge of the product by a deflection. The or each discharge segment includes a second carriage, each of the two carriages mounted on a guide, and the discharger and the carriages are mechanically connected to one another such that the relative distance of the carriages from one another determines the deflection of the discharger.
US09045290B2	Holder, device and method for sorting and/or transporting products The present invention relates to a holder, device or method for sorting and/or transporting products, the holder comprises: a product carrier (4) movable in a transport direction for receiving and transporting the product to be transported; a first shaft (6) operatively connected to the product carrier (4) for rotating the product carrier in order to discharge the product transported with the product carrier; tilting means (14) for tilting the product carrier (4) about the first shaft (6) at a discharge position; and a second shaft (8) which is operatively connected to the product carrier (4) and to which a flexible member (10) can be releasably attached for discharging the product from the product carrier (4) in controlled manner.
US09045289B2	Universal safety device for extendible conveyors An extendable boom conveyor system having a first boom element, a controller, and a movement sensor. The controller, using the movement sensor, can detect cyclic movement of a distal end of the first boom element and, in response to the detection, move the first boom element to reduce the cyclic movement. A method performed by an extendible conveyor system can include detecting movement of a distal end of a first boom element, determining whether there is a cyclic movement of the distal end in one or more axes, and moving the first boom element when there is a cyclic movement of the distal end.
US09045287B2	Snap-on conveyor belt rollers Snap-on rollers for a conveyor belt. The snap-on roller may be snapped onto an axle or into a cavity of a conveyor belt module. Multi-piece snap-on rollers can be installed radially onto an axle on a conveyor belt and joined together in a puzzle pattern to form a complete roller that can rotate on the axle.
US09045284B2	Device for transporting hollow bodies A device for transporting hollow bodies, includes: —at least one element for grasping a hollow body, the element including at least one cam follower (30A) made of an electrically conductive material; —at least one fixed cam (32) which is intended to engage with the cam follower (30A), the cam (32) being made of an electrically conductive material; —a contact layer (34) which is made of an electrically insulating material and is interposed between the cam (32) and the cam follower (30A); characterized in that the cam follower (30A) is connected to a first electrical signal (P1) whereas the cam (32) is connected to a second electrical signal (P2), a member (36) being positioned so as to detect electrical contact between the cam follower (30A) and the cam (32).
US09045281B2	Waste bag replacement cartridge system for waste receptacles A waste bag dispenser system is described which is comprised of track guides known as rails, and a replaceable waste bag cartridge attached to the bottom of the rails, which are preferably surrounded by screen walls. The waste bag cartridge stores a plurality of waste bags stacked on top of each other, connected temporarily in sequence. Each waste bag has multiple connecting tabs (T-bar tabs) affixed to the bag which align with and insert into a slot in the rails such that the tabs may only exit the slot from the top of the rails. The rails and waste bag cartridge are held in an aligned arrangement via either a clasping mechanism or a surrounding structure which inhibits the movement of both elements. Waste bags are pulled up from the waste bag cartridge to the top of the rails and held in place via at least one hook.
US09045280B2	Collapsible storage container A collapsible cargo container is disclosed wherein end walls are pivoted into the container when empty and locked against the roof, and then side walls buckle via hinges into a folded configuration. The folded configuration is achieved easily with a modified spreader without the need to otherwise disassemble or deconstruct the container, leaving no loose parts or tools. The cargo container preferably constructed with an improved light weight panel that facilitates loading of the container while improving strength and reducing weight.
US09045277B1	Biodegradable microwavable container A microwavable container comprising a top cover, a middle pan having at least one hole, and a bottom basin. The top cover, the middle pan, and the bottom basin are biodegradable being formed from a processed and shaped Monocotylendon plant of the Poales order. The top cover fits on top of the middle pan, wherein the middle pan fits on top of the bottom basin. The middle pan is designed so that fatty meats are positioned on top of the middle pan and below the top cover during microwave operations for cooking the fatty meats. During microwave operations, the top cover prevents spatter from the fatty meats being cooked from gathering on an interior of a microwave. During microwave operations, the bottom basin catches liquid residue from the fatty meats being cooked. The liquid residue drips through the one or more holes of the middle pan.
US09045275B2	Container for dispensing a combination product A container assembly comprising first and second compartments. The first compartment includes a base web having a formed portion and a flat portion, a lidding material joined to the flat portion and a frangible seal positioned between the base web and the lidding material. The second compartment includes first and second barriers that are sealed to one another at peripheral edges. The first barrier has an aperture through which the formed portion of the base web extends. An upper surface of the flat portion of the base web is joined to an interior surface of the first barrier, thereby encapsulating the frangible seal within the second compartment. When the frangible seal is broken, a passageway is provided for transferring material from the first compartment into the second compartment for mixing with a second material. The second compartment may then be opened to dispense the mixture.
US09045273B2	Display panel packaging structure A display panel packaging structure is provided to avoid damage of the display panel during transportation. The display panel packaging structure includes a box and a cover covering the box. The box is adapted to receive a display panel and the box is provided with at least a stopper therein adapted to abut against a side surface of the display panel.
US09045268B2	Collapsible container and dispenser employing a collapsible container A collapsible container has a front face and a collapsible backing, wherein the container volume decreases as product is removed, and the collapsible backing collapses by vacuum as the container volume decreases. The front face may be flexible and thus susceptible to losing its original shape as the container volume decreases, but is nevertheless designed to retain its shape by having a frame around at least a portion of its perimeter. The front face may instead be adapted to retain its shape as the collapsible backing collapses upon a decrease in the container volume. The collapsible container is of particular beneficial use in a dispenser housing having a sight window in a front wall thereof, the sight window being aligned with the front face of the collapsible container.
US09045267B2	Skid pallett for transport and storage containers for liquids A skid pallet comprising an inner container made of plastic, comprising a lockable filler neck and a discharge nozzle for connecting a removal fitting as well as an outer jacket made of a metal lattice or metal plate. The skid pallet is equipped to be handled by forklifts, a storage and retrieval machine or similar transport equipment and is equipped with a pallet floor, which is supported on support feet of a central skid and two outer skids. The central skid and the outer skids are connected to one another by a skid bridge forming a pallet base, which can be handled independent from the pallet floor, and that, for establishing a non-positive plug-in connection with the pallet base, the pallet floor furthermore encompasses engagement devices, which are assigned to the support feet and which interact with assigned engagement devices of the support feet.
US09045260B2	Beverage dispensing system The present application provides a beverage dispensing system for dispensing a number of beverages. The beverage dispensing system may include a housing, a pouch with one of the beverages therein, the pouch including a first pouch end and a second pouch end, and a beverage basket removably positionable within the housing. The beverage basket may include a pouch clip for the first pouch end and a slanted floor for the second pouch end such that the pouch may be positioned substantially vertically therein for good evacuation of the beverage from the pouch.
US09045259B2	Discharge device with tube A discharge device for discharging a product from a tube having a delivery outlet and a deformable wall. The discharge device according to the invention comprises a housing with a chamber that has a chamber opening and in which the tube is accommodated. A movable stopper is arranged inside the tube and is placed at the end opposite the delivery outlet and closes this end of the tube. An advancing member can be connected to the stopper and is displaceable inside the tube in the direction of the delivery outlet for discharging the fluid product from the tube.
US09045242B2	Mechanically fastened large pressurized vehicle structure A first part, a second part, and a seal ring are fastened together to form a pressure structure configured for a spacecraft structure of a spacecraft, wherein the first part and the second part are each formed from a single workpiece.
US09045239B2	Spacecraft payload orientation steering Spacecraft payload orientation steering is provided for an orbiting spacecraft in motion along an orbit track around a celestial body, the orbit track having a nominal inclination with respect to an equatorial orbit, a substantial eccentricity, and a drift angle with respect to the nominal inclination. Coordinates of an optimal payload target location as a function of a spacecraft position along the orbit track are determined, the target location being on the surface of the celestial body and having a substantial motion with respect to the surface and with respect to a spacecraft nadir. A payload of the spacecraft is substantially aligned with the determined coordinates by steering the satellite body to correct for at least one of the inclination drift angle, and the eccentricity, thereby adjusting the spacecraft orientation as a function of the spacecraft position along the orbit track.
US09045237B2	Automated inspection of aircraft landing gear internal fluid levels A system for use in monitoring, measuring, computing and displaying the volumes of internal gas within a telescopic aircraft landing gear strut. Pressure sensors and temperature sensors and motion sensors are mounted in relation to each of the landing gear struts to monitor, measure and record the impact movement and rates of internal landing gear strut fluids; experienced by landing gear struts, as the aircraft landing gear initially come into contact with the ground. The computer of this system measures the compression experienced by each landing gear strut and determines if the landing gear strut is improperly serviced with either excess or deficient volumes of nitrogen gas. Additional features include automating the inspections required to aircraft landing gear, prior to flight, during flight and during landing events.
US09045234B2	Method for airborne kinetic energy conversion Methods and apparatus to harvest renewable energy are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method to harvest renewable energy includes providing an aircraft suitable for untethered flight in an open airspace and an airborne kinetic energy conversion system attached to the airframe, the airborne kinetic energy conversion system comprising a turbine, a generator connected to the turbine, and electrical storage means connected to the generator; flying the aircraft; gaining excess kinetic energy; and converting excess kinetic energy into electricity using the kinetic energy conversion system.
US09045233B2	Locking devices for valves and other equipment Pin-locking devices are detailed. The devices may be placed atop inflation valves and mechanically interfere with movement of pins associated with the valves. Some versions of the devices are single-piece, rigid discs including through holes and curved protrusions interacting with inflation pins.
US09045232B1	Transportable system for simulating free fall in air A base structure of the system with a pair of center containers each of rectangular form with a square width and height and an elongated length attached along an elongated side of each. A side container may be attached to each side of the center containers. A semicircular shaped inlet port is formed in a top wall of each of the center containers to form a circular inlet port. A vertical duct of cylindrical form may be attached over the inlet port and have a lower portion of constant diameter cross-section and an upper portion diverging outwardly. A fan placed in each center container to cause an air flow toward a center of each center container to be channeled upwardly to exit through the inlet port for air to flow through the vertical duct to exit the open top end. A recirculating air structure may be formed with additional containers.
US09045231B2	Wheelchair accessible lavatory A lavatory monument assembly that includes an enclosure having at least a front wall and that defines an enclosure interior, and a divider wall that extends rearwardly from the front wall. The divider wall includes a divider door that is movable between closed and open positions. In the closed position the divider door divides the enclosure interior into a first lavatory interior and a second lavatory interior. The front wall includes a first and second lavatory doors that are each movable between closed and open positions and provide access to the first lavatory interior and second lavatory interiors respectively. The front wall also includes a vertically extending center post. The second lavatory door is hingedly connected to the center post, and the center post and the second lavatory door are slidable to a stowed position when the second lavatory door is in the open position.
US09045230B2	Lavatory Monument Assembly A lavatory monument assembly configured to be positioned in the interior of an aircraft that includes a first wall and a second wall that are generally parallel to one another, and the second wall is longer than the first wall. The lavatory monument assembly further includes a third wall and a fourth wall, and the third wall and the fourth wall generally are perpendicular to the first wall and the second wall, and the third wall and the fourth wall connect to the first wall and the second wall to form a lavatory interior. The first portion of the fourth wall generally is parallel to the third wall, and a second portion of the fourth wall angles inwardly along generally straight lines into the lavatory interior, such that the area in the lavatory interior proximate the first wall is less than the area proximate the second wall. The lavatory monument assembly farther includes a toilet in the lavatory interior proximate the first wall, and it further includes a door positioned on one of the first, second, third, or fourth walls.
US09045228B2	Arrangement at an aircraft of a dispenser unit for countermeasures An arrangement at an aircraft of a dispenser unit for countermeasures. The arrangement including a wall of an aircraft fuselage. A dispensing nozzle is arranged on the dispenser unit through which the countermeasures are dispensed. The dispenser unit is arranged within the aircraft fuselage. An aperture for dispensing the countermeasures is arranged in the wall of the aircraft fuselage. The aperture is arranged to substantially coincide with the dispensing nozzle.
US09045227B1	Dual fan aerodynamic lift device A two-stage fan provides efficient aerodynamic lift by concentrating and directing a generated high velocity airstream through channels and over sets of airfoils and wings which are contained within a cylindrical housing. Horizontal and vertical control is achieved by manipulating angle-of-attack of the airfoils.
US09045225B2	Skid stabilizer for use with a radio controlled helicopter A skid stabilizer for use with a radio controlled model helicopter is disclosed. The skid stabilizer comprises a pair of substantially longitudinal skid protectors disposed parallel to one another and each adapted to support a main skid of a model helicopter. A pair of lateral supports joins the skid protectors. Adhesive pads are disposed on the bottom of both skid protectors.
US09045224B2	High lift system for an aircraft A high lift system with a main wing and regulating flaps, also bearing devices for the mounting of the regulating flaps, and positioning devices for the positioning of the regulating flaps, wherein the respective bearing device and/or positioning device is at least partially provided with a fairing, having a flow control device for purposes of controlling the flow around the high lift system with at least one inlet duct with at least one inlet, which device is located on or underneath the lower face of the high lift system, wherein at least one outlet duct for air is furthermore provided, which is connected with the inlet duct in a fluid-communicating manner, and has at least one outlet, which is located on the upper face in the region of at least one regulating flap of the high lift system.
US09045215B2	Window assembly with a motorized window shade mechanism A motorized mechanism for actuating motion within a housing of a window shade arrangement having first and second window shades for controlling the amount of light admitted through a window. The motorized mechanism comprises a first rail assembly movable in the housing and connected to a first end of the first window shade and a first end of the second window shade, a second rail assembly movable in the housing and connected to a second end of the second window shade, a second end of the first window shade being fixed to the housing, said first and second window shades being adapted to be extended and compressed relative to the window in accordance with motion within the housing of at least one of said first and second rail assemblies. A first cable is looped between a motor-driven first pulley and a second pulley along a first path. A second cable is looped between a motor-driven third pulley and a fourth pulley along a second path. Corresponding ends at one side of said first and second rail assemblies are in said first path, with only one of said first and second rail assemblies being connected to the first cable, and corresponding ends at the other side of said first and second rail assemblies being in said second path, with only the other one of said first and second rail assemblies being connected to the second cable.
US09045214B2	Door assembly with two door leaves A door assembly for a vehicle with two door leaves is stated. In each case the door leaves can be opened in such a manner that the maximum angle of opening between them can be limited. After a door leaf has been opened, the door leaves can thus only be pivoted together so that opening the first door leaf results in closing the second door leaf. As a result of this, access to a space in a vehicle may be controlled.
US09045211B2	Actively controlled curvature robotic pectoral fin A robotic mechanical fin, having a motor housing containing a plurality of rib rotation motors, rib spars, and a plurality of ribs, mechanically movable and communicatively coupled to the plurality of rib rotation motors and shafts, where the plurality of ribs are rotationally coupled to and actuated by the plurality of rib rotation motors and shafts. The mechanical fin further includes a flexible fin casing, within which the ribs reside, forming the complete actively controlled curvature robotic propulsion and steering apparatus. The mechanical fin, is connected to a plurality of control electronics circuits and a computer processor programmed with actuation code that when executed by the computer processor causes automated actuation of simultaneous propulsion and steering maneuverability of the actively controlled curvature, robotic, mechanical fin.
US09045209B2	Active volume energy level large scale sub-sea energy fluids storage methods and apparatus for power generation and integration of renewable energy sources Systems and methods for storing energy in gaseous form in submerged thin-walled tanks are secured to the ocean or lake floor but are open to the water at the tank bottoms and are configured to be filled with gas while submerged.A conduit operatively connected to the tanks provides flow from a surface source of an energy-containing gas to the tank interiors. Surface or subsurface pumping apparatus which may include piston-less pressure cylinders or have leveraged pistons provide a preselected flow rate of the energy-containing gas into the containment structure interior against a back pressure essentially equal to the static pressure of the body of water at the location of the tank to displace an equivalent volume of water through the open bottom. The conduit can be configured to allow heat transfer to vaporize liquefied gas prior to storage. Hydrogen gas can be generated and stored within the tank using Aluminum activated with Galinstan.
US09045207B2	Inflator assembly adapted for manual or automatic inflation Disclosed is an inflator assembly. The assembly operates by puncturing a diaphragm of an associated container to thereby releasing a volume of pressurized gas. The pressurized gas, in turn, is used to inflate an article, such as a life raft. The inflator assembly is adapted to be either manually or automatically actuated. The various details of the present disclosure, and the manner in which they interrelate, are described in greater detail hereinafter.
US09045203B1	Paddleboard storage and seat support assembly A paddleboard storage and seat support assembly attaches to a paddleboard to store items while also being convertible to a support while in a seated position on the paddleboard. The assembly includes a panel having opposite ends and a straps. The straps are selectively couplable to the panel wherein the panel is positionable to abut a back of a person in an upright position while the person is seated on a paddleboard. The straps have a length wherein the straps extend from the opposite ends of the panel and are couplable to at least one foot of the person wherein the straps holds the panel in abutment with the back of the person. The straps may also couple the panel to a paddleboard allowing items to be held on the paddleboard by the panel and straps.
US09045198B2	Boat line management A boat line management device is disclosed. The device having a chamber, a revolving element, an arm, and a spring. The boat line management device capable of delivering a boat line from a position on a boat to a boat docking location. The boat line management device also capable of returning to a resting position upon release of a force on the arm.
US09045193B2	Command device for a derailleur of a bicycle Integrated control device for a bicycle, has a support body configured to be fixed to a handlebar of a bicycle and a single lever that is mobile with respect to the support body to command both a brake and a derailleur by movement of the lever in first and second directions of movement, opposite one another; the single lever has a rest position in which it commands neither the brake nor the derailleur and it is mobile in a first direction to command the brake; the single lever is mobile in a second direction different from the first direction by a first distance to command movement of the derailleur in its first direction and by a second distance different from the first to command movement of the derailleur in its second direction.
US09045191B2	Frame structure for saddled vehicle A frame structure of a saddle type vehicle that can easily secure the bending strength of welded portions by a structure that seat rails are welded to rear portions of pivot frames, etc. is provided.Elongated holes 71A extending along an axis L of a front portion 15F of the seat rail is provided to a side surface of the pivot frame 14, and the pivot frame 14 and the front portion 15F of the seat rail are welded to each other at the peripheral edge of the elongated hole 71A.
US09045188B2	Lower part structure for vehicle A lower part structure of a motorcycle is provided which enables air having flowed past a radiator to be guided to transversely outer sides more efficiently. In a motorcycle, a radiator is disposed forwardly of an engine and rearwardly of a front wheel, and an air guide port opening forward is provided forwardly of the radiator. A body frame and the radiator are covered with a cowling. The cowling includes side cowls covering lateral sides of the radiator, and an undercover covering a lower portion of the body frame rearwardly of the radiator. The undercover includes a V-shaped part, and air guide surfaces extending obliquely from the V-shaped part toward transversely outer rear sides.
US09045187B2	Saddle-ride type vehicle A saddle-ride type vehicle that does not require dismounting of a handhold regardless of the presence or absence of a carrier member. A stay member includes an outer portion situated beyond a seat in the outward direction of the vehicle body. A recess dented upwardly is formed in an underside of the outer portion. Because the recess is formed in the underside of the outer portion, a pillion passenger can grasp the recess after a carrier member has been dismounted from the stay member. In short, the recess serves as a handhold. The stay member remains attached to a seat rail either when the carrier member is mounted or dismounted. This eliminates the need to detach the handhold regardless of the presence or absence of the carrier member.
US09045184B2	Reversible motorcycle stand A removable handle for a motorcycle stand that can be removed/replaced to face forward or rearward and on left or right side of motorcycle. When installed the handle is indexed at a precise angle to provide the correct angle for lifting the motorcycle. The handle is capable of being removed easily by removal of a single screw and when installed it is held tight by virtue of the mating male/female members that contain a star-shaped key section, a tapered/conical section and a cylindrical section. When the handle is removed from the motorcycle stand it is compact for shipping and/or storage.
US09045183B2	Flexible conveyance system A conveyance system includes a plurality of feed-forward track segments aligned end-to end, each having an upwardly facing channel and at least one linear motor disposed in the channel. At least one carrier is supported for movement along the track segments. Each carrier includes at least one magnet that cooperates with the linear motors to move the carrier along the respective feed-forward track segments. The conveyance system may further include a plurality of return track segments spaced from the plurality of feed-forward track segments.
US09045177B2	Omni-directional terrain crossing mechanism The present disclosure provides an omni-directional terrain crossing mechanism, including a transformable mechanism with a plurality of claw wheels, in order to be capable of fast moving on the flat ground or in uneven terrain environments. The omni-directional terrain crossing mechanism includes a first body and a second body. Each of the first body and the second body includes at least one pair of claw wheels. Moreover, the omni-directional terrain crossing mechanism is capable of transforming one pair of first claw wheels of the first body and one pair of second claw wheels of the second body into a pair of complete wheels. Consequently, as compared with the existing mobile machines, the omni-directional terrain crossing mechanism in the present disclosure is capable of moving in various challenging terrain environments.
US09045176B1	Under trailer aerodynamic control system An under trailer aerodynamic control system that increases air mass, organization and velocity with forward mounted airflow modifying directional panels and a rear airflow modifier mounted in a firm and movable manner for location near the underneath side of a truck trailer forward of the trailer tires and axles to better manage airflow around the trailer tire and axle assembly. In operation, the rear mounted airflow modifier collects the airflow from the forward mounted modifiers and routs impinging air to exit between the trailer tires and well past the end of the trailer for controlled road spray and splash while keeping tires and brakes running cooler and decreasing parasitic drag of the trailer as it moves along the highway while reducing driver fatigue due to improved handling characteristics.
US09045174B2	Flexible mud flap hanger-bracket Mud flap hanger is disclosed which includes a post member that is configured to allow attachment of the hanger to a vehicle and a hanger arm extending from the post member having a flexible core of a composite material, for example, a fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) and that is clad with a substantially inelastic polymer. Preferably, the hanger arm is formed with a cross-section shape of a polygon so that clips for hanging the mud flap from the arm may be conformed to that polygonal shape.
US09045172B2	Powertrain catcher bracket A catcher bracket disposed between a powertrain and a sub-frame of a vehicle. The catcher bracket defines a load path in a collision that is sufficient to displace the powertrain that directs the force of the impact through the catcher bracket to a sub-frame of the vehicle. The sub-frame is connected to the body structure of the vehicle by fasteners that fracture to decouple the powertrain and sub-frame from the body structure of the vehicle to reduce the collision pulse.
US09045170B2	Rear-wheel drive, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle modular subframe assembly and method A rear subframe assembly, for use in a vehicle, includes a first and second side member that are coupled to a front cross member, a lower cross member, and an upper cross member. First and second gussets are provided to reinforce joints between each of the first and second side members and the front cross member. A motor mount portion for mounting a motor thereon is located between the side members and includes a first and second motor bracket each coupled to the front cross member through an isolator and to one of the side members through an isolator, the isolators for isolating the motor from vibration. A fuel tank mounting portion for mounting a fuel tank onto the subframe member is also provided.
US09045169B2	Reinforcement part for a roof side member A reinforcement part for a roof side member of a motor vehicle is provided. The reinforcement part is configured in one piece and includes a first cross section, a second cross section, and a third cross section. The first cross section steadily merges into the second cross section and the second cross section steadily merges into the third cross section. The first cross section, the second cross section and the third cross section vary in vehicle longitudinal direction. The first cross section, the second cross section and the third cross section have a steady contour on a circumference of the reinforcement part and are of a closed configuration.
US09045161B2	Paste form heat-blowing injection composition and method for injecting and soundproofing closed section of automobile body member An automatic injecting type paste form heat-blowing injection composition comprising a partially crosslinked rubber, an unvulcanized rubber, a crosslinking agent, a plasticizer, a thermoplastic resin, an epoxy resin and a latent curing agent thereof, and a blowing agent. This composition can be used in a injecting and soundproofing method comprising forming an insulation wall by heating and foaming of a injection composition in a closed section of an automobile body part having a closed section frame which is produced by press molding in a body welding step of an automobile manufacturing line, and it has a good anti-stringy property and suffers form less sagging during heating and foaming.
US09045160B2	Method and device for assisting the driver of a motor vehicle In a method for assisting a driver of a motor vehicle during a parking process, the surroundings of the vehicle are recorded during travel, and with the aid of the surroundings pattern recorded, it is ascertained whether there is a parking space and whether the parking space is a parallel parking space or a perpendicular parking space. Before the beginning of the parking process, the driver of the vehicle may indicate whether the parking space is a parallel parking space or a perpendicular parking space, or a parking space is recognized as a perpendicular parking space if, on at least one side of the parking space, an object is detected, and no additional non-moving object is detected in the area of the possible parking space.
US09045158B2	Deformable heating element A deformable heating element for a steering wheel comprises at least one heating conductor, one side of which is laid on, and fastened to, a front-side layer of a flat base material. The base material, in area of the front-side layer on which the heating conductor is laid and fastened, has a lower compression hardness and/or a volume density than does this base material in the area of its opposite, rear-side layer.
US09045153B2	Automatically locking lifting system for display cases A device for engagement to and moving of a display case supported by leveling posts extending from the bottom of a support member. The device features a wheeled skate having a fork engageable around the support member and against the frame of the display case. The fork is translatable to an elevated position to elevate the frame of the display case wherein a plurality of the skates, so engaged, will support the display case and allow a rolling thereof. Support members are engageable between each adjacent skate engaged to the display case.
US09045152B2	Electric assist cart An electric assist cart includes: a body frame; a drive wheel; a control handle by which a user can input a driving force to the body frame; a torque sensor that detects a driving torque input to the body frame from the control handle; a controller that computes an assisting force based on the driving torque; and an electric motor that applies the assisting force to the drive wheel. The controller includes an electric current determination part that determines whether or not an electric current having a magnitude equal to or larger than a first setting value continuously flows for a first setting time, and an electric current control part that reduces a maximum value of the electric current that can be supplied to the electric motor to be smaller than the first setting value based on the determination of the electric current determination part.
US09045150B2	Under-floor lifting jack for high-speed electric multiple unit trainset The invention discloses an under-floor lifting jack for high-speed EMU train, comprising: a main control electric part for controlling the jack, multiple bogie lifting means arranged in pits, fixed rails on the ground between adjacent pits, and body hoists movable along dedicated rails on both sides of the bogie lifting means, wherein lifting rails of the bogie lifting means and the fixed rails form continuous rails, and one or more of the bogie lifting means are set in each pit and adapted for lifting individually or synchronously in combination according to the wheel positions of different types of electric multiple unit trains under the control of the main control electric part. The invention is compatible with the maintenance of various EMU trains, thus the same lifting jack can satisfy maintenance requirements of various EMU trains, resulting in high compatibility and construction cost-reduction of the maintenance base for the EMU train.
US09045146B2	Binary track safety traverse system reconfigurable to provide safe trajectories over a wide range of inclinations The present invention is related to the field of mechanical engineering and describes an automatically adjustable system of traverse rails with multiple characteristics that extend the useful life of the sustain by a minimum factor of four while providing redundant security backup to the rails allowing human passengers to move from one place to another in and easy and safe manner with a minimum of noise and vibration while providing the owner of the system benefits of lower maintenance cost and less exposure to financial risk. Also the system can be installed in a multitude of natural places without the need to cut or damage the environment. Using the same components this system offers other configuration options to increase the possibilities of installing a system with desirable characteristics over a greater number of inclinations. Combining the various components starting with a smooth rail as in FIG. 1 with the self-equalizing system FIG. 3 for a maximum conservation of energy to maximum breaking rail with the skeleton braid in FIG. 2 with the maximum braking security system of in FIG. 4.
US09045142B2	Sensor fusion vehicle velocity estimation system and method A method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, arbitrating velocity signals derived from information from a first sensor and a second sensor, estimating a ratio between an actual tire radius and an expected tire radius, and generating a fused velocity estimate based on an arbitrated signal calculated during the arbitrating step and an estimated ratio calculated during the estimating step.
US09045141B2	Method for operating a vehicle and vehicle In a method for operating a vehicle which has a first axle, a second axle, a unit for determining slipping of at least one wheel of the second axle on a ground surface, and a braking device associated with the wheel, a drive torque is applied to the first axle and the second axle via a central differential, and, in the event of slipping of the wheel, a braking torque required to prevent the slipping being determined. A setpoint braking torque is set on the braking device, which is less than the required braking torque, and the part of the drive torque supplied to the first axle is increased.
US09045139B2	Intuitive eco-driving assistance method and system An intuitive eco-driving assistance system is mounted on a vehicle and has an input module, a control module and an output module. The control module is electrically connected to the input module and the output module. The output module acquires images ahead of the vehicle and speed signals for the control module to recognize a speed limit, traffic lights and a speed and distance of any obstacle on the images. Furthermore, according to the driving limits of the road and actual vehicle speed, the output module prompts for an eco-driving instruction and the speed limit meeting the road condition visually or audibly. Accordingly, the issue of conventional vehicles being structurally complicated and costly for conserving energy, only passively prompting fuel consumption, and consuming more fuel can be solved without requiring any additional and complicated system.
US09045137B2	Start control method, start control device, hybrid vehicle, and computer program To carry out a start with good fuel economy without resulting in a power shortage or a forcefulness shortage. A hybrid automobile is structured which executes a start control method including a selection step of selecting one start method from among a start only by a motor, a start only by an engine, and a start by the motor and the engine in cooperation with each other and a control step of controlling the execution of the start by the start method selected.
US09045134B2	Method and systems for emissions compliant use of telematics inputs to a propulsion control system for function enablement Systems and methods are provided to allow for reliable consumption of GPS and Map information into a Control System, for such uses as improving off cycle fuel economy in a plug in hybrid vehicle with an electric motor, and an internal combustion engine using a global position system (GPS) is provided. The system comprises a global position system (GPS), a clock, and a processor containing a function executing therein that controls the internal combustion engine based on a GPS fix and its Accuracy Information (VDOP/HDOP/Satellite Quantity).
US09045129B2	Engine control system An engine control system for changing engine speed on an agricultural vehicle. The system includes a vehicle control unit for controlling an engine and a transmission mounted within the vehicle, and a tire control unit for detecting the pressure of at least one tire and wherein the engine speed is automatically changed upon detection of an adjustment of the tire pressure.
US09045124B2	Vacuum brake booster A vacuum brake booster includes a movable wall forming a vacuum chamber and a variable pressure chamber in a housing and a valve body connected to the movable wall. A valve mechanism having a vacuum valve for establishing or interrupting the communication between both chambers corresponding to the movement of a plunger and having an air valve for establishing or interrupting the communication between the variable pressure chamber and atmosphere are disposed in an axial hole of the valve body. Atmosphere after the air valve passed flows into the variable pressure chamber through an axial passage and a radial passage formed in the valve body. The axial passage is constituted by a cylindrical inner passage formed at the outer circumference of the plunger by an arc-like flow regulating wall and an arc-like inner circumferential wall portion and an outer passage formed at the outer circumference of the inner passage.
US09045119B2	Method for automatically keeping a motor vehicle at a standstill A method is described for automatically keeping a motor vehicle at a standstill. The motor vehicle includes a braking system having a valve for limiting the brake pressure to a predefinable pressure threshold value. Gradient information and a pressure threshold value dependent on the gradient information are ascertained. The pressure threshold value is set at the valve as soon as the motor vehicle is at a standstill and the service brake is applied.
US09045118B2	Travel control device A travel control device which controls vehicle travel by feedback control so that the vehicle travels according to a travel plan is characterized by including: a control item determining unit that determines a prioritized control item for every position of a target locus in the travel plan; a control gain determining unit that sets a control gain of the determined prioritized control item to be higher than those of other control items; and a travel plan correction unit that includes the determined control gain in the travel plan.
US09045115B2	Parking lock device A rotation of a right wheel (3RR) and a rotation of a left wheel (3RL) of a vehicle are locked respectively by independent parking lock mechanisms (6). Each parking lock mechanism (6) comprises a locking operation prevention mechanism (63c,63d) which mechanically prevents the locking operation of the parking lock mechanism (6) when a wheel rotation speed exceeds a predetermined parking lock prevention wheel rotation speed. The controller (CU, 10) is programmed to prevent the locking operation of the parking lock mechanisms (6) of the right and left wheels (3RR, 3RL) when a predetermined parking lock permitting condition based on wheel rotation speeds of the right wheel (3RR) and the left wheel (3RL) is not satisfied, thereby preventing a state in which one of the right and left wheels (3RR, 3RL) is prevented from rotating while the other is not prevented from rotating.
US09045110B2	Portable identification transmitter for a passive access system of a motor vehicle and method for the energy-saving operation of the identification transmitter A portable identification transmitter for a passive access system of a motor vehicle includes an electrical buffer store which is coupled to an LF circuit assembly in order to charge the electrical buffer store via an energy draw from electromagnetic fields coupled in via LF antennas. Also included is an electronic switching device which can decouple a battery from a microcontroller of the passive access system. The microcontroller and the LF circuit assembly are coupled to the buffer store so that when the buffer store is charged beyond a specified charging level, the open electronic switching device can be activated to couple the battery to the microcomputer via the microcontroller while energy is supplied to the microcontroller from the buffer store.
US09045106B2	Safety device for vehicle A safety device for a vehicle, adapted to be arranged facing an airbag, comprising: a chute channel defining a recess to receive the airbag, a net comprising a first portion and a second portion, and a flap at least partially covering the recess, the flap being overmolded onto the first portion of the net. The device further comprises a strip overmolded onto the second portion of the net, and the chute channel is overmolded onto the strip. A safety system and dashboard comprising such a safety device, as well as a method for manufacturing such a safety device.
US09045101B2	Driver authentication system and method for monitoring and controlling vehicle usage A driver authentication and safety system and method for monitoring and controlling vehicle usage by high-risk drivers. A centralized database comprising a software application can be accessed by an authorized user via a data communications network utilizing a remote computer in order to configure a desired operating profile that matches requirements of the high-risk driver. The operating profile can be loaded to a driver identification and data logging device in conjunction with the remote computer. A master control unit receives a unique identification code from the data logging device to authenticate the high-risk driver and to operate the vehicle within the desired operating profile. A slave control unit receives commands from the master control unit and generates a real time alarm signal if the driver violates the preprogrammed operating profile unique to the driver.
US09045099B2	Collapsible strut with controlled deformation for the frame of a road vehicle A collapsible strut with controlled deformation for the frame of a road vehicle, the strut consists of an internally hollow tubular body, which presents a closed transverse section, extends between an inner end and an outer end, which are axially opposite to one another, is suited to be fixed in a projecting manner to the frame of the road vehicle at the inner end, and fulfills the function of deforming in a controlled manner in case of crash, thus collapsing axially, furthermore the strut presents a thickness which axially varies from the inner end to the outer end.
US09045096B2	Coupling assembly Described are portable electronics device coupling assemblies including a cradle configured to electronically couple and releasably engage a portable electronics device, and an adaptor configured to electronically couple and releasably engage the cradle to a passenger seat. Other examples may include a passenger seat having an electronics port configured to electronically couple to the portable electronics device, and a receptacle coupled to the electronics port and configured to releasably engage the portable electronics device. As examples, the portable electronics device may be a tablet computer, a cell phone, a smart phone, a handheld video game system, a personal digital assistant, a palmtop computer, a DVD player, data or audio-video media, or a multi-media enabled device.
US09045092B2	Wiring harness A wiring harness includes: a harness main body having a plurality of high voltage electrically conductive paths; and a half pipe as a harness attachment member. The half pipe is formed in a substantially roof gutter shape. The half pipe is provided on a cabling target portion of a vehicle floor where the harness main body is cabled and fixed to the vehicle floor with the substantially roof gutter shape.
US09045091B2	Mirror reflective element sub-assembly for exterior rearview mirror of a vehicle A mirror reflective element sub-assembly for an exterior rearview mirror assembly of a vehicle includes a mirror reflective element having a transparent substrate. A mirror reflector is disposed at a surface of the transparent substrate and a heater pad is disposed at a rear surface of the transparent substrate. A mirror back plate is disposed at the heater pad and has a first structure formed at a rear plate surface and configured to attach at an actuator of an exterior rearview mirror assembly. A blind spot indicator element is disposed at a second structure formed at the rear plate surface and includes a light source that is activatable to emit light. The blind spot indicator element and the second structure are configured so that light emitted by the blind spot indicator illuminates an icon so that the illuminated icon is principally viewed by a driver of the vehicle.
US09045086B2	Exterior mirror for a motor vehicle An exterior mirror has a mirror foot lower part mounted in a cavity in a vehicle door. A mirror foot upper part is mounted on the mirror foot lower part via a six-point mounting so that the mirror foot upper part protrudes from the door. A mirror head is mounted on the mirror foot upper part. The two mirror foot parts are held pressed together via a leaf spring and a separating plane between the two mirror foot parts of the exterior mirror is in the door cavity. In the event of a pendulum impact, the mirror foot upper part together with the mirror head is separated from the door-mounted mirror foot lower part and remains in the cavity of the door.
US09045084B2	Touch type display mirror A touch type display mirror apparatus, may include a touch panel though which a user inputs a first signal, a photosensitive panel arranged on a rear surface side of the touch panel, and a display panel arranged on a rear surface side of the photosensitive panel and including a signal processing unit processing the first signal that may be input from the touch panel, wherein the signal processing unit may be connected to an angle-adjustable rear view camera and adjusts a shooting angle of the angle-adjustable rear view camera according to a second signal that may be input from the touch panel.
US09045080B2	Obstacle detecting device An obstacle detecting device includes: a light source having both LED units each for emitting visible light and an infrared light unit for emitting infrared light; and a rotating reflector configured to be rotated in one direction around a rotational shaft while reflecting the visible light and the infrared light emitted from the light source. The rotating reflector is configured, by its rotating movement: to emit the visible light from each of the LED units as an irradiation beam such that a first light distribution pattern is formed by scanning with the irradiation beam; and to emit the infrared light from the infrared light unit as an irradiation beam such that a second light distribution pattern is formed by scanning with the irradiation beam.
US09045078B2	Arrangement for covering a component, component and motor vehicle An arrangement for covering a component, in particular a steering wheel rim, of a motor vehicle, which component has an in particular encircling fastening depression. The arrangement has a cover composed in particular of a flexible and/or non-slip material, and at least one fastening element, in particular a clamping element, for fastening the edges of the cover, which is placed around the component, in the fastening depression. The at least one fastening element is designed as a light source and/or has at least one light source.
US09045076B2	Vehicle lighting device Vehicle lighting device that comprises at least two light-emitting strips, wherein the light-emitting strips can each be controlled selectively and are allocated to different functions.
US09045075B2	Vehicle assistance device and method An example of a vehicle assistance method includes obtaining a surroundings image captured by at least one camera. The method then controls a converting unit to convert the obtained surroundings image into a birds-eye view. Next, the method determines a panorama area according to a rightmost road marker or a leftmost road marker, determines a detection area according to whether or not one or more road markers exclusive the rightmost road marker and the leftmost road marker appear in the panorama area, and further determine whether one or more objects appear in the detection area. If yes, the method then obtains the humidity of air detected by a humidity sensor. Next, the method determines a camera corresponding to the birds-eye view when the obtained humidity of air is greater than the preset humidity value, and controls a driving device to turn on a pair of lights.
US09045074B2	Driver alerts A driver alert system includes a computer processor disposed in a vehicle. The computer processor is configured to receive driver attention data over a vehicle network during a driving event. The computer processor executes logic to process the driver attention data and evaluate the driver attention data for a triggering event. The system also includes a steering wheel unit disposed in the vehicle and lights that are integrated on a front windshield-facing surface of a steering wheel of the steering wheel unit. The lights are positioned at an angle to reflect light off of a front windshield of the vehicle. The system also includes a controller disposed in the steering wheel unit. The controller is communicatively coupled to the lights and the vehicle network. The controller receives a request from the computer processor to activate the lights when the triggering event has occurred.
US09045072B2	Debris level indicator in vacuum loaded mobile tanks A vacuum loader truck that includes a storage tank that can be loaded and unloaded with debris. The vacuum loader truck includes a debris level sensor that generates a sensing beam to detect the level of debris within the storage tank. The level of debris within the storage tank is determined by a control module and displayed. The debris level sensor may be an ultrasonic sensor that generates a sensing beam that is reflected off of the top surface of the debris within the storage tank. The control module determines the height of the debris within the storage tank based upon the time delay between the generation of the sensing signal and the reflected signal. The control system further includes a particle sensor to determine whether particles are entrained in the airflow from the storage tank. A pair of pressure sensors are located on opposite sides of an air filter to sense the differential pressure across the air filter. Based upon the signals from the debris level sensor, the pressure sensors and the particle sensor, the control module can control the operation of the vacuum loader truck.
US09045068B2	One-piece seat back structure A seat back structure includes a web extending about a central opening, and an inner flange extending about an inner perimeter of the web adjacent to the central opening. The seat back structure also includes an outer flange extending about an outer perimeter of the web. The inner flange, the outer flange and the web form a channel extending about the seat back structure, and the seat back structure is formed from a single piece of material.
US09045064B2	Neck cushion The invention relates to neck cushions for vehicle seats, in particular for complete seats, for the support of the head and neck area of a person sitting on the seat, with a cushion, a counterweight and a fastening strap which connects the cushion to the counterweight, wherein the cushion rests on an upper region of the backrest in the longitudinal direction of the backrest so as to be adjustable at least in the longitudinal direction of the backrest, and the counterweight is arranged on at least one limiting element in order to limit the movement of the cushion.
US09045057B2	Efficiency map generating apparatus, efficiency map generating method, and program An efficiency map generating apparatus (100) generates an efficiency map of motors (M) connected to drive wheels of a mobile body and includes an instructed torque detecting unit (111) that detects an instructed torque input for the multiple motors (M), a torque distributing unit (112) that distributes torque to each of the multiple motors (M) based on the instructed torque, a power consumption detecting unit (113) that detects power consumption of the motors (M), a rotation count detecting unit (103) that detects the rotation counts of the motors (M), and an efficiency map generating unit (114) that generates a motor efficiency map (115) based on the torque in multiple combinations, the power consumption, and the rotation counts, where the torque distributing unit (112) causes any of the multiple motors (M) to generate regenerative torque.
US09045045B2	Work vehicle A work vehicle is provided with a traveling motor, and includes a first control unit generating a speed command value for controlling the motor and changing the speed command value according to passage of time when an opening of an accelerator that adjusts a traveling speed is larger than 0, and assigning an actual traveling speed of the work vehicle to a relationship between a torque command value that is a command value of torque to be generated by the motor and the traveling speed of the work vehicle to generate a first torque command value; and a second control unit generating a second torque command value based on the speed command value generated by the first control unit and the actual traveling speed, and controlling the motor based on the first torque command value or the second torque command value.
US09045044B2	Battery charge/discharge control device, battery charge/discharge control method, and hybrid working machine with battery charge/discharge control device A battery charge/discharge control device which performs battery charge/discharge control in a working machine with a battery capable of storing electric energy generated by a generator motor coupled to an engine and driving the generator motor or at least one of other electric actuators by the stored electric energy and a controller which controls a distribution of the electric energy among the battery, the generator motor, and the electric actuator, wherein the controller performs the charge/discharge control in which the electric energy of the battery is discharged when the engine is driven and recharging to the battery is permitted on a condition that a state in which an engine speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined engine speed is maintained for a predetermined time after the battery is completely discharged.
US09045040B2	PTO drivelines A vehicle PTO driveline (10) in which a PTO input shaft (11) drives a PTO wet clutch (12) which when engaged drives a PTO output shaft (13). The driveline has an eccentric formation (34) on the input shaft (11) which oscillates a pumping piston (31) when the input shaft rotates, which piston pumps cooling/lubricating fluid from a reservoir (25c) to the wet clutch (12). The piston is connected with the eccentric formation by a ring (33) which surrounds the eccentric formation (34) and a hollow tube (32) which is attached to the ring and which carries the piston at a lower end, the piston oscillating inside a chamber (31a) when the input shaft rotates. The chamber (31a) is connected with the fluid reservoir (25c) and the oscillating piston pumps the fluid along the hollow tube (32) into the ring (33) which then delivers the fluid into internal passages (38) in the input shaft from where the fluid flows to the wet clutch.
US09045039B2	Hydraulic reservoir assembly for a crop sprayer A crop sprayer includes a main frame. A product tank is supported by the main frame that is configured to contain a first quantity of fluid therein. A cab is supported by the main frame that includes a trailing wall structure positioned in relation to the product tank so as to define a reservoir space therebetween A hydraulic reservoir assembly is positioned in the reservoir space.
US09045038B2	Liquid trap with integral jet pump An assembly is provided that integrates a jet pump with a liquid trap to drain liquid fuel from vapor flow, such as vapor vented from a fuel tank. The assembly includes a housing that has a liquid trap configured to trap liquid carried in vapor flowing through the housing. A jet pump has a venturi nozzle and is in selective fluid communication with the liquid trap so that liquid flow through the venturi nozzle induces draining of the liquid trap.
US09045035B2	Single speed transmission for plugin hybrid electric vehicle with two disconnects A power transfer system (10) for a vehicle to be driven by a prime mover through a first input drive shaft (12) and an electric motor through a second input drive shaft (14) carried by the vehicle. A power transfer system (10) supports the first and second input drive shafts (12, 14) to be mechanically interconnected to an output drive shaft (16) for driving driven wheels of the vehicle. A clutch (18) engages (18a) and disengages (18b) the first input drive shaft (12) with respect to the output drive shaft (16). A first output drive sprocket (24) is connected to the output drive shaft (16), a second output drive sprocket (22) is connected to the second input drive shaft (14), and an endless loop sprocket-engaging drive member (26) extends between the first and second sprockets (24, 22). A disconnect mechanism (20) engages (20b) and disengages (20a) the second input drive shaft (14) with respect to the output drive shaft (16). The disconnect mechanism (20) is located between one of the sprockets (24, 22) and its corresponding drive shaft (16, 14).
US09045030B2	System for absorbing and distributing side impact energy utilizing an integrated battery pack An energy absorbing and distributing side impact system for use with a vehicle is provided, the system utilizing a battery pack enclosure that includes a plurality of cross-members that transverse the battery pack enclosure and absorb and distribute at least a portion of the load received when either the first or second side of the vehicle receives a side impact. The battery pack enclosure is positioned between the front and rear vehicle suspension assemblies and mounted between, and mechanically coupled to, vehicle structural members (e.g., rocker panels) located on either side of the vehicle. In addition to providing rigidity, strength and impact resistance, the battery pack cross-members segregate the batteries contained within the battery pack enclosure into battery groups.
US09045028B2	Work vehicle A work vehicle comprising, a power unit, an electric motor activated by electric power from the power unit, a propelling transmission system for receiving drive power from the electric motor, a cabin including a roof portion the driver rides, an air conditioner for adjusting air temperature in the interior of the cabin. the power unit and the air conditioner are provided in the roof portion of the cabin.
US09045022B2	Golf cart enclosure and system and method of attaching enclosure to golf cart A system and method for attaching an enclosure to a golf cart includes a flange member extending outwardly from a golf cart and a mounting strip having a tab portion attached to a golf cart enclosure panel. The mounting strip also includes a body portion having a u-shaped channel which is dimensioned and adapted to be press-fit onto an outer edge of the flange member thereby securing the enclosure panel to the golf cart.
US09045019B2	Roof HVAC outlet An HVAC assembly for a vehicle includes a roof liner with an opening, and a stiffener. The stiffener includes an upper surface, a lower surface, and an integrally formed HVAC duct extending away from the unexposed side of the roof liner toward the roof of the vehicle. The lower surface of the stiffener contacts an unexposed side of the roof liner, and at least substantially surrounds the opening for providing rigidity to the roof liner around the opening in the roof liner. The integrally formed HVAC duct includes an outlet port for providing conditioned air to the vehicle cabin.
US09045018B2	Control system for auxiliary power unit A control system for a vehicle that includes a cabin and a primary engine. The control system includes an auxiliary power unit and a microprocessor in communication with the primary engine, the cabin, and the auxiliary power unit. The control system selectively activates the auxiliary power unit to control an engine parameter and a cabin parameter when the primary engine is shutdown.
US09045011B2	Controlled landing gear tire traction system A landing gear tire traction control system and methods are presented. An outer tire of an aircraft wheel is depressurized to a depressurized state in response to a non-optimal aircraft landing condition. An inner rotor of the aircraft wheel contacts the outer tire in response to the depressurized state, and a plurality of traction studs are deployed to protrude from the outer tire in response to the inner rotor contacting the outer tire.
US09045006B2	Device inside a tire for reducing rolling noise Tire including a crown, sidewalls extending the crown on each side, these sidewalls being connected to beads intended to be in contact with a mounting rim on which the tire is mounted, this tire having an internal wall delimiting, with the mounting rim, an internal cavity to allow the tire to be inflated. This tire includes, over at least part of its internal wall delimiting the internal cavity, a plurality of protrusions of elongate shape forming a dense coating, this tire being characterized in that these protrusions of elongate shape include a plurality of supporting fibers and a plurality of branching fibers, the branching fibers being attached to the supporting fibers, each supporting fiber having two ends, of which at least one is attached to the internal wall of the tire.
US09045002B2	Axle support structures for industrial vehicles Embodiments of the present invention may include an axle support structure. The axle support structure has front and rear axle supports, an axle, and a bearing. The axle supports are provided on a vehicle body member of an industrial vehicle and have respectively a support hole. The axle is arranged between the front and rear axle supports, and has a pair of center pins. Each of the center pins is rotatably supported by the support hole. The bearing is inserted from an entrance of the support hole to be fit-engaged with the support hole. The bearing is provided between at least one of the center pins and a hole surface of the support hole corresponding to that center pin. At an end portion of the support hole opposite to the entrance, there is formed a stopper portion for preventing the bearing from passing through the support hole.
US09044995B2	Reflection frame-equipped sheet An interactive whiteboard system that can be put on a desk or a floor surface is implemented. A reflection frame-equipped sheet in accordance with the present invention has a flexible sheet, and a retroreflective frame(s) that is/are fixed to given one side or given two opposite sides of the sheet.
US09044994B2	Ring binder mechanism A ring mechanism has pivoting hinge plates supported by a housing so pivoting of the hinge plates can open and close rings for holding the loose-leaf pages. The mechanism has an actuator including a lower arm for moving the hinge plates to open the rings and an upper arm for moving the hinge plates to close the rings. The upper arm has a hook thereon. An intermediate connector comprises a cross bar captured by the hook on the actuator. The intermediate connector connects a travel bar to the actuator so movement of the actuator to pivot the hinge plates causes longitudinal movement of the travel bar in the housing. A locking element is moveable with the travel bar between a locking position and non-locking position.
US09044993B2	Binder with removable article holder A binder comprising a detachable article holder is described. The article holder comprises hangers that may be extended to detach the article holder from the binder and/or configure the article holder for hanging on support rails. Also described is a method of extending hangers of the article holder to both detach the article holder from the binder shell and configure the article holder for hanging.
US09044992B1	Decorative clip assemblies Decorative clip assemblies described herein are configured to clamp onto gift bags and other items a user desires to decorate. The assemblies herein include a decorative element operably coupled to the top of a binder clip, wherein the binder clip includes folding arms that allow the clip to open and close. Advantageously sleeves are used to cover the binder clip arms to provide many advantages to the assemblies herein, non-exclusively including support, aesthetic, messaging, and protective functions.
US09044991B2	Apparatus and method for a greeting bag A greeting bag is described that is includes a gift bag and a greeting card. The gift bag and greeting card connect together to form the integrated assembly of the greeting bag that has a purposefully coordinated single decorative style. The gift bag and greeting card have individual decors that define alternative aspects of that particular theme of a decorative style. An attachment mechanism can also be included in the greeting bag that further fixes the greeting card to the gift bag. The attachment mechanism can have a third decor as well as a size and dimensions that can include an image or sentiment. A method is described wherein a greeting bag is selected by selecting a gift bag from a set of one or more gift bags that share a common decorative style. A greeting card is selected from a set of one or more greeting cards that share the same common decorative style with the gift bag. The optional attachment mechanism is selected from a set of one or more attachment mechanisms that share the same common decorative style with the gift bag and greeting card. The gift bags, greeting cards and attachment mechanisms can be selectively mixed and matched from different sets within the decorative style.
US09044989B2	Systems and methods for forming and implementing book binding geometries as a function of stack thickness A system and method are provided for forming and implementing book binding geometries as a function of image receiving medium stack thicknesses for automated book binding in image forming devices. The disclosed schemes optimize book binding employing a plurality of strip-like binding elements to form loops in a process that employs heat and pressure to reduce residual stresses in the strips as they are formed into loops. The disclosed schemes mechanically modify a process of bending individual book-binding elements in a manner that more effectively employs less expensive material elements to provide consistent and durable “right-sized” book binding of finished documents. A combination of heat and pressure are introduced with a molded structure that results in controlling a radius of formation to be consistently followed by the “folded” binding elements in order to relieve the stress and preserve the integrity of those binding elements in the finished product.
US09044988B2	Binding machine A punching and binding machine used to bind sheets to discs. The machine may include a lever with a first arm, a second arm, and a third arm. Each arm may be pivotally and slidably connected to minimize the force required by a user to punch cutouts in a stack of sheets. The lever may include a flipper connected to a binding member to actuate punching and binding simultaneously.
US09044986B2	Digital mold texturizing methods, materials, and substrates Methods, materials, and systems for texturizing mold surfaces is disclosed. In one method and system of the invention, a first step involves generating a graphics file of a desired texture pattern. The graphics file is subsequently output to an ink jet printer, which is configured to print using an acid-etch resist ink. The acid-etch resist ink is formulated to provide optimal properties for ink jet printing, while also providing excellent acid-etch resist and superior handling properties. The acid-etch resist ink is printed onto a sheet of a carrier substrate that allows the acid-etch resist to be transferred to a mold surface, after which the mold surface is etched with a strong acid.
US09044985B2	Printing device A printing device may include a medium conveying passage along which the printing medium is conveyed; a printing thermal head structured to heat an ink ribbon; a ribbon supplying part; a ribbon winding part; an erasing thermal head disposed between the printing thermal head and the ribbon winding part in a feed direction of the ink ribbon, the erasing thermal head heating the ink ribbon after ink is transferred by the printing thermal head; a transferred roller oppositely disposed to the erasing thermal head and is transferred with ink of the ink ribbon heated by the erasing thermal head; and a roller holding part which holds the transferred roller. The transferred roller may be capable of being attached to and detached from the roller holding part.
US09044984B2	Ink jet recording apparatus and method The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus and method. In an aspect of the present invention, uneven concentration correction and non-ejection correction are performed at the time of drawing an image. In the non-ejection correction, a non-ejecting nozzle and a deflected ejection nozzle are detected as a defective nozzle, the detected defective nozzle is not allowed to eject ink to perform the non-ejection correction. When a deflected ejection nozzle is detected, an allowable value range of a deflected ejection amount of each of nozzles with respect to a deflected ejection amount of each of nozzles at the time of creating an uneven concentration correction parameter is determined. A nozzle in which a deflected ejection amount exceeds the allowable value range so that the deflected ejection occurs is detected as a deflected ejection nozzle.
US09044983B2	Liquid jetting apparatus A liquid jetting apparatus includes: a head unit including a liquid jetting head, a regulating member arranged to sandwich the head unit from a nozzle array direction, a restriction mechanism configured to restrict the head unit from displacement in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the nozzle array direction, and a landing position correction mechanism configured to correct position of landing the liquid jetted from the plurality of nozzles onto the medium in the orthogonal direction. The restriction mechanism restricts a portion of the head unit inside of outmost nozzle arrays in the orthogonal direction.
US09044982B2	Cooling device and image forming apparatus A cooling device includes a rotatable belt extended by a plurality of extending members that transfers a sheet in contact with the surface of the belt, and a plurality of cooling members to cool the sheet via the belt. A cooling surface of the cooling members contacts an internal surface of the transport belt. The cooling members are detachable. The cooling device also includes an adjuster to adjust a contact condition between the cooling surface and the internal surface according to the number of cooling members installed.
US09044981B2	Image processing apparatus and method for operating image processing apparatus According to one embodiment, an image processing apparatus includes a heating unit configured to heat an image formed on a sheet, and a control unit configured to control a temperature of the heating unit to be (i) above a first temperature when performing an image erasing operation on a first sheet supplied thereto, and (ii) below a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature when performing an image fixing operation on a second sheet supplied thereto. The control unit permits a first type of job to interrupt a currently-executing job while the image erasing operation is being performed and prohibits a second type of job from interrupting the currently-executing job while the image erasing operation is being performed.
US09044980B2	Platen gap adjustment mechanism A platen gap adjustment mechanism includes a carriage guide shaft, a carriage drive unit and a main carriage. The carriage guide shaft is configured to extend perpendicularly to a media conveyance direction that passes over a platen. The carriage drive unit is supported on the carriage guide shaft and pivotable around an axis of the carriage guide shaft. The main carriage is supported on the carriage drive unit, pivotable around a parallel axis that is parallel to the axis of the carriage guide shaft, and configured to carry a printhead for printing on a print medium conveyed along the media conveyance path past the platen. The main carriage is moveable toward and away from the platen according to a thickness of the print medium while being slidable in sliding contact with the print medium conveyed over the platen to maintain a constant gap between the printhead and the print medium.
US09044979B2	Inkjet recording apparatus An inkjet recording apparatus allows a recording head to be mounted or removed in or from a carriage at a replacement position in a region above a platen. The platen includes a short rib disposed at a position that faces an ejection port portion when the carriage moves to the replacement position and a long rib disposed at a position that faces a portion of the recording head other than the ejection port portion.
US09044976B2	Platen unit and liquid ejecting apparatus A platen unit includes a supporting member that is grounded and is made of a metal, a platen supporting member that is provided on the supporting member, includes an inner space, is formed of a conductive resin, and includes a first contact point, a platen that is provided on the platen supporting member, is formed of a conductive resin, and includes a second contact point which contacts the first contact point, and a seal member that is provided between the platen supporting member and the platen.
US09044975B2	Supporting mechanism and printing device thereof A supporting mechanism applied to a printer is disclosed in the present invention. The supporting mechanism includes a base, a holder slidably disposed on the base for holding a web, a door pivotably disposed on the casing, and a linkage set for moving the holder relative to the base. The linkage set includes a first rod connected between the holder and the door for moving the holder relative to the base when the door rotates, an arm rod pivoted to the casing, and a second rod pivoted to the door and the arm rod for driving the arm rod to press the holder, so as to move the holder relative to the base when the door rotates.
US09044974B1	System and method for online web control in a tandem web printing system A tandem printing system for imaging a media web includes a first and second print engines. A controller identifies a change in a position over time of a bottom of the media web in a loop box that is placed in the media path between the first and second print engines. The controller identifies an effective diameter of a drive roller in one of the print engines with reference to the change in position of the bottom of the media web. The controller modifies a rotational velocity of the drive roller with reference to the effective diameter to maintain velocity of the media web at a predetermined level and control a position of the bottom of the media web in the loop box.
US09044971B2	Ink-jet recording apparatus Provided is an ink-jet printer including a printer head which ejects ink onto a medium while moving relative to the medium in a main-scanning direction, an LED module which exposes the ink ejected onto the medium to light while moving in the main-scanning direction together with the printer head so as to cure the ink, and LED light sources which are provided to the LED module at a position near the medium, which are plurally arranged at least in the main-scanning direction, and which are divided into a plurality of areas in accordance with an arrangement position with respect to the LED module to adjust an amount of light during light emission for each area.
US09044964B2	Micro ballpoint pen and printing apparatus A micro ballpoint pen enabling to print directly straight, oblique, curved, dashed, broken and wavy lines and a printing apparatus including the same. The micro ballpoint pen may include a tip body including a caulking portion, at least one inner protrusion, and at least one expansible or shrinkable elastic portion, a ball provided between the caulking portion and the inner protrusion, the ball contacting and rolling on a target printing object to eject ink onto the target printing object, a supporting bar pressing the ball toward the caulking portion to form an ink outflowing channel between the caulking portion and the ball, and a control part expanding or shrinking the elastic portion to control the ink outflowing channel.
US09044959B2	Printing systems and methods for operating printing systems Methods performed by a printing system are described herein. A portion of a print area is located by operating an optical sensor to respond to a color shift. The color shift is from a printed reference color. The color shift is caused by a fixer fluid applied to the portion. Printing systems and tangible machine readable storage mediums are also described herein.
US09044955B2	Liquid jetting apparatus A liquid jetting apparatus includes: a liquid jetting section having a liquid jetting surface in which a plurality of nozzles are formed, and configured to jet a liquid from the plurality of nozzles; and a liquid supply section provided on the liquid jetting section on a side opposite to the liquid jetting surface with respect to a direction intersecting the liquid jetting surface, and configured to supply the liquid to the liquid jetting section. The liquid jetting section includes: two nozzle groups arranged apart in a predetermined scanning direction, each nozzle group including a plurality of nozzles aligned in a nozzle arrangement direction which intersects the scanning direction; and two common liquid chambers arranged apart in the scanning direction, each common liquid chamber extending in the nozzle arrangement direction and communicating with one of the two nozzle groups.
US09044954B1	Ink jet printer A continuous ink jet printer including an ink tank for holding ink, an ink nozzle in fluid communication with the ink tank for ejecting ink droplets, and a gutter for receiving, through an ink-receiving inlet thereof, ink droplets which are not used for printing. A gutter flow path starts at the ink-receiving inlet for ink that has entered the gutter through the ink-receiving inlet, and provides fluid communication to the ink tank. A return line is in fluid communication with the gutter for conveying air to enter the gutter flow path. A makeup tank is in vapor communication with the ink tank to allow air to be conveyed from the ink tank to the makeup tank. A condenser is in fluid communication with the makeup reservoir and the return line for condensing solvent.
US09044952B2	Recording apparatus and recording system A process of detecting a defective recording element and a process of correcting the defective recording element are performed with appropriate processing loads. When the detection process and the correction processes are performed with small loads, for example, at a time of recording, a resolution used for reading an inspection pattern is set lower than that set in a case where the processes can be performed with small loads, for example, at down time before recording. The reading resolution to be set may be determined by an apparatus in accordance with a processing load or may be arbitrarily determined by a user.
US09044951B2	Inkjet recording apparatus The liquid ejection apparatus with a liquid jetting head and support members is described. A first support member and a second support member support a guide and feeding roller in a scanning direction and are attached to a housing of the liquid ejection apparatus. The housing at the location to which the first support member is attached is easier to deform in the scanning direction than housing at the location to which the second support member is attached. Further, the housing at the first location may include a projection. The first support member may be attached to the projection.
US09044949B2	Liquid ejection apparatus and humid-air supply method A liquid ejection apparatus, including: a head having an ejection face having at least one ejection opening for ejecting liquid; a sealing mechanism configured to selectively establish one of a sealing state in which the sealing mechanism seals an ejection space and an open state in which the sealing mechanism does not seal the ejection space; an air introduction opening configured to open in an area that faces the ejection space in the sealing state; a humid air supplier configured to supply a humid air from the air introduction opening to the ejection space in the sealing state; a cleaner configured to clean the liquid contacting at least a part of an area of the head and the sealing mechanism, the area facing the ejection space; and a controller configured to control the cleaner to clean the liquid before the supply of the humid air supplier.
US09044942B2	Thermal sensing fluid ejection assembly and method A fluid ejection assembly includes a fluid slot formed in a die. The assembly also includes a nozzle column is formed along a side of the fluid slot. The assembly also includes a pair of thermal sensors to measure die temperature at the middle of the nozzle column and at a first end of the nozzle column.
US09044937B2	Method to execute a print interruption in printing operation of an ink printing system with at least one printing apparatus In a method to execute a printing interruption in a printing operation of an ink printing system in which a printing substrate is printed with at least one print head during the printing interruption in which a feed speed of the printing substrate web comes to a standstill, at least one vibration pulse is sent to the at least one print head to trigger vibration oscillations before a print controller loads print data into the at least one print head. Thereafter a print-start signal is sent to the at least one print head.
US09044936B2	Inkjet issue determination Determining an issue in an inkjet nozzle may include activating a drive bubble formation mechanism in an ink chamber to eject an ink droplet through the inkjet nozzle and measuring the drive bubble in the ink chamber after the drive bubble formation mechanism is activated.
US09044935B2	Element substrate, printhead, and printing apparatus An embodiment of this invention relates to an element substrate that implements size reduction of the element substrate and simplification of the arrangement as well as a highly-reliable print operation, a printhead using the same, and a printing apparatus including the printhead. In the element substrate according to this embodiment, the slope of a ramp wave is changed to generate a plurality of pulses using one reference voltage. The slope of the ramp wave can be changed by changing the mirror ratio or the capacitance of a comparator as well as by changing the resistance of a DAC.
US09044934B2	Liquid discharge apparatus, liquid discharge method, and storage medium storing instructions for liquid discharge apparatus A liquid discharge apparatus includes: a liquid discharge head having a plurality of discharge ports arranged in a first direction; a transport mechanism which transports a recording medium in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a platen which is provided opposingly to the plurality of discharge ports and which supports the recording medium, the platen having an opening and an auxiliary support portion; a liquid receiving member which is provided on a side opposite to the liquid discharge head with respect to the platen and which receives a liquid discharged from the plurality of discharge ports; a movement mechanism which moves the auxiliary support portion of the platen between a first position and a second position separated in the first direction from the first position; and a control unit which controls the liquid discharge head and the movement mechanism.
US09044929B2	Printing apparatus Disclosed is a printing apparatus which comprises: a base; a frame member installed on the base; a printing section supported by the frame member to subject a board to printing; a board conveying segment provided on the base displaceably; a control section for controlling the driving of the board conveying segment; a mark provided on the frame member; and an image pickup section mounted on the board conveying segment to pick up an image of the mark, wherein the control section is operable to cause the board conveying segment to be displaced so as to allow a board to be set in the printing zone, and, based on the image of the mark picked up by the image pickup section, to perform a strain compensation for correcting an error in displacement of the board conveying segment due to a strain of the driving mechanism.
US09044927B2	Doctor blade A doctor blade for wiping printing ink off a surface of a printing plate, comprising a flat and elongated main body having a working edge region configured in a longitudinal direction, the working edge region being covered with a first coating on the basis of a nickel-phosphorus alloy applied by electroless deposition, and hard material particles being dispersed in the first coating, characterized in that the first coating is covered with a second coating on the basis of galvanically deposited nickel.
US09044925B2	Multilayer thermoplastic laminated film arrangement and device and method for laminating The invention relates to a device (14) for laminating a film-tape-like multilayer thermoplastic film arrangement (1), according to the invention comprising heatable press plates (8.1, 8.2) and cooling surfaces (10), wherein a width of said press plates (8.1, 8.2) and cooling surfaces (10) is greater than or equal to a width of the film arrangement (1), wherein the film arrangement (1) is arranged in the position thereof relative to the press plates (8.1, 8.2) such that press plate edges (20) lie at the grid center (5.1) and the cooling surfaces (10) are arranged with a distance up to 3 mm next to a press plate edge (20) and beginning in the same grid (5), wherein a length of the cooling surfaces (10) is greater than or equal to a length of the press plates (8.1, 8.2), wherein one press plate (8.1, 8.2) and one cooling surface (10) are respectively arranged on both sides of the film arrangement (1), wherein the press plates (8.1, 8.2) are fastened to press plate holding blocks (15) that can be moved or are supported by first press tables (19.1), and wherein the cooling surfaces (10) are part of cooling blocks (16) that can be moved or are supported by second press tables (19.2). The invention further relates to a multi-layer thermoplastic laminated film arrangement (1) and to a method for laminating a film-tape-like multilayer thermoplastic film arrangement (1).
US09044924B2	Resin article Provided is a resin article produced by melt processing and having layers formed by a layer-separation. having a layer-separated structure. The resin article may include a first resin layer and a second resin layer formed on the first resin layer. Also, the component of the first resin layer is detected on a surface of the second resin layer by infrared spectrometer. The resin article may have improved mechanical and surface characteristics. Further, since coating or plating is not required for manufacturing a resin article, a manufacturing time and/or cost can be reduced, and productivity can be increased.
US09044920B2	High strength galvanized steel sheet exhibiting excellent fatigue property A high strength galvanized steel sheet having tensile strength of 590MPa or more which is excellent in fatigue property in punching work, and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The microstructure includes a ferrite phase having an average grain diameter of 15 μm or less and an area fraction of 60% or more and a martensite phase having an area fraction of 5 to 40%, and an amount of one or more kinds of oxide selected from a group consisting of Fe, Si, Mn, Al, P, Nb, and Ti generated on a surface layer portion of the steel sheet within 100 μm in a steel-sheet-side depth direction from a surface of a base steel sheet directly below a galvanized layer is less than 0.060 g/m2 per one-side surface of the steel sheet.
US09044917B1	Non-skid protective cloth or pad A two-layer, non-skid protective cloth or pad for use as a painter's drop cloth or as a protective pad for surfaces such as boat decks, airplane wings or other surfaces where a non-skid pad is essential. The pad has a woven upper member, typically of a cotton canvas-like material, and a lower, resilient member. The two layers are typically stitched together. The lower, resilient member typically comprises downward-projecting bumps, often of two or more different sizes. The bumps are joined by a grid of resilient material. Bumps may be formed from a foamed thermoset plastic resin. In alternate embodiments, an impervious member may be inserted between the upper and lower members. The non-skid protective cloth or pad has a Sliding Coefficient of Friction greater than 0.75 and an average Slide Angle no less than approximately 40° measured in accordance with TAPPI T548 specification.
US09044907B2	Method of, and apparatus for, making an optical waveguide There is provided a method of making an optical polymer waveguide having an arbitrary refractive index profile, the method including: a) providing a first input optical beam having a first beam intensity profile and a second input optical beam having a second beam intensity profile; b) combining the first and second input optical beams to form an output optical beam having an output beam intensity profile; and c) forming the optical waveguide on a substrate by: exposing the optical materials of the waveguide to the output optical beam; and curing the optical materials using said output optical beam.
US09044904B2	Expandable surface breather and method A breather for use in vacuum bag processing a composite part comprises a sheet of permeable material having at least one slit therein.
US09044903B2	Puncture repair kit A puncture repair kit that reduces the difference between a pressure displayed on a manometer of a compressor device and an actual tire internal pressure. The compressor device (2) is connected with a bottle unit (3) directly. A cap 6 comprises a one-way valve (14) to prevent puncture-sealing agent from flowing back toward the compressor device. A cylinder (12) of the compressor device (2) comprises a branch chamber (21) receiving compressed air from a pump chamber (11). The branch chamber (21) is connected with an air feeding passage (39) extending toward a bottle unit (3), a manometer (22), a relief valve (23), and a surge chamber (70) to store the compressed air from the pump chamber (11) and to reduce the pressure fluctuation of the compressed air.
US09044898B2	Methods for joining electronic device housing structures using heat activated thermoset film An electronic device may have electronic components enclosed within a plastic housing. The plastic housing may include housing members that are joined using heat activated thermoset polymer film. The heat activated thermoset polymer film may be heated using a metal structure such as a strip of metal that is placed along a joint between the housing members. The temperature of the metal strip and associated layers of the thermoset polymer film may be raised by applying current to the metal strip using an external tool or the electronic components within the housing. Heat activated thermoset polymer film may be heated using a reactive multilayer metal foil. Heat sink layers of metal may be interposed between the reactive multilayer metal foil and the thermoset polymer film. A heated metal ring or a heated edge portion of a plastic housing member may also be used to heat the thermoset polymer film.
US09044897B2	Porous materials, methods of making and uses The present specification discloses porous materials, methods of forming such porous materials, materials and devices comprising such porous materials, and methods of making such materials and devices.
US09044895B2	Pre-applied protective jacketing to grooved insulation A V-grooved composite insulation is provided with an adhesive coating and a protective jacketing material bonded to the adhesive. The protective jacketing material extends beyond the perimeter of the grooved insulation board and comprises at least one intact release layer at a location in which the protective jacketing is clear of contact with the bottom surface of the insulation member and a pressure sensitive adhesive between the portion of the protective jacketing material and the at least one release layer. The method also comprises preshaping the grooved insulation board around a pipe by bending the grooved insulation board, removing the release layer of the protective jacketing material, thereby exposing the pressure sensitive adhesive and securing the pressure sensitive adhesive to the protective jacketing to thereby surround the pipe in a vapor free manner. Grooved insulation boards with protective jacketing so constructed are also provided.
US09044893B2	Method and device for saving energy in extrusion The invention relates to a method for saving energy in an extrusion line comprising at least one extruder, an extrusion tool, a cooling section, and an outlet, energy being applied in the form of heat to a plastic for plasticization at least in the extruder, in order to produce a profile (8), and the heat being removed again from the profile (8) after a forming process, at least in the cooling section, in order to achieve shape stability of the same. According to the invention, at least one part of the removed heat is converted to mechanical energy and fed back into the extrusion process. The invention further relates to a corresponding device.
US09044889B2	Method for producing vessels with feedback depending on the pre-blowing starting point Method for producing a vessel (2) by blowing in a mould (11) from a preform (3) made of plastic material, comprising the operations consisting in: introducing the preform (3) into the mould; at a predetermined moment, called pre-blowing cue (tP), controlling the opening of an electrovalve (22) for establishing a communication between the inside of the preform (3) and a source (20) of gas at a predetermined pre-blowing pressure; measuring the pressure (P) inside the preform (3); detecting the so-called real moment (tA), of the beginning of the pre-blowing, at which the (P) in the preform (3) starts to increase; comparing this moment (tA) with a theoretical pre-blowing beginning moment; if the real moment (tA) of the beginning of the pre-blowing follows the theoretical pre-blowing beginning moment, advance the pre-blowing cue (tP); if the real moment (tA) of the beginning of the pre-blowing precedes the theoretical pre-blowing beginning moment, delay the pre-blowing cue (tP).
US09044888B2	Apparatus for shaping plastics material pre-forms into plastics material containers with pressure pads An apparatus for shaping plastics material pre-forms into plastics material containers with a blow mold which has at least two blow mold parts which are arranged so as to be movable with respect to each other on first and second blow mold carrier parts. A pressure pad arrangement is arranged between at least one blow mold carrier part and the blow mold part. The pressure pad arrangement is designed in such a way that the force acting between the blow mold carrier part and the blow mold part has a first force component which acts in a first pre-set region in the peripheral direction of the blow mold part and a second force component which acts in a second pre-set region in the peripheral direction of the blow mold part.
US09044878B2	Tile saw A tile saw includes a base, a frame assembly disposed on the base, a first rail disposed on the frame assembly, the first rail having a longitudinal axis. A table is slidingly disposed on the first rail and a support assembly is disposed on the base. A saw assembly is supported by the support assembly and includes a motor within a motor housing, and a cutting wheel driven by the motor. The motor housing has an inlet for allowing air into the motor housing, a serpentine path within the motor housing, between the inlet and the motor, for directing air through the motor housing, and a filter within the motor housing.
US09044877B2	Method of creating vessels with a noise chamber A method for creating a vessel with a noise chamber comprising casting slip into a mold defining a vessel with a void in the foot, controlling the hardening process to facilitate the foot becoming leather-hard prior to the other parts of the vessel, placing a bead within the void in the foot, attaching a foot slab with a hole to the foot of the vessel to create a noise chamber out of the void in the foot, drying the vessel beyond a leather-hard state, applying a temporary cover to the hole in the foot slab, glazing the vessel, firing the vessel and applying a seal to the hole in the foot slab.
US09044876B2	Light derived timber product board The invention relates to a light, single-layer derived timber product board which is distinguished by having a bulk density of below 500 kg/m3 and consisting of a mixture of crushed and sliced chips. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for the production of such a light, single-layer derived timber product board.
US09044868B2	Cutting head for an electric razor A cutting head for an electric razor is provided. The cutting head has at least one upper blade and a lower blade associated with the upper blade, which upper and lower blades are movably supported relative to one another and can be driven accordingly by a drive device. The upper blade has a contact surface for the skin to be shaved, which contact surface is formed by a plurality of webs that are each bounded by slots. The longitudinal extent of the webs runs substantially perpendicular to a threading edge bounding the contact surface. The contact surface is designed to be concave and rises towards the threading edge, where the threading edge has an outer radius and this outer radius encloses an angle of less than 90°.
US09044859B2	Method for gait generation and tracking control for a bipedal walking robot A control method that executes a numerical non-linear optimization procedure with forward simulation of the full dynamics of the bipedal robot (including ground collisions) to compute a foothold, which produces the desired center of mass velocity during the next step of the walking cycle. The controller includes a gait generator that outputs desired joint trajectories designed to track a desired foothold provided by the foot placement algorithm. A torque calculator is included to output desired joint torques designed to track the desired joint trajectories provided by the gait generator. Additionally, the controller includes an actuator controller that produces the desired joint torques determined by the torque calculator at each joint on the physical robot, which may be a legged robot with torque-controlled joints. The foot placement algorithm may use nonlinear optimization that is solvable using a mathematical model of the dynamics of the controlled robot.
US09044852B2	Cleaning device having onboard replaceable cleaning pad and onboard replaceable cleaning solution A device for cleaning debris from a target surface. The device has a sole plate with permanent cleaning material, such as bristles, and a removable/replaceable pad. The device also has a replaceable, on-board supply of cleaning solution. The pad/cleaning solution may be replaced when depleted and replaced with a new pad/cleaning solution or may simply be replaced with a new pad/cleaning solution when that pad/cleaning solution is more suitable for a particular cleaning task.
US09044850B2	Twist lock gear case for power tools A power tool includes a motor having an outwardly extending rotor that defines a drive axis, a housing surrounding the motor, and a gearcase that includes a drive train coupled to the rotor and configured to drive a tool output. The gearcase includes a proximal end and an opposite distal end that is exposed to the outside of the tool forward of the housing. The gearcase includes respective locking elements spaced around the periphery of the gearcase proximal end. A motor mount includes spaced apart locking elements that are configured to engage with respective gearcase locking elements. The proximal end portion of the gearcase is adapted to make contact with the motor mount between the locking elements and then rotate such that the gearcase locking elements engage the motor mount locking elements.
US09044845B2	Tube applicator Apparatus to insert a spigot into a flexible tube comprises a support for holding and advancing a spigot, actuated by a motor, and a grip for holding a flexible tube, its opening and closing controlled by a motor. On operation of the apparatus, the support is advanced to urge the spigot into the flexible tube. To prevent catching or snagging of the tube on the spigot preventing insertion, after forward motion of the spigot, the jaws are opened, and the spigot is retreated a short distance, the jaws are closed and the spigot is advanced again. This cycle is then repeated until the spigot is fully within the tube. The jaws have a front section and a separate back section, mounted against a resistance, to hold the tube. The front section will be urged back against the resistance on insertion of the spigot, which will not reach the back section.
US09044844B1	Wheel weight pliers Wheel weight pliers include a first member and a second member. The first member has a first handle at a first handle end and a wheel weight removal hook at a first jaw end. The second member has a second handle at a second handle end and a leverage at a second jaw end. The first member and the second member are pivotally connected together at a pivot point to operatively form pliers that provide a variable gap distance between the hook and the leverage. Whereby the wheel weight removal hook in combination with the leverage are adapted for removing wheel weights.
US09044842B2	Abrasive article having multi-directional abrasion protrusion According to this constitution, loading resistance and durability are excellent, there are no attachment materials attached to an abraded surface in the case where a flat surface is abraded, abrasion can be efficiently and evenly performed in a predetermined shape even though abrasion particles are not enlarged to perform abrasion or abrasion is not repeated several times by using particulates, and abrasion performance can be improved.
US09044839B2	Method for measuring material removal during surface finishing on curved surfaces The described embodiment relates generally to the development of a finishing process for a device housing. The device housing can be formed of a thermoplastic, or a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel. A method and an apparatus are described for accurately measuring the amount of material removed during a finishing process. More particularly embodiments described within this application disclose a method of accurately measuring material removal during a finishing process across a curved or spline shaped surface by drilling an array of pockets along a surface of the device housing, where the drilled pockets can be used to measure material removal rates with a high degree of accuracy.
US09044837B2	Telescopic shaft assembly A telescopic shaft assembly includes a seat, a shaft body disposed movably in the seat, and a plurality of slide blocks located between the shaft body and the seat. The shaft body has a convex portion and a recessed portion opposite to each other. One end of the convex portion far away from the recessed portion has a top surface. One of the plurality of slide block is disposed on the top surface. The recessed portion has two inner side wall surfaces opposite to each other and a bottom surface located between the two inner side wall surfaces. Each of the two inner side wall surfaces forms an obtuse angle with the bottom surface. Two of the rest of the plurality of slide blocks are disposed on the two inner side wall surfaces respectively.
US09044834B2	Magnet recycling to create Nd—Fe—B magnets with improved or restored magnetic performance Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for recycling magnetic material to restore or improve the magnetic performance. One of the methods includes demagnetizing magnetic material from a waste magnet assembly by cyclic heating and cooling of the magnetic material, fragmenting adhesives attached to the magnetic material, cracking coating layers of the magnetic material, and subjecting the magnetic material to at least one of: a) a mechanical treatment or b) a chemical treatment, to remove the coating layers and prepare the magnetic material without impurities, fragmenting the demagnetized magnetic material to form a powder, and mixing the powder with a rare earth material R and an elemental additive A to produce a homogeneous powder, wherein the rare earth material R comprises at least one of: Nd or Pr, and the elemental additive A comprises at least one of: Nd, Pr, Dy, Co, Cu, and Fe.
US09044832B2	Infrared scanning port We disclose a method for securing an infrared transmissive polymer to integrated panels, deadfronts, or transition plates, thus providing a reinforced polymer window through which the thermographer can scan an energized unit without being directly exposed to contact with internal components or having to remove said panels, deadfronts, or transition plates. We also disclose a device for securing the polymer consisting of a retention frame with half shear retainers that keep the polymer locked in place.
US09044829B2	Fiber laser systems for cold ablation Scribing operations with reduced substrate heating can be provided by applying multiple optical pulses to a substrate within a time interval that is less than a material recombination time. Typically a series of pulses of durations of 5-200 ps with pulse energies of less than about 0.002 mJ can be applied at rates of about 1 MHz to about 30 MHz. Beam area and beam scanning are configured to provide substantial overlap so that material can be removed by cold ablation.
US09044821B2	Antioxidant gas supply unit Provided is an antioxidant gas supply unit including: a base body (10) in a shape of a hollow plate having antioxidant gas flow paths (53) and (54) defined therein; an antioxidation gas inlet (20) for letting an antioxidant gas flow into the antioxidant gas flow paths (53) and (54); a through hole (30) penetrating through the base body (10) in a through-thickness direction so that a capillary (72) is allowed to be inserted into and removed from the hole, and communicating with the antioxidant gas flow paths (53) and (54) to let the antioxidant gas flow out; and a film heater (40) attached to an outer surface of the base body (10) around the through hole (30). The antioxidant gas supply unit has a compact structure and is capable of effectively heating a free air ball.
US09044818B2	Method of welding two sides of a joint simultaneously A system for arc welding two sides of a joint simultaneously is disclosed. By customizing welding waveforms and the distance between two or more electrodes, weld currents can be designed to transfer current to and through one or more electrodes in addition to the current traditionally passed only to the common node.
US09044817B2	Electrode position control method for tandem arc welding, robot controller for tandem arc welding system, and tandem arc welding system An electrode position control method according to the present invention includes a voltage detecting step of detecting voltages on a leading electrode and a trailing electrode that are brought into contact with a welding workpiece, a sensing step of detecting positional information of the welding workpiece from electrical changes in the voltages, a correction amount calculating step of calculating a correction amount for correcting for positional displacement of each of the leading electrode and the trailing electrode with respect to a weld line from the positional information, and a position correcting step of correcting the respective positions of the electrodes by adding or subtracting the correction amount.
US09044815B2	Keyless coupling arrangement A dovetail coupling arrangement is disclosed for securing two removable parts along a coupling axis. The dovetail coupling arrangement includes multiple opposing surfaces between the receiver of a first member and the projection of a second member to provide resistance to forces transmitted in a direction orthogonal to the coupling axis. Such an arrangement may be utilized for jaw sets associated with hydraulic construction, demolition, and scrap handling equipment.
US09044813B2	Tangential cutting insert A hexahedral insert has top and bottom faces and two pairs of opposing side faces with main cutting edges formed on the borders of the top and bottom faces to the side faces and a screw hole passing through each central portion of the top and bottom faces. The top and bottom faces are flat planes parallel to each other; each of the side faces consecutively from top to bottom includes an upper land portion, an upper inwardly-inclined portion, a flat support surface, a lower inwardly-inclined portion, and a lower land portion. Each of two adjacent side faces has a corner surface therebetween which forms corner edges on the borders to the top and bottom faces. The cutting insert enhances the cutting power by reducing cutting resistance and prevents scratches on a machined surface.
US09044812B2	Jig and method for modifying casing in turbine system A jig and a method for modifying a casing in a turbine system are disclosed. The jig includes a body and a protrusion extending from the body. The protrusion is configured for engaging a hole defined in a spot face on the casing. The jig further includes at least one machining passage defined in the body, the machining passage provided for machining the casing therethrough, and at least one alignment feature configured on the body, the at least one alignment feature provided for aligning the jig with respect to the casing. The method includes engaging a jig with a hole defined in a spot face on the casing, aligning the jig with respect to the casing, and machining at least one installation hole into the casing through the spot face.
US09044808B2	System and method for precision transport, positioning, and assembling of longitudinal nano-structures A method for assembling multi-component nano-structures that includes dispersing a plurality of nano-structures in a fluid medium, and applying an electric field having an alternating current (AC) component and a direct current (DC) component to the fluid medium containing the plurality of nano-structures. The electric field causes a first nano-structure from the plurality of nano-structures to move to a predetermined position and orientation relative to a second nano-structure of the plurality of nano-structures such that the first and second nano-structures assemble into a multi-component nano-structure.
US09044804B2	Corrugated tubing compression tool A compression tool for compressing and flattening one or both ends of a length of corrugated tubing commonly used for making solar installations. A threaded force-transmitting driver is located within a threaded bore of a force-transmission cylinder. A clamp is disposed in surrounding engagement with the corrugated tubing. Tube retaining lips of the clamp are received between an adjacent pair of corrugatings to hold one end of the corrugated tubing in stationary axial alignment with the force-transmitting driver. A rotational force applied to the threaded force-transmitting driver causes the driver to rotate and move through the threaded bore of the force-transmission cylinder. A compression head at the front of the driver is correspondingly moved towards and into contact with the end of the tubing to compress and flatten the end to prevent a nut from sliding off the tubing.
US09044802B2	Dynamic load expansion test bench and method of expanding a tubular A method and apparatus for a testing facility for simulating downhole conditions is provided. The testing facility may include a test bench for expanding tubular members having one or more threaded connections. The test bench may also be operable to simulate the expansion of a tubular connection downhole and to produce expanded tubular connection test samples.
US09044800B2	High aspect ratio parts of bulk metallic glass and methods of manufacturing thereof Bulk metallic articles having a high-aspect ratio that are formed of bulk metallic glass, that are net-shaped and that are produced under process conditions that maximize the quality and integrity of the parts as well as the life of the mold tool, thus minimizing production costs, and manufacturing methods for producing such articles are provided.
US09044795B2	Containment systems, methods, and devices At least one exemplary system comprises a tubular mesh enclosure formed from a mesh material having a nominal opening size of less than 0.5 inches, the tubular mesh enclosure having an opposing pair of ends, at least one of the opposing pair of ends sealed; and a filling surrounded by the tubular mesh enclosure; the system defining a length and a generally non-circular longitudinal cross-section defining a major width, a ratio of the length to the major width greater than approximately 40.
US09044791B2	Fluid-powered liquid-dispenser apparatus A tool powered by pressurized liquid, typically water, for treatment of a variety of surfaces ranging from natural to manufactured, has a scrubber wheel powered by the pressurized liquid. A treatment liquid is contained in a single-use, throw-away cartridge mounted in the tool. The cartridge is mounted in the tool for rotation therein when desired. A nozzle in the tool for discharging the pressurized liquid onto the scrubber wheel to rotate the scrubber wheel, is movable by the tool operator during a treatment operation to change the direction of discharge to the extent desired to drive the scrubber forward or backward and to rotate the cartridge to dispense the treatment liquid if, and when, dispensing of the treatment liquid is desired.
US09044786B2	System for responding to fulfillment orders A system, method, and software are for moving inventory items to an unloading station in response to a fulfillment order. An input device is used to enter identification information about the inventory items. At a loading station, the inventory items are received and loaded into holders. The holders are then moved to storage area. A controller is configured for creating and storing a first association between the entered identification information and each of the holders in which each of the inventory items is placed. A selector and transporter are responsive to the fulfillment order and the first association, and are configured to select a holder which holds the inventory items corresponding to the fulfillment order, and configured to transport the holder from the storage area to the unloading station.
US09044785B2	Currency bill processing device and method A currency bill processing system includes a transport mechanism that is configured to transport bills from an input receptacle along a transport path that extends generally horizontally past at least one detector. The transport path transitions generally-vertically upward between a first and a second output receptacle. The transport mechanism is configured to deliver some of the bills toward a first end of the system into the first output receptacle and some of the bills toward a second end of the system into the second output receptacle. The system provides access openings in a front side of the system that are proximate the first and the second output receptacles thereby permitting operator access into the first and the second output receptacles from the front side.
US09044782B2	Drain apparatus for a dry strainer cleaning head A drainage device for removing dirt particles and wastewater from a cleaning head for cleaning a dryer screen of a paper production plant includes an air-water separation container. The air-water separation container includes an air outlet, a wastewater outlet and an inlet opening for receiving the dirt particles and the wastewater from the cleaning head. The air-water separation container is connected to the cleaning head so as to be movable transversely relative to the dryer screen together with the cleaning head.
US09044780B2	Method for coating a mechanical member, and mechanical member thus coated A method for coating a mechanical member provided with at least a support plate and one or more tubular elements attached in through manner to the support plate. The method comprises a first coating step, in which an external surface of the support plate is coated with a first layer of plastic material, and a second coating step in which a terminal portion of the internal surface of the tubular elements is coated with a multi-layer coating. In the second coating step the multi-layer coating is made by depositing in sequence one on top of the other a plurality of layers of plastic material, each of which is deposited partly in correspondence with the terminal portion of the internal surface of the relative tubular element and partly in correspondence with the surface of the first layer of the external surface of the support plate.
US09044779B2	Method for applying a powder coating A method for the application of at least two different powder coating layers to a substrate comprising the steps of application of a first powder coating layer followed by the application of a second powder coating layer, without any substantial curing of the first powder coating layer prior to the application of the second powder coating layer, followed by the simultaneous curing of the first powder coating layer and the second powder coating layer, wherein the first powder coating layer is applied to the substrate using a corona charging system and the second powder coating layer is applied to the substrate using a tribo charging system, or the first powder coating layer is applied to the substrate using a tribo charging system and the second powder coating layer is applied to the substrate using a corona charging system and the first powder coating layer and second powder coating layer have an opposite electrostatic polarity.
US09044772B2	Water application unit for automatically applying water onto sheet being transferred A water application unit includes a reservoir configured to pool water and a water application pad configured to apply the water pooled in the reservoir onto a remoistenable glue portion previously attached to an adhesion position on a sheet being transferred. The water application pad includes a first pad member disposed at a position to be immersed in the reservoir and including first pores for sucking up the water in the reservoir and a second pad member disposed at a position to face the remoistenable glue portion while being in contact with the first pad member and including second pores for applying the water onto the remoistenable glue portion. The second pores has a diameter larger than a diameter of the first pores.
US09044769B2	Apparatus for coating a product and a system for indexing the product to be coated A coating apparatus for coating an associated product includes a conveyor mechanism for advancing the associated product, and an indexing system configured to index the associated product as it is advanced by the conveyor mechanism. The indexing system includes a product support member coupled to the conveyor mechanism for supporting the associated product during movement through the coating apparatus. The product support member includes a rotatable spindle shaft and an indexing member rotationally interlocked with the rotatable spindle shaft. The indexing member is configured to engage a guide surface of an adjacent first guide member as the product support member is advanced by the conveyor mechanism past the guide member to change an orientation of the rotatable spindle shaft. A locking mechanism is also included for locking rotation of the rotatable spindle.
US09044767B2	Outflow switch mechanism of multifunction shower head An outflow switch mechanism of a multi-function shower head includes an inner body, a button, a return spring, a valve shaft, a water division plate, a support press spring and a cover. The inner body has a valve chamber therein. A valve path for accommodating the valve shaft is between a seat and a chamber. The lower portion of the valve path is formed with an enlarged seat having longitudinal sliding grooves. The lower portion of the valve shaft extends into the enlarged seat. The bottom of a projecting rib formed between the sliding grooves has a gradient guide surface. The water division plate is formed with tooth blocks corresponding to the sliding grooves. The top of the tooth blocks has a gradient surface facing the gradient guide surface of the projecting rib. A magnet is fixed on the water division plate. A magnet is also provided on the cover.
US09044765B2	Faucet extending apparatus and method A device and method for delivering water to a person who is unable to reach household or other types of water dispensing faucets. In some embodiments, the device comprises a trough for delivering the liquid and an attachment member for attaching the trough to a faucet.
US09044763B2	Yard and garden chemical dispenser A chemical dispensing apparatus includes a housing that is connectable to a source of water, such as a standard garden hose, and an internal space in which is disposed a rotatable container containing a quantity of chemical concentrate to be mixed with the source of water as it flows through the housing and is dispensed from the housing from a sprinkler head or misting nozzle. The flow of water through the housing is directed to imping vanes on the rotatable container, such that the container is rotated as water flows through the housing. In an alternative embodiment, the vanes are replaced with an electric motor. Rotation of the container cause the chemical concentrate to dissolve which is then mixed with the water before it is dispensed through the sprinkler or mister.
US09044759B2	Shredder thickness with anti-jitter feature A shredder includes a housing having a throat for receiving at least one article to be shredded, and a shredder mechanism received in the housing and including an electrically powered motor and cutter elements. The shredder also includes a detector that is configured to detect a thickness of the at least one article being received by the throat, and a controller that is configured to operate the motor to drive the cutter elements to shred the at least one article and to set a flutter threshold higher than the predetermined maximum thickness threshold, if the detected thickness is less than a predetermined maximum thickness threshold. The controller is also configured to thereafter continuously detect the thickness of the at least one article being inserted into a throat of the shredder; and to perform a predetermined operation responsive to the thickness detector detecting that the thickness of the at least one article is greater than the flutter threshold.
US09044756B2	Apparatus for reading identification information of biosensor An apparatus for reading identification information of a biosensor is provided, including a biosensor sensing unit detecting the biosensor, a light-emitting unit emitting light on an identification information recording unit when the biosensor sensing unit detects the biosensor, the identification information recording unit having the identification information of the biosensor recorded thereon, a light-receiving unit that receives the light emitted from the light-emitting unit, and reflected or refracted by or passing through the identification information recording section, and an identification information reading unit analyzing the light received by the light-receiving unit and reading the identification information of the biosensor.
US09044755B2	Gene analysis apparatus and gene analysis method using the same A gene analysis apparatus includes a sample preparation chip in which a polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”) sample is prepared, a PCR chip in which a PCR is performed on the PCR sample, and a package layer on which the sample preparation chip and the PCR chip are mounted. The package layer includes a channel through which a material flows from the sample preparation chip to the PCR chip. The sample preparation chip and the PCR chip are on a same side or on opposing sides of the package layer.
US09044751B2	Gene analysis device A gene analysis device including an illumination optical system radiating exciting light onto a sample solution; a microfluidic device for forming a bio-reaction space of the sample solution and including at least one micro-chamber in which a reflection pattern is formed; and a detection optical system for detecting a fluorescence signal generated by a bio-reaction in the micro-chamber and comprising a photodetector.
US09044750B2	Pipette and a nucleic acid purification apparatus The present disclosure includes a nucleic acid purification apparatus and a pipette, the pipette comprises: a tubular body, at least a gas seal ring, a nut, and a shaft. A first opening and second opening arranged at two ends of the tubular body air communicable with the tubular body, thus forming a main chamber. The gas seal ring is disposed in a seal slot arranged proximate to the second opening. The nut is coupled to the second opening and has portions forming a cavity air communicable with the nut and second opening. An opening has a pressing edge. The shaft can movably dispose in the tubular body and the nut. The pressing edge presses against the gas seal ring via the firm coupling of the nut onto the second opening. As a result, individual adjustment can provide the optimum airtightness in nucleic acid purification devices.
US09044748B2	Cartridge A cartridge capable of storing a chemical solution includes a first container, a second container installed within the first container and configured to store the chemical solution, and an exhaust path configured to exhaust a gas generated by the chemical solution stored in the second container, wherein the exhaust path is disposed between the first container and the second container.
US09044741B2	Process for converting biomass to a fuel Catalyst compositions comprising a phosphorous-promoted ZSM-5 component and a silica-containing binder, and methods for making and using same, are disclosed. More specifically, processes for making a catalyst for biomass conversion are provided. The process includes: treating a ZSM-5 zeolite with a phosphorous-containing compound to form a phosphorous-promoted ZSM-5 component; preparing a slurry comprising the phosphorous-promoted ZSM-5 component and a silica-containing binder; and shaping the slurry into shaped bodies. Such catalysts can be used for the thermocatalytic conversion of particulate biomass to liquid products such as bio-oil, resulting in higher bio-oil yields and lower coke than conventional catalysts.
US09044735B2	DNA extraction using a photo-polymerized monolith in a capillary The present invention relates to the fabrication of a grafted, UV photo-polymerized silica-based monolithic column and the use of such column for the extraction of DNA. In one embodiment, a method is provided for fabricating a silica-based monolithic column, wherein a vessel is filled with a polymerization mixture that is formed into monolithic solid phase for DNA extraction through in situ photo-polymerization.
US09044733B2	Method and apparatus for preparing a solution of a shear sensitive material The invention provides a novel apparatus and method for preparing a solution of a shear sensitive material.
US09044732B2	Microcapsules containing active ingredients The present invention relates to a microcapsule particle composition that is composed of a sol-gel material. The microcapsule particle composition is well suited for personal care and cleaning products.
US09044729B2	Methods and devices for electromagnetic amplification of nucleic acids Methods and devices for amplifying nucleic acids generally involve exposing the nucleic acid to an electromagnetic field, for example a mini-current magnetic field, while performing the steps of PCR. The PCR methods and devices provide numerous advantages over conventional PCR techniques and systems such as reduced reaction times, no heating requirements, and reduced amounts of reagents (e.g., optional use polymerases and primers). Additionally, the PCR methods and devices require significantly shorter reaction times (e.g., less than one hour) compared to conventional PCR techniques and systems (minimum 2 hours). Finally, as shown in the Examples, the PCR methods and devices amplify significantly more DNA compared to conventional PCR techniques and systems. Accordingly, the PCR methods and devices provide a more efficient and cost-effective way to perform PCR when compared to conventional PCR techniques and systems.
US09044728B2	Ozone generating element and method for manufacturing ozone generating element An ozone generating element includes a laminated body including stacked dielectric layers. A discharge electrode is provided on a first of the dielectric layers. An induction electrode is provided on a second of the dielectric layers that is opposed to the discharge electrode with the first dielectric layer interposed therebetween. A protective layer is arranged on the first dielectric layer so as to cover the discharge electrode, and includes a glass ceramic.
US09044726B2	Method of cladding diamond seeds The invention relates to a method for manufacture of diamond, the method including the steps of providing a first coating of solvent metal or solvent metal alloy on a diamond seed to create a coated diamond seed, situating the coated diamond seed adjacent a catalyst system comprising a solvent metal and/or a source of carbon, and subjecting the coated diamond seed and catalyst system to increased temperature wherein the melting point of the first coating is at least 20 deg C. below that of the catalyst system. The invention further relates to a compact comprising a plurality of diamond seeds wherein at least one seed includes a first coating comprising a solvent metal and/or solvent metal based alloy, the compact further comprising a catalyst system comprising a solvent metal and/or a source of carbon wherein the melting point of the first coating is at least 20 deg C. below that of the catalyst system.
US09044725B2	Effective droplet drying In one aspect, the invention provides a system and method for spray drying a fluid. The system comprises a fluid reservoir (2), a spraying device (3) that comprises at least one outflow opening (4) for projecting droplets of fluid (5) from the reservoir (2) out of the at least one outflow opening (4) and at least one energy source (6) for at least partially drying the droplets. The spraying device (3) is arranged to project the droplets into a determinable droplet trajectory and the at least one energy source (6) is arranged for providing energy focused substantially on the droplet trajectory. It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method for reducing the amount of energy required for spray drying.
US09044724B2	Electrowetting dispensing devices and related methods A method for dispensing liquid for use in biological analysis may comprise positioning liquid to be dispensed via electrowetting. The positioning may comprise aligning the liquid with a plurality of predetermined locations. The method may further comprise dispensing the aligned liquid from the plurality of predetermined locations through a plurality of openings respectively aligned with the predetermined locations. The dispensing may be via electrowetting.
US09044723B2	Inclined baseplate in dehydrogenation reactor An inclined baseplate for a radial bed reactor improves solids flow from the bottom of the reactor. Gas flow can be improved by utilizing an aerated baseplate or by providing a non-porous section of outer perforated cylinder in the area below the level of the bottom of the inner perforated cylinder.
US09044722B2	Multi-component, temperature activated, tissue adhesive, sealing, and filling composition A tissue filling, repair, sealing, or bonding substance comprising at least three components, at least two of which upon coming into fluid communication with each other react and change the chemical, structural or other properties of the substance so as to bond to adjacent native or implanted tissue. The composition is further defined as comprising a first component of a curable substance, a second component of a suitable curing agent, and a third component of an encapsulant capable of forming a barrier between the first two components and physically arranged to form an encapsulated dispersion of the form interior phase (linking agent), exterior phase (encapsulant), and continuous phase (curable substance). The encapsulant is further defined as having limited solubility in the curable substance and the curing agent and having a melting temperature between 10° C.-50° C.
US09044720B2	Dispersant composition The invention relates to a composition containing a particulate solid, an organic medium, and a (meth)acrylic polymer. The invention further relates to novel compounds, and the use of the (meth)acrylic polymer as a dispersant, typically a pigment dispersant.
US09044719B2	Method and apparatus for mixing An apparatus and method for mixing a liquid having particulate includes a vessel for containing the liquid and an axial impeller rotating about a substantially vertical axis. The impeller is adapted for submerging below the liquid surface by a distance approximately one-quarter to one-half of the height of the liquid. The impeller is oriented upwardly to produce (a) an inner, upward flow region located along the vertical axis of the vessel, (b) a transition flow region above the impeller in which liquid moves radially outwardly toward the vessel sidewall, and (c) an outer, downward flow region located along the sidewall. The impeller spins at a variable speed, such that the flow is capable of entraining solid particles having a settling velocity of up to approximately 1 foot per minute in the liquid, and the speed of the impeller is chosen to enable particles having a desired settling velocity to settle to the vessel bottom.
US09044711B2	Osmotically driven membrane processes and systems and methods for draw solute recovery The invention relates to osmotically driven membrane processes and systems and methods for recovering draw solutes in the osmotically driven membrane processes. Osmotically driven membrane processes involve the extraction of a solvent from a first solution to concentrate solute by using a second concentrated solution to draw the solvent from the first solution across a semi-permeable membrane. Draw solute recovery may be carried out by various means including with the use of a membrane device. The draw solute recovery may also include the use of multi-stage solute recovery using distillation columns and/or membranes, where the recovery may be assisted by a heat pump.
US09044710B2	Method for precipitating mercury from flue gases of high-temperature plants The invention relates to a process for separating mercury out of flue gases from high-temperature plants, especially from power plants and waste incineration plants, in which reactants, for example in the form of bromine or alkali metal sulfides, are added to the flue gas beyond the firing operation in flow direction and then the flue gas is subjected to at least one dry cleaning operation for removal of the mercury and any excess reactants, wherein it is a feature of the process that the reactants and carbonaceous adsorbents in the form of activated carbons and/or activated cokes are introduced to the flue gas stream with separate metered addition, and the reactants are metered into the flue gas stream as a function of a preferably constantly measured mercury concentration.
US09044701B2	Gas purification apparatus and related method A gas purification apparatus, highly purifying gas containing salt derived from molten salt stored in a vessel (10), is provided with a reflux mechanism (35, 42) liquefying the salt, contained in the gas, for return to the molten salt in the vessel, and a filtration mechanism (39, 44) disposed in an exhaust flow path of the gas on a downstream stage of the reflux mechanism.
US09044700B2	Air filtering device A device for filtering air comprising a base, a fan functionally attached to the base, an air filter releasably attached to the base, and a substantially air impermeable outer sleeve is provided.
US09044697B2	Oil strainer with fusion bonded body, integral filter, and bonding flash accommodation parts An oil strainer includes a body having first and a second tubular member. One end of an outlet side tubular member has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of one end of an inlet side tubular member. The inner periphery of the one end of the outlet side tubular member includes a fusion bonding part, a shoulder closer to the one end of the outlet side tubular member than the fusion bonding part and another shoulder closer to the other end of the outlet side tubular member than the fusion bonding part. The outer periphery of the one end of the inlet side tubular member includes a fusion bonding part, a shoulder closer to the one end of the inlet side tubular member than the fusion bonding part and another shoulder closer to the other end of the inlet side tubular member than the fusion bonding part.
US09044696B2	Module insert for installation in a liquid filter A module insert includes at least one water level sensor, at least one valve and at least one flow channel for the water. The module insert has at least one container having sorbent mechanism for collecting contaminants from the separated water. A pressure-resistant housing is configured to protect an interior of the module insert from the pressure of the fuel.
US09044695B2	Filter device and filter element for use with such a filter device A filter device has a filter housing (1) receiving a filter element (11) defining a longitudinal axis and being in the form of a filter cartridge. An end cap (19) forms an enclosure for the relevant end rim of the filter material (23, 25). The end cap fixes the position of the filter element (11) in its functional position by being on an element receiver (13) that interacts with the bottom part (7) of the filter housing (1). The element receiver (13) and the assigned end cap (19) of the filter element (11), on their parts (17 and 15) coming into engagement with one another in the functional position of the filter element are provided with shaped irregularities matched to one another to enable the engagement in a positional relationship directed towards one another.
US09044692B2	Systems and methods for water desalinization An apparatus includes a set of atomizers, a housing and a separator. Each atomizer includes an inlet portion that receives an inlet flow of a solution and an outlet portion that produces an atomized flow of the solution. The housing defines a flow path. Each atomizer is disposed at least partially within the housing such that the outlet portion of each atomizer is in fluid communication with the flow path. The housing is configured such that a gas flowing within the flow path can be sequentially mixed with the atomized flow of the solution produced by the outlet portion of each atomizer to produce a mixture of the gas and the solution. The separator produces a first outlet flow including a portion of the gas and a vaporized portion of a solvent, and a second outlet flow including a liquid portion of the solvent and a solute.
US09044690B2	Building system A building system includes connectors for quickly and easily interconnecting building system parts. An expansion connector engages the apertures of two parts and expands to connect the parts. The expansion connector includes a base, an expansion element extending from a first side of the base and a receptacle extending from a second side of the base. A pin is configured to be inserted through the receptacle and the base and into engagement with the expansion element to force the expansion element into an expanded position. An alignment post may extend from the first side of the base to orient the connector relative to the parts and strengthen the connection. A thumbscrew connector includes at least one flange to engage an aperture of at least one part and includes a threaded receptacle for receiving a thumbscrew which secures the connector to the part or parts.
US09044687B2	Rally towel apparatus A rally towel apparatus comprising a body having first end and a second end. The rally towel apparatus also comprises a first end cap engaged with a first end and a second end cap engaged with a second end. The rally towel apparatus also comprises a cord connected to the first end cap and a cord lock member arranged on the cord. The rally towel apparatus also comprises a wrist strap connected to the second end cap and a rally towel arranged and secured within a loop of the cord.
US09044686B2	Pinata device A piñata device includes a main body housing an open-top container that may be filled with candy, toys, or other items. The open-top container is spring loaded using and arrangement of elastomeric bands and a locking mechanism which, when triggered, releases the open-top container, thereby causing the container to immediately accelerate towards an opening on the main body and launch the items outwards of the main body and onto the floor for collecting by the participants. In a preferred embodiment, the locking mechanism is triggered by hitting a target with a ball. After use, the container may be pushed or pulled back into a loaded position for reuse.
US09044685B2	Water attractions involving a flowing body of water A water attraction, involving a flowing body of water, for performing board-riding maneuvers is described. A water attraction according to the present invention includes an activity section adjacent a safety chute; opposing sidewalls adjacent to a safety chute; a water delivery section creating water flow towards a safety chute; a water recovery section; and a rideable surface area. The rideable surface area further includes irregularly shaped surfaces with varying angles and elevations to increase difficulty and creativity in board-riding maneuvers.
US09044682B1	Methods and apparatus for electronic commerce initiated through use of video games and fulfilled by delivery of physical goods Some embodiments present systems and methods for electronic commerce within video game environments. Some embodiments perform displaying within a video game environment a representation of a merchant outlet, receiving input originating from a video game player indicating acceptance of one or more offers of items for sale, and, responsive at least in part to the input originating from the video game player indicating acceptance of one or more offers of items for sale, preparing an order for one or more item corresponding to one or more of the offers of items for sale to be physically delivered to the video game player. Within the video game environment, the merchant outlet presents one or more offers of items for sale. The offers of items for sale comprise one or more offers of items for sale having physical existence outside of the video game environment.
US09044677B2	System for optimizing processing capacity for a group of gaming appliances engaged in play of an online game A network-connected system serving digital games includes a game server having a first software application executing from a non-transitory physical medium coupled to the server, the server serving a digital game to individual ones of network-connected digital appliances, and distributed client software applications executing from non-transitory physical mediums coupled to the network-connected digital appliances. The client software applications monitor local processing capability for real-time processing of served objects and effects, communicate capability information to the game server, and the game server serves objects and effects compatible with a higher level of processing capability or objects and effects compatible with a lower level of processing capability depending on the capability information communicated.
US09044676B2	Automatic game comparison and recommendation Game players are connected to each other through comparisons of information associated with events in which the game players and their friends have competed. Competition information such as game play results, leader board positions, game attributes, and entitlements are used to compare players and players' friends to each other, and the comparison information is used to recommend additional events to the players in such a way as to enhance social networking and asynchronous game play among the game players and their friends in the game.
US09044675B2	Automated video game rating In one embodiment described herein, an automated rating system for an electronic game includes a collector configured to collect game data pertaining to the electronic game and to collect implicit user data pertaining to one or more users, a rating processor configured to rate the game based on the collected game data and implicit user data, and a recommender configured to provide a recommendation as a function of the operation of the game rating.
US09044674B2	Gender and age based gameplay through face perception There is provided a system and method for determining a gender and age of a player of a game. There is a method comprising capturing an image of at least one player, and determining the gender and age of the player based on the image. In this manner, the game may be customized to be more relevant or attractive to the player's gender and/or age group.
US09044673B1	Systems and methods for providing an interactive hands-free video game tutorial Systems and methods for providing a tutorial for a video game are provided. The tutorial is characterized by a hierarchical data structure having a plurality of nodes connected by edges. Each node represents a video game stage and provides oral instructions on how to progress to another node. An edge represents head movements necessary to move to another node. At a computing device a current node is identified and the oral instructions associated with the node are provided. User head movements are sensed by a movement measuring component of the computing device and the current node and sensed user head movements are compared to edges associated with the current node. When a match is found, advancement to the node identified by the matching edge occurs. However, advancement is forgone when the user head movements do not match the head movements of any of the edges associated with the current node.
US09044672B2	Game system, game apparatus, storage medium and game controlling method An example non-limiting game system includes a game apparatus to which a television is connected. There is provided with an input terminal device which functions as an input device of the game apparatus. The television is displayed with an information presenting screen, and an input screen in which a part of objects is omitted from the information presenting screen is displayed on an LCD of the input terminal device. A player inputs in the input screen a moving path for a player character such that an object to be acquired can be acquired and an object not to be acquired can be evaded. The player character moves according to the moving path that is input on the information presenting screen.
US09044668B2	Entertainment button device and game machine An entertainment button device includes: an entertainment button that a player can push; a button-up-and-down mechanism configured to move the entertainment button up and down from a predetermined normal operation position to a protruding position in which the entertainment button protrudes upward from the normal operation position; a stopper plate configured to hold the entertainment button in the protruding position; and a protruding position detector configured to detect the entertainment button being held by the stopper plate.
US09044665B2	Table ball game for opposite ended play using a single ball A table ball game in which is provided a flat rigid playing surface of rectangular proportions. The playing surface is bounded by rails of sufficient height to prevent a ball from leaving the playing surface. There is a plurality of object holes located symmetrically at opposite ends of the longitudinal axis of the playing surface. A pair of lines are inscribed across the transverse axis near the object holes to denote a foul line for both the rolling of a ball and the rebounding of a rolled ball. For scoring purposes, the object holes are assigned numeric values in accordance with rules of play.
US09044664B1	Cambered snowboard At least one embodiment of the inventive technology relates to a method of manufacturing a snowboard having a lower surface that does not at any point along at least one specified portion thereof contact a horizontal surface underlying the snowboard when the snowboard is unweighted. Such portion(s) may be defined, at least in part, by one or more cambers. A rocker is used to impart additional board performance benefits to a rider. Other embodiments may relate more specifically to the positioning of cambers relative to mount regions.
US09044663B2	Snowboard The present invention is based on the combination of a snowboard with a 3-dimensional sole which wholly or partly has a tripartite sliding surface in the portion between the transition to the tip(s) and the binding fastening(s), in addition to which the board is equipped with an additional special 3-dimensional geometry in the tip(s), in order to continue the existing uplift in the lateral sliding surface (5), thereby ensuring better uplift and thus better glide and greater speed in loose snow, a combination which provides quite unique riding characteristics. The tip of the snowboard is designed in such a manner that it presses the snow under the board more efficiently, lifting it further up from the snow than an ordinary tip. When riding straight ahead, this is best accomplished by using what is called here a skate plate, with an almost straight portion in the tip, providing an extended tip at a moderate angle to the surface and thereby extremely careful treatment of the snow while keeping the tip above the snow. When turning, an improved uplift in the tip is achieved by successively increasing the angle between the central sole surface (2) and the lateral sole surface (6) in the tip from the end of the sliding surface a few cm forwards in the tip, with the result that during edging the lateral sole surface lies substantially flatter against the snow further forward in the tip than at the transition to the tip, thereby more efficiently pressing the snow under the snowboard and not to the side, thus causing the board to also glide better during turning.
US09044658B2	I-beam construction in a hockey blade core A reinforced hockey stick blade and a related method of manufacture are provided. The hockey stick blade can include a core element defining one or more longitudinal channels bounded by an upper core portion, a lower core portion, and a bridge portion interconnecting the upper and lower core portions. The hockey stick blade can additionally include a plurality of fiber-reinforced plies substantially encapsulating the core element and a reinforcing material received within the one or more longitudinal channels. The reinforcing material can extend longitudinally from a first channel end portion to a second channel end portion, and can include woven or unidirectional fiber-reinforced plies. The reinforcing material can additionally extend transversely across the channel to form a blade structure having increased blade strength and durability over existing composite hockey stick blades.
US09044656B2	Golf trolley having steerable front wheel A golf trolley including: a frame assembly, a handrail, a rotating device, a front wheel assembly, and a locking device. The handrail is disposed on the frame assembly. The rotating device is disposed on a front end of the frame assembly. The front wheel assembly is rotatably mounted on the rotating device. The locking device is disposed on the handrail. The locking device is connected to the rotating device for controlling the degree of rotation of the front wheel assembly.
US09044652B2	Adjustable golf club shaft and hosel assembly An adjustable shaft and hosel assembly allows for dependent and independent adjustment of a golf club's face angle, loft angle, and lie angle. The adjustable shaft and hosel assembly comprises a shaft sleeve with a joint portion, a hosel portion, and a fitting piece, wherein the joint portion fits within the fitting piece and the fitting piece fits within the hosel portion.
US09044645B2	Golf ball The present invention is directed to a golf ball having multiple indicia for aiding a golfer in positioning the golf ball with the intended ball path. In one embodiment, the golf ball has at least three distinct primary indicia aligned on the golf ball within a quarter of the circumference of the golf ball. The primary indicia includes a first primary indicia which is spaced a first distance from a second primary indicia, and a third primary indicia which is spaced a second distance from the second primary indicia. In an embodiment, the two distances are different. In another embodiment the distances are the same. Other versions have supplemental indicia positioned between the primary indicia and/or can be positioned proximate the first and/or third primary indicia. The supplemental indicia are preferably lighter in color intensity than the primary indicia so that the primary indicia is more readily visible to a golfer when the golfer is ready to putt.
US09044642B2	Weight-lifting bar A weight-lifting bar includes a tubular member having a first end portion and a second end portion. The tubular member further includes an internal region. The weight-lifting bar further includes a plurality of balls disposed in the internal region of the tubular member that at least partially fills the internal region. The weight-lifting bar further includes a first endcap member configured to be coupled to the first end portion, and a second endcap member configured to be coupled to the second end portion.
US09044633B2	Undulating rope exercise apparatus and system An exercise system includes a foot harness and an undulation rope that can be connected to the foot harness. The foot harness includes a back rigid section, two side rigid sections, and a front rigid section. A harness coupling is fixed to at least one of the rigid sections. One or more side straps couple the back rigid section to the two side rigid sections and couple the front rigid section to the two side rigid sections. A bottom strap couples the two side rigid sections. A top strap also couples the two side rigid sections. A dorsal strap may be fixed to the front rigid section and looped over the top strap. One or more of the side and top straps may be adjustable. The undulation rope includes a rope coupling fixed adjacent an end of the rope to provide a detachable connection to the harness coupling.
US09044631B2	Method and apparatus for climbing The present invention is an apparatus and method for climbing, and more particularly but not by way of limitation an apparatus and method for ascending and descending a rope, for use by individuals with disabilities. The method and apparatus generally includes a combination of devices and a combination of steps which enables an individual climber to ascend and descend a rope while benefiting from the mechanical advantage of a rope assembly.
US09044630B1	Range of motion machine and method and adjustable crank A range of motion machine having two or four cranks driven directly by motors without exposed gears or chains. The speed and direction of crank rotation and the length of the crank arms may be varied with electronic controls. Crank arm length may be varied whether the crank is stationary or rotating. The cranks and motors are mounted at the top of pedestals which are adjustable in height.
US09044625B2	Piezo driver having low current quiesent operation for use in a personal alert safety system of a self-contained breathing apparatus Embodiments relate generally to personal alert safety systems (PASS) as well as the use of piezoelectric sound generators which may be located within a PASS device operable to alert others when user is in danger. Some embodiments further relate to the use of a PASS device in an SCBA. Embodiments may also relate to the design of piezoelectric driver circuits operable to sound one or more piezoelectric sound generators, wherein the driver circuit design may be low cost and energy efficient.
US09044620B2	Devices, systems and methods to perform arrhythmia discrimination based on the atrial and ventricular activation times Described herein are implantable systems and devices, and methods for use therewith, that can be used to perform arrhythmia discrimination based on activation times. A plurality of different sensing vectors are used to obtain a plurality of IEGMs that collectively enable electrical activations to be detected in the left atrial (LA) chamber, the right atrial (RA) chamber, and at least one ventricular chamber of a patient's heart. For each of a plurality of cardiac cycles, there is a determination, based on the plurality of obtained IEGMs, of an LA activation time, an RA activation time, and a ventricular activation time. Arrhythmia discrimination is then performed based on the determined activation times.
US09044619B2	Shockwave valvuloplasty catheter system A valvuloplasty system comprises a balloon adapted to be placed adjacent leaflets of a valve. The balloon is inflatable with a liquid. The system further includes a shock wave generator within the balloon that produces shock waves. The shock waves propagate through the liquid and impinge upon the valve to decalcify and open the valve.
US09044616B2	Charging system for an implantable medical device employing magnetic and electric fields A base station for passively recharging a battery in an implant without patient involvement is disclosed. The base station can be hand held or may comprise equipment configured to be placed at a fixed location, such as under a bed, on or next to a wall, etc. The base station can generate electric and magnetic fields (E-field and B-field) that couple with an antenna and a receiving coil within the implant to generate a charging current for charging the implant's battery. No handling or manipulation on part of the patient is necessary; the implant battery is passively charged whenever the patient is within range of either the magnetic or electric charging fields generated by base station. Charging using the B-field occurs when the IPG is at a relatively short distance from the base station, while charging using the E-field occurs at longer distances. Back telemetry from the implant can inform the base station whether B-field or E-field charging is indicated, and is preferred if possible for its ability to transfer higher amounts of power to the implant.
US09044614B2	High voltage monitoring successive approximation analog to digital converter A successive approximation ADC made of a low voltage configurable differential amplifier and low voltage logic circuits which can convert a high voltage analog input to a digital equivalent. The differential amplifier can be configured as either an op amp or a comparator depending upon the mode of operation. An input capacitor C1 is switchably coupled to an electrode selected for voltage sampling. A switched capacitor array C2 is coupled across the differential amplifier input and output. A SAR coupled to the switched capacitor array provides a digital output corresponding to the sampled analog voltage. During a sampling interval and a charge transfer interval, the differential amplifier is configured as an op amp. During the transfer interval, the voltage on the input capacitor multiplied by the ratio C1/C2 is transferred to the switched capacitor array. During an analog to digital conversion interval, the ADC converts the analog voltage to an equivalent digital output.
US09044609B2	Electrode structures and methods for their use in cardiovascular reflex control Devices, systems and methods are described by which the blood pressure, nervous system activity, and neurohormonal activity may be selectively and controllably reduced by activating baroreceptors. A baroreceptor activation device is positioned near a baroreceptor, preferably a baroreceptor located in the carotid sinus. A control system may be used to modulate the baroreceptor activation device. The control system may utilize an algorithm defining a stimulus regimen which promotes long term efficacy and reduces power requirements/consumption. The baroreceptor activation device may utilize electrodes to activate the baroreceptors. The electrodes may be adapted for connection to the carotid arteries at or near the carotid sinus, and may be designed to minimize extraneous tissue stimulation.
US09044607B2	Spectral contrast enhancement in a cochlear implant speech processor Among other things, enhancing spectral contrast for a cochlear implant listener includes detecting a time domain signal. A first transformation is applied to the detected time domain signal to convert the time domain signal to a frequency domain signal. A second transformation is applied to the frequency domain signal to express the frequency domain signal as a sum of two or more components. A sensitivity of the cochlear implant listener to detect modulation of each component is obtained.
US09044606B2	Methods and devices for activating brown adipose tissue using electrical energy Methods and devices are provided for activating brown adipose tissue (BAT). Generally, the methods and devices can activate BAT to increase thermogenesis, e.g., increase heat production in the patient, which over time can lead to weight loss. In one embodiment, a medical device is provided that activates BAT by electrically stimulating nerves that activate the BAT and/or electrically stimulating brown adipocytes directly, thereby increasing thermogenesis in the BAT and inducing weight loss through energy expenditure.
US09044597B2	Laser treatment for CNS injury Techniques disclosed herein include systems and methods for treating spinal cord injury. Techniques include using a diode laser assembly, a power source, a fiber optic cable, and a fenestrated tip. The power source can be connected to the diode laser assembly, with a fiber optic cable connected to the diode laser assembly. The fenestrated tip is connected to the fiber optic cable to emit a plurality of laser light beams produced by the diode laser assembly at a location remote from the diode laser assembly. The apparatus can be used in a method for treating a spinal cord injury. The method is carried out by providing a source of laser light having a wavelength in the range of 500-1000 nm and a power in the range of 5 to 500 milliwatts. The laser light is transmitted through an optical wire to a position adjacent a spinal cord injury site, with at least a portion of the apparatus positioned within a human body. The spinal cord injury site is then irradiated with laser light from the optical wire.
US09044592B2	Sutureless lead retention features A system includes a lead having a lead body and at least one electrode; and a retention feature disposed along the lead body proximal to the at least one electrode and configured to assist in atraumatically anchoring the lead to nearby tissue when the lead is positioned in the body. A system includes a lead having a lead body and at least one electrode; and a coiled retention feature disposed along the lead body proximal to the at least one electrode and configured to assist in anchoring the lead to nearby tissue when the lead is positioned in a body. A lead for stimulating a target neural tissue includes an elongate body; at least one electrode disposed along the elongate body; and a passive retention feature disposed along the lead body proximal to the at least one electrode and configured to assist in anchoring the elongate body to tissue near the target neural tissue.
US09044591B2	Visual prosthesis with user interface The present invention is a visual prosthesis for the restoration of sight in patients with lost or degraded visual function. The visual prosthesis includes a user interface which controls function of the visual prosthesis to optimize operation for each individual patient. The user interface controls functions such as brightness, contrast, magnification, frequency, pulse width, or amplitude. The user interface may also individually control points of neural stimulation.
US09044587B2	Systems and methods for therapeutic electrical stimulation In various embodiments, the invention disclosed herein provides systems, devices and methods for providing electrical stimulation to a patient. An electrical mechanical interconnection is provided to facilitate user friendly systems and devices. Exemplary therapeutic electrical stimulation devices include a shoe connected mechanically and electrically to a conductor that provides signals for electrical stimulation.
US09044586B2	Dialysis control valve having self-cleaning mode A valve system is provided that includes an electromechanical solenoid, a gas valve including a magnetic flapper, a power source in electrical communication with the electromechanical solenoid, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the power source to supply an intermediate voltage that causes the electromechanical solenoid to move to a neutral position between a default position and a fully-actuated position. In so doing, the magnetic flapper is maintained in a neutral position between two gas ports and a flow of gas between the ports can be used to clean foreign particles from the magnetic flapper. The controller can also provide a varying voltage to the electromechanical solenoid while in the neutral position to cause vibration of the magnetic flapper and further assist in removing foreign particles. A closed loop system including a feedback circuit can be used for adjusting the voltage applied to the solenoid based on pressure sensed.
US09044582B2	Apparatus and method for transdermal fluid delivery An apparatus for transdermal fluid delivery includes a handle and a tip, having a skin applying surface, being driven to move by a driving unit. A fluid delivery structure has an aperture formed at the skin applying surface and a vacuum entry port. An abrading structure, an electrode structure, and a micro-needling structure are selectively provided at the skin applying surface with the fluid delivery structure to provide multiple functions of the tip. A flow of fluid is delivered onto the skin applying surface through the fluid delivery structure to interact with the abrading elements and the electrodes before the fluid is returned and collected, so that three different skin treatments of abrasive peeling, electrical stimulation, and liquid infusion are achieved in one single structure for improving a skin structure.
US09044579B2	Wound treatment apparatus and method An apparatus for cleansing wounds in which irrigant fluid from a reservoir connected to a conformable wound dressing and wound exudate from the dressing are moved by a device (which may be a single pump or two pumps) for moving fluid through a flow path which passes through the dressing and a means for providing simultaneous aspiration and irrigation of the wound. The apparatus also comprises means to apply high frequency vibrational energy, e.g. ultrasound, to the wound bed. The former removes materials deleterious to wound healing, while distributing materials that are beneficial in promoting wound healing over the wound bed. The latter promotes healing. The dressing and a method of treatment using the apparatus.
US09044578B2	Low profile agent delivery perfusion catheter having a funnel-shaped membrane An agent delivery catheter and method configured to deliver an agent to an inner surface of a patient's body lumen wall by forming a funnel shaped agent containment chamber around at least one portion of the inner surface of the body lumen wall, while minimizing ischemic conditions during the procedure.
US09044573B2	Method and apparatus for the dialysis of blood Apparatus for use in dialyzing a patient comprising a hemodialysis catheter comprising an elongated body having a proximal and a distal end, wherein the distal end terminates in a substantially planar distal end surface; first and second lumens extending from the proximal end to the distal end, wherein the lumens terminate on the distal end surface in first and second mouths, arranged in side-by-side configuration, and further wherein the lumens are separated by a septum; and first and second longitudinal slots formed in the distal end of the elongated body and communicating with the interiors of the lumens, the slots opening on the distal end surface; wherein the slots each have a length and a width, relative to the dimensions of the lumens and the rate of blood flow to be passed through the hemodialysis catheter, so as to minimize undesirable recirculation of dialyzed blood.
US09044565B2	Oral-nasal cannula system enabling CO2 and breath flow measurement An oral-nasal cannula comprising at least one nasal breath inlet for carbon dioxide (CO2) sampling; and at least one nasal breath inlet for flow measurement, wherein said at least one nasal breath inlet for flow measurement is separated from said at least one nasal breath inlet for CO2 sampling, such that said cannula is configured to facilitate CO2 sampling and flow measurement essentially without cross-interference.
US09044564B2	Nasal mask system A nasal cushion for a mask system includes a side wall defining a breathing chamber, an undercushion extending from the side wall, and a membrane that at least partially covers the undercushion. The membrane is adapted to seal along the nasal bridge, sides of nose, corners of nose, and upper lip of the patient's face in use. The undercushion is only provided along the side of nose, corner of nose, and upper lip regions of the cushion. The undercushion includes a flap or extending portion in each side of nose region that is wider than the other regions thereof and adapted to engage and provide a force into the sides of the patient's nose in use.
US09044557B2	Tracheal tube sensor disposed on permeable membrane Various embodiments of an tracheal tube having a sensor coupled to a selectively permeable membrane are provided. In some embodiments, the membrane may be permeable to one or more blood gases and/or blood analytes. Certain embodiments of the endotracheal tube may be capable of deploying the sensor during intubation to sense one or more indicators of blood flow characteristics, such as a level of blood gases and/or blood analytes, in the respiratory tract. Embodiments of the present invention may include positioning of the sensor in a variety of suitable positions with respect to the permeable membrane, such as mounting the sensor to the underside of an inflatable permeable membrane.
US09044555B2	Extracorporeal blood circuit for cardiopulmonary bypass The subject invention provides an improved bypass circuit for use in adult and especially pediatric cardiac surgery. The auto regulating capability of this circuit design simplifies its operation and combines the benefits of both VAVD and KAVD systems while eliminating the need for multiple blood pumps. Advantageously, this system occupies less space than existing systems, requires the use of less blood, reduces the contact between blood and tubing, reduces damage to blood cells, eliminates the need for multiple blood pumps and also reduces the incidence of gaseous emboli.
US09044554B2	Blunt needle safety drug delivery system Drug delivery devices having non-luer connections and adapters and adaption connectors for providing non-luer connections to drug delivery devices are provided. An exemplary drug delivery device for use with a catheter connection includes a blunt needle component with a non-luer connection and a filter component with a non-luer connection, wherein the non-luer connections of the blunt needle component and filter component are incompatible with standard luer fitting and intravenous route-accessing devices. In one or more embodiments, an adapter having a non-luer connection at one end and a luer connector is provided for use with blunt needle components and filter components wherein one of the blunt needle component and the filter component includes a luer connection and the other of the blunt needle component and the filter component includes a non-luer connection. Methods of delivering liquid medication to a catheter are also provided.
US09044552B2	Needle safety system and method A needle device includes a body, a needle shield movable relative to the body, a needle at least partially arranged in the body, and a safety system that at least one of causes the needle shield to move to an extended position when activated by a user, releasably retains the needle shield in a retracted position after the user moves the needle shield to the retracted position, prevents a user from triggering the device, locks the needle shield in a fully extended position, prevents the needle shield from being retained in a retracted position after a user moves the needle shield towards the retracted position, non-releasably retains the needle shield in a fully extended position after being activated by a user, and utilizes two separate re-use prevent mechanisms. This Abstract is not intended to define the invention disclosed in the specification, nor intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.
US09044547B2	Device and method for preparing tissue, particularly adipose tissue A device and a method for preparing adipose tissue for transplantation from lobular fat extracted, for instance by liposuction, the fat including a fluid component that have an oily component, a blood component and/or sterile solutions, and a solid component including cell fragments, cells and one or more cell macroagglomerates of heterogeneous size, wherein the device includes at least one washing and separating container having a washing chamber, the container has an inlet and an outlet for the liposuctioned material to enter the washing chamber through the inlet and for at least part of the material to exit the washing chamber through the outlet, the washing chamber including stirring means for forming an emulsion of fluid components.
US09044546B2	Particle cassettes and processes therefor An article for use in manufacturing particle cassettes comprising one or more single pieces of membrane having a plurality of gas flow passages bonded thereto. The article allows convenient manufacture of particle cassettes. Two such articles may be employed to provide a finished particle cassette and a production line in which a plurality of gas flow passages are conveyed on a single membrane is disclosed.
US09044539B2	IV line clasp The present invention is an alternate IV line clasp for holding IV equipment securely to a patient's body without the use of tape. The clasp has a contoured recessed channel provided in an underside of a head of the clasp such that the channel receives and holds the IV equipment therein. The clasp has an adjustable, slightly elastic strap that extends over the head of the clasp by inserting through slits provided on either side of the head and then extending around the patient's body in the area of the body where the IV is installed. The two ends of the strap are provided, respectively, with hook and loop fasteners that allow the strap to be removably secured to itself and around the patient's body to hold the head and attached IV in place.
US09044537B2	Devices and methods for detecting catheter complications A method for determining status of an implanted catheter includes acquiring raw pressure data from a pressure sensor of in an implantable infusion device. The pressure sensor is in communication with a lumen of the catheter operably coupled to the infusion device. The catheter has a delivery region, in communication with the lumen, intended to be positioned in a fluid-filled target location of a patient. The method further includes filtering the raw pressure data to remove the DC component, leaving the AC component within a relevant physiological frequency range; rectifying the AC component to produce a rectified pressure signal; calculating a mean magnitude of the rectified signal; and determining whether the mean magnitude is below a predetermined threshold. If the mean magnitude is below the threshold, the catheter is determined to be in a state other than a normal state.
US09044533B2	Method for emptying rectum A method for emptying the rectum by using an electronic sanitary appliance arranged on a toilet, comprises: extending out a rectum flushing nozzle so that it locates underneath of the anus of a user who is seated on the toilet; spraying a first linear water flow to the anus from the rectum flushing nozzle, modifying the relative position between the rectum flushing nozzle and the user's anus so that the first linear water flow aims at the anus; spraying the anus with a second linear water flow from the rectum flushing nozzle to pass through the anus and into the rectum; spraying continuously the second linear water flow and stopping spray of the second linear water flow when the user has a desire to defecate, then the user discharges the substance in the rectum.
US09044529B2	Hydrogel tissue adhesive formed from aminated polysaccharide and aldehyde-functionalized multi-arm polyether A hydrogel tissue adhesive formed by reacting an aminated polysaccharide with a water-dispersible, aldehyde-functionalized multi-arm polyether is described. The hydrogel tissue adhesive may be useful as a general tissue adhesive and sealant for medical and veterinary applications such as wound closure, supplementing or replacing sutures or staples in internal surgical procedures such as intestinal anastomosis and vascular anastomosis, tissue repair, ophthalmic procedures, drug delivery, and to prevent post-surgical adhesions. Additionally, due to the presence of the aminated polysaccharide, the hydrogel tissue adhesive may also promote wound healing and blood coagulation, and provide antimicrobial properties.
US09044525B2	Polyacrylic acid (salt)-based water absorbent resin powder and method for producing the same Provided is a water absorbent resin having excellent liquid permeability, water absorbent speed, anti-impact stability, and weather resistance. Provided is a polyacrylic acid (salt)-based water absorbent resin powder in which the water absorption capacity without load (CRC) is 30 to 45 [g/g], the water absorption capacity under load (AAP 0.3) is 20 to 35 [g/g], the water absorption capacity under load (AAP 0.7) is 10 to 28 [g/g], and the weight average particle diameter (D50) is 300 to 500 μm, characterized by including p-methoxyphenol; having a degradable soluble component (0.05% L-A (saline) for 2 hours/60° C., one hour extraction rinse/room temperature) of 40% by weight or less; and having a internal gas bubbles ratio of 0.1 to 2.5%, as specified by the following equation. (Internal gas bubbles ratio)[%]={(True density)−(Apparent density)}/(True density)×100
US09044524B2	Absorbable polyethylene diglycolate copolymers to reduce microbial adhesion to medical devices and implants The present invention is directed to absorbable polyether esters that have been found to reduce bacterial adhesion to materials such as medical devices and implants. More specifically, the invention is directed to novel amorphous co-polymers comprising polyethylene diglycolate (PEDG) copolymerized with lactide-rich monomers.
US09044521B2	UV sterilization of containers Provided herein are systems, devices, and methods for ultraviolet (UV) disinfection and sterilization, more specifically, systems, devices, and methods for UV disinfection and sterilization of a container, and more particularly systems, devices, and methods for UV disinfection and sterilization of a container used in the process of fermentation for an alcoholic beverage. Provided are also systems, UV devices, and methods for inhibiting the growth of one or more species of microorganisms present in a container, preferably for inhibiting the growth of one or more species of microorganisms present on an interior surface of a container.
US09044520B2	Compound accumulating in inflammatory site, diagnostic agent containing the compound in labeled state and its precursor compound for labeling Embodiments of the invention provide a compound accumulating in an inflammatory site, a diagnostic agent containing the compound in labeled state and its precursor compound for labeling. Such a compound accumulating in inflammatory site may be represented by the following formula (1): Z—Y-Leu-Phe-(X)n-DLys(-(DLys)m-HalB)-(DLys)k-NH2 (1) wherein in the formula (1), Z represents a protective group for an amino group; Y represents Met or Nle; X represents a spacer consisting of one or more of amino acid and/or synthetic organic compounds; n represents 1 or 0; m represents 1 or 0; k represents 1 or 0; and HalB represents a substituted benzoic acid having a radioactive halogen in an aromatic ring.
US09044518B2	Auristatin tyramine phosphate salts and auristatin aminoquinoline derivatives and prodrugs thereof The present invention relates to new auristatin compounds and prodrugs thereof, compositions comprising them and uses thereof.
US09044517B2	Activation of polysaccharides via the cyanylating agent, 1-cyano-4-pyrrolidinopyridinium tetrafluoroborate (CPPT), in the preparation of polysaccharide/protein conjugate vaccines This invention provides novel reagents for cyanating polysaccharides in aqueous or part aqueous solutions so that they may be covalently linked to proteins either directly or through a spacer. These reagents include 1-cyano-4-pyrrolidinopyridinium tetrafluoroborate (CPPT), 1-cyano-imidazole (1-CI), 1-cyanobenzotriazole (1-CBT), or 2-cyanopyridazine-3(2H)one (2-CPO), or a functional derivative or modification thereof. The examples illustrate the use of these reagents with a variety of polysaccharides and proteins showing that the methods are generally applicable.
US09044516B2	Pharmaceutical compositions of conjugates formed from polymer derivatives having particular atom arrangements Pharmaceutical compositions of conjugates are provided. The conjugates can be prepared by (among other ways) conjugating a pharmacologically active agent with a polymeric reagent that has a particular arrangement of atoms. Related methods, preparations, and so forth are also provided.
US09044515B2	Chemical conjugates for targeted degradation under reducing conditions The present invention is related to compositions which can undergo targeted degradation under certain physiological reducing conditions. The compositions may, for example, be hydrogels in which maleimide-functionalized low molecular weight heparin is cross-linked with various thiol-functionalized polyethylene glycol multi-arm star polymers. Both the gelation and degradation of the hydrogels can be modified by careful selection of the thiol. For example, hydrogels prepared from aryl thiol-maleimide adducts can undergo a retro Michael addition-type reaction, leading to degradation of the composition and release of the bioactive molecule.
US09044512B2	Amino alcohol cationic lipids for oligonucleotide delivery The instant invention provides for novel cationic lipids that can be used in combination with other lipid components such as cholesterol and PEG-lipids to form lipid nanoparticles with oligonucleotides. It is an object of the instant invention to provide a cationic lipid scaffold that is more efficacious than traditional cationic lipids. The present invention employs amino alcohols to enhance the efficiency of in vivo delivery of siRNA.
US09044503B2	Amyloid peptide inactivating enzyme to treat alzheimer's disease peripherally Methods for treatment and/or prevention of Alzheimer's disease comprising inactivating peripheral AP in serum to a reduce A(3 in the brain. Methods comprise expression of amyloid peptide inactivating enzyme on bone marrow cells; and coupling of amyloid peptide inactivating enzyme to hematopoietic cells.
US09044502B2	Chinese medicinal formulation for treating inflammatory bowel disease and the preparation thereof This invention relates to a Chinese medicinal formulation for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, and a method of preparation thereof. The formulation comprises herbal components selected from a group consisting of Radix Codonopsis (Dangshen), Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Bai Zhu), Sclerotium Poriae Cocos (Fu Ling), Rhizoma Zingiberis Officinalis (Gan Jiang), Radix Paeoniae Alba (Bai Shao) and Rhizoma Coptidis (Huanglian).
US09044501B2	Method of preventing and/or treating a neurodegenerative disease by administering an extract of Lycoris chejuensis and/or a compound isolated therefrom Provided are novel use of an extract of Lycoris chejuensis or a compound isolated therefrom for inhibition of β-amyloid production and/or prevention, improvement and/or treatment of a neurodegenerative disease, more specifically a β-amyloid production inhibitor, and/or a composition for prevention or treatment of a neurodegenerative disease containing one or more kinds selected from the group consisting of an extract of Lycoris chejuensis, and/or dihydrolycoricidine, 2-methoxypancracine, lycoricidine, and/or lycoricidinol, as an active ingredient; a method for inhibiting β-amyloid production, and/or preventing and/or treating a neurodegenerative disease using the same; and, a method for preparing the same.
US09044497B2	Delivery vehicle for probiotic bacteria comprising a dry matrix of polysaccharides, saccharides and polyols in a glass form and methods of making same The disclosure relates to a solid glass matrix of polysaccharide, saccharides and polyols as delivery vehicles for preservation and post gastric administration of a probiotic. The delivery vehicle is capable of releasing the probiotic at their site of action. The present invention further includes methods of making and using the solid glass matrix delivery vehicle of the invention.
US09044496B2	Heparan sulphate Heparan sulphate from bone marrow stroma is disclosed together with the use of heparan sulphate from bone marrow stroma in the differentiation and/or lineage commitment of stem cells.
US09044494B2	Treatment of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) related diseases by inhibition of natural antisense transcript to FGF21 The present invention relates to antisense oligonucleotides that modulate the expression of and/or function of Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), in particular, by targeting natural antisense polynucleotides of Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). The invention also relates to the identification of these antisense oligonucleotides and their use in treating diseases and disorders associated with the expression of FGF21.
US09044492B2	Method for modulating the efficiency of double-strand break-induced mutagenesis A method for modulating double-strand break-induced mutagenesis at a genomic locus of interest in a cell, thereby giving new tools for genome engineering, including therapeutic applications and cell line engineering. A method for modulating double-strand break-induced mutagenesis, concerns the identification of effectors that modulate double-strand break-induced mutagenesis by use of interfering agents; these agents are capable of modulating double-strand break-induced mutagenesis through their respective direct or indirect actions on said effectors. Methods of using these effectors, interfering agents and derivatives, respectively, by introducing them into a cell in order to modulate and more particularly to increase double-strand break-induced mutagenesis. Specific derivatives of identified effectors and interfering agents, vectors encoding them, compositions and kits comprising such derivatives for modulating or increasing double-strand break-induced mutagenesis.
US09044491B2	Method for improving blood flow using stilbenoid derivatives The present invention generally provides methods for using stilbenoid derivatives to improve blood flow and microcirculation.
US09044489B2	Medicinal compositions containing honey The present invention relates to medicinal compositions containing a honey having non peroxide antibacterial activity and wherein the composition comprises from about 19% to about 80% water by weight. The use of these compositions in the treatment of eye, respiratory and ear conditions is also disclosed.
US09044485B2	Ceftolozane antibiotic compositions This disclosure provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising ceftolozane, pharmaceutical compositions comprising ceftolozane and tazobactam, methods of preparing those compositions, and related methods and uses of these compositions.
US09044484B2	Aqueous pharmaceutical compositions containing borate-polyol complexes The present invention is directed to the provision of multi-dose, ophthalmic compositions. The compositions possess sufficient antimicrobial activity to satisfy USP preservative efficacy requirements, as well as similar preservative standards (e.g., EP and JP). The compositions include at two different polyols in conjunction with borate and a low concentration of benzalkonium chloride.
US09044481B2	Lipidated oxoadenine derivatives Provided are novel lipidated oxoadenines which are useful as immunostimulators and adjuvants and are shown to be inducers of interferon-a and other immunostimulatory cytokines.
US09044477B2	Botulinum toxin formulation Botulinum neurotoxin formulated with a hyaluronic acid carrier with increased residency time of the botulinum toxin at a subdermal location and fewer botulinum toxin induced complications or side effects.
US09044476B2	Use of uraria in promoting osteogenesis or providing neuroprotection The invention provides a method for promoting osteogenesis, increasing bone mass or enhancing the rate of bone growth, which comprises administering to a subject an effective amount of Uraria, a part thereof or an extract thereof. Also provided are a method for treating and/or preventing osteoporosis and a method for providing neuroprotection, comprising administering to a subject an effective amount of Uraria, a part thereof or an extract thereof.
US09044475B2	Sublingual apomorphine The invention features sublingual formulations of apomorphine that is a mucoadhesive polymer film or a strip having a first portion including an acid addition salt of apomorphine and a second portion including a pH neutralizing agent, and methods of treating Parkinson's disease, sexual dysfunction, and depressive disorders by administering sublingually the film or strip.
US09044474B2	Compositions and methods for increasing drug efficacy in cancer A method of (a) treating a lymphoproliferative disease in a subject in need thereof; (b) slowing the progression of lymphoproliferative disease in a subject who has been diagnosed with a lymphoproliferative disease; or (c) preventing or delaying development of a lymphoproliferative disease in a subject who is at risk of developing a lymphoproliferative disease. The method generally comprises administering to the individual an effective amount of a combination therapy comprising: i) at least one autophagy modulating agent, or a derivative, pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or prodrug thereof; and ii) at least one CDK inhibitor agent, or a derivative, pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or prodrug thereof, wherein the i) agent and the ii) agents are administered in amounts sufficient to enhance the cytotoxicity of the combination relative to the CDK inhibitor agent treatment alone.
US09044471B2	Combinations of dopamine D2 receptor blockade with norepinephrine reuptake inhibition and with norepinephrine alpha 2 receptor blockade Methods of treating and or preventing substance abuse/dependence, and alcohol abuse/dependence in particular. Combinations of medications are also disclosed.
US09044464B2	No-releasing guanidine-coxib anti-cancer agents The present disclosure provides NO-releasing guanidine-coxib anti-cancer agents, having the structure of Formula (I): wherein R1, R11, Z and L are as defined in the detailed description; pharmaceutical compositions comprising at least one of the compounds of Formula (I); and methods useful for healing wounds, preventing and treating cancer, or treating actinic keratosis, cystic fibrosis, acne, or a disease mediated by arginine deficiency using a compound of Formula (I).
US09044462B2	Method for oxygen treatment of intact skin Oxygen therapy for healthy or inflamed but intact skin involves placing an oxygen-generating dressing onto the skin to be treated, the oxygen-generating bandage being a one-time use dressing capable of generating oxygen for only a short period of time, not to exceed about 4 hours.
US09044459B2	Method for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases Disclosed are methods for treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer's Disease Parkinson's Disease, Myasthenia Gravis, Multifocal Motor Neuropathy, Primary Lateral Sclerosis, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Kennedy's Disease, and Spinocerebellar Ataxia.
US09044458B2	Inhibition of tat activating regulatory DNA-binding protein 43 Described herein are methods for detecting, characterizing, preventing, and treating metabolic diseases, including obesity and obesity-associated disorders such as diabetes.
US09044457B2	Anti-DR4 agonist antibodies The present invention provides antibodies and antibody fragments that specifically recognize and agonize the death receptor 4 (DR4). Also provided in the invention are polynucleotides and vectors that encode such molecules and host cells that harbor the polynucleotides or vectors.
US09044447B2	Antigenic peptide of HSV-2 and methods for using same The invention provides HSV antigens that are useful for the prevention and treatment of HSV infection, including epitopes confirmed to be recognized by T-cells derived from herpetic lesions. T-cells having specificity for antigens of the invention have demonstrated cytotoxic activity against cells loaded with virally-encoded peptide epitopes, and in many cases, against cells infected with HSV. The identification of immunogenic antigens responsible for T-cell specificity provides improved anti-viral therapeutic and prophylactic strategies. Compositions containing antigens or polynucleotides encoding antigens of the invention provide effectively targeted vaccines for prevention and treatment of HSV infection.
US09044443B2	Methods of treating autism Subjects having autism are treated with a composition that includes gamma-aminobutyric acid agonists. The gamma-aminobutyric acid agonist (GABA) can be a GABA(B) agonist, such as baclofen. The humans can be administered the GABA(B) agonist in a single dose or multiple doses.
US09044438B2	Disease treatment via antimicrobial peptides or their inhibitors Provided are methods for the treatment of disease and promotion of healing that include providing a therapeutically effective amount of a mammalian antimicrobial peptide (AMP) or analog thereof, in particular a cathelicidin or cathelicidin fragment or cathelicidin analog, thereby treating the disease in the subject in need thereof. Also provided are specific analogs or fragments of cathelicidin that function as agonists, as do endogenous cathelicidins, or as either dominant negatives or as inhibitors to endogenous cathelicidin or to other endogenous AMPs or that compete with pro-inflammatory agents or fragments of AMPs on cognate receptors without inducing disease.
US09044435B2	Pharmaceutical formulation containing gelling agent Disclosed in certain embodiments is a controlled release oral dosage form comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a drug susceptible to abuse together with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients; the dosage form further including a gelling agent in an effective amount to impart a viscosity unsuitable for administration selected from the group consisting of parenteral and nasal administration to a solubilized mixture formed when the dosage form is crushed and mixed with from about 0.5 to about 10 ml of an aqueous liquid; the dosage form providing a therapeutic effect for at least about 12 hours when orally administered to a human patient.
US09044433B2	Compositions and methods for treating and preventing hyperlipidemia, fatty liver, atherosclerosis and other disorders associated with metabolic syndrome The present invention relates to compositions and methods for treating diseases associated with dyslipidemia, including hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, steatohepatitis, atherosclerosis, obesity, hyperglycemia, metabolic syndrome, and related aspects of and conditions associated with metabolic syndrome. The compositions and methods disclosed herein are useful for regulating the lipid balance (lipid homeostasis) in a subject. Compositions and methods including a Nuclear Transport Modifier may be administered to a subject to modulate the transport of transcription factors, mediated by nuclear import adaptors, into the nucleus of a cell resulting in a decrease in cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood and liver, a decrease in atherosclerotic lesion size, a decrease in body weight and in hyperglycemia, a reduction of fatty liver inflammation, and an improvement in liver function.
US09044431B2	Methods of treating stroke using stem cell-like menstrual blood cells A cell type that is a complete match of the transplant recipient appears as an optimal scenario to open treatment options to a large patient population with minimal complications. The use of autologous bone marrow or umbilical cord blood has been proposed as a good source of stem cells for cell therapy. Menstrual blood is found to be another important source of stem cells. Assays of cultured menstrual blood reveal that they express embryonic like-stem cell phenotypic markers and neuronal phenotypic markers under appropriate conditioned media. Oxygen glucose deprivation stroke models show that OGD-exposed primary rat neurons, co-cultured with menstrual blood-derived stem cells or exposed to the media from cultured menstrual blood, exhibited significantly reduced cell death. Transplantation of menstrual blood-derived stem cells, either intracerebrally or intravenously, after experimentally induced ischemic stroke in adult rats also significantly reduced behavioral and histological impairments compared to vehicle-infused rats.
US09044429B2	Personal care compositions comprising a methyl naphthalenyl ketone or a derivative thereof A personal care composition comprising a methyl naphthalenyl ketone or a derivative thereof, such as 1-(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-2,3,8,8-tetramethyl-2naphthalenyl)-ethan-1-one, for down regulating at least one TRP receptor associated with a pain response, including but not limited to TRPV1 and TRPA1 receptors to reduce skin irritation associated with hair removal.
US09044428B2	Neuritogenic peptides The present invention relates to peptide compounds that are capable of stimulating neuronal differentiation, neurite outgrowth and survival of neural cells, and enhancing synaptic plasticity, learning and memory, methods of treating diseases and conditions of nervous system by administration of compositions comprising said compounds. The compounds and compositions of the invention include peptide sequences that are derived from the sequence of human erythropoietin or proteins that are homologous of human erythropoietin.
US09044426B2	Antimicrobial peptides for treatment of infectious diseases The present invention is directed to the peptides WKWLKKWIK, WRKFWKYLK, and RRWRVIVKW and use of said peptides as therapeutic agents for the prophylaxis and/or treatment of infections, in particular bacterial and/or fungal infections and diseases caused by bacterial and/or fungal infections.
US09044424B2	Methods of regulating glucose metabolism, and reagents related thereto The present invention provides methods for modification and regulation of glucose metabolism by administering to an animal a therapeutically effective amount of an inhibitor of dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPIV) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, where the inhibitor has a Ki for inhibition of DPIV of 10 nM or less; and the inhibitor is administered in an amount sufficient to increase the plasma half-life of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) but not sufficient to suppress the immune system of the animal.
US09044422B2	Bacterial ribonucleic acid cell wall compositions and methods of making and using them The present invention relates to novel mycobacterial compositions containing RNA and cell walls, and methods for making and using these compositions. These compositions have immune stimulating and anti-cancer activity. The present invention also relates to a synthetic medium for the cultivation of mycobacteria.
US09044419B2	Vaccine compositions compromising βs-crystallin for inducing immune responses against components of drusen Disclosed are compositions and methods for treating or preventing the formation of drusen in a patient in need thereof. The compositions include an effective amount of at least one polypeptide present in drusen, or an immunogenic fragment or variant thereof that induces an immune response against the polypeptide, together with a pharmaceutical carrier, excipient, or diluent. The compositions are suitable as vaccines for treating or preventing drusen and diseases associated with drusen.
US09044417B2	Mineral, nutritional, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and agricultural compositions and methods for producing the same Mineral, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, agricultural, nutraceutical, and other compositions are produced using a mineral composition containing minimal concentrations of cadmium, lead, arsenic, and mercury and containing relatively high concentrations of micro and macro mineral elements, of rare earth elements, of calcium, and of silica. The mineral concentrations are produced by processing naturally occurring clay soil to concentrate mineral elements naturally occurring in the soil.
US09044411B2	Agent for keratinous fibers, comprising at least one acrylate/glyceryl acrylate copolymer, at least one film-forming and/or solidifying polymer and at least one ester oil The present invention is an agent for treating keratinous fibers, particularly human hair, comprising: (a) at least one glyceryl acrylates/acrylates copolymer; (b) at least one film-forming and/or setting polymer; and (c) at least one ester oil. The agent may additionally comprise a polyol such as glycerin. The agent is best suited for temporarily deforming hairs into a desired shape or style and for the general caring of hair.
US09044405B2	Composition having a reduced exotherm in actinic curing of urethane (meth)acrylate oligomers on fingernails A nail coating composition having a reduced exotherm during actinic curing of the coating on a nail. The composition may include a curable resin, a monomer, a photoinitiator, a chemical filter capable of absorbing ultraviolet (UV) light and reducing exotherm, and an additive.
US09044403B2	Sporicidal hand sanitizing lotion A stable, sporicidal hand sanitizer formulation is described. The formulation is a lotion including peracetic acid and one or more short chain alcohols. The lotion demonstrates an extended presence of active PAA and is capable of achieving a total kill of a bacteria in less than about 10 minutes contact time and more particularly, in about 2 minutes contact time.
US09044401B2	Composition for preventing or treating osteoporosis, and manufacturing method therefor Provided is a composition for preventing or treating osteoporosis. The composition contains an ibandronic acid, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or a hydrate thereof, and vitamin D. The composition has uniform medicinal effects by minimizing the differences in physical properties between ibandronic acid, or the pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or the hydrate thereof, and vitamin D.
US09044399B2	Fermented plant extracts, methods of production and uses The present application concerns plant extracts which have been fermented with kephir grains, methods of production of these extracts, a powder comprising these extracts and compositions comprising these extracts. Since these extracts have a high content of aglycone active principles, their biological activities are high and their applications are varied.
US09044396B2	Nanoparticulate megestrol formulations The present invention is directed to nanoparticulate compositions comprising megestrol. The megestrol particles of the composition have an effective average particle size of less than about 2000 nm.
US09044395B2	Pheromone compositions and their use to modify behavior in different vertebrate species A composition comprising an INTEROMONE® is described for the modification of undesirable or harmful stress-related behaviors or other behaviors or physiology in a variety of vertebrate species, as well as methods of using the compositions in vertebrates from a species different than the species in which the INTEROMONE® is a naturally occurring pheromone.
US09044391B2	Enhanced delivery of immunosuppressive drug compositions for pulmonary delivery The present invention includes compositions and methods for making and using a rapid dissolving, high potency, substantially amorphous nanostructured aggregate for pulmonary delivery of tacrolimus and a stabilizer matrix comprising, optionally, a polymeric or non-polymeric surfactant, a polymeric or non-polymeric saccharide or both, wherein the aggregate comprises a surface area greater than 5 m2/g as measured by BET analysis and exhibiting supersaturation for at least 0.5 hours when 11-15-times the aqueous crystalline solubility of tacrolimus is added to simulated lung fluid.
US09044388B2	Dry eye treatment This invention relates to an emulsion composition for the formation of an artificial tear film over the ocular surface of the eye capable of providing mechanical lubrication for the ocular surface while reducing evaporation of fluid therefrom. The emulsion is desirably in the form of a meta stable emulsion and is characterized by the use of a surfactant comprising a combination of a primary and secondary surfactant where the primary surfactant permits formation of the emulsion and the secondary surfactant permits autoclaving of the surfactant. The invention also includes a method for the formation of such an emulsion.
US09044384B2	Polymeric compositions containing IR-emitting/absorbing additives and shaped articles comprised thereof Polymeric compositions containing additives having properties of emission and/or absorption of radiation in the long infrared region, and articles shaped therefrom are produced, including yarns and textile articles such as fabrics or knits; such additives include organic additives or inorganic fillers which have a capacity for absorption/emission of radiation in the infrared region, in a wavelength range of from 2 μm to 20 μm, and also a polymeric substrate, with the proviso that the inorganic fillers may be selected from among oxides, sulfates, carbonates, phosphates and silicates, and such inorganic fillers having an average particle size of less than 2 μm.
US09044379B2	Custom molded nipple replicating a human nipple for use in both pacifiers and baby bottles A customized nipple for a pacifier or baby bottle which is provided with a method for molding an exact non-toxic material replica of the mother's breast, nipple, and areola area from a mold so that when the replica is filled with a non-toxic gel-like substance and adhered to a backing, the pacifier so created has the firmness, color, rigidity, and texture of the mother's natural breast, nipple, and areola area. Further, the simple to use mold is sent to a core facility which stores the identifying information with the mold once a first pacifier is created therefrom. Moreover, the mother can re-order or re-make the pacifier as needed over time. The pacifier so provided is a safe and effective pacifying device which promotes good emotional, muscular, and bone structure development for the baby, and at the same time, provides the mother with confidence and independence.
US09044376B2	Moxa holder support and customized moxibustion device comprising the same The prevention invention relates to a moxa holder support and a moxibustion device comprising the same, and more particularly, to a moxa holder support which provides comfort to a patient receiving moxibustion, and to a moxibustion device in which the temperature of part of a human body, to which moxibustion is applied, can be easily controlled according to the characteristics of the related organ of the human body. When receiving moxibustion using the moxa holder support according to the present invention, a patient can feel comfortable because part of the patient's skin to which moxibustion is applied comes into contact with the leather connected to the bottom of a main body of the moxa holder support and the texture of pig skin, cow skin or sheep skin used as the leather in the present invention is similar to that of human skin. In addition, the moxibustion device according to the present invention, in which a moxa holder having a different thickness or a different number of air holes is employed depending on part of a human body to be treated can facilitate the control of the temperature of the part to be treated according to the characteristics of the related organ of the human body.
US09044375B2	High frequency and low intensity vibration stimulator for the treatment of osteoporosis A device that stimulates bone tissue formation capable of generating vibrations with different frequency components at the same time and that can be applied locally to different parts of the patient's body, wherein such device comprises a vibration generator capable of generating vibrations with different frequencies and variable fastener to attach to different parts of the body.
US09044374B1	Assisted walking device An assisted walking device assists a visually impaired person by providing audible directions to guide a user to a particular destination while also notifying the user of obstacles. The device includes an elongated shaft and a processor mounted in the shaft. A global positioning system (“GPS”) is electrically coupled to the processor wherein the GPS is configured to provide orientation and directional data to the processor. A database has a mapped terrain and is operationally coupled to the GPS wherein the database compares the mapped terrain to the data provided by the GPS. An input actuator is electrically coupled to the processor and the GPS and is actuated to selectively choose a destination point. A speaker is electrically coupled to the processor, the GPS, and the database wherein the speaker is configured to transmit as voice messages the data from the GPS and the corresponding data from the database.
US09044372B2	Compression device for the limb The invention provides a compression device for the limb of a mobile patient. The device includes an inflatable sleeve adapted to surround the limb; a conduit attached to the sleeve for delivering fluid to the sleeve; and a portable, wearable controller attached to the conduit that generates and controls the flow of fluid in the device.
US09044369B2	Mobile manual standing wheelchair The present invention relates to a novel approach to improving the use of wheelchairs by offering the ability for the wheelchair to transition between accommodation for a seated position, and accommodation for a standing position, more particularly, wherein the inventive mobile manual standing wheelchair allows for a standing position during the course of mobile use, and which also permits fixed gearing of multiple speeds that also accommodates forwards and backwards motion.
US09044365B2	Mattress support facility with retaining brackets This disclosure concerns an adjustable bed with a deck-on-deck appearance. A concealing assembly is attached to the center frame of an articulating bed, wherein the concealing assembly is situated below the mattress platform and conceals the base frame as the center frame moves along the base frame when the bed articulates. In other embodiments, such as for non-wall hugger beds where the center frame is stationary, a concealing assembly may still be used but will also be stationary.
US09044360B2	Nonwoven fabric, absorbent article comprising the same, and method of forming the same A nonwoven fabric with excellent feel on the skin, excellent air permeability and liquid permeability, and high deformability and superior recoverability. The nonwoven fabric comprises composite fibers that include a first component, and a second component having a lower melting point than the first component, wherein detached portions are created by detaching at least a portion of the second component from the first component and/or the residual portion of the second component, and at least some of the detached portions are tangled and/or fused with other composite fibers.
US09044359B2	Disposable absorbent article with absorbent particulate polymer material distributed for improved isolation of body exudates A disposable absorbent article is provided having an absorbent core located in a chassis and including absorbent particulate polymer material defining at least one cavity for improved isolation of fecal matter or other body exudates. The absorbent core may be substantially cellulose free. Methods for making such an absorbent core and corresponding disposable absorbent article are also disclosed.
US09044354B2	Fluid management device with fluid transport element for use within a body A fluid management device for use in a mammalian body has at least one fluid transport element capable of interfacing with a mammalian body element to provide a substantially uninterrupted fluid conduit. The fluid conduit provides a fluid path between at least one fluid transport element and the storage element. A distal portion of the at least one fluid transport element is capable of extending away from the fluid storage element, and the at least one fluid transport element has a Wing Stiffness of less than about 10 gf.
US09044352B2	Reducing crimping damage to a polymer scaffold A medical device includes a polymer scaffold crimped to a catheter having an expansion balloon. The scaffold is crimped to the catheter by a multi-step process for increasing scaffold-catheter yield following a crimping sequence. Damage reduction during a crimping sequence includes modifying blades of a crimper, adopting a multi-step crimping sequence, and inflating a supporting balloon to support the scaffold during crimping.
US09044347B2	Hybrid bioelectrical interface device A hybrid bioelectrical interface (HBI) device can be an implantable device comprising an abiotic component operable to transmit charge via electrons or ions; a biological component interfacing with the neural tissue, the biological component being sourced from biologic, biologically-derived, or bio-functionalized material; and a conjugated polymer component that together provide a way to chronically interface living neural tissue with electronic devices for extended durations (e.g. greater than 10 years). In some embodiments, conjugated polymers provide a functional electrical interface for charge transfer and signal transduction between the nervous system and an electronic device (e.g. robotic prosthetic limb, retinal implant, microchip).
US09044346B2	Powered prosthetic hip joint A powered prosthetic thigh can have a proximal portion configured to couple to a prosthetic hip socket and can have a distal portion attached to the proximal portion. The distal portion can have a distal connector configured to couple to a prosthetic knee. The powered prosthetic thigh can also have a computer controlled actuator configured to rotate the prosthetic thigh relative to the prosthetic hip socket.
US09044343B2	System for articular surface replacement A system for replacing a portion of an articular surface including providing an implant site and installing an implant into the implant site. The implant site includes a first and a second excision site which at least partially intersect with one another. Each of the first and second excision sites are formed by providing a respective axis and excising a portion of the articular surface relative to the respective axes.
US09044342B2	Expandable interbody spacer The present invention relates to devices and methods for treating one or more damaged, diseased, or traumatized portions of the spine, including intervertebral discs, to reduce or eliminate associated back pain. The present invention relates to an expandable interbody spacer.
US09044341B2	Joint spacer To change a spatial relationship between two or more bones in a patient's body, a wedge member is moved into a joint between the bones. As the wedge member enters the joint, pivotal movement occurs between the bones to change the orientation of the bones relative to each other. The wedge member may have a porous construction which enables bone to grow through the wedge member and immobilize the joint. The wedge member may be coated with and/or contain bone growth promoting material. The wedge member may be connected to only one of the bones or may be connected to two adjacent bones. If the wedge member is connected to only one bone, the joint may be capable of being flexed after the wedge member is inserted into the joint.
US09044340B2	Customizable collection device The present invention relates to a kit comprising at least one base plate for adhesive attachment to the skin around at least one body opening. The kit further comprises at least one separate peripheral device for attachment to the base plate. The base plate comprises a backing layer, having a proximal side facing the user during use, where a skin friendly adhesive is disposed on said proximal side of the backing layer and wherein the base plate is an intact base plate thereby allowing a hole to be cut at a desired position before use. The separate peripheral device comprises a continuous adhesive ring for permanent adhesive attachment between the continuous adhesive ring of the peripheral device and the distal side of the backing layer of the base plate. This allows the user to provide a custom fit for irregular body openings.
US09044337B2	Anchoring device and system for an intervertebral implant, intervertebral implant and implantation instrument Anchoring devices, anchoring systems for intervertebral implants, intervertebral implants, and instruments and methods for implanting implants are disclosed. In preferred configurations, these various objects share the feature of comprising or cooperating with an anchoring device having a body comprising at least one curved plate elongated along a longitudinal axis, designed to be inserted through a passage crossing at least a part of implant, in order to penetrate into at least one vertebral endplate and attach implant onto this vertebral endplate by means of at least one stop retaining the implant, characterized in that the body comprises at least one longitudinal rib on at least a part of at least one of its faces, said rib being designed to cooperate with a groove made in passage of implant. In some preferred configurations, anchoring device comprises withdrawal stops or latches, and/or means for withdrawing the anchor from an inserted position.
US09044335B2	Composite tissue-engineered intervertebral disc with self-assembled annular alignment The present invention relates to a tissue-engineered intervertebral disc (IVD) suitable for total disc replacement in a mammal and methods of fabrication. The IVD comprises a nucleus pulposus structure comprising a first population of living cells that secrete a hydrophilic protein and an annulus fibrosis structure surrounding and in contact with the nucleus pulposus structure, the annulus fibrosis structure comprising a second population of living cells and type I collagen. The collagen fibrils in the annulus fibrosis structure are circumferentially aligned around the nucleus pulposus region due to cell-mediated contraction in the annulus fibrosis structure. Also disclosed are methods of fabricating tissue-engineered intervertebral discs.
US09044331B2	Sexual aid device A sexual aid device to provide increased sexual sensation in either heterosexual or homosexual intercourse characterized by a structure maintaining the male penis in pressure contact with the sensitive members of the female vagina or male anus.
US09044328B2	Medical implant and knee joint endoprosthesis The invention relates to a medical implant consisting of a first implant part and a second implant part for the connection of which there is provided a connecting device, wherein at least the first implant part comprises a connecting element receptacle, in which at least one connecting element of the connecting device can be disposed. In order to provide an implant of this type which is easier to handle, it is proposed, in accordance with the invention, that a securing device be provided for the purposes of securing the at least one connecting element in the connecting element receptacle. Moreover, the invention relates to a knee joint endoprosthesis having at least one implant of this type.
US09044321B2	Integrated implant An implant having an integrated cutting broach and/or cutting burr. The integrated implant may be inserted without requiring separate steps for drilling and broaching bone. The integrated implant assembly may include an integrated implant, a flexible sheath, a delivery rod, and a delivery pin. The implant may have a core which may have any of a variety of cross-sectional geometries. A method for fusing bone may involve inserting the implant laterally through the ilium, through the sacral-iliac joint, and into the sacrum.
US09044318B2	Stent for the positioning and anchoring of a valvular prosthesis An expandable stent for an endoprosthesis used in the treatment of a narrowing of a cardiac valve and/or a cardiac valve insufficiency for reducing longitudinal displacement of a valvular prosthesis relative a stent when implanted. In one embodiment, the stent may comprise at least one fastening portion by which the valvular prosthesis is connectable to the stent. In another embodiment, the stent further comprises positioning arches and retaining arches, whereby at least one positioning arch is connected to at least one retaining arch via a first connecting land. In another embodiment, the stent may comprise at least one auxiliary arch which connects the respective arms of the at least one retaining arch connected to the at least one positioning arch.
US09044314B2	Method and device for the fixation of a tendon graft A fixation device for securing a transplant in a bone tunnel, having a strap with a plurality of protrusions disposed along its length, a fastening member with an aperture therein for passing the strap, and a connection element disposed at a distal end of the strap for engaging a transplant is provided. The fixation device is configured such that, when the distal side of the fastening member lies substantially flush against an outer surface of the bone, a longitudinal axis of the aperture is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bone tunnel. A method for securing a transplant in a bone tunnel using the aforementioned fixation device is also provided.
US09044307B2	Ankle walker An ankle walker including an ankle shell, an inner lining, at least one bladder and at least one strap is provided. The ankle shell includes a base, a lower foot portion, a first and second side panel and a back panel. The lower foot portion extends upward from the base. The first side panel and second side panel extend from respective first and second portions of the lower foot portion. The back panel extends from a third portion of the lower foot portion and is positioned between the first and second side panels. The ankle shell has a first slot separating the first side panel from the back panel and a second slot separating the second side panel from the back panel. At least one of the first and second slots has a height that is at least one half the height of the ankle walker.
US09044306B2	Limb protection device A joint-supporting device comprises tensile members extending from above the joint to below it, supplementing the tensile characteristics of the joint's tendons, ligaments, and other structure.
US09044297B2	System and method for estrus detection using real-time location In certain embodiments, a method for estrus detection includes storing location information associated with a dairy livestock. The stored location information includes a coordinate location of the dairy livestock within a free stall pen at each of a plurality of times during a time period. The method further includes determining, based on at least a portion of the stored location information, one or more movement parameters associated with the dairy livestock. The method further includes determining, based on one or more movement parameters associated with the dairy livestock, whether the dairy livestock is likely to be in estrus.
US09044295B2	Interdental cleaning device An interdental cleaning device is adapted for use with a dental floss roll and includes a main body and a floss holder. The main body defines a receiving space configured to receive the dental floss roll. The floss holder is pivotally connected to the main body and defines a guiding channel that is in spatial communication with the receiving space. The floss holder has a securing end, and an open end that is spaced apart from the securing end and that is formed with an opening to spatially communicate the guiding channel with external environment. A to-be-used segment of the dental floss roll is extendible through the opening of the open end via the guiding channel so as to be secured at the securing end of the floss holder.
US09044293B2	Oral cavity suction device A disposable saliva ejector for connection with a slow-speed suction device has a suction end and a discharge end. The tapered ejector has an ovate shape. A retention orifice helps secure the ejector within the patient's mount, while a larger extraction orifice removes fluid and debris. Placement of the saliva ejector within the mouth lies along the interior of the patient's cheek, keeping the oral cavity clear of viewing obstructions. The discharge end connects to a discharge tube, wrapping around the oral commissure then hooking onto the patient's outer cheek. Once properly placed within the patient's mouth the dental assistant is relieved from providing suction during various procedures.
US09044289B2	Universal transitional abutment A universal transitional abutment for immediate placement during the first and/or second stages of the dental implant surgery is presented. The transitional dental abutment can approximate the natural appearance of a patient's own tooth. The transitional dental abutment can bypass the traditional anti-rotational component common to most dental implant systems by directly screwing the transitional dental abutment onto a dental implant. In another embodiment, the abutment can be a universal anterior transitional abutment. The anterior transitional dental abutment can include a ball and a crown. The ball can be affixed to the dental implant and the crown snaps onto the ball. The transitional dental abutment can be universally used on most dental implants regardless of manufacturer by simply changing the fastener of the transitional dental abutment. The universal transitional abutments can be permanent. Additionally, the universal transitional abutments can be readily available and cost effective to the dental professional.
US09044288B2	Polyvinylsiloxane based curable dental retraction composition Disclosed herein is a two part retraction system that can be inserted into the sulcus to form a semi-rigid porous elastomer releasing a hemostatic agent suitable for sulcus retraction such that a dental impression may be completed by a dental practitioner.
US09044287B2	Hammer toe implant method An implant is disclosed including an elongate threaded portion and a blade portion extending from the elongate threaded portion. The blade portion has a taper terminating at a point.
US09044282B2	Intraosseous intramedullary fixation assembly and method of use An intramedullary assembly for intraosseous bone fusion includes a lag screw member and a tapered screw member. The lag screw member includes a first elongated body, where the first elongated body includes a first threaded portion at a first end and a bulbous portion at a second end. The tapered screw member is coupled to the lag screw member, and the tapered screw member includes a second elongated body, where the second elongated body includes a second threaded portion at a third end, and an opening at a fourth end.
US09044277B2	Pedicular facet fusion screw with plate Spinal implants and methods for spinal stabilization and/or fusion are provided. Exemplary implants described herein can be configured for delivery to a facet joint to stabilize and/or fuse the facet joint, and can optionally be anchored within the pedicle for added fixation. The implant can optionally include a fusion-promoting bioactive material thereby providing a single device capable of spinal stabilization and/or fusion. Furthermore, a method of placing such an implant within a facet joint is provided.
US09044276B2	Odontoid fracture dynamic compression apparatus and method A cervical fixation system and method for repairing odontoid fractures includes securing an anterior plate to caudal portion of C2 body below the odontoid neck. The anterior plate houses lag screw within a posterior shaft. A cannulated fixation device crosses the fracture site with fixation into the cephalad fragment. The lag screw can be pulled caudally into the plate with a compression screw to apply a compression force across the fracture site.
US09044273B2	Polyaxial plate rod system and surgical procedure A spinal fixation device includes a bone screw, a nut, a bearing, a slider, and a plate construct. The screw has a head with a nut connection and a screw portion. The nut has an exterior wall and a bore connecting to the nut connection. The bearing has an exterior and defines a bore fitting therein the nut connection and the exterior wall of the nut. The slider defines a bore fitting the nut exterior wall therewithin and has an exterior with a given shape. The elongate plate construct has a first end defining a first opening shaped to accept the exterior of the bearing therein and a second end defining a second opening shaped to accept the slider therein and having a corresponding shape to the given shape to permit the slider to slide in at least a portion of the second opening.
US09044271B2	External fixation system An external fixation system comprising: first and second planar at least part-circular ring elements, the first ring element having a circumferential track extending along the part-circular circumference thereof; a plurality of struts each having a first and second end, the first end of each strut coupled to the first ring by a first connector and the second end of each strut coupled to a second ring by a second connector, the first connector including a spherical joint; the second connector non-rotatably coupled to the second ring, the strut second end being coupled to the second connector by a U-joint; shuttles mounted on the track of the first ring for movement there along with one shuttle coupled to each strut; and means for controlling the angular position of each strut second end and means for controlling the position of each shuttle along the circumferential track on the first ring.
US09044269B2	Two-part medical tracking marker The invention relates to a medical tracking marker (12) for localizing or tracking an object (10) by means of a medical tracking system (30), said marker comprising a first part (1) which is to be fixed on the object (10), and a second part (2) which is to be connected to the first part (1), wherein the first and second parts (1, 2) comprise interconnecting elements (4, 6) which are adapted to provide a positionally determined connection between the first part (1) and the second part (2) while the first part is located under a surgical drape (20) and the second part is located above said surgical drape (20), with the drape (20) placed between the two parts (1, 2). The invention also relates to a method of referencing an object (10) using a medical navigation system, wherein a medical tracking marker such as has been described above is localized or tracked by means of a medical tracking system (30), and wherein the object is registered by means of the first part (1) of the marker (12) in a preliminary referencing step, in particular for imaging purposes, which is later adapted to form a final referencing step for navigation using the second part (2) which has been placed on the first part in a positionally defined, pre-determined manner.
US09044267B2	System and method for transapical access and closure Embodiments are described for creating and closing tissue access ports, such as transapical access ports, which involve placement of an introducer across the subject tissue structure, and deployment of a controllable port closure device assembly configured to remain in place with a ratcheting mechanism, and to hold the tissue surrounding the previous access port location closed against a sealing disc with proximal and distal strut assemblies, after the introducer has been removed.
US09044264B2	Endoluminal access devices and related methods of use An endoluminal access system for accessing a body lumen, comprises a guide track which, when in an operative position, extends through a body lumen to a desired location therewithin and a modular device selectively coupleable to the guide track, the modular device including a drive mechanism for engaging the guide track to move the modular device along the guide track within the body lumen. A method of resecting tissue from a site within a body comprises the steps of inserting a guide track to a desired location within the body lumen, coupling a modular device to a proximal end of the guide track and actuating a motor mounted within the modular device to drive the modular device distally along the guide track to the site, drawing tissue at the site into the modular device in combination with the steps of coupling together a portion of tissue adjacent to the site, resecting the tissue from the site and actuating the motor to drive the modular device proximally to withdraw the modular device from the body lumen.
US09044263B2	Vascular and bodily duct treatment devices and methods Devices including, but not limited to, a self-expandable member having a proximal end portion and a main body portion. The self-expandable member is movable from a first delivery position to a second placement position, in the first delivery position the expandable member being in an unexpanded position and having a nominal first diameter and in the second position the expandable member being in a radially expanded position and having a second nominal diameter greater than the first nominal diameter for deployment within a vessel or duct of a patient. The expandable member includes a plurality of cell structures with the cell structures in the main body portion extending circumferentially around a longitudinal axis of the expandable member and the cell structures in the proximal end portion extending less than circumferentially around the longitudinal axis of the expandable member to form first and second peripheral rails that vary in width along their lengths.
US09044262B2	Follicular extraction method A method for the extraction of follicular units from a donor area on a patient. The method includes scoring the outer skin layers with a sharp punch, and then inserting a blunt punch into the incision to separate the hair follicle from the surrounding tissue and fatty layer. The method will significantly decrease the amount of follicular transection and increase the rate at which follicular units can be extracted.
US09044261B2	Temperature controlled ultrasonic surgical instruments A surgical instrument includes a transducer configured to produce vibrations at a predetermined frequency. An ultrasonic blade extends along a longitudinal axis and is coupled to the transducer. A controller receives a feedback signal from the ultrasonic blade. A lumen is adapted to couple to a pump. The lumen conducts a fluid therethrough based on the feedback signal.
US09044260B2	Tubular cutting implement A cutting implement includes a first tubular portion and a second tubular portion. Each tubular portion is hollow and includes a blade element at a distal end. The blade element helps define an aperture that allows access to the interior hollow portion of the tubular portion. A ligament graft element is threaded through the aperture of each tubular portion and the respective tubular portions are interoperated to cut the ligament graft.
US09044258B2	Instrument with removable tip A laparoscopic instrument is disclosed, including an elongated tube defining a proximal portion and a distal portion; an end effector removably coupled to the distal portion, the end effector including first and second elements pivotably coupled to one another; an anchor coupled to the tube and a pivot point of the end effector to restrict axial movement of the end effector; and a sleeve movably coupled to the tube, where the sleeve is slidable across at least a portion of the end effector to secure the end effector to the tube.
US09044256B2	Medical devices, apparatuses, systems, and methods Medical devices having a platform and an arm movable between a collapsed position and an expanded position. In some embodiments, the platform comprises at least one of a magnetically-attractive material and a material capable of being magnetically-charged. Methods of use.
US09044255B2	Laser modulation for coagulation An apparatus has a pump module providing pump energy, a resonator and a controller. The resonator includes a gain medium receiving the pump energy from the pump module and producing light; reflective surfaces reflecting light produced by the gain medium back toward the gain medium; and a variable light attenuator receiving light produced by the gain medium. The controller controls the amount of light attenuated by the variable light attenuator such that the apparatus emits windows of pulses of laser light at spaced time intervals, each window containing a plurality of pulses of laser light and each interval between windows being larger than an interval between pulses within a window. The emitted windows of pulses of laser light heat tissue to a temperature that causes coagulation without vaporization.
US09044253B2	Microwave field-detecting needle assemblies, methods of manufacturing same, methods of adjusting an ablation field radiating into tissue using same, and systems including same A microwave field-detecting needle assembly includes a needle assembly. The needle assembly includes a distal portion, a proximal portion, and a junction member disposed between the distal portion and the proximal portion. The junction member includes a recess defined therein. The needle assembly also includes a rectifier element disposed in the recess. The rectifier element includes a first terminal electrically coupled to the distal portion and a second terminal electrically coupled to the proximal portion.
US09044247B2	PFO closing device A PFO closing device for bringing the septum primum and the septum secundum into contact with each other and joining them together includes a clamping mechanism and energy supplying device. The clamping mechanism includes a needle part for puncturing the septum primum, and a clamping member for cooperating with the needle part in clamping therebetween tissue of the septum primum and the septum secundum. The energy supplying device supplies energy for joining the tissues clamped by the needle part and the clamping member. The clamping mechanism is mounted in a catheter so as to be protrudable from and retractable into the catheter.
US09044240B2	Hemostasis clip A device for clipping tissue includes a clip including first and second arms coupled to one another and biased toward an open configuration and a core member including a proximal portion and a distal portion connected to one another via a frangible link configured to break when subjected to a predetermined tension, the distal end of the core member being directly coupled to the first arm. The device further includes a capsule slidably housing the distal end of the core member and a proximal portion of the clip, the capsule being dimensioned so that, when the clip is drawn proximally thereinto, contact between the arms and the capsule move the arms toward one another into a closed, tissue-gripping configuration, the core member and the capsule being longitudinally movable relative to one another to move the clip between and a closed tissue-gripping configuration and the open configuration.
US09044235B2	Magnetic clip for implant deployment device An instrument for deploying a surgical implant includes a handle, a shaft, and a frame arm coupled to the shaft. A magnetic clip system is disposed on the frame arm for releasably retaining a surgical implant to the frame arm. The magnetic clip system includes a clip, a first ferromagnetic member, and a second ferromagnetic member. The magnetic clip system biases the clip towards a closed position.
US09044233B2	Systems and methods for reduction of atrial fibrillation Embodiments of the present invention are directed to ablation catheter systems configured, for example, to ablate tissue adjacent an ostium of the pulmonary vein in a left atria of a heart. In one embodiment, an ablation catheter system includes a handle and a catheter coupled to the handle defining a lumen extending through a length of the catheter, the catheter including a distal end thereof. The ablation catheter system may also include an electrode coupled to the handle with lines extending through the lumen of the catheter, the electrode being configured to be constrained adjacent the distal end of the catheter and configured to be deployed from the distal end of the catheter to an expanded configuration.
US09044231B2	Steerable lesion excluding heart implants for congestive heart failure Devices, systems, and methods for treating a heart of a patient may make use of one or more implant structures which limit a size of a chamber of the heart, such as by deploying a tensile member to bring a wall of the heart toward (optionally into contact with) a septum of the heart.
US09044230B2	Surgical cutting and fastening instrument with apparatus for determining cartridge and firing motion status Sensor arrangements for determining the position of a firing element in an end effector of a surgical instrument. In various forms, the sensor arrangement comprises a resistive element supported in the end effector. As the firing element translates within the end effector, it movingly contacts the resistive element to generate signals indicative of the firing element position. In other arrangements, the sensor can detect the status or presence of a staple cartridge in the end effector. The sensor arrangement can communicate with a memory device, processor and indicator.
US09044227B2	Collapsible fastener cartridge A fastener cartridge can comprise a crushable cartridge body and fasteners embedded within the crushable cartridge body which can be utilized to fasten tissue. In use, the fastener cartridge can be positioned in a first jaw of a surgical fastening device, wherein the first jaw can be positioned opposite a second jaw, or anvil. The anvil can be engaged with the fastener cartridge to crush the cartridge body and deform, or otherwise deploy, the fasteners contained therein. As the fasteners are deformed or deployed, the fasteners can capture at least a portion of the cartridge body therein along with at least a portion of the tissue being fastened. A fastener cartridge can comprise a compressible cartridge body having a thickness which can be reduced by the compressive pressure applied by the anvil. In certain embodiments, a fastener cartridge can comprise a cartridge body which can collapse from the compressive pressure.
US09044225B1	Composite self-retaining sutures and method A self-retaining suture comprises a composite filament. The filament has retainers on the surface such that the filament can engage and retain tissue without knots. The filament comprises at least two materials having different properties. A surface material of the filament has properties which enhance the formation, elevation and/or deployment of the retainers. A core material of the filament has properties which enhance the tensile strength of the filament. The surgical filament is thin and flexible and may be used for suturing. Methods for manufacturing the filament and retainers are also described.
US09044224B2	Barbed medical device and method Barbed medical devices include a multifilament elongate body and a monofilament fragment. The multifilament elongate body has an outer surface. The monofilament fragment has a first portion positioned within the multifilament elongate body and at least a second portion which extends beyond the outer surface of the multifilament elongate body to form a barb.
US09044222B2	Arthroscopic method and apparatus for tissue attachment to bone Methods are described wherein bone constructs of a patient are used to arthroscopically attach sutures to torn or dysfunctional tissue. A suture or multiple sutures are passed through intersecting/bisecting tunnels formed in the bone. An end of the suture extends from each of the tunnels, and the ends are used to secure the tissue to the bone, such as by arthroscopic tying of the ends, and pulling the tissue against the bone. Devices for performing the methods are also described.
US09044215B2	Biopsy device with selectable tissue receiving aperature orientation and site illumination The invention is directed to a system and device for separating and collecting a tissue specimen from a target site within a patient. The device includes a probe component with an elongated tubular section, a penetrating distal tip and a tissue receiving aperture in the distal end of the tubular section proximal to the distal tip, and a tissue cutting member which is slidably disposed within the probe member to cut a tissue specimen drawn into the interior of the device through the aperture by applying a vacuum to the inner lumen of the tissue cutting member. The device also has a driver component to which the probe component is releasably secured. The driver has a drive member for adjusting the orientation of the tubular section and thus the aperture therein and one or more drive members for moving the tissue cutting member within the tubular section to sever a tissue specimen from tissue extending into the interior of the tubular section through the aperture. The motion imparted to the tissue cutter is at least longitudinal and preferably is also oscillation and/or rotational to effectively separate a tissue specimen from tissue extending through the aperture in the tubular section.
US09044214B2	Needle assembly for use with a biopsy device A needle assembly comprises an outer cannula and an inner cannula. The outer cannula and the inner cannula have complementary tissue receiving apertures. A tissue piercing tip is secured relative to one or both of the inner cannula or the outer cannula. A cutter is slidably disposed in the inner cannula. The cutter is configured to sever tissue protruding through the transverse apertures. A hub releasably secures at least part of the needle assembly relative to the body of a biopsy device.
US09044213B1	Frictional tissue sampling and collection method and device In an embodiment of the invention, a frictional tissue sampling device with a head designed to be rotated without rotating off the designated site can be used to obtain tissue biopsy samples. A frictional tissue sampling device with a head designed to be rotated without rotating off the designated site can be used to obtain an epithelial tissue biopsy sample from lesions. The device can be otherwise used to sample specific locations. In various embodiments, the head of the device is narrow and pointed with a hybrid pear shaped diamond facet. The facet contour can be concave, convex or flat. Abrasive material can be adhered to the facet contour.
US09044211B2	Locator and closure device and method of use The present invention is directed to a device which is capable of both locating a punctured blood vessel wall and sealing the puncture in the vessel and to the method of using the device as well. In one embodiment, the device includes an elongate deployment member having a sealing element releasably disposed within a distal end thereof, said deployment member being coupled to a first actuator configured to retract said deployment member relative to said sealing element, and an elongated indicator member having a proximal end and a distal end, said indicator member extending through a lumen in said deployment member such that the distal end of said indicator member extends distally of the distal end of the deployment member, and said indicator member being coupled to a second actuator configured to retract said indicator member relative to said deployment member.
US09044209B2	Method of removing an inflated implant An inflated implant within an anatomical structure, such as the bladder, may require removal. A method of removing an inflated implant from an anatomical structure can include any of a number of different steps. A removal device can be placed within the anatomical structure. The implant is located within the anatomical structure. After it is located, the implant can be engaged by arms of the removal device. A portion of a surface of the implant can be compromised such that an inflation substance within the implant can escape. The inflation substance can be removed out of the implant through a deflation tube in at least one of the arms used to engage the implant. The implant can then be removed from the anatomical structure.
US09044207B2	Micro vein enhancer for use with a vial holder The present invention is a Miniature Vein Enhancer that includes a Miniature Projection Head. The Miniature Projection Head may be operated in one of three modes, AFM, DBM, and RTM. The Miniature Projection Head of the present invention projects an image of the veins of a patient, which aids the practitioner in pinpointing a vein for an intravenous drip, blood test, and the like. The Miniature projection head may have a cavity for a power source or it may have a power source located in a body portion of the Miniature Vein Enhancer. The Miniature Vein Enhancer may be attached to one of several improved needle protectors, or the Miniature Vein Enhancer may be attached to a body similar to a flashlight for hand held use. The Miniature Vein Enhancer of the present invention may also be attached to a magnifying glass, a flat panel display, and the like.
US09044205B2	Method and apparatus for optimizing medical diagnostic table operation according to patient's weight A method of optimizing operation of a medical diagnostic table according to a patient's weight is provided. The method includes sensing a weight carried by the medical diagnostic table using weighing sensors mounted under the medical diagnostic table, and adjusting a moving speed of the medical diagnostic table according to the sensed weight. The moving speed is reduced when the sensed weight is greater than a predetermined value, and the moving speed is increased when the sensed weight is less than the predetermined value.
US09044199B2	Transcutaneous analyte sensor The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for measuring an analyte in a host. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for transcutaneous measurement of glucose in a host.
US09044198B2	Enhancement of the presentation of an athletic event Systems and methods are provided for enhancing a presentation of an athletic event. Data is received at a sensor located at a first location on a first athlete. The data represents an impact applied to the first athlete by a second athlete. One of an acceleration and a force at a second location on the first athlete induced by the impact is determined. A representation of the determined one of the acceleration and the force at the second location on the first athlete is displayed to an audience of the athletic event.
US09044193B2	Medical device A medical device having at least one electric drive for positioning at least one position-varying device segment is provided. At least one gear unit and an overload clutch are arranged along at least one mechanical drive chain between the at least one electric drive and the at least one position-varying device segment. Snap-in elements are arranged on a clutch segment of the overload clutch. The snap-in elements engage in snap-in receptacles of another clutch segment of the overload clutch. The snap-in elements and the associated snap-in receptacles are distributed irregularly.
US09044188B2	Methods and systems for managing epilepsy and other neurological disorders The present invention provides systems and methods for managing epilepsy. In one embodiment, a method of the present invention characterize a patient's propensity for a future epileptic seizure and communicates to the patient and/or a health care provider a therapy recommendation. The therapy recommendation is typically a function of the patient's propensity for the future epileptic seizure.
US09044187B2	Post-patient dynamic filter for computed tomography (CT) An imaging system includes a radiation source (310) configured to rotate around an examination region about a z-axis and having a focal spot that emits a radiation beam that traverses the examination region. The system further includes a radiation sensitive detector array (314) with a plurality of detector pixels that detects radiation traversing the examination region and generates projection data indicative of the detected radiation. The system further includes a dynamic post-patient filter (316) including one or more filter segments (402, 802, 902, 1004, 1102). The filter is configured to selectively and dynamically move in front of the detector array between the detector array and the examination region and into and out of a path of the radiation beam illuminating the detector pixels during scanning an object or subject based on a shape of the object or subject, thereby filtering unattenuated radiation and radiation traversing a periphery of the object or subject.
US09044186B2	Portable dual-energy radiographic X-ray perihpheral bone density and imaging systems and methods Devices, tools, systems and methods for X-ray bone density measurement and imaging for radiography, fluoroscopy and related procedures. Portable, efficient peripheral bone density measurement and/or high resolution imaging and/or small field digital radiography of bone and other tissue, including tissue in the peripheral skeletal system, such as the arm, forearm, leg, hand and/or foot.
US09044185B2	Method and device for examining or imaging an interior surface of a cavity A method for examining an interior surface of a cavity includes the steps of capturing partial images of an interior surface of a cavity; joining the captured partial images to form a complete image of said interior surface of the cavity; and providing an warning if the joined partial images does not form a complete image of said interior surface of the cavity.
US09044184B2	Spreadable medical instrument for endoscopic interventions The invention relates to a spreadable medical instrument for endoscopic interventions having a base body, a handle positioned on the base body, and at least two spatula blades that are connected with the handle and can be displaced between a closed starting position and at least one working position parallel and/or at an angle to one another by means of an adjustment device, in such a way that the adjustment mechanism is positioned on the handle so that it is possible simultaneously to grip the handle and activate the adjustment mechanism with the same hand. To create a spreadable medical instrument that has the widest possible range of applications and is easy and safe to operate, it is proposed with the invention that the adjustment mechanism is configured as a continuous, adjustable screw-in mechanism.
US09044181B2	Device and method for monitoring of absolute oxygen saturation and tissue hemoglobin concentration A method and medical device for detecting signals that detects emitted light scattered by a volume of tissue delivered along a first pathway at a plurality of wavelengths to generate corresponding first detected light intensity output signals, detects emitted light scattered by the volume of tissue delivered along a second pathway different from the first pathway at a plurality of wavelengths to generate corresponding second detected light intensity output signals, determines whether a difference between the emitted light detected along the first pathway and the emitted light detected along the second pathway is greater than a predetermined threshold, and alters sensing by the device in response to the determining whether a difference is greater than the predetermined threshold.
US09044179B2	Oxygen sensor for internal monitoring of tissue oxygen in vivo Provided is a durable oxygen sensitive probe of sufficient strength to withstand direct tissue pressures in vivo, the probe comprising a sensor chamber within a biocompatible, gas-permeable membrane containing an oxygen sensitive analyte solution producing oxygen quenchable phosphorescence when excited. Further provided is a tissue oxygen detection and measurement system comprising the probe, and methods for use of the probe and the system to directly, rapidly and accurately measure tissue oxygen levels in a patient without reliance on blood vessels or fluid protection of the probe.
US09044178B2	Electrochemical sensor and method for manufacturing A sensor includes a sheath that is elongated along a longitudinal axis; a spacer positioned within the sheath and defining first and second channels having lengths that extend along the longitudinal axis; a first elongated member positioned within the first channel; and a second elongated member positioned within the second channel. The first elongated member includes an active surface forming a working electrode and the second elongated member including an active surface defining a counter electrode.
US09044176B2	Dental x-ray unit providing a cephalometric image and associated method A dental x-ray unit comprising: an X-ray generator adapted to generate an X-ray beam in the direction of a patient's head, means of collimation adapted to confer given dimensions to the generated X-ray beam; a sensor placed facing the generator, receiving the radiologic projection of the collimated beam having irradiated the patient's head and supplying a cephalometric image of the patient's head, characterized in that the device includes: the means to acquire at least one photographic image of the patient's head, the means of automatic control for the means of collimation according to the at least one photographic image so that the dimensions of the collimated X-ray beam are adjusted to the dimensions of the patient's head.
US09044175B2	Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and three-dimensional elastic ratio calculating method In order to three-dimensionally quantify the elastic information indicating the hardness or softness of tissue of an object with a simple operation, two three-dimensional regions of interest are set on a displayed elastic rendering image. A three-dimensional distortion ratio measuring unit 52 calculates a ratio between elastic information in the set first three-dimensional region of interest and elastic information in the set second three-dimensional region of interest and displays the ratio on an image display device 13.
US09044170B2	Ballistocardiogram analysis method and device The present invention discloses a method and signal processing device (620) for analyzing a ballistocardiogram (BCG). The actual energy content of the cardiac part of the BCG in a predefined time window is determined and compared with a reference value. A difference between the actual energy content and the reference energy content exceeding a predefined threshold is indicative of the presence of an arrhythmia in the evaluated part of the BCG because the force exerted by an arrhythmic ventricular contraction, if at all present, is typically substantially smaller than the force exerted by a ventricular contraction of a regular heartbeat. This insight facilitates a more accurate detection of the presence of arrhythmias in a BCG compared to BCG detection schemes based on a heart rate analysis.
US09044165B2	Optical tomographic imaging method and optical tomographic imaging apparatus An optical tomographic imaging method of picking up a cross-sectional image of an object comprises scanning a predetermined region of the object with spots of a plurality of measurement lights in the same direction so as to irradiate different positions of the object with different spots, detecting interference signals formed by the plurality of return lights reflected or scattered by the object and a plurality of corresponding reference lights reflected by a reference mirror, and executing an arithmetic process on the detected interference signals based on a displacement amount between the different spot positions using interference signals corresponding to at least two of the spots out of the respective interference signals. The region to be scanned has a length smaller than the sum of diameters of the spots in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction.
US09044161B2	Illuminated suction apparatus An illuminated suction apparatus including a hand-held surgical device combining a high-performance non-fiber optic optical waveguide with suction. This device is useful in a wide array of surgical procedures including open and minimally invasive orthopedics.
US09044159B2	Measurement and use of in-socket residual limb volume change data for prosthetic fitting Changes in the volume of residual limbs on which prosthetic sockets are worn can be measured based on bioimpedance measurements along one or more segments of the limb. A current at an appropriate frequency (e.g., in the range from 1 kHz to 1 MHz) is injected at two current electrodes that contact the skin of the residual limb. The voltage at the voltage electrodes disposed between the current electrodes is measured and using an appropriate model, the change in the segmented volume of the limb can be determined during periods of different activity and at different times during the day. This information can be used for assessing the fit of the socket and can also provide a feedback signal for automatically controlling volume management devices, to ensure a more comfortable fit when the volume of the limb is changing.
US09044156B2	Catheter with improved safety line for distal tip and related method A catheter includes a tip electrode with a shell and a support member to provide a plenum chamber. The support member is formed with a U-shaped passage for a safety line to wrap around and secure the support member (with the shell affixed thereto) to the catheter. Additional passages are formed in the support member to accommodate components such as irrigation tubing, lead wire and thermocouple wire pair. A method of manufacture provides distal installation and/or anchoring of the safety line, lead wire and thermocouple wire pair in the support member prior to sealing the support member and mounting the shell.
US09044152B2	Rotatable drum assembly for radiology imaging modalities Among other things, a rotatable drum for a radiology imaging modality is provided herein. The rotatable drum comprises a bore, defined by an inner circumference of a sidewall of the rotatable drum. In one embodiment, the sidewall comprises one or more apertures through which radiation may pass. By way of example, a radiation source and a detector array may be mounted outside of the bore (e.g., on an outside surface of the sidewall) and apertures in the sidewall may permit radiation to pass from the radiation source to the detector array without being attenuated by the sidewall of the drum. In another embodiment, the detector array may be comprised of a plurality of detector modules that may be individually mounted/dismounted from the rotatable drum, and in one example, may provide structural support to the rotatable drum.
US09044151B2	Straddle mount detector assembly A CT system includes a gantry having a rotatable base and having an opening for receiving an object to be scanned, and a detector assembly. The detector assembly includes a plurality of detectors positioned to receive x-rays having passed through the object, and an arcuate structure positioned to support the plurality of detectors. A first support frame is attached to the rotatable base at a first axial location and supported at a second axial location, wherein the arcuate structure is attached to the first support frame between the first axial location and the second axial location.
US09044147B2	Detection of noise during heart beat variation evaluation A medical device obtains an oscillometric measurement associated with a patient's non-invasive blood pressure reading. The device determines a stability measure for at least one pair of pulses included in the oscillometric measurement, compares the stability measure to a threshold, and excludes the pair of pulses from an evaluation of heart beat variation when the stability measure fails to meet the threshold.
US09044141B2	Systems, devices, and methods including a dark-field reflected-illumination apparatus Systems, devices, and methods are described for providing a monitor or treatment device configured to, for example, detect hemozoin, as well as to monitor or treat a malarial infection.
US09044138B2	Steerable electronic stereoscopic endoscope A steerable stereoscopic endoscope including a shaft having a distal end, a proximal end, and an articulating region therebetween; a stereo image acquisition mechanism disposed at the distal end of the shaft for acquiring stereo images of a remote site; and a mechanism for steering the portion of the shaft distal to the articulating region.
US09044132B2	Quilted fabric towel steam pocket for a steam appliance A fabric steam towel for mounting onto a steam frame of a steam appliance is provided. The pocket includes two complimentary substantially planar layers of fabric joined at their peripheral edge with an open section for mounting onto the steam frame and allowing the open edges to butt against each other. The fabrics are constructed of an outer terry layer and inner material with an upper jersey layer, padding and a lower mesh layer with a 45 degree quilting pattern to improve performance. The fabric is sealed about the frame a first length of a fastener is secured to the inside face along the open edge of one layer with a complimentary length of fastener secured to the inside face of the second layer and extending beyond the edge to allow the open edges of each layer to abut each other and for the fasteners to engage and secure the fabric pocket about the edge of the frame.
US09044131B1	Multipurpose grout cleaning apparatus A grout and tile cleaning apparatus comprises a grout and tile cleaning head subassembly carried upon a cleaning end of a handle assembly. The grout and tile cleaning head subassembly includes a pair of diametrically opposed absorbent material pivotal support members. The absorbent material support members are pivotally assembled to a control member. The handle assembly is in operational engagement with the grout and tile cleaning head subassembly to convert the absorbent material support members between a cleaning configuration, a downward compression absorbent material removal configuration, and an upward, brush scrubbing configuration. An absorbent cleaning material pad is attached to each absorbent material support member. A brush subassembly is located between the cleaning material pads.
US09044130B2	Cleaning device for a portioning utensil The invention relates to a cleaning device for a portioning utensil used for portioning ice cream or the like, which can be used in a receptacle. Cleaning fluid being fed to a valve support can be conducted through at least two rinsing rods and can be discharged via nozzles being located on the rinsing rods. An actuation mechanism switches a valve within the valve support. In order to be able to optimally clean the receptacle and the cleaning device, it is proposed to insert a splash guard separately into the receptacle and/or to design the rinsing rods such that the same can be detached, especially by hand.
US09044129B2	Surface treating appliance A surface treating appliance includes a surface treating head, a hose, and a main body including a fan unit for generating a flow of fluid, and a rotary changeover valve including a valve member which is selectively rotatable between a first position allowing fluid flow between the hose and the fan unit, and a second position allowing fluid flow between the surface treating head and the fan unit, the valve member comprising a hub having an internal surface shaped to receive a boss about which the valve member is selectively rotatable. To facilitate the breaking of seals by valve member and other parts of the appliance as the valve member moves away from one of its first and second positions, the external surface of the boss and the internal surface of the hub each has a profile generally in the form of a triangular prism, the profile of the external surface of the boss tapering towards the valve member. As a result, the valve member is forced to move along the longitudinal axis of the boss as it is rotated thereabout.
US09044127B2	Charging-type electric vacuum cleaner The subject of the invention is to easily detect whether the dust collection amount is full.The present invention provide a charging-type electric vacuum cleaner comprising: a ventilator for suctioning air containing dust through a suction port; a motor for driving the ventilator; a dust collection section for filtering the suctioned air and capturing the dust; a storage battery; a switching element for connecting the storage battery to the motor; a current detecting section for detecting an electric current Ia flowing to the motor; a warning section for warning when a dust collection amount in a dust collection section is full; and a control section for operating the switching element to drive the motor, and for detecting a terminal voltage Vb of the storage battery and the electric current Ia to operate the warning section when Vb≧V1 and Ia≦I1 (V1 and I1 are preset values) are established.
US09044125B2	Surface treating appliance A surface treating appliance includes a first cyclonic separating unit including at least one first cyclone, and a second cyclonic separating unit located downstream from the first cyclonic separating unit and including a plurality of second cyclones arranged in parallel. The plurality of second cyclones is divided into at least a first set of second cyclones arranged about an axis, a second set of second cyclones arranged about the axis, and a third set of second cyclones, the first set of second cyclones extending about the second set of second cyclones, and the second set of second cyclones extending about the third set of second cyclones. Each second cyclone has a longitudinal axis, with the respective longitudinal axes of each of the first, second and third set of second cyclones being arranged at different angles to said axis.
US09044123B2	Device comprising actuating mechanisms for lifting and lowering the cover and the seat of a WC, independently from each other or simultaneously A device having mechanisms for lifting and lowering the cover and the seat of a toilet (WC), including a structure fixed to the rear part of a WC and designed to house a first and second axle arranged co-linearly and fixed on the ends of the cover and the seat, respectively. The first and second axles include on the adjunct ends a first mechanism with a first and second gear designed to engage with a third actuating gear arranged below the aforementioned gears on a fixed axle, the fixed axle being engaged and driven by a toothed element with an ascending course of a first hydraulic piston powered by pressurized water. The device also includes a second mechanism with a hydraulic piston powered by pressurized water for rotating the axles in the opposite direction in order to automatically lower the cover and seat when the WC tank is emptied.
US09044113B2	Container jacket for a beverage glass A container jacket is provided having a perimeter portion, the perimeter portion having a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge, a plurality of eyelets formed adjacent the first lateral edge, and a second plurality of eyelets formed adjacent the second lateral edge, the perimeter portion forming an interior volume for receipt of a container therein in a deployed condition of the container jacket, and an interconnecting element. The interconnecting element extends to and between the first plurality of eyelets and the second plurality of eyelets, the interconnecting element being operable to maintain the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge within a predetermined spacing of one another.
US09044112B2	Easily portable wine glass The present invention relates to an easily portable wine glass, and more specifically, to an easily portable wine glass containing an accommodation portion into which wine is poured, and a supporting plate having a protruded handle, wherein the accommodation portion and the supporting plate are detachably coupled using a magnet. When carrying the wine glass, the supporting plate serves as a stopper covering the upper portion of the accommodation portion, thereby preventing infiltration of foreign matter. In addition, since there is no need for forming a hole at the bottom of the accommodation portion by coupling the accommodation portion and the handle using a magnet, it is unnecessary to worry about the leakage of wine when pouring wine into the accommodation portion of the wine glass.
US09044105B2	Illuminated display for packaged items A product display apparatus, has a tray with at least one station for receiving one or more products to be displayed, a directed illumination source in the at least one station for projecting light from the tray at a product received at the station, a product adapted for stable holding in the at least one station, and at least one light display element associated with the product, optically coupled to receive the projected light and to perform operations on the light received from the group consisting of: reflection, refraction, highlighting, backlighting, diffusion, concentration or combinations of the foregoing.
US09044102B2	Spring core having border wire with generally rectangular cross-section A bedding or seating product comprising a spring core including upper and lower border wires. Each of the border wires is generally rectangular in cross-section to reduce wire costs without compromising beam strength of the border wire. Each row of springs of the spring core may be made of a single piece of wire. The rows of springs may be arranged in side-by-side rows and columns and be connected with each other by helical lacing wires.
US09044098B2	Adjustable armrest assembly An adjustable armrest for a chair is disclosed herein and comprises an assembly of a mounting plate, a mounting base, and two arms. The adjustable armrest's mounting plate is vertically positionable, such that when the mounting plate is depressed, the motion of the mounting plate is restrained relative to the mounting base. Additionally, when the mounting plate is raised vertically, the arms and the mounting plate can be repositioned.
US09044094B2	Chair chassis A chair chassis, comprising a chassis pedestal, a left and a right connecting rod for back, a seat supporting frame, an adjusting handle, the adjusting handle comprises an adjusting screw rod. On the adjusting screw rod exists a locating block for mounting handle and, the first pulling line and the second pulling line are wrapped around it, the two pulling lines are respectively used to lock or unlock the tilting angle of the back and to lock or unlock the position of the supporting frame; the adjusting handle also comprises a block for the pulling line, which is connected with the third pulling line, and the block for the pulling line is connected with the adjusting screw rod and can relatively slide on it. The invention is multi-functioned with the action of only one adjusting handle, and the structure of the invention is compact, and it is convenient to operate.
US09044090B2	Rack system and bracket A bracket or support member (119.771) including a body (119.770), at least one arm or hook extending away from the body that can be inserted through an aperture (104.704) in a support (104.700), the at least one arm or hook (119.722) including an end portion (119.720) which is adapted to be received into a recess (104.702) on a rear surface of the support (104.700). A support system (FIG. 124) is also disclosed which utilizes the bracket or support member (119.771) in combination with an apertured panel (124.700).
US09044089B1	Track shelving system with adjustable shelves A system and method of store sliding shelving that may be selectively extended for restocking and retracted for normal supply and product display. Each sliding shelf includes a slide mechanism that allows each shelf to extend outwardly to enable a store worker to stock or restock the shelf and a concealed locking mechanism with a release lever to allow the sliding shelves to be locked into position. The sliding shelving is beneficially positioned on vertical tracks.
US09044088B2	Pull-out guide for drawers A pull-out guide for drawers includes a body rail to be fastened to a furniture body, a drawer rail to be fastened to the drawer, and a center rail movably mounted between the body rail and the drawer rail. The relative motion sequence of the rails is determined by a forced control unit, and the forced control unit has a synchronization wheel designed as a gear wheel, the synchronization wheel interacting with a running surface arranged or formed on the rails and/or with a running surface of a carriage, which is slidably mounted between the rails. An overload protection device is provided for reversibly lifting the forced control unit of the rails.
US09044087B1	Seat assembly A seating assembly including a base having a bottom ring supported by casters, a pan supported by the bottom ring, a central hub forming an upwardly opening cavity, a plurality of legs extending outward and downward from the central hub to the bottom ring, a one-piece molded seat shell, a mounting bracket forming four apertures and including a female connector and at least one rib member that extends downward adjacent the female connector, the at least one rib member including end edges that forms first and second stop surfaces, the mounting bracket attached to the bottom of the seat by passing fasteners through the apertures, a support arm, a mounting assembly including, a cup member, a base tube, an annular mounting collar and a pivot cover forming an upwardly opening annular channel and an inverted U-shaped opening, the pivot cover attached to the mounting collar with the first end of the support arm extending through the inverted U-shaped opening and the at least one rib member received within the annular channel.
US09044085B2	Modular furniture and method Modular furniture includes several members connected together without fasteners or other hardware. While some of the members slide together, some members are locked in place by other members. The modular furniture includes one or more members that engage other members in a twist and lock fashion that helps hold the modular furniture together during everyday use. The twist and lock may be achieved using a substantially L-shaped slot in one member and a corresponding slot in a mating member, which allows the mating member to rotate (twist) within the L-shaped slot. The modular furniture is locked together at several different members and stages of assembly, and includes a final stop member that assures the furniture cannot come apart inadvertently during normal use.
US09044084B2	Modular folding table The modular folding table includes a collapsible truss framework that supports a folding table top and a folding utility shelf, and includes legs that can be connected horizontally or vertically to the legs of one or more similar modular folding tables, to provide desired table and shelf space with a structure that is foldable, strong and stable.
US09044083B2	Illuminated multi-light flashing toothbrush and method of use A toothbrush with a handle having a base and a head and defining a cavity positioned between the base and the head. The toothbrush also includes a plurality of bristles attached to the head of the handle, a green light configured to flash for a first period of time, a yellow light configured to flash for a second period of time, and a red light configured to flash for a third period of time. The toothbrush also includes a switch coupled to the handle for activating the green light, and a circuit for automatically activating the yellow light after expiration of the first period of time and for automatically activating the red light after expiration of the second period of time.
US09044082B2	Collapsible container A collapsible container having a rigid base, a rigid top ring, and rigid intermediate rings extending therebetween. A flexible peripheral wall is intimately bonded to the base, top ring, and intermediate rings, to form wall sections having alternating sections of flexible material and flexible material intimately bonded to the intermediate rings, whereby the container is adjustable between an expanded position with the top ring spaced upward from said base and forming a container interior, and a collapsed position with said top ring surrounding said base in outwardly spaced substantially concentric relation thereto.
US09044073B2	Reversible bag A reversible carrying bag that includes fabric panels positioned in overlying relation to one another and stitched along opposing side edges. Flaps formed along the opposing top and bottom edges form passages through which carrying straps may extend. The carrying bag may also include fasteners affixed to the edges of the panels for attaching to a handle.
US09044072B2	Hiking and survival staff A hiking staff having one or more hollow interiors shaped to support a user's body weight when hiking. Survival gear, such as first aid supplies, a tent, and/or provisions for defense or food gathering needs, can be stored within the hollow interiors of the hiking staff. End caps enclosing the open ends of the hiking staff can be selectively removed to access the survival gear. A knife can be coupled with an end of the hiking staff for storage and/or use of the hiking staff as a spear.
US09044070B2	Zipper repairer and extender A zipper device for repairing and extending the life of a standard zipper used on boat tops, covers and enclosures, or the tops, covers and enclosures on other equipment that use a zipper for fastening and snapping together their openings. The use of the zipper device of the present invention also widens a standard zipper to provide slack to tops, covers and enclosures on boats and other equipment.
US09044060B2	Convertible shoe A convertible shoe enables people to easily modify a single shoe to form a total of at least three different shoe types. This reduces the bulkiness/amount of a traveler's luggage and reduces the burden of traveling without limiting a traveler's options of available shoe types. The convertible shoe can include a front removable shoe upper to convert between an open-toe and a closed-toe shoe. The convertible shoe can further include a rear removable shoe upper to convert the shoe between closed-back shoe and a sandal-type shoe. The sandal-type shoe can include a removable strap to convert between a strapped and a strapless sandal-type shoe.
US09044059B2	Versatile, integrated gaiter An article of footwear includes a tongue, a collar located at an upper portion of the footwear, and a gaiter having a lower portion integrally fixed to the collar of the footwear. The tongue and the collar together define an opening, preferably sized to receive a wearer's foot. The gaiter includes first and second fastening flaps and a fastening device (or fastening means) located on the first and second fastening flaps. The gaiter is configured to switch between high and low positions, the high position being a position in which a substantial portion of the gaiter extends above the upper-most portion of the footwear, and the low position being a position in which a substantial portion of the gaiter is located below the upper-most portion of the footwear.
US09044056B2	Modular tree with electrical connector A lighted artificial tree, including a first tree portion having a first electrical connector having a first electrical terminal positioned in line with a central vertical axis, and a second electrical terminal. The tree also includes a second tree portion that includes a second electrical connector having a first electrical terminal and a second electrical terminal, the second electrical terminal defining a ring shape that encircles the first electrical terminal. When the first tree portion is coupled to the second tree portion, the first electrical connector is coupled to the second electrical connector, such that the first electrical terminal of the first electrical connector is electrically connected to the first electrical terminal of the second electrical connector, and the second electrical terminal of the first electrical connector is electrically connected to the second electrical terminal of the second electrical connector.
US09044053B1	Knee-spacing garment assembly A knee-spacing garment assembly provides space between knees of a user using wedges that remain in place while the user changes position. The assembly includes a main section having a front portion coupled to a back portion. The main section has a top opening. Each of a pair of pant legs has an open top end coupled to the main section and an open bottom end positioned opposite an associated one of the top ends. The main section and the pant legs define a garment. A pocket is coupled to each of the pant legs. The pockets are coupled to an inner side of an exterior surface of the pant legs. A wedge is positioned in each of the pockets wherein the wedges are configured to facilitate spacing between the user's knees when the wedges are positioned in the pockets and the garment is worn on the user's lower body.
US09044050B2	Magnetically assembled hookah The present embodiments describe a magnetically assembled hookah. The magnetically assembled hookah can have one or more magnetic attachment means that removably couple the parts of the hookah together. The magnetic attachment means generally comprises a magnetic material or a magnet that connects with another magnet or ferromagnetic material. The magnet, magnetic material, or ferromagnetic material can be incorporated into the components of the hookah or be a separate component of the hookah. As a non-limiting example, the magnetic attachment means can include a separate body member that is made of a magnetic or ferromagnetic material to connect with another hookah component at least partially comprised of a magnetic or ferromagnetic material.
US09044047B2	Food seasoning replenishment system and apparatus A system to fluidize and convey finely divided particulate matter comprises a container with a top and bottom portion separated by a pan with apertures there through and a hatch to receive a volume of particulate matter into the container to be supported on the pan. The pan is funnel-shaped and has a discharge port at the lowermost portion of the pan. A bridging conveyor tube receives fluidized flow of the particulate matter from the discharge port and conveys the matter to a riser conveyor tube, which elevates the fluidized flow to a receiving bin remove from the container. The bridging conveyor tube and the riser conveyor tube receive gas streams provided through apertures from a bridging gas passage and a riser gas passage, respectively, to sustain fluidized flow from the discharge port of the pan to the receiving bin to minimize the air required to convey the matter.
US09044042B2	Methods of making ready to eat oatmeal product A method of producing a ready to eat oatmeal product for consumption in a container of a desired size. A mixture of acid, salt, fruit juice concentrate, sweetener and water are added to a processing receptacle and heated and agitated at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time period. A selected amount of thick cut oats and the heated and agitated mixture are added to the container. The container is then sealed, pasteurized and cooled to ambient temperature. A fruit may be added to the container before it is sealed. A flavor and/or plant sterol may be added to the processing receptacle before the mixture is heated and agitated.
US09044040B2	Animal feed with a soluble fiber and sugar alcohol and method of making and method of feeding An animal feed such as a milk replacer includes a soluble fiber and a sugar alcohol. The milk replacer enhances weight gain, starter intake and reduces weaning time. The method of feeding the animal includes feeding a mixture of a soluble fiber and sugar alcohol. The animal feed may be used as a method of weaning young ruminants such as calves.
US09044038B2	Method of improving sweetness qualities of stevia extract The present invention provides a technique for improving the sweetness of stevia extract. A composition having an excellent sweetness quality can be obtained by combining rebaudioside A, which is a main sweetness component of stevia extract, with mogroside V, which is a main sweetness component of siraitia grosvenorii extract, at a weight ratio of 95:5 to 60:40. By using the mixture described above as a sweetener, favorable sweetness can be imparted to various products, such as foods, medicines or quasi drugs.
US09044037B2	Non-contact printed comestible products and apparatus and method for producing same The present disclosure provides apparatuses and methods for non-contact printing on comestible products. The apparatus includes an extruder for extruding a slab of an edible substrate and a non-contact printing device for printing an edible ink on the slab. The apparatus provides versatility as the printing device may be placed anywhere along the apparatus. The printing device may be positioned along the apparatus as desired to operate in cooperation with other components of the apparatus.
US09044033B2	Compositions and methods for inhibiting potato pathogens This application relates to compositions and methods for inhibiting the growth of potato pathogens preventing disease during post-harvest storage and processing conditions.
US09044032B2	Turning block alignment Conveyor for moving and positioning objects along a conveyor path, the conveyor including: a conveyor rail extending through a predefined conveying path; at least one carriage having a rotatable article support; and a turning block associated with the rotatable article support, to allow rotatable movement of the article support relative to the at least one carriage, wherein the conveyor further includes an aligning station for rotating the article support into a predetermined position, wherein the turning block has first disk with a first perimeter contour and a second disk with a second perimeter contour, and wherein the alignment station has means for engaging the second disk for rotatingly aligning the article support into the predetermined position.
US09044028B2	Non-penetrating captive bolt animal processing Animal processing devices and methods for processing animals with such devices are described. An animal processing device comprises a housing having a power source for driving a bolt for impacting a predetermined portion of the head of an animal, a trigger for activating the bolt, and a nosepiece. The nosepiece comprises a first portion that is non-moveably positioned relative to the housing. The first portion comprises an opening positioned along the driving direction so the end of the holt can move through the opening, and a contacting surface at an end of the first portion. The contacting surface may include a cutout region having a shape related to the shape of the predetermined portion of the head of the animal to be processed and can accommodate the predetermined portion of the head of the animal to be processed.
US09044026B2	Apparatus and method for simultaneous imprinting and piercing of dough An apparatus is disclosed for concurrently imprinting and piercing of dough consisting of flour, water and yeast to produce loaves imprinted with an image that represents Coptic religious symbols including Coptic letters, crosses, circles and squares. The imprinting is accomplished using embossed patterns engraved onto an upper plate that is pressed onto a lower plate containing the dough placed inside depressions disposed below the surface of the lower plate. The imprinting is implemented after the step of proofing the dough in a process for preparing the loaves that includes the steps of flattening, proofing, imprinting and baking.
US09044025B2	Apparatus and method for simultaneous cutting, imprinting and piercing of dough An apparatus configured for concurrently cutting, imprinting and piercing of a sheet of dough consisting of flour, water and yeast to produce imprinted loaves is disclosed. Arrays of molded frames each containing edged borders and an emboss pattern are placed onto the surface of a cylinder member configured for rotating onto a sheet of dough to simultaneously cut out loaves, imprint the loaves with the emboss pattern and pierce the loaf with pins. The emboss pattern contains areas raised above the surface of the cylinder member and recessed areas below that surface. The emboss patterns include a plurality of Coptic religious symbols that are imprinted onto the loaves to form a Korban used for ceremonial purposes. The emboss pattern is heated and initiates a par-baking process when the cylinder member engages the dough. The formation of the Korban loaves is completed by baking the loaves in the oven.
US09044020B2	Isolated nucleotide molecule and method of sensing and killing of pathogenic microorganism The present invention relates to an isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a first nucleotide sequence encoding a protein that detects the presence, amount or both of a pathogenic microorganism by forming a complex with a protein produced by said pathogenic microorganism; a second nucleotide sequence encoding an antimicrobial peptide, wherein the antimicrobial peptide is effective against the pathogenic microorganism detected by the protein encoded by the first nucleotide sequence, wherein the second nucleotide sequence is under control of a promoter that is induced by the complex of the protein encoded by the first nucleotide sequence and the protein produced by said pathogenic microorganism. A recombinant microorganism comprising the isolated nucleic acid molecule and a method of sensing and killing pathogenic microorganisms is also described.
US09044018B2	Mitigation of alternate bearing Described are compositions and methods to mitigate alternate bearing of perennial crops by use of a natural metabolite. In particular, the present disclosure provides a natural metabolite in the presence or absence of an auxin transport inhibitor to increase floral intensity (flower number) of the return bloom in the spring following the setting of a heavy on-crop to increase the yield of the putative off-crop year and, thus, increase cumulative crop yield. Additionally the present disclosure provides a natural metabolite in combination with one or both of a growth promoting type of plant growth regulator, and a hormone biosynthesis, transport or function inhibiting type of plant growth regulator.
US09044013B2	Glyoxime derivative and pest control agent The present invention provides a glyoxime derivative displaying excellent pesticidal effect or a salt thereof and a pesticide containing the same as an active ingredient. This pesticide is characterized by containing as an active ingredient, a glyoxime derivative expressed by the general formula [I] (in which X represents a cyano group or a carbamoyl group, R1 represents a C1˜C8 alkyl group, a C3˜C6 cycloalkyl C1˜C6 alkyl group, etc, and R2 represents a hydrogen atom, a C1˜C8 alkyl group, a C3˜C6 cycloalkyl C1˜C6 alkyl group, etc.) or an agriculturally acceptable salt thereof.
US09044012B2	Use of formulations having insecticidal activity Use of formulations comprising polyurea microcapsules obtainable by interfacial polymerization of diphenylmethylen-4,4′-diisocyanate (MDI), optionally in admixture with polymethylenepolyphenylisocyanate (PAPI), said formulations having a prolonged knockdown and killing effect longer than at least 3 months, preferably at least of 6 months, still more preferably at least of 9 months from the application, wherein the microcapsules comprise: an active principle selected from the pyrethroid and/or neonicotinoid classes, synergizing agents selected between PEO and Verbutin, the concentration of the active principle in the microcapsule as % by weight on the total of the microcapsule is comprised between 1 to and 60% the average diameter of the microcapsules is comprised between 2 and 50 μm.
US09044009B2	Use of EDDS and calcium ions as enhancers of molluscicidal activity A molluscicidal composition, comprising: a molluscicide; a molluscicidal activity promoting additive comprising a calcium-containing salt of ethylene disuccinic acid or calcium ions and ethylenediamine disuccinic moieties, having at least 1 mole of calcium per mole of ethylenediamine disuccinic acid; and a carrier material edible to molluscs.
US09043995B2	Transgenic fish and uses thereof The present invention relates to a transgenic fish having at least one genomically integrated expression cassette containing a 5′-regulatory nucleotide sequence responsive to hormones, particularly estrogenic hormones, connected in a functional manner upstream of a nucleotide sequence encoding a reporter protein. The present invention further relates to methods of using the transgenic fish for various purposes, including, for example: (1) identifying estrogenic endocrine disruptors; (2) monitoring estrogen-like activity of test samples; (3) identifying anti-estrogenic endocrine disruptors; and (4) investigating the effects of endocrine disruptors on liver regeneration. Expression cassettes, host cells, and transgenic cells of aquatic animals are also disclosed.
US09043990B2	Pet toilet A litter-based flush toilet for cats based on a modified flushing rim commercial service sink made of vitreous china equipped with an added moveable drain plug. The sink tramway is modified to lower the water level below the level of the drain plug, resulting in a dry bowl between flushes. The plug prevents flushable biodegradable litter from prematurely entering the drain and provides a safety factor for inquisitive digging cats. The commercial plumbing version has a conventional commercial flushing valve and lever, either hand or foot operated. The residential version has an oversized conventional toilet tank complete with flush handle and flapper valve. To flush, the pet owner activates the actuator to dislodge the cover from the drain and flushes the pet waste and absorbent material down the drain. The user then replaces the plug and refills the bowl with about an inch of fresh litter.
US09043987B1	Wheat variety W030325C1 A wheat variety designated W030325C1, the plants and seeds of wheat variety W030325C1, methods for producing a wheat plant produced by crossing the variety W030325C1 with another wheat plant, and hybrid wheat seeds and plants produced by crossing the variety W030325C1 with another wheat line or plant, and the creation of variants by mutagenesis or transformation of variety W030325C1. This invention also relates to methods for producing other wheat varieties or breeding lines derived from wheat variety W030325C1 and to wheat varieties or breeding lines produced by those methods.
US09043985B1	Wheat variety W030154L1 A wheat variety designated W030154L1, the plants and seeds of wheat variety W030154L1, methods for producing a wheat plant produced by crossing the variety W030154L1 with another wheat plant, and hybrid wheat seeds and plants produced by crossing the variety W030154L1 with another wheat line or plant, and the creation of variants by mutagenesis or transformation of variety W030154L1. This invention also relates to methods for producing other wheat varieties or breeding lines derived from wheat variety W030154L1 and to wheat varieties or breeding lines produced by those methods.
US09043983B1	Wheat variety W020202F1 A wheat variety designated W020202F1, the plants and seeds of wheat variety W020202F1, methods for producing a wheat plant produced by crossing the variety W020202F1 with another wheat plant, and hybrid wheat seeds and plants produced by crossing the variety W020202F1 with another wheat line or plant, and the creation of variants by mutagenesis or transformation of variety W020202F1. This invention also relates to methods for producing other wheat varieties or breeding lines derived from wheat variety W020202F1 and to wheat varieties or breeding lines produced by those methods.
US09043982B1	Inbred sorghum line PHARSVVIT A novel sorghum variety designated PHARSVVIT and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a plant that comprise crossing sorghum variety PHARSVVIT with another plant. Methods for producing a plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PHARSVVIT through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the sorghum seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid sorghum seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the sorghum variety PHARSVVIT or a locus conversion of PHARSVVIT with another sorghum variety.
US09043981B1	Inbred sorghum line PHOKOVVKE A novel sorghum variety designated PHOKOVVKE and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a plant that comprise crossing sorghum variety PHOKOVVKE with another plant. Methods for producing a plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PHOKOVVKE through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the sorghum seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid sorghum seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the sorghum variety PHOKOVVKE or a locus conversion of PHOKOVVKE with another sorghum variety.
US09043978B1	Soybean variety XBP09006 A novel soybean variety, designated XBP09006 is provided. Also provided are the seeds of soybean variety XBP09006, cells from soybean variety XBP09006, plants of soybean XBP09006, and plant parts of soybean variety XBP09006. Methods provided include producing a soybean plant by crossing soybean variety XBP09006 with another soybean plant, methods for introgressing a transgenic trait, a mutant trait, and/or a native trait into soybean variety XBP09006, methods for producing other soybean varieties or plant parts derived from soybean variety XBP09006, and methods of characterizing soybean variety XBP09006. Soybean seed, cells, plants, germplasm, breeding lines, varieties, and plant parts produced by these methods and/or derived from soybean variety XBP09006 are further provided.
US09043975B2	Soybean variety XB06T13 A novel soybean variety, designated XB06T13 is provided. Also provided are the seeds of soybean variety XB06T13, cells from soybean variety XB06T13, plants of soybean XB06T13, and plant parts of soybean variety XB06T13. Methods provided include producing a soybean plant by crossing soybean variety XB06T13 with another soybean plant, methods for introgressing a transgenic trait, a mutant trait, and/or a native trait into soybean variety XB06T13, methods for producing other soybean varieties or plant parts derived from soybean variety XB06T13, and methods of characterizing soybean variety XB06T13. Soybean seed, cells, plants, germplasm, breeding lines, varieties, and plant parts produced by these methods and/or derived from soybean variety XB06T13 are further provided.
US09043972B1	Maize inbred PHVBS A novel maize variety designated PHVBS and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PHVBS with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PHVBS through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PHVBS or a locus conversion of PHVBS with another maize variety.
US09043971B1	Maize inbred PH18TA A novel maize variety designated PH18TA and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH18TA with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH18TA through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PH18TA or a locus conversion of PH18TA with another maize variety.
US09043966B2	Soybean variety A1037439 The invention relates to the soybean variety designated A1037439. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety A1037439. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety A1037439 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety A1037439 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US09043964B2	Automatically adjusting irrigation controller Methods and devices are provided to automatically determine plant water requirements and adjust irrigation. In one implementation, a method comprises: receiving, from a user via a user interface of an irrigation control unit and at a time after an initial commercial sale, a region identifier corresponding to a region of the irrigation controller; identifying a set of historical values from a plurality of sets of historical values pre-stored in a memory of the irrigation control unit; receiving a current value of at least one other environmental variable from at least one sensor; receiving at least one historical value from the identified set of historical values from the memory; determining the plant water requirements using the at least one historical value and the current value; outputting an adjustment control message to the irrigation controller; and adjusting execution of the irrigation schedule, the irrigation schedule defined for a peak irrigation period.
US09043961B2	Artificial turf cleaning system An artificial turf cleaning system and a method for cleaning artificial turf surfaces are disclosed. The artificial turf cleaning system includes (a) at least two wheels, (b) at least one liquid tank, (c) a tap for controlling the dripping rate and covering at least one liquid tank, (d) a cleaning drum having replaceable brushes, and wherein the cleaning drum is coupled mechanically to the wheels by cog-wheels transmission gear, (e) a removable rubbish storage tank, and (f) a handle, wherein the artificial turf cleaning system is designed for manually cleaning artificial turf surfaces.
US09043960B2	Landscape edging connector Apparatuses and methods for connecting two segments of commercial landscape edging. Typically, landscape edging has a cylindrical portion that sits on or above the ground and a panel that inserts into the ground. A connector can be used to link together pieces of edging to form a continuous edge. In embodiments, a connector includes a body that can be inserted into the cylindrical portion of two pieces of landscape edging. The connector can include a ridge and a tab that extends from the body, such that when the body is inserted into the cylindrical portion of edging, the tab is adjacent to the panels of edging. One or more fasteners can be used to attach the edging panels to the tab of the connector, joining two pieces of edging via the connector.
US09043959B2	Combine harvester with transverse feed drum A combine harvester includes a separating device that extends in a longitudinal direction of the combine harvester. In front of the separating device, a tangentially disposed feed drum is installed. The feed drum is configured with substantially axially parallel guide plates on a circumference thereof. The substantially axially parallel guide plates bear against the jacket surface of the feed drum via support elements. The support elements extend between adjacent guide plates in the circumferential direction and, extend between the adjacent guide plates in the radial direction across an entire free jacket surface of the feed drum.
US09043953B2	Lawn care robot A robot lawnmower includes a body and a drive system carried by the body and configured to maneuver the robot across a lawn. The robot also includes a grass cutter and a swath edge detector, both carried by the body. The swath edge detector is configured to detect a swath edge between cut and uncut grass while the drive system maneuvers the robot across the lawn while following a detected swath edge. The swath edge detector includes a calibrator that monitors uncut grass for calibration of the swath edge detector. In some examples, the calibrator comprises a second swath edge detector.
US09043948B2	Auxiliary closing wheel for seeder The present invention includes an auxiliary closing wheel for use with an agricultural seeding implement of a type of having a factory closing wheel rotatably coupled to a mounting arm with a rod. The auxiliary closing wheel includes a plate member rotatably coupled to the rod to which the factory closing wheel is coupled. The auxiliary closing wheel has a generally planar and annular configuration. The plate member includes a peripheral edge having a plurality of spiked teeth extending away therefrom. The plate member includes an inner surface defining a flange configured to mate with a recessed area of the factory closing wheel such that both wheels thereafter move unitarily. The plate member includes a diameter greater than a diameter of the factory closing wheel such that the spiked teeth will contact a ground surface in use instead of the factory closing wheel.

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