| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US09112432B2 |
Piezoelectric generator and method of manufacturing the same
Provided are flexible piezoelectric generators and methods of manufacturing the same. The piezoelectric generator includes a first insulation layer disposed on a first electrode, a piezoelectric structure disposed on the first insulation layer, a second insulation layer disposed on the piezoelectric structure, and a second electrode disposed on the second insulation layer. |
| US09112431B2 |
Method and device for the calibration a piezo-actuator that is actuated in a motor vehicle for driving a switching valve
In a method for calibration, a piezo-actuator (1) is actuated in a motor vehicle by a control circuit and an output stage. The piezo actuator is, in particular, part of the injection valve. The piezo-actuator (1) is subjected to an electric calibration pulse that is in the high-level signal range thereof when the control circuit and the output stage are in operation, the frequency thereof being modified over time. The associated electric impendence curve over the frequency is determined and evaluated during the calibration pulse. The output stage is controlled by the control circuit in such a manner that the calibration pulse is generated. |
| US09112430B2 |
Direct current to alternating current conversion utilizing intermediate phase modulation
The systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments provide a power converter that modulates the voltage to follow the envelope of the phase output such that the current may pass through to the line. The systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments may provide a two phase power converter that modulates the voltage to follow the envelope of the two phase output. The systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments may provide a three phase power converter that modulates the intermediate voltage to follow the envelope of the three phase output such that the current may pass through to the line without requiring intermediate storage. |
| US09112428B2 |
Application of normally-on switching elements/devices in a stacked switching circuit
A stacked switching circuit with normally-on devices includes a first normally-on switch coupled between a first input rail and an output port, and is coupled to be switched in response to a first control signal. A second normally-on switch is coupled to the output port and is coupled to a normally-off switch in a cascode coupled configuration. A second terminal of the normally-off switch is coupled to a second input rail. The normally-off switch is coupled to be switched in response to a second control signal. Switching of the stacked switching circuit is coupled to provide chopped high frequency pulses through the output port. Current flow through the stacked switching circuit between the first input rail and the second input rail is blocked at startup. |
| US09112426B2 |
High power-factor control circuit and method for switched mode power supply
A switch mode power supply (SMPS) system includes a rectifying circuit for coupling to an AC input voltage and a transformer having a primary winding for coupling to the rectifying circuit and a secondary winding coupled to the primary winding. The system also has a power switch coupled to the primary winding and a control circuit coupled to the power switch. The control circuit is configured to control current flow in the primary winding such that an envelop waveform formed by peak points of current pulses are in phase with the magnitude of the AC input voltage. Moreover, the SMPS system is configured to provide a constant average output current. |
| US09112422B1 |
Fault tolerant power converter
Low-voltage outputs are provided by full-bridge rectification using controlled switches with fault detection monitoring of circuit conditions and disabling switches upon detection of a fault to decouple the converter from the system. Common-source dual MOSFET devices include elements arranged in alternating patterns on the die. Common-source dual synchronous rectifiers include control circuitry powered from the voltage across the complementary switch. A DC-to-DC transformer converts power using a fixed voltage transformation ratio. A clamp phase may be used to reduce power losses, control the output resistance, effectively regulate the voltage transformation ratio, provide narrow band output regulation, and control the rate of change of output voltage. A new point of load converter includes input driver circuitry removed from and output circuitry located at the point of load, with a transformer located near the output circuit and an AC bus between the driver circuit and the primary winding of the transformer. |
| US09112412B2 |
Full-bridge power converter
A full-bridge power converter is provided. A control unit 30 generates control signals for individual switching elements for controlling ON/OFF operation of switching elements 11˜14, alternately turns the switching element 11 and switching element 12 ON/OFF, also alternately turns the switching element 13 and switching element 14 ON/OFF, outputs supply current from a full-bridge circuit 10 for supplying to a load 3, and, during a period when the supply current is not supplied, turns ON both the switching element 11 and switching element 13 to pass inertial current by discharging energy stored in inductors 16 and 17, and filter capacitors 19 and 20 absorb the charge of common-mode noise components appearing on an output line connecting the inductor 16 and an output capacitor 18 and on an output line connecting the inductor 17 and the output capacitor 18. |
| US09112411B2 |
Apparatus and method for controlling a plurality of power converting modules and apparatus and method for analyzing power quantity imbalance
Disclosed is a technology related to an apparatus for controlling or analyzing a power converting module, and more particularly, to a technology for improving imbalance of power quantities processed by a plurality of power converting modules. Relative power quantities processed by the modules are detected through a common circuit element installed in an input terminal or an output terminal shared by the plurality of modules, without detecting information acquired through current or voltage sensors individually installed in respective modules, and control values of the respective modules may be compensated for through the detected relative power quantities or may be output in a form where a user can easily identify them. |
| US09112409B2 |
Switched mode assisted linear regulator with dynamic buck turn-off using ZCD-controlled tub switching
A switched mode assisted linear regulator includes a linear amplifier (LA) and a buck converter configured as a current source. In example embodiments, the buck converter circuit includes a power switch M1 with an M1 body diode (tub), and includes buck turn-off circuitry configured to avoid negative inductor current by controlled switching of the tub to the higher of VIN and a second voltage. For DC-coupled configurations, boost functionality is provided by an LA boost supply, and the tub is switched to the boost supply. For AC-coupled configurations, boost functionality can be provided without boosting the LA supply rail by constraining signal peak-to-peak amplitude to be less than the LA supply voltage (maintaining a DC-average voltage on the AC-coupling capacitor), and the tub is switched to the higher of VIN and VOUT. The buck turn-off circuitry can include zero crossing detection to control M1 tub switches. |
| US09112406B2 |
High efficiency charge pump circuit
The present document relates to charge pump voltage doublers for use in integrated circuits. A charge pump circuit configured to generate an output voltage Vout at an output of the circuit from an input voltage Vin at an input of the circuit is described. The circuit further comprises a boosting capacitor coupled at a first side to the output node of the first P-type switch and coupled at a second side to a capacitor control signal. Furthermore, the circuit comprises control circuitry configured to provide a capacitor control-signal-which alternates between a low level and a high level, and configured to generate first and second control signals based on the capacitor control signal for alternating the first and second P-type switches between on-states and off-states, respectively, such that electrical energy is transferred from the input to the output of the circuit using the boosting capacitor. |
| US09112403B2 |
Method for regulating a buck/boost converter
A method for regulating a clocked buck/boost converter, wherein a buck converter switching element is driven at a common clock frequency with a first pulse-width-modulated switching signal and a boost converter switching element is driven with a second pulse-width-modulated switching signal to convert an input voltage into a regulated output voltage, and a regulator signal from an output voltage regulator is used to generate the first and second pulse width modulated switching signals such that the buck converter is operated in a discontinuous mode with quasi-resonant switching, where the inductor current or the current through the buck converter switching element is detected and compared with a reference current, where the regulator signal is amplified to the extent that the reference current is reached, in terms of time, before a turn-off pulse of the first pulse-width-modulated switching signal, and where the second pulse-width-modulated switching signal is generated using the amplified regulator signal. |
| US09112402B2 |
Power conversion apparatus
There is provided a power conversion apparatus which allows a noise current or voltage to be suppressed at a low cost and in a small size, the noise current or voltage mixing into the power conversion apparatus by propagating through a control wiring connected to an external appliance.The power conversion apparatus includes a housing, connection terminals provided on the housing, a control-circuit unit provided inside the housing, a wiring for establishing the connection between the connection terminals and the control-circuit unit, a first noise-removing unit connected between the wiring and the ground potential of the housing, and a second noise-removing unit connected between the wiring and the ground potential of the housing, and also in parallel to the first noise-removing unit. |
| US09112394B2 |
Optimized cooling system for a brushed electrical machine, and a corresponding method
A cooling system for a brushed electrical machine includes a cooler configured to cool down a rotor and a commutator of the machine. There is a controller configured to adjust the cooling effect of the cooler in response to monitored rotor and commutator temperatures. The cooler includes a fan and an auxiliary motor configured to rotate the fan. |
| US09112392B2 |
Dynamoelectric machine support system
Various embodiments of the disclosure include a dynamoelectric machine support system. In some embodiments, a support system for a dynamoelectric machine is disclosed, the support system having: a housing; a skeletal frame attached to the housing and at least partially contained within the housing; and at least one adjustment mechanism for applying a force to the skeletal frame to modify a stiffness of the skeletal frame. |
| US09112388B2 |
Motor
This disclosure discloses a motor including a motor body unit configured to output rotation power, a brake unit fixed to a housing of the motor body unit with a bolt, and a collar. The collar is arranged between the motor body unit and the brake unit, and in which the bolt is inserted. The collar forms a space between the housing of the motor body unit and a fixing member of the brake unit. The collar is fixed with its end portion being inserted into at least one of the housing and the fixing member. |
| US09112386B2 |
Electric motor with improved flux path and power density
An improved configuration for an electric motor has an inner rotor and an outer stator wherein each stator coil is arranged radially outwardly of its respective stator pole and configured to create a magnetic flux path forming a closed magnetic circuit that flows in directions parallel to the longitudinal axis of the motor, rather than circumferentially about the longitudinal axis of the motor. The magnetic flux created by the stator coil is directed from the stator pole, across the air gap to a corresponding rotor pole, and back to the stator pole to form a closed magnetic circuit path. All stator poles are therefore magnetically isolated from each other. |
| US09112385B2 |
Force-controlled electric hand
A force-controlled electric hand including: an electric motor; a rotary-linear motion conversion mechanism converting rotary motion from the electric motor to linear motion; a pair of finger bases including a movable finger base which moves linearly in parallel with a first axial line through the rotary-linear motion conversion mechanism by power from the electric motor; a pair of fingers fixed to the pair of finger bases to grip a target workpiece by linear motion of the movable finger base; and a force sensor provided at least at one of the pair of finger bases to detect gripping force of the pair of fingers. The force sensor has a pair of parallel beams extending in parallel with a second axial line vertical to the first axial line and detects the gripping force based on an amount of displacement of the parallel beams in a direction of the first axial line. |
| US09112383B2 |
System and method for Var injection at a distributed power generation source
A method to add locally generated real and reactive power to a power distribution grid including: generating or storing direct current (DC) power by distributed power source; converting the DC power to an alternating current (AC) power; calculating or measuring a power factor of the AC power provided from the distribution grid; determining a power factor for the conversion of DC power to AC power based on the power factor for the AC from the distribution grid, and the conversion of the DC power to the AC power sets the power factor for the AC power to conform to the determined power factor. |
| US09112382B2 |
Electric vehicle charging scheduling system
A charging prediction database stores information on electric vehicles expected to arrive for charging. A profile/charging information database stores information on electric vehicles that have arrived and been waiting for charging. A power database stores information on a power source including at least one of a power grid and a stationary battery. An energy calculating unit calculates energy available from the power source based on the power database. A scheduling unit schedule charging of the electric vehicles waiting for charging in consideration of the electric vehicles expected to arrive. |
| US09112380B2 |
Method for distributing the total conversion power between the converters of a multiple-converter conversion device
A method for distributing the total power of an energy conversion device between at least two converters in the energy conversion device is disclosed. The sum of the conversion powers of the converters is the total power of the conversion device. The energy conversion device converts energy between a first electrical entity and a second electrical entity, where the two converters correspond to at least two portions of a ring, the portions being proportional to a predetermined power value of the respective converters thereof, the combination of the at least two portions forming the whole ring. The total power of the conversion device corresponds to an arc of the ring between the positions of a first slider and a second slider moveable around the ring, and the distribution of power between the converters is determined by the positions of the first and second sliders. |
| US09112369B2 |
Switched-mode power supply device and aircraft including at least one such device
A switched-mode power supply device including a charger connected on one side to a direct current electrical network, or rectified alternating current electrical network, a power reserve connected to a second side of the charger, and DC-DC output converters delivering regulated output voltages. The output converters are connected by an input to the first side of the charger. The charger is a current bidirectional, voltage unidirectional converter which, in a first phase, enables the power reserve to be recharged and maintained charged from the network, where the output converters are powered by the network and, in a second phase, in the presence of a power brown-out of the network, enables the power reserve to be discharged to power the output converters. A reverse blocking module is connected to the first side of the charger to disconnect the charger and the output converters from the network during the second phase. |
| US09112365B2 |
Standby power shut-off outlet device and a control method for the same
An outlet or multi-outlet power strip device for interrupting standby power is provided that includes at least one standby power shut-off unit, which is provided correspondingly to at least one receptacle outlet and either supplies or shuts off power to an electronic product connected to the at least one receptacle outlet depending on the status of the electronic product; an outlet power supply, which receives power from the at least one standby power shut-off unit, and converts and supplies the input power to the outlet; a mode selector, to which a selected mode on whether the outlet should be operated in independent mode or cooperative mode is input; and a controller, which sets a standby current of the electronic product, detects the power status of the electronic product by using the set standby current, and controls the at least one standby power shut-off unit according to the detected power status. |
| US09112362B2 |
Methods for improved transfer efficiency in a multi-dimensional inductive charger
A system and method for improved transfer efficiency in a multi-dimensional inductive charger. In accordance with an embodiment, the system comprises a base unit having one or more transmitter coils; one or more receiver coils or receivers associated with one or more mobile device; one or more components including a ferromagnetic, ferrite, or other magnetic material or layer, that modify the magnitude and/or phase of an electromagnetic field in one or multiple dimensions; and one or more components within the base unit and/or the mobile device, for improving transfer efficiency. In accordance with various embodiments, the system can include a ferromagnetic, ferrite, or other magnetic material or layer that acts as a switching layer. |
| US09112360B2 |
Power supply device
A power supply device includes battery interfaces configured to removably receive at least three batteries and a connection circuit configured to electrically connect the at least three batteries to each other. The connection circuit is capable of connecting at least two batteries in parallel and connecting at least one other battery to the at least two parallel-connected batteries in series. According to this power supply device, it is possible to supply high power to an electric device by connecting the batteries in series. In addition, it is possible to supply almost all of the electric power stored in the batteries to the electric device, even if amount of the remaining electric power in each battery is substantially uneven. |
| US09112359B2 |
System for charging an energy store, and method for operating the charging system
A system for charging at least one energy reservoir cell in a controllable energy reservoir which serves to control and supply electrical energy to an n-phase electrical machine where n≧1. The controllable energy reservoir has n parallel energy supply branches that each have at least two energy reservoir modules, connected in series, that each encompass at least one electrical energy reservoir cell having an associated controllable coupling unit, and are connected to a reference bus and to a respective phase of the electrical machine. As a function of control signals, the coupling units interrupt the respective energy supply branch, bypass the respectively associated energy reservoir cells, or switch the respectively associated energy reservoir cells into the respective energy supply branch. |
| US09112354B2 |
Dynamic power control for a two wire process instrument
A process instrument includes a transducer, a two wire interface, a microprocessor, a digital to analog converter, a first control circuit, and a second control circuit. A current passing through the two wire interface indicates a condition of the transducer. The microprocessor is interfaced with the transducer. The digital to analog converter receives a signal from the microprocessor indicating a current value. The first control circuit is coupled to the digital to analog converter and adapted to control the current passing through the two wire interface to the current value. The second control circuit is coupled to the digital to analog converter and supplies current to a secondary load. |
| US09112353B2 |
Power supply device
Disclosed herein is a power supply device. The power supply device includes a conversion unit converting an applied voltage into a predetermined level, a switching unit performing an opening operation or a closing operation to control a current flowing in the conversion unit, a sensing unit sensing an occurrence of overcurrent when a voltage applied to the switching unit is equal to or larger than a reference voltage set in advance, and a control unit performing a protection operation when the overcurrent is sensed again within a protection time set in advance after a predetermined time is delayed from the time at which the overcurrent is sensed, so that malfunction due to noise is prevented. |
| US09112351B2 |
Electrostatic discharge circuit
An integrated circuit is provided. The integrated circuit may include, but is not limited to, a first node, a second node configured to be coupled to ground, an output driver, and a electrostatic discharge circuit electrically coupled to the first node, the second node, and the output driver. The electrostatic discharge circuit may include, but is not limited a high-pass filter configured to detect an electrostatic discharge event at the first node, a driving stage circuit electrically coupled to the high-pass filter and the output driver, the driving stage circuit configured to receive a signal from the high-pass filter when the high-pass filter detects the electrostatic discharge event and further configured to shunt an input of the output driver to the second node in response to the signal from the high-pass filter, and a step-down circuit electrically coupled to the driving stage circuit and configured to bias the driving stage circuit. |
| US09112346B2 |
Input power protection
In one general aspect, an apparatus can include an input terminal, an output terminal and a ground terminal. The apparatus can also include an overcurrent protection device coupled between the input terminal and the output terminal. The apparatus can further include a thermal shunt device coupled between the output terminal and the ground terminal, the thermal shunt device being configured to, at a threshold temperature, operate in a thermally-induced low-impedance state. |
| US09112345B2 |
In-rush current limiter and method for stowable and carry-on devices
A system and method for limiting in-rush current from a power source to a load includes sensing that a load has been electrically connected to receive electrical power from the power source. A current limiter circuit is configured to at least inhibit electrical current flow from the power source to the load for a predetermined time period. After the predetermined time period, the current limiter circuit is configured to no longer at least inhibit the electrical current flow from the power source to the load. Upon sensing that the load has been electrically disconnected from the power source, the current limiter circuit is reconfigured to at least inhibit electrical current flow from the power source to a load that may be subsequently connected to receive electrical power from the power source. |
| US09112343B1 |
Power feeder shielding for electromagnetic protection
A shielded power feeder system may include at least one unshielded power feeder conductor having first and second ends, a neutral conductor positioned adjacent the power feeder conductor, the power feeder conductor and neutral conductor forming a bundle, and the neutral conductor having a grounded conductive shield. |
| US09112337B2 |
Tool and method for transfer of tubes
The present invention relates to lead-through tool for pipes, comprising a tool body (1) having a rear end (15) provided with a means (16) for interaction with a rotary machine, preferably a handheld drilling machine, and a front end (17) at which there is provided either an adapter mechanism (18) for coupling to a removable implement (2) or an implement (19) integrated with said end (17), preferably in the form of a drill steel, wherein said tool body (1) is provided with holding means (13), at a position between said front (17) and rear (15) end, said holding means (13) being adapted to be able to hold a pipe (3) which is slipped onto said tool body (1) over said rear end (15) until interacting with said holding means (13). |
| US09112336B2 |
Insert-molded assembly for load center electrical distribution bus
An insert-molded bus assembly for an electrical distribution load center interior is described. The apparatus of the present teachings comprises at least one bus element insert-molded into an insulation element of the distribution load center creating an amalgamated insert-molded bus assembly. The amalgamated insert-molded bus assembly may also include a molded backpan, or may be detachably or permanently fastened to a separate backpan of the distribution load center interior. |
| US09112335B2 |
Spark plug and spark plug electrode
A spark plug having a shell defining a cavity, an insulator disposed within the cavity, and an electrode at least partially encapsulated by the insulator. The electrode may be formed from a ruthenium (Ru) electrode material having a columnar grain structure. Further, the ruthenium (Ru) electrode material may have a purity greater than 99.90 wt. percentage. |
| US09112333B2 |
Laser diode
A laser diode with an improved kink level in the L-I characteristic and capable of obtaining a stable high output in a horizontal transverse mode is provided. The laser diode includes an active layer made of nitride III-V compound semiconductor containing at least gallium (Ga) in 3B-group elements and at least nitrogen (N) in 5B-group elements, an n-type compound semiconductor layer provided on one of faces of the active layer, and a p-type compound semiconductor layer provided on the other face of the active layer. A region closest to the active layer, in the n-type compound semiconductor layer is a high-concentration region whose impurity concentration is higher than that of the other n-type regions. |
| US09112332B2 |
Electron beam pumped vertical cavity surface emitting laser
A vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) structure includes a heterostructure and first and second reflectors. The heterostructure comprises an active region having one or more quantum well structures configured to emit radiation at a wavelength, λlase, in response to pumping by an electron beam. One or more layers of the heterostructure may be doped. The active region is disposed between the first reflector and the second reflector and is spaced apart from the first reflector by an external cavity. An electron beam source is configured to generate the electron beam directed toward the active region. At least one electrical contact is electrically coupled to the heterostructure and is configured to provide a current path between the heterostructure and ground. |
| US09112330B2 |
Optical element for vertical external-cavity surface-emitting laser
The present invention relates to an optical element for VECSELs or VECSEL arrays. The optical element is formed of a substrate (200) which is transparent at least in a wavelength region of optical radiation. A first interface of the substrate (200) comprises one or several curved regions forming part of an optical lens or of an array of optical lenses (220) integrated in the substrate (200). The substrate (200) further comprises one or several optical mirrors (210) formed on a second interface of the substrate (200) opposing the first interface or embedded in the substrate (200). The optical mirrors (210) are arranged and designed to back reflect a fraction of optical radiation incident on the first or second interface. The optical mirrors (210) are flat mirrors or curved mirrors having a radius of curvature different from the radius of curvature of the curved region (220). The optical element allows the fabrication of a VECSEL or VECSEL array having a high brightness without the requirement of additional adjustments during fabrication. The VECSEL are arranged at a distance (L) to the optical mirrors (210) and this equals the length of the external cavity. The ROC of the optical lens may be chosen to ROC=L/2 and for the optical mirror ROC>L. The cavity length may be adjusted by a monolithic spacer (120). |
| US09112328B2 |
Optical source implementing a doped fiber, fiber for such an optical source and method for manufacturing such a fiber
An optical source having a fiber emitting controlled single-transverse mode radiation at a wavelength of less than 1030 nm, includes at least one laser diode suitable for emitting a pumping wave; and a section of sheathed amplifying optical fiber having two ends, the amplifying optical fiber comprising a core and a pumping sheath, the fiber being doped with a rare earth dopant; a device for coupling the pumping source in the sheath of the doped fiber, characterized in that the core of the doped fiber includes a cylindrical portion doped with a rare earth element selected among ytterbium, neodymium, and thulium, in order to obtain a refractive index of the core that is higher than the refractive index of the sheath; the excitation wavelength of the laser diode is between 750 nm and 960 nm; the diameter of the sheath is greater than 50 microns, and the surface ratio of the doped core to the pumping sheath is between 8 and 50. |
| US09112327B2 |
Audio/video connector for an electronic device
A receptacle connector for a electronic device includes two sets of contacts arranged in two opposing rows in a cavity. A corresponding plug connector can be inserted into the receptacle connector so as to contact both sets of contacts. The receptacle connectors includes contacts that are dedicated for DisplayPort signals and contacts that provide non-DisplayPort signals. The contacts dedicated for DisplayPort signals are only enabled if the electronic device receives a notification from a connected accessory that that the accessory supports DisplayPort capability. Otherwise these contacts are in an “open” or deactivated state. |
| US09112326B2 |
Power adapter with a combinational plug
A power adapter with a combinational plug has a plug assembly and a converter assembly. The converter assembly has two guide walls formed on a bottom surface thereof for a base of the plug assembly to be inserted therein, and at least one fixing member and a positioning boss formed on the base to engage at least one engagement slot and a positioning slot formed in the base. The base is mounted within the guide walls, the at least one fixing member engages the at least one engagement slot, and the positioning boss engages the positioning slot for the plug assembly and the converter assembly to be firmly combined. The locations of the positioning boss and the positioning slot are unique for each power adapter. Accordingly, a power adapter with low production cost and misuse protection can be provided. |
| US09112325B2 |
Contact configuration, contact assembly, implantable apparatus and electrode line
A contact configuration for producing an electrical connection between a plug and a socket, preferably for connecting an electrode to an electronic implantable device (such as a pacemaker), has a contact section on the plug and/or the socket. The contact section includes metallic conductive fibers which project between the plug and socket when the socket receives the plug. The contact configuration has a high degree of redundancy in providing electrical communication between the socket and plug, and high contact stability under mechanical load. In addition, friction corrosion is avoided. |
| US09112320B2 |
Communications connectors having electrically parallel sets of contacts
Communications connectors include a plurality of input contacts that are arranged as differential pairs of input contacts, a plurality of first output contacts that are electrically connected to respective ones of the plurality of input contacts, and a first pair of second output contacts that are electrically connected by a pair of conductive paths to one of the differential pairs of input contacts. The first output contacts are configured to physically contact respective ones of a plurality of first contacts of a second communications connector. Moreover, each contact of the first pair of second output contacts is electrically in parallel to a respective one of the first output contacts when the communications connector is mated with the second communications connector. |
| US09112319B2 |
Modular electrical connector module
A modular electrical connector module includes an outer panel, an outlet box and an interchangeable socket module. The interchangeable socket module has at least one connector and is disposed in the outlet box yet demountable. The interchangeable socket module is exposed to the exterior via an opening defined by the outer panel for easy maintenance accessibility. |
| US09112318B2 |
Modular control apparatus
A control apparatus has a module having first and second module parts, which can be mechanically and electrically combined to form a combined arrangement. The first and second module parts each comprise a housing having a boundary surface opposite one another in the combined arrangement that define a boundary plane. The first and second module parts are combined by a pivoting movement about a pivot axis arranged perpendicular to the boundary plane. One of the module parts has a number of contacts comprising a first electrical contact, and the other module part has a number of mating contacts comprising a first electrical mating contact. In the combined arrangement, each electrical contact makes contact with its corresponding mating contact for electrical connection between the first and second module parts. The contacts comprise conductor tracks on a nonconductive board such that a printed circuit board is formed. |
| US09112309B1 |
Network connector socket
A network connector socket includes an insulated body, first contacts, and second contacts. Each first contact includes a first fixed segment fixed in the insulated body. The first fixed segments are arranged in parallel on a first plane. Each second contact includes a second fixed segment fixed in the insulated body. The second fixed segments extend on a second plane spaced apart with the first plane and are arranged in parallel. One of the first fixed segments is bent and extends to cross at least one of the second fixed segments. For one of the first contacts, the corresponding first fixed segment has a larger transverse width than that of the rest. For one of the second contacts, the corresponding second fixed segment has a larger transverse width than that of the rest. Thus, the crosstalk noise between the contacts is reduced by capacitive compensation. |
| US09112296B2 |
Electrical connector with high reliability
An electrical connector (100) includes an insulative housing (2), a number of contacts (3) retained in the insulative housing, a metal shield (4) covering the insulative housing for defining a receiving space, an insulative cover (5) insert-molded outside of the metal shield, and a metal frame (6) retained in the insulative cover. The metal frame includes a transverse arm (61) and a pair of vertical arms (62) extending downwardly from two distal ends of the transverse arm for reinforcing the metal shield from three sides of the metal shield. |
| US09112295B2 |
Modular electrical connector and connection method
An electrical connector for a modular electrical connection assembly for a fuel system includes a first leg portion and an adjacent second leg portion, each leg portion defining a cavity. The cavity of the first leg portion is configured to receive and maintain a first connector terminal and the cavity of the second leg portion is configured to receive and maintain a second connector terminal without the use of a seal fluidly separating the first connector terminal from the second connector terminal. The first connector terminal and the second connector terminal are concurrently operable with the fuel system. |
| US09112287B2 |
Swaging connection structure
A swaging structure is provided with a tubular metal foil member made of metal foil. The swaging connection structure is the one that a ring-shaped swaging member is swaged so as to include an area of main contact with a plurality of points or plurality of lines and an area of main contact with area, and thereby to electrically and mechanically contact the tubular metal foil member and a tubular connection part. The swaging connection member is also made a connection structure arranged such that an edge of a circumferential edge part of the ring-shaped swaging member is arranged not to contact with the tubular metal foil member. |
| US09112280B2 |
Antenna apparatus and terminal device associated with antenna apparatus
An antenna apparatus may include a conductor layer having an aperture and a slit that adjoins the aperture; and a resonance tuning component including a first element, a second element, and a third element coupled with the first and second elements. The slit may have an opening at a periphery of the conductor layer. A first gap may be arranged between the first element and the conductor layer. At least a part of the first element may be coupled with the conductor layer. A second gap may be arranged between the second element and the conductor layer. The antenna apparatus may include a capacitor and an inductor. The capacitor may be connected with the inductor in parallel between the first element and the conductor layer. The terminal device may include the antenna apparatus. |
| US09112278B2 |
Radar device for behind windshield installations
A ground vehicle radar system includes a windshield of the ground vehicle and a radar device installed behind the windshield. The windshield includes a metallization layer configured to inhibit propagation of infrared radiation through the windshield that also inhibits the propagation of radar signals. The metallization layer defines an opening in the metallization layer for radar signals emitted and detected by a radar device to pass through. An antenna of the radar device is installed behind the windshield and aligned with the opening. A lower portion of the antenna has a first field of view through the opening characterized as being directed horizontal toward a horizon forward of the vehicle. An upper portion of the antenna has a second field of view through the opening characterized as being directed downward toward an area of the ground forward of the vehicle. |
| US09112274B2 |
Wireless network receiver
A wireless network receiver includes a circuit board and a connector structure. The connector structure is fixed on the circuit board, and the connector structure includes a connector and an antenna. The antenna, crossing the circuit board, and the connector are integrally formed with as a whole. The antenna includes a feeding connecting member, a horizontal radiator, a vertical radiator and a grounding connecting member. The horizontal radiator generates a horizontally polarized wave and is connected to the feeding connecting member. The vertical radiator generates a vertically polarized wave and is connected to the horizontal radiator. The grounding connecting member connects the horizontal radiator to the connector. |
| US09112273B2 |
Antenna assembly
Among the embodiments disclosed herein is an antenna assembly comprising the combination of a dielectrically loaded antenna and a housing, the housing incorporating a connector for coupling the antenna to host equipment. The antenna comprises an insulative core which has an outer surface and is shaped to define a central axis, and a laminate board on the central axis, the laminate board extending proximally from a proximal core surface portion oriented transversely with respect to the axis. The housing comprises a housing body which forms a hollow conductive shield for the laminate board, and is centered on the antenna axis, and the housing is shaped to provide a mounting surface which, in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the axis, defines a periphery of an area in the said plane which area is at least as great as the cross-sectional area of the said proximal portion of the antenna. |
| US09112268B2 |
Spiral antenna
According to one embodiment, a spiral antenna includes at least one spiral arm and a connection portion which connects an end of the spiral arm to an adjacent spiral arm. |
| US09112263B2 |
Electronic communications device with antenna and electromagnetic shield
An embodiment of an electronic communications device, including: a body of semiconductor material defining at least one integrated electronic circuit and having a top surface; an electromagnetic shield; a radiant element; and a capacitive element formed by a first electrode and a second electrode, the radiant element being set on the top surface and being ohmically coupled to the first electrode and the second electrode by means of a first connection element and a second connection element, respectively, the electromagnetic shield being set between the radiant element and the top surface and forming at least the second electrode. |
| US09112258B1 |
Electrically small circularly polarized antenna
An efficient electrically small circularly polarized SATCOM antenna includes two crossed half loops which are encapsulated by a capacitive cage structure which acts as an internal matching network for the antenna. The cage structure induces two orthogonal electric fields which are 90 degrees out of phase, which produces omni-directional circularly polarized radiation patterns. The gain and impedance performance surpasses that of prior art of similar size. |
| US09112251B2 |
Microwave resonant cavity
A microwave resonant cavity includes a conductive shell with a screw hole having first threads and a screw having second threads configured to engage with the screw hole. The conductive shell defines a volume, the screw extends into the volume, the microwave resonant cavity has a resonant frequency, and the movement of the screw changes the resonant frequency. The first threads have a first pitch, and at least a portion of the second threads has a second pitch different from the first pitch. |
| US09112250B1 |
Wideband attenuation and phase controller
A continuously manually or remotely adjustable microwave attenuator and linear phase shifter is made using a two section slabline structure in which a “U” formed center conductor forms a line—stretcher to adjust the transmission phase and slivers of ferromagnetic material are inserted into the magnetic field of the slabline, or thin layers of dielectric material are inserted into the electric field serving either way to reducing the amplitude of the transmission factor, or increase the attenuation. The unit is manually or remotely controlled, in which case its transmission behavior can be calibrated on a VNA and used in test software for automated differential load pull operations. |
| US09112237B2 |
Electrolyte for rechargeable lithium battery and rechargeable lithium battery including same
Disclosed is an electrolyte for a rechargeable lithium battery and a rechargeable lithium battery including the same, and the electrolyte includes a lithium salt composition including a first lithium salt; and a second lithium salt of lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide represented by the following Chemical Formula 1 at a mole ratio of 1:0.05 to 1:1, and a non-aqueous organic solvent. |
| US09112235B2 |
Cable-type secondary battery
Described herein is a cable-type secondary battery having a horizontal cross section of a predetermined shape and extending longitudinally, comprising: a core for supplying lithium ions, which comprises an electrolyte; an inner electrode surrounding the outer surface of the core for supplying lithium ions, and comprising an inner current collector in the form of a pipe having a three-dimensional network structure, the inner current collector being coated with an inner electrode active material on the outer surface thereof; a separation layer surrounding the outer surface of the inner electrode to prevent a short circuit between electrodes; and an outer electrode surrounding the outer surface of the separation layer and comprising an outer electrode active material layer and an outer current collector. |
| US09112228B2 |
Lithium-containing metal oxide, and non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery
The present invention provides a lithium mixed metal oxide, an electrode and a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery. The lithium mixed metal oxide is represented by the following formula (A): Lix(Mn1−(y+z)NiyFez)O2 (A) wherein x is not less than 0.9 and not more than 1.3, y is more than 0.5 and not more than 0.7, and z is more than 0 and not more than 0.1. |
| US09112223B2 |
Anode active material, secondary battery, electric power tool, electrical vehicle, and electric power storage system
A secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode containing an anode active material, and an electrolytic solution. The anode active material contains tin, iron, cobalt, carbon, and titanium as an element. In the anode active material, a carbon content is from 9 mass % to 30 mass % both inclusive, a ratio of cobalt to total of iron and cobalt is from 10 mass % to 80 mass % both inclusive, a ratio of the total of iron and cobalt to total of tin, iron, and cobalt is from 11.3 mass % to 26.3 mass % both inclusive, a titanium content is from 0.5 mass % to 8 mass % both inclusive, and half-width of diffraction peak obtained by X-ray diffraction (peak obtained where diffraction angle of 2θ is from 34 deg to 37 deg both inclusive) is 1 deg or more. |
| US09112212B1 |
Forming multilayered solid electrolyte interphase structures on high capacity electrodes
Provided are novel methods of fabricating electrochemical cells containing high capacity active materials that form multilayered solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) structures on the active material surface during cell fabrication. Combining multiple different SEI layers on one surface can substantially improve cell performance by providing each layer with different properties. For example, an outer layer having a high electronic resistance may be combined with an inner layer having a high ionic permeability. To form such multilayered SEI structures, formation may involve changing electrolyte composition, functionalizing surfaces, and/or varying formation conditions. For example, formation may start with a boron containing electrolyte. This initial electrolyte is then replaced with an electrolyte that does not contain boron and instead may contain fluorine additives. In certain embodiments, cell's temperature is changed during formation to initiate different chemical reactions during SEI formation. Variations in multilayered SEI structures may be also achieved by varying current rates. |
| US09112210B2 |
Rechargeable lithium cell having a phthalocyanine-based high-capacity cathode
A rechargeable lithium cell comprising: (a) an anode; (b) a cathode comprising a hybrid cathode active material composed of a graphene material and a phthalocyanine compound, wherein the graphene material is in an amount of from 0.1% to 99% by weight based on the total weight of the graphene material and the phthalocyanine compound combined; and (c) a porous separator disposed between the anode and the cathode and electrolyte in ionic contact with the anode and the cathode. This secondary cell exhibits a long cycle life and the best cathode specific capacity and best cell-level specific energy of all rechargeable lithium-ion cells ever reported. |
| US09112209B2 |
Positive electrode for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries and non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery
Disclosed is a positive electrode for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, the positive electrode including a positive electrode material mixture layer which includes positive electrode active material particles and a binder. A curve representing a correlation between a distance from a current collector in the thickness direction of the positive electrode material mixture layer and an amount of the binder has a first maximum point, a minimum point, and a second maximum point. The minimum point corresponds to a position in a center area of the positive electrode material mixture layer in a thickness direction thereof, and the first and second maximum points correspond to a position nearer the current collector and a position further away from the current collector than the position corresponding to the minimum point, respectively. A ratio W1/W2 of an amount W1 at the first maximum point to an amount W2 at the minimum point of the binder per 100 parts by weight of the positive electrode active material particles is greater than 2. |
| US09112207B2 |
Battery assembly
A battery assembly including a frame including a pair of side plates that include a plurality of guide grooves and a bottom plate connected to the side plates; a plurality of barriers each including a pair of side panels, a lower panel, an upper panel, a plurality of protrusions that are protruded from the side panels, and a dividing panel, wherein the plurality of protrusions are inserted into the plurality of guide grooves to slidably move along the guide grooves upon being mounted on the frame, and a plurality of batteries that are respectively accommodated by the barriers, wherein the barriers are stacked such that the dividing panels of the adjacent barriers face one another. |
| US09112204B2 |
Pack case of novel structure
Disclosed herein is a pack case for battery packs in which a battery cell array including two or more battery cells arranged in a lateral direction and a protection circuit module (PCM) including a protection circuit to control an operation of the battery pack are mounted, the pack case including a lower case, on which the battery cell array and the protection circuit module are mounted, and an upper case disposed above the lower case so that the upper case covers the lower case to fix the battery cell array and the protection circuit module in place, wherein a lower case is partitioned into a battery cell mounting part, on which the battery cells are mounted, and a protection circuit module mounting part, on which the protection circuit module is mounted, a partition wall is formed at an interface between the battery cell mounting part and the protection circuit module mounting part, and openings, through which electrode terminals of the battery cells are exposed toward the protection circuit module, are formed at portions of the partition wall corresponding to electrical connection regions between the electrode terminals of the battery cells and the protection circuit module. |
| US09112203B2 |
Polymer, a method of preparing the same, composite prepared from the polymer, and electrode and composite membrane each including the polymer or the composite
A polymer comprising a first repeating unit represented by Formula 1: wherein R1 to R13 and Ar1 in Formula 1 are defined in the specification. |
| US09112201B2 |
Hydrogen production apparatus, fuel cell system and operation method thereof
There are provided a hydrogen production apparatus, a fuel cell system and operation method thereof, which can more reliably suppress degradation due to oxidation of a catalyst in a hydrogen production apparatus even when start-ups and shutdowns are repeated without a purge operation during the shutdowns. The hydrogen production apparatus includes a reforming part, a shift reaction part, and a selective oxidation reaction part having a selective oxidation catalyst bed packed with a selective oxidation catalyst, wherein the hydrogen production apparatus has an oxygen absorbent bed packed with an oxygen absorbent capable of absorbing oxygen and capable of being regenerated by a reducing gas, and the oxygen absorbent bed and the selective oxidation catalyst bed are stacked with the oxygen absorbent bed on the downstream side, and the hydrogen production apparatus has means for opening the downstream of the oxygen absorbent bed to the atmosphere. The fuel cell system has this hydrogen production apparatus. The operation method of this fuel cell system includes opening the downstream of the oxygen absorbent bed to the atmosphere upon shutdown of the fuel cell system, and regenerating the oxygen absorbent using a hydrogen-containing gas during hydrogen production by the hydrogen production apparatus. |
| US09112199B2 |
Fuel cell system and method
In certain embodiments, a cartridge includes a fuel chamber configured to store a fuel. The fuel chamber has a fuel outlet port configured to interface with a fuel inlet port of a fuel cell such that the fuel may be supplied to the fuel cell. The cartridge further comprises an oxidizing agent chamber configured to store an oxidizing agent. The oxidizing agent chamber has an oxidizing agent outlet port configured to interface with an oxidizing agent inlet port of the fuel cell such that the oxidizing agent may be provided to the fuel cell. |
| US09112197B1 |
Fuel cell motor system
A Fuel Cell Motor, or, Fuel Cell Engine, and system are described. A central output shaft is mounted with a novel set of rotationally capable fuel cells, of various shapes and configurations. These fuel cells when supplied by hydrogen and oxygen fuels generate electricity. That electricity so generated is channeled to electromagnet winding poles that are mounted on top of these rotationally capable fuel cells and also to the nearby stator electromagnetic poles. The current in the armature electromagnet poles produces magnetic fields which interacts with the congruent magnetic fields produced by the stator electromagnetic winding poles, to cause a rotational motion on the armature poles, adjoined to the central output shaft; henceforth, accomplishing the operations of an electric motor. |
| US09112195B2 |
Sealed battery
A sealed battery includes a battery case within which an electrode body is housed; a lid that joins to an open portion of the battery case; a conducting member that is inserted through the lid and that electrically connects the electrode body to an external terminal provided on the lid; and an insulating plate that is interposed between the lid and the conducting member, and that insulates the lid from the conducting member. A protruding portion is formed, in a position able to be visually recognized from outside while the insulating plate is in a state tightly fixed between the lid and the conducting member, on at least one of an abutting surface of the insulating plate that abuts against the lid, and an abutting surface of the insulating plate that abuts against the conducting member. |
| US09112194B2 |
Original fabric pitch feed mechanism of original fabric manufacturing device for electrochemical element
Provided is a pitch feed mechanism which is capable of performing an accurate, high-speed pitch feed of an original fabric having unevenness on a surface thereof in a sticking operation of an insulating tape. (1a) The original fabric pitch feed mechanism (4) that is provided on a downstream side of an insulating tape sticking process region (K) in a long original fabric (2), and performs the pitch feeding of the original fabric (2) in one direction in accordance with a boundary part (H), the original fabric pitch feed mechanism (4) being characterized by comprising (1b) a feed side roller (6a), (1c) an original fabric take-up side roller (6b), (1d) a feed side contact and separate member (7a), (1e) a take-up side contact and separate member (7b), and (1f) a pitch feed roller (8), which is disposed between the feed side roller (6a) and the original fabric take-up side roller (6b), and pulls out, when the feed side contact and separate member (7a) is separated from the feed side roller (6a), and the take-up side contact and separate member (7b) is in contact with the original fabric take-up side roller (6b) to fix the original fabric (2) with the original fabric (2) disposed therebetween, the original fabric (2) by a predetermined size from the feed side roller (6a) side by pressing the original fabric (2) that is extended between the feed side roller (6a) and the original fabric take-up side roller (6b). |
| US09112192B2 |
Reactant delivery to a reactive surface in a channel
The present invention provides geometric arrangements for channels through which liquids or other fluids can be made to flow, for enhanced performance of fuel cells or other chemical or biochemical reactors or analyzers. Systems and methods including these improved geometries are described herein for enhanced performance of a variety of devices. Specifically, in one set of embodiments, the reactors comprise one or more microchannels comprising a tapered cross-sectional area and at least one reactive surface portion. By flowing a liquid comprising one or more reactants through the channel such that the cross-sectional area decreases in a downstream direction, relatively more reactant may be supplied to the wall at downstream positions relative to the amount that would be supplied in a system without a tapered cross-section. In some embodiments, the microchannel may be constructed and arranged such that the amount of reactant supplied to the wall conforms to a predetermined distribution. |
| US09112189B2 |
Method for producing organic light-emitting element
Method for manufacturing organic EL element including anode, hole injection layer, buffer layer, light-emitting layer, and cathode, layered on substrate in the stated order, and banks defining a light-emission region, and having excellent light-emission characteristics, due to the hole injection layer having excellent hole injection efficiency, being a tungsten oxide layer including an oxygen vacancy structure, formed under predetermined conditions to have an occupied energy level within a binding energy range from 1.8 eV to 3.6 eV lower than a lowest binding energy of a valence band, and after formation, subjected to atmospheric firing at a temperature within 200° C.-230° C. inclusive for a processing time of 15-45 minutes inclusive to have increased film density and improved dissolution resistance against an etching solution, a cleaning liquid, etc., used in a bank forming process. |
| US09112186B2 |
Organic light-emitting diode three-dimensional image display device
An organic light-emitting diode three-dimensional image display device comprises a first substrate, a cathode formed on the first substrate, an electron injection layer formed on the cathode, an electron transfer layer formed on the electron injection layer, an emission layer formed on the electron transfer layer, a hole transfer layer formed on the emission layer, a hole injection layer formed on the hole transfer layer, an anode formed on the hole injection layer, a wire grid polarizer formed on the anode and composed of a metal thin film pattern formed at a first angle and a method thin film pattern formed at a second angle perpendicular to the first angle, which are alternately arranged, and a second substrate arranged on the wire grid polarizer. |
| US09112182B2 |
Light-emitting element and illuminating apparatus
A light-emitting device comprising: an organic electroluminescence element that has a light-emitting surface and emits light from the light-emitting surface; and a structure layer that is provided directly or indirectly on the light-emitting surface of the organic electroluminescence element, wherein the structure layer has a concavo-convex structure on a surface of the structure layer, the surface being opposite to the organic electroluminescence element, the concavo-convex structure including a first streak array extending in a first direction that is parallel to the surface, a second streak array extending in a second direction that is parallel to the surface and intersects the first direction, and a third streak array extending in a third direction that is parallel to the surface and intersects the first direction and the second direction, the concavo-convex structure includes flat surface portions parallel to the light-emitting surface and an inclined surface portion that is inclined with respect to the light-emitting surface, and a projected area formed by projecting the inclined surface portion upon a plane parallel to the flat surface portions in a direction perpendicular to the flat surface portions is 0.1 times or less times a total area of the flat surface portions. |
| US09112179B2 |
Organic light emitting diode display
An organic light emitting diode includes a display substrate assembly including an organic light emitting element; an encapsulation substrate assembly disposed on the display substrate assembly with a space therebetween and sealed with the display substrate assembly in a vacuum-tight manner; and a filling agent filling the space between the display substrate assembly and the encapsulation substrate assembly. The filling agent is adapted to selectively absorb external light entering through the encapsulation substrate assembly and incident on the organic light emitting element as a function of wavelength in a wavelength band of the external light to control transmittance. |
| US09112177B2 |
Organic light emitting diode, organic light emitting display panel including the same, and method of manufacturing the organic light emitting display panel
Provided are an organic light emitting diode, an organic light emitting display panel including the same, and a method of manufacturing the organic light emitting display panel. The organic light emitting diode includes: an anode electrode on a substrate; a first common layer on the anode electrode to inject or transport holes and having a non-flat side; an organic light emitting layer on the first common layer; a planarization layer on the non-flat side of the first common layer, providing a flat side to the organic light emitting layer, transporting holes from the first common layer to the organic light emitting layer, and including perfluorocyclobutanes (PFCBs); and a cathode electrode on the organic light emitting layer. |
| US09112174B2 |
Organic electroluminescent element
An organic electroluminescent element having a structure in which a plurality of light-emitting layers stacked between a first electrode with light reflectivity and a second electrode with optical transparency while one or more interlayers with a light transmissive property are interposed between the plurality of light-emitting layers. A first interlayer is formed as the interlayer closest to the first electrode. A first light-emitting unit is formed between the first electrode and the first interlayer to include a first light-emitting layer which has a first light-emitting source, and a second light-emitting unit is formed on a side of the first interlayer close to the second electrode to include a second light-emitting layer which has a second light-emitting source. The first interlayer is a semi-transmissive layer which has both of optical transparency and light reflectivity and has a total light absorption ratio of 10% or less. |
| US09112173B2 |
Light-emitting device, light-emitting apparatus, display device and electronic apparatus
A light-emitting device includes an anode, a cathode, a first phosphorescent layer and a fluorescent layer that are provided between the anode and the cathode and emit phosphorescent light and fluorescent light, respectively, upon energization of the anode and the cathode, and an intermediate layer provided between the first phosphorescent layer and the fluorescent layer, the intermediate layer including a hole transport layer and an electron transport layer that are in contact with each other, the electron transport layer being located on the anode side, the hole transport layer being located on the cathode side. |
| US09112171B2 |
Organic light emitting device and materials for use in same
The present invention provides an OLED in which an organic thin film layer comprising a single layer or plural layers is provided between a cathode and an anode, where the organic thin film layer comprises at least one light emitting layer, and the at least one light emitting layer comprises (a) a host material represented by the following Formula (1): Ra—Ar1—Ar2—Rb (1) where Ar1, Ar2, Ra and Rb represent a substituted or unsubstituted benzene ring or a condensed aromatic hydrocarbon group selected from a substituted or unsubstituted naphthalene ring, chrysene ring, a substituted or unsubstituted fluoranthene ring, triphenylene ring, a substituted or unsubstituted phenanthrene ring, a substituted or unsubstituted benzophenanthrene ring, a substituted or unsubstituted dibenzophenanthrene ring, a substituted or unsubstituted benzotriphenylene ring, a substituted or unsubstituted benzochrysene ring, a substituted or unsubstituted picene ring and a substituted or unsubstituted benzofluoranthene ring; and (b) at least one phosphorescent material comprises a phosphorescent organometallic complex having a substituted chemical structure represented by one of the following partial chemical structures represented by the formulas: wherein each R is independently hydrogen or an alkyl substituent having 1-3 carbon atoms, and wherein at least one ring of the formula has one or more of said alkyl substituent. |
| US09112170B2 |
Light-emitting element, light-emitting device, and electronic device
It is an object to provide an element structure which is suitable for a light-emitting element using a phosphorescent compound. It is another object to provide a light-emitting element with high luminous efficiency by using the element structure. In particular, it is another object to provide a light-emitting element with high luminous efficiency and long life. A light-emitting element is manufactured, which includes a first light-emitting layer and a second light-emitting layer provided to be in contact with each other between a first electrode and a second electrode, where the first light-emitting layer includes a hole transporting host material and a phosphorescent compound, and the second light-emitting layer includes an electron transporting host material and the phosphorescent compound. |
| US09112168B2 |
Organic electroluminescence element, illumination device and display device
Provided are an organic electroluminescence element, an illumination device, and a display device having lower driving voltage and excellent luminous efficiency. An organic electroluminescence element has a supporting substrate; and a cathode, a light emitting layer and an adjacent layer provided on the supporting substrate, wherein the adjacent layer is arranged adjacent to the outer side of the cathode (i.e., the side opposite to the light emitting layer), wherein the cathode is a transparent layer containing a metal and having a film thickness of 2 nm or more but less than 10 nm; and wherein the adjacent layer has a refractive index of between 1.6 and 1.95, a film thickness of between 15 nm and 180 nm, and contains no light scattering particle. |
| US09112166B2 |
Conductive films
Conductive films with transparency characteristics are provided. In accordance with various example embodiments, a transparent conductive film includes an inorganic nanowire mesh embedded in an organic substrate layer. The embedding may involve, for example, embedding a majority of, or substantially all of the nanowire mesh in the organic substrate layer to facilitate a resulting surface roughness of the combined nanowire mesh-polymer that is less than a surface roughness of the mesh alone (e.g., or otherwise embedded), and in turn facilitates desirable conductivity characteristics. |
| US09112161B2 |
Hybrid layer including oxide layer or organic layer and organic polymer layer and manufacturing method thereof
The present invention relates to a hybrid layer including an oxide layer or organic layer, and organic polymer layer, an insulating layer including the hybrid layer, and an electronic device such as an organic field-effect transistor. A hybrid layer according to the present invention may include an oxide layer or an organic layer, and an organic polymer layer chemically combined with the oxide layer or the organic layer. |
| US09112157B2 |
Hole transport materials including OLED applications
The composition described here comprises at least one hole-transporting compound, wherein the hole-transporting compound comprises a core covalently bonded to at least two arylamine groups, wherein the arylamine group optionally comprises one or more intractability groups. The composition can provide good film formation and stability when coated onto hole injection layers. Solution processing of hole transporting layers of OLEDs can be achieved with the composition described here. Good mobility can be achieved. |
| US09112155B2 |
Electron donating polymer and organic solar cell including the same
According to example embodiments, an electron-donating polymer includes a repeating unit A including one repeating unit selected from a repeating unit represented by Chemical Formula 1, a repeating unit represented by Chemical Formula 2, and a combination thereof. The polymer also includes a repeating unit B represented by Chemical Formula 3. |
| US09112154B2 |
Metaphenylene polymer compound and light emitting device using the same
A polymer compound comprising a constitutional unit represented by the following formula (2) and a constitutional unit represented by the following formula (1), wherein R1 represents an alkyl group or the like, and R2 and R3 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or the like, —Ar1— (2) wherein Ar1 represents an arylene group or the like. A hydrogen atom in the group represented by Ar1 may be substituted by an alkyl group, aryl group or the like. |
| US09112150B2 |
Methods of forming memory cells and arrays
Some embodiments include methods of forming memory cells. Heater structures are formed over an array of electrical nodes, and phase change material is formed across the heater structures. The phase change material is patterned into a plurality of confined structures, with the confined structures being in one-to-one correspondence with the heater structures and being spaced from one another by one or more insulative materials that entirely laterally surround each of the confined structures. Some embodiments include memory arrays having heater structures over an array of electrical nodes. Confined phase change material structures are over the heater structures and in one-to-one correspondence with the heater structures. The confined phase change material structures are spaced from one another by one or more insulative materials that entirely laterally surround each of the confined phase change material structures. |
| US09112149B2 |
Memory element and method of manufacturing the same, and memory device
A memory element with reduced degradation of memory characteristics that is caused by deterioration of a memory layer, a method of manufacturing the memory element, and a memory device are provided. The memory element includes a first electrode, a memory layer, and a second electrode in this order. The memory layer includes a resistance change layer containing fluoride, and an ion source layer disposed between the resistance change layer and the second electrode. |
| US09112145B1 |
Rectified switching of two-terminal memory via real time filament formation
Providing for rectified-switching of a two-terminal solid state memory cell is described herein. By way of example, the subject disclosure provides a solid state device exhibiting rectified resistive switching characteristics that can be fabricated with semiconductor fabrication techniques. The solid state device can comprise a metal ion layer adjacent to an electrically resistive diffusion layer, which is at least in part permeable to conductive ions of the metal ion layer. A pair of electrodes can be placed, respectively, on opposite sides of the adjacent ion layer and electrically resistive diffusion layer to facilitate operating on the two-terminal solid state memory cell. In operation, a program voltage induces conductive ions to form a semi-stable conductive filament within the diffusion layer, which partially deforms in response to reduction in the program voltage. A suitable rectifier voltage re-establishes electrical conductivity, with much lower electrical conductivity for voltages lower than the rectifier voltage. |
| US09112144B2 |
Method of fabricating a resistive non-volatile memory device
A method of fabricating a memory cell includes forming a bottom electrode on a substrate, a variable resistive material layer on the bottom electrode, and a top electrode on the variable resistive material layer. A first metal oxide layer interposes the top electrode and the variable resistive material layer. In an embodiment, the first metal oxide layer is a self-formed layer provided by the oxidation of a portion of the top electrode. In an embodiment, a second metal oxide layer is provided interposing the first metal oxide layer and the variable resistive material layer. The second metal oxide may be a self-formed layer formed by the reduction of the variable resistive material layer. |
| US09112142B2 |
Piezoelectric sensor device, and polarization method of piezoelectric body of piezoelectric sensor device
A piezoelectric sensor device includes a piezoelectric element, a polarization processing unit and a controller. The piezoelectric element has a pair of electrodes sandwiching a piezoelectric body. The polarization processing unit is configured to execute polarization processing in which polarization voltage is applied to the polarization element. The controller is configured to control an execution timing of the polarization processing by the polarization processing unit, and includes a characteristics value acquisition unit configured to acquire a characteristics value relating to a polarization volume of the piezoelectric body, a determination unit configured to determine whether a polarization property is in a stable state or in an unstable state based on the characteristics value, and a polarization controller configured to control the polarization processing unit to apply the polarization voltage to the piezoelectric body when the determination unit determines that the polarization property of the piezoelectric body is in the unstable state. |
| US09112135B2 |
Piezoelectric element and method for manufacturing piezoelectric element
A piezoelectric element is provided with an element body, which has a pair of principal faces opposed to each other and an end face extending in a direction in which the pair of principal faces are opposed to each other, so as to connect the pair of principal faces, and which is comprised of a piezoelectric ceramic material; a pair of electrodes arranged respectively on the pair of principal faces; and a resin covering an entire area of the end face and arranged so as to make contact with the pair of electrodes. The resin has two edges in the aforementioned direction projecting outward in the aforementioned direction from the respective electrodes. |
| US09112134B2 |
Resonator, frequency filter, duplexer, electronic device, and method of manufacturing resonator
A resonator according to the present invention includes a supporting substrate, a piezoelectric layer, a pair of excitation electrodes, and a bonding layer. The piezoelectric layer is made of a piezoelectric material. The pair of excitation electrodes is formed on the upper surface of the piezoelectric layer so as to excite bulk acoustic waves. The bonding layer has a cavity formed therein so as to face the excitation electrode pair through the piezoelectric layer, and the bonding layer bonds the supporting substrate to the lower surface of the piezoelectric layer. |
| US09112132B2 |
Resistance-variable memory device
A memory device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a third electrode, a first variable resistance layer between the first electrode and the third electrode, and a second variable resistance layer between the second electrode and the third electrode. The first, second, and third electrodes, and the first and second variable resistance layers are formed of materials that cause the first variable resistance layer to transition from a high resistance state to a low resistance state when a voltage is applied across the first and second electrodes and maintain the high resistance state when the voltage is cut off, and cause the second variable resistance layer to transition from a high resistance state to a low resistance state when the voltage is applied across the first and second electrodes and transition from the high resistance state to the low resistance state when the voltage is cut off. |
| US09112130B2 |
Quantum interference based logic devices including electron monochromator
A logic device is provided which includes an electron monochromator. The electron monochromator includes a quantum dot disposed between first and second tunneling barriers, an emitter coupled to the first tunneling barrier, and a collector coupled to the second tunneling barrier. The logic device also includes a quantum interference device. The quantum interference device includes a source which is coupled to the collector of the electron monochromator. |
| US09112129B2 |
Light emitting diode package and light unit having the same
Disclosed are a light emitting device package and a light unit having the same. The light emitting device package includes a body including a cavity at a first side surface, first and second lead frames in the cavity, a light emitting device connected to the first and second lead frames, a heat radiation pad on a second side surface of the body, a heat radiation frame on a third side surface of the body, and first and second electrode pads disposed on the second side surface of the body and spaced apart from the heat radiation pad. |
| US09112128B2 |
Light emitting device module and lighting system including the same
Disclosed herein is a semiconductor light emitting device module comprising: a substrate; at least one support disposed on a surface of the substrate; a heat transfer member disposed on the substrate and the support, the heating transfer member having a cavity formed in at least a portion of the heat transfer member; first conductive layer and second conductive layer contacting the heat transfer member via an insulating layer, the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer being electrically isolated from each other in accordance with exposure of the insulating layer or exposure of the heat transfer member; and at least one semiconductor light emitting device electrically connected to the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer, the at least one semiconductor light emitting device is thermally contacted an exposed portion of the heat transfer member. |
| US09112120B2 |
White light source and white light source system including the same
The present invention provides a white light source satisfying a relational equation of −0.2≦[(P(λ)×V(λ))/(P(λmax1)×V(λmax1))−(B(λ)×V(λ))/(B(λmax2)×V(λmax2))]≦+0.2, assuming that: a light emission spectrum of the white light source is P(λ); a light emission spectrum of black-body radiation having a same color temperature as that of the white light source is B(λ); a spectrum of a spectral luminous efficiency is V(λ); a wavelength at which P(λ)×V(λ) becomes largest is λmax1; and a wavelength at which B(λ)×V(λ) becomes largest is λmax2. According to the above white light source, there can be provided a white light source capable of reproducing the same light emission spectrum as that of natural light. |
| US09112119B2 |
Optically efficient solid-state lighting device packaging
Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for light-emitting diode and laser diode packaging designs. In one aspect, an LED lighting device includes a substrate capable of dissipating heat, the substrate formed of a metal or ceramic material, an array of LED dies located on the substrate, electrically conductive lines on the substrate and electrically connected to the LED dies for electrically driving the LED dies to emit light, a grid structure over the substrate forming an array of cavities to surround the LED dies in respective cavities, an optically reflective coating at least partially covering one or more of exposed regions of the substrate, the electrically conductive lines, or surfaces of the grid structure, and optically transparent plates placed over at least some of the cavities of the grid structure allowing transmission of light produced by a respective LED die inside a respective cavity. |
| US09112102B2 |
Light emitting diode and method of fabricating the same
Provided are a light emitting diode (LED) and a method of fabricating the same. The LED includes a unit chip. The unit chip includes a substrate, and a first conductivity-type semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second conductivity-type semiconductor layer which are sequentially stacked on the substrate. A concavo-convex structure having the shape of irregular vertical lines is disposed in a side surface of the unit chip. |
| US09112095B2 |
CIGS absorber formed by co-sputtered indium
In some embodiments, Cu—In—Ga precursor films are deposited by co-sputtering from multiple targets. Specifically, the co-sputtering method is used to form layers that include In. The co-sputtering reduces the tendency for the In component to agglomerate and results in smoother, more uniform films. In some embodiments, the Ga concentration in one or more target(s) is between about 25 atomic % and about 66 atomic %. The deposition may be performed in a batch or in-line deposition system. If an in-line deposition system is used, the movement of the substrates through the system may be continuous or may follow a “stop and soak” method of substrate transport. |
| US09112092B2 |
Light emitting device and light emitting device package
Disclosed is a light emitting device and a light emitting device package. The light emitting device includes a substrate; a first conductive semiconductor layer on the substrate; an active layer on the first conductive semiconductor layer; and a second conductive semiconductor layer on the active layer, wherein the active layer includes: a plurality of barrier layers; and a plurality of well layers between the barrier layers, and wherein at least two of the barrier layers have different energy bandgaps and have different thicknesses. |
| US09112091B2 |
Apparatus and method for an optical package structure using aluminum nitride
An apparatus and method are disclosed for providing monolithic optical packages. An embodiment optical package includes a base made of aluminum-nitride (AlN) that is configured to support an optical component, a plurality of sidewalls made of AlN that are coupled to the base, the sidewalls are configured to surround the optical component, and a feed-through made of AlN that is coupled to one of the sidewalls, wherein the feed-through is configured to feed a plurality of leads through the one sidewall to provide an electrical connection to the optical component, wherein the base, the sidewalls, and the feed-through have a same coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for AlN. An embodiment method includes punching and printing AlN tapes to build a base, a plurality of sidewalls joined to the base, and a feed-through coupled to the sidewalls, and attaching a plurality of electrical leads into the feed-through. |
| US09112086B2 |
Photoelectric conversion device
To provide a photoelectric conversion device which has little light loss caused by light absorption in a window layer and has favorable electric characteristics. The photoelectric conversion device includes, between a pair of electrodes, a light-transmitting semiconductor layer which has one conductivity type and serves as a window layer, and a silicon semiconductor substrate having a conductivity type for forming a p-n junction or a silicon semiconductor layer having a conductivity type for forming a p-i-n junction. The light-transmitting semiconductor layer can be formed using an inorganic compound containing, as its main component, an oxide of a metal belonging to any of Groups 4 to 8 of the periodic table. The band gap of the metal oxide is greater than or equal to 2 eV. |
| US09112085B2 |
High efficiency broadband semiconductor nanowire devices
Metal-nitride nanowires are amongst the candidates for very high efficiency electronics, solid state light sources, photovoltaics, photoelectrochemical devices, and photobiological devices. Enhanced performance typically requires heterostructures, quantum dots, etc within structures that are grown with relatively few defects and in a controllable reproducible manner. Additionally device design flexibility requires that the nanowire at the substrate be either InN or GaN. Methods of growing relatively defect free nanowires and associated structures for group IIIA-nitrides are presented without foreign metal catalysts thereby overcoming the non-uniform growth of prior art techniques and allowing self-organizing quantum dot, quantum well and quantum dot-in-a-dot structures to be formed, thereby supporting variety of high efficiency devices. |
| US09112084B2 |
Light emitting diode, light emitting diode lamp, and illuminating apparatus
Disclosed is a light-emitting diode, which has a red and infrared emitting wavelength, excellent monochromatism characteristics, and high output and high efficiency and excellent humidity resistance. The light-emitting diode is provided with: a light-emitting section, which includes an active layer having a quantum well structure and formed by laminating alternately a well layer which comprises a composition expressed by the composition formula of (AlX1Ga1-X1)As (0≦X1≦1) and a barrier layer which comprises a composition expressed by the composition formula of (AlX2Ga1-X2)As (0 |
| US09112080B1 |
Electrical connectors of building integrable photovoltaic modules
Provided are novel building integrable photovoltaic (BIP) modules and methods of fabricating thereof. A module may be fabricated from an insert having one or more photovoltaic cells by electrically interconnecting and mechanically integrating one or more connectors with the insert. Each connector may have one or more conductive elements, such as metal sockets and/or pins. At least two of all conductive elements are electrically connected to the photovoltaic cells using, for example, bus bars. These and other electrical components are electrically insulated using a temperature resistant material having a Relative Temperature Index (RTI) of at least about 115° C. The insulation may be provided before or during module fabrication by, for example, providing a prefabricated insulating housing and/or injection molding the temperature resistant material. The temperature resistant material and/or other materials may be used for mechanical integration of the one or more connectors with the insert. |
| US09112077B1 |
Semiconductor structure
A semiconductor structure including a silicon substrate, a nucleation layer and a plurality of multi-layer sets is provided. The nucleation layer is disposed on the silicon substrate. The multi-layer sets are stacked over the nucleation layer, and each of the multi-layer sets includes a plurality of first sub-layers and a plurality of second sub-layers stacked alternately. A material of the first sub-layers and the second sub-layers includes Al-containing III-V group compound, wherein an average content of aluminum of the multi-layer sets decreases as a minimum distance between each of the multi-layer sets and the silicon substrate increases, and an aluminum content of the first sub-layers is different from an aluminum content of the second sub-layers. |
| US09112075B2 |
CIGS- or CZTS-based film solar cells and method for preparing the same
Provided is a copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS)- or copper zinc tin sulfur (CZTS)-based solar cell including a back electrode layer and a light-absorbing layer, wherein the light-absorbing layer has a composition of CuxInyGa1-y(SzSe1-z)2 (wherein 0.85≦x<1, 0 |
| US09112074B2 |
UV photodetectors having semiconductor metal oxide layer
A method of forming an ultraviolet (UV) photodetector includes forming an epitaxial semiconductor metal oxide layer on a substrate, wherein the forming includes using an O2 flow rate and applied RF plasma power which together provide a ratio of O• (oxygen radicals) to O+ of at least 1.5. Metal fingers are formed on a surface of the semiconductor metal oxide layer. The metal fingers can include a multi-layer stack including a metal having a 25° C. work function <4 eV positioned between an adhesion layer and an oxidation resistant metal capping layer. The semiconductor metal oxide layer can be Zn1-xMgxO wherein 0 |
| US09112072B2 |
Method for producing a coated item by means of texture etching
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a coated object (2) through deposition of at least one transparent, conductive metal-oxide layer (3) on a substrate (5), comprising the deposition (I) and preferably subsequent temperature treatment (II) of the coating (3). After the optional temperature treatment (II), the surface texture (8) of the coating (3) is statistically adjusted through an etching process. |
| US09112071B2 |
Method of manufacturing a solar cell and solar cell thus obtained
The manufacturing of the solar cell comprises the etching of a via hole (2) with a tapered shape such that the diameter (A) at a first side (1a) of the substrate (1), intended as a main side for capturing incident light, is larger than the diameter (B) at the second side (1b) of the substrate (1). The first doped region (3) extends to a first surface (11) in the via hole (2). The second doped region (5) is present at the second side (1b) of the substrate (1) and is suitably formed by ion implantation. The resulting solar cell has an appropriate isolation between first doped region (3) and second doped region (5) over a second surface (12) in the via hole (2) and is suitably provided with a deep junction between the first doped region (3) and dopant in the substrate (1). |
| US09112067B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof
An object relates to an electrode of a semiconductor device or a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, which includes a bonding step, and problems are: (1) high resistance of a semiconductor device due to the use of an Al electrode, (2) formation of an alloy by Al and Si, (3) high resistance of a film formed by a sputtering method, and (4) defective bonding in a bonding step which is caused if a bonding surface has a large unevenness. A semiconductor device includes a metal substrate or a substrate provided with a metal film, a copper (Cu) plating film over and bonded to the metal substrate or the metal film by employing a thermocompression bonding method, a barrier film over the Cu plating film, a single crystal silicon film over the barrier film, and an electrode layer over the single crystal silicon film. |
| US09112057B1 |
Semiconductor devices with dopant migration suppression and method of fabrication thereof
A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate having a semiconducting surface and forming a first epitaxial layer on the semiconducting surface. The first epitaxial layer includes a first semiconducting material doped in-situ with at least one dopant of a first conductivity type. The method also includes adding at least one dopant of a second conductivity type into one portion of the substrate to define at least one counter-doped region with an overall doping of the second conductivity type and at least one other region with an overall doping of the first conductivity type in the other portions of substrate. The method further includes forming a second epitaxial layer on the first epitaxial layer, the second epitaxial layer being a second semiconducting material that is substantially undoped. |
| US09112054B2 |
Methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices
A semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device are provided. In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, a gate structure is formed on a substrate. An epitaxial layer is formed on a top surface of the substrate adjacent to the gate structure. An elevated source/drain (ESD) layer and an impurity region are formed by implanting impurities and carbon in the epitaxial layer and an upper portion of the substrate using the gate structure as an ion implantation mask. A metal silicide layer is formed on the ESD layer. |
| US09112052B2 |
Voids in STI regions for forming bulk FinFETs
An embodiment is an integrated circuit structure including two insulation regions over a substrate with one of the two insulation regions including a void, at least a bottom surface of the void being defined by the one of the two insulation regions. The integrated circuit structure further includes a first semiconductor strip between and adjoining the two insulation regions, where the first semiconductor strip includes a top portion forming a fin over top surfaces of the two insulation regions, a gate dielectric over a top surface and sidewalls of the fin, and a gate electrode over the gate dielectric. |
| US09112051B1 |
Three-dimensional flash memory device
The present invention is directed to a memory device comprising a semiconductor block formed on a p-type semiconductor substrate with the semiconductor block having i number of n-type line regions extending along a first direction separated by i−1 number of p-type line regions along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction; and a plurality of paired gate electrodes extending along the second direction with each pair of the paired gate electrodes formed adjacent to two opposite sides of the semiconductor block with a charge-trapping layer interposed therebetween, where i is an integer greater than or equal to two. The n-type line regions may function as sub-bit lines or sub-source lines or both. The p-type line regions may function as channel lines that allow current to flow vertically between two n-type line regions adjacent thereto. The memory device may further include a bit or source select unit. |
| US09112049B2 |
Metal bump joint structure and methods of forming
A structure comprises a first semiconductor chip with a first metal bump and a second semiconductor chip with a second metal bump. The structure further comprises a solder joint structure electrically connecting the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip, wherein the solder joint structure comprises an intermetallic compound region between the first metal bump and the second metal bump, wherein the intermetallic compound region is with a first height dimension and a surrounding portion formed along exterior walls of the first metal bump and the second metal bump, wherein the surrounding portion is with a second height dimension, and wherein the second height dimension is greater than the first height dimension. |
| US09112041B2 |
Transistor having an oxide semiconductor film
To provide a thin film transistor which has high operation speed and in which a large amount of current can flow when the thin film transistor is on and off-state current at the time when the thin film transistor is off is extremely reduced. The thin film transistor is a vertical thin film transistor in which a channel formation region is formed using an oxide semiconductor film in which hydrogen or an OH group contained in the oxide semiconductor is removed so that hydrogen is contained in the oxide semiconductor at a concentration of lower than or equal to 5×1019/cm3, preferably lower than or equal to 5×1018/cm3, more preferably lower than or equal to 5×1017/cm3, and the carrier concentration is lower than or equal to 5×1014/cm3, preferably lower than or equal to 5×1012/cm3. |
| US09112037B2 |
Semiconductor device
A transistor including an oxide semiconductor and having favorable operation characteristics is provided. Further, by using the transistor, a semiconductor having improved operation characteristics can be provided. In planar view, one of a source electrode and a drain electrode of the transistor is surrounded by a ring-shaped gate electrode. Further, in planar view, one of the source electrode and the drain electrode of the transistor is surrounded by a channel formation region. Accordingly, the source electrode is not electrically connected to the drain electrode through a parasitic channel generated in an end portion of an island-shaped oxide semiconductor layer. |
| US09112034B2 |
Thin-film semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same
A thin-film semiconductor device manufacturing method according to the present disclosure includes: preparing a substrate; forming a gate electrode above the substrate; forming a gate insulating film above the substrate; forming an amorphous film (amorphous silicon film) above the substrate; forming a crystalline film (crystalline silicon film) including a first crystal and a second crystal, by crystallizing the amorphous film, the first crystal (i) containing subgrains formed with different crystal orientations in a single crystal and (ii) including a subgrain boundary formed by plural crystal planes between the subgrains, the second crystal having an average crystal grain size smaller than an average crystal grain size of the first crystal; thinning the crystalline film; and forming a source electrode and a drain electrode above the substrate. |
| US09112028B2 |
Methods of containing defects for non-silicon device engineering
An apparatus including a device including a channel material having a first lattice structure on a well of a well material having a matched lattice structure in a buffer material having a second lattice structure that is different than the first lattice structure. A method including forming a trench in a buffer material; forming an n-type well material in the trench, the n-type well material having a lattice structure that is different than a lattice structure of the buffer material; and forming an n-type transistor. A system including a computer including a processor including complimentary metal oxide semiconductor circuitry including an n-type transistor including a channel material, the channel material having a first lattice structure on a well disposed in a buffer material having a second lattice structure that is different than the first lattice structure, the n-type transistor coupled to a p-type transistor. |
| US09112027B2 |
Semiconductor device and fabrication method thereof
A semiconductor device includes a gate electrode formed on a silicon substrate via a gate insulation film in correspondence to a channel region, source and drain regions of a p-type diffusion region formed in the silicon substrate at respective outer sides of sidewall insulation films of the gate electrode, and a pair of SiGe mixed crystal regions formed in the silicon substrate at respective outer sides of the sidewall insulation films in epitaxial relationship to the silicon substrate, the SiGe mixed crystal regions being defined by respective sidewall surfaces facing with each other, wherein, in each of the SiGe mixed crystal regions, the sidewall surface is defined by a plurality of facets forming respective, mutually different angles with respect to a principal surface of the silicon substrate. |
| US09112024B2 |
Semiconductor device
A lateral semiconductor device including a semiconductor substrate; a buried oxide layer formed on the semiconductor substrate, and an active layer formed on the buried oxide layer. The active layer includes a first conductivity type well region, a second conductivity type well region, and a first conductivity type drift region interposed between the first conductivity type well region and the second conductivity type well region. A region where current flows because of carriers moving between the first conductivity type well region and the second conductivity type well region, and a region where no current flows are formed alternately between the first conductivity type well region and the second conductivity type well region, in a direction perpendicular to a carrier moving direction when viewed in a plan view. |
| US09112021B2 |
High voltage bipolar transistor with trench field plate
A bipolar transistor structure includes an epitaxial layer on a semiconductor substrate, a bipolar transistor device formed in the epitaxial layer and a trench structure formed in the epitaxial layer adjacent at least two opposing lateral sides of the bipolar transistor device. The trench structure includes a field plate spaced apart from the epitaxial layer by an insulating material. The bipolar transistor structure further includes a base contact connected to a base of the bipolar transistor device, an emitter contact connected to an emitter of the bipolar transistor device and isolated from the base contact and an electrical connection between the emitter contact and the field plate. |
| US09112017B2 |
Integrated transistor and anti-fuse as programming element for a high-voltage integrated circuit
A semiconductor device includes an N type well region in a P type substrate. A source region of a MOSFET is laterally separated from a boundary of the well region, which includes the drain of the MOSFET. An insulated gate of the MOSFET extends laterally from the source region to at least just past the boundary of the well region. A polysilicon layer, which forms a first plate of a capacitive anti-fuse, is insulated from an area of the well region, which forms the second plate of the anti-fuse. The anti-fuse is programmed by application of a voltage across the first and second capacitive plates sufficient to destroy at least a portion of the second dielectric layer, thereby electrically shorting the polysilicon layer to the drain of the HVFET. |
| US09112016B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device, including a semiconductor layer including a first region and a second region isolated from the first region, a source in a surface of the first region, a drain in a surface of the second region, a back-gate in the surface of the source, a gate insulator on a surface of the first region, an end of a drain side of the back-gate being located closer to the drain side than an end of the drain side of the source, a gate insulator on a surface of the semiconductor layer between the first region and the second region, a gate electrode on the gate insulator, a source electrode being contacted to both the source and the back-gate, and a drain electrode being contacted to the drain area. |
| US09112014B2 |
Transistor with counter-electrode connection amalgamated with the source/drain contact
The field effect device includes an active area made from semi-conducting material and a gate electrode separated from the active area by a dielectric gate material. A counter-electrode is separated from the active area by a layer of electrically insulating material. Two source/drain contacts are arranged on the active area on each side of the gate electrode. One of the source/drain contacts is made from a single material, overspills from the active area and connects the active area with the counter-electrode. The counter-electrode contact is delineated by a closed peripheral insulating pattern. |
| US09112012B2 |
Transistor device and fabrication method
Various embodiments provide transistors and fabrication methods. An exemplary transistor can include a silicon nitride layer disposed between a gate dielectric layer and a gate electrode layer. The silicon nitride layer can have a first surface in contact with the gate dielectric layer and a second surface in contact with the gate electrode layer. The second surface can include silicon atoms having a concentration higher than the first surface. A sidewall spacer can be formed on the semiconductor substrate along sidewalls of each of the gate electrode layer, the silicon nitride layer, and the gate dielectric layer. The disclosed transistor can have a reduced turn-on voltage with reduced power consumption. |
| US09112010B2 |
Nitride-based semiconductor device
A nitride-based semiconductor device including a substrate; a GaN-containing layer on the substrate; a nitride-containing layer on the GaN layer; a channel blocking layer on the nitride-containing layer, the channel blocking layer including a nitride-based semiconductor; a gate insulation layer on the channel blocking layer; and a gate electrode on the gate insulation layer. |
| US09111995B2 |
Method for improving anti-radiation performance of SOI structure
A method for improving anti-radiation performance of SOI structure that includes implementing particle implantations of high-energy neutrons, protons and γ-rays to a buried oxide layer of an SOI structure, and then performing annealing process. The high-energy particle implantation introduces displacement damage to the buried oxide layer of the SOI structure. |
| US09111985B1 |
Shallow bipolar junction transistor
A shallow bipolar junction transistor comprising a high voltage n+ well implanted into a semiconductor substrate. The shallow bipolar junction transistor further comprises a bit line n+ implant (BNI) above the high voltage n+ well and an oxide nitride (ONO) layer above the high voltage n+ well. A portion of the ONO layer isolates the BNI from a shallow trench isolation (STI) region. |
| US09111982B2 |
Wafer assembly with carrier wafer
A wafer assembly includes a process wafer and a carrier wafer. Integrated circuits are formed on the process wafer. The carrier wafer is bonded to the process wafer. The carrier wafer has at least one alignment mark. |
| US09111979B2 |
System and method for real time positioning of a substrate in a vacuum processing system
An improved position control means for robotic handling systems; particularly, a sensing system and method for precisely determining the center point of a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, relative to a destination point by using a set of multi pixel imaging sensors incorporated into the wafer carrying end effector of the robotic handling system. |
| US09111977B2 |
Work piece transfer mechanisms
A work piece transfer mechanism for use in a chamber has at least one port through which a work piece may be passed along a linear work piece transfer path between a retracted location inside the chamber and an extended location outside the chamber. The chamber has a predetermined internal dimension of given axial extent in the direction of the transfer path, and the transfer mechanism includes a work piece support movable with a linear stroke. The work piece support is driven along the linear stroke by a drive lever pivotally attached to the work piece support by a pivot, and the drive lever is drivable such that the pivot is driven along a linear path to move the work piece support along the linear work piece transfer path. The linear work piece transfer path includes a portion beyond the port of axial extent greater than predetermined internal dimension. |
| US09111976B2 |
Transfer system
A transfer system according to an embodiment includes a plurality of robot hands, a storage unit, and an instructing part. The robot hands are operable to hold a thin sheet-like workpiece. The storage unit stores therein speed information that represents a temperature of the workpiece associated with a specified speed of a robot hand that holds the workpiece. The instructing part extracts the specified speed for each robot hand from the speed information and instructs to move all of the robot hands at or lower than a representative speed determined based on a set of extracted specified speed data. |
| US09111974B2 |
Manufacturing method and method for operating treatment apparatus
The present invention provides a manufacturing method by which a substrate (typically, a TFT substrate) can be installed directly in a treatment apparatus by using a transfer container without transferring the substrate. It is possible to use the container efficiently and transfer different substrates in size with one container. A manufacturing method in which a substrate is directly installed in an electrostatic-protected transfer container by a substrate supplier, and then the container is directly installed a treatment apparatus by a substrate demander after transferring can be realized, thereby making it possible to transfer substrates such as a TFT substrate. A contamination of a substrate due to particles and electrostatic discharge damage of a TFT substrate can be avoided because a transferring operation is not needed. A manufacturing method in which a substrate holding portion of the container is replaced depending on the size of a substrate and different substrates in size can be transferred with one container may be employed. |
| US09111972B2 |
Substrate processing apparatus and manufacturing method for a semiconductor device
The sizes required for maintenance are reduced and an occupying floor area is reduced. The substrate processing apparatus contains a load lock chamber 41 and a transfer chamber 24 respectively provided in order from the rear side within a case 11; and a processing chamber 53 provided above the load lock chamber 41 for processing wafers 1. An opening section 27A, and an opening and closing means 28A for opening and closing the opening section 27A are respectively provided in a location at the rear side of the transfer chamber 24 where the load lock chamber 41 is not arranged. |
| US09111969B2 |
Seal member, etching apparatus, and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device
Provided is a seal member according to embodiments. The seal member is disposed between an upper electrode and a backing plate in an etching apparatus to seal a gap between the upper electrode and the backing plate. In addition, the seal member is configured to include a high heat conductivity member having a heat conductivity higher than that of a first member formed by using siloxane bond and a low resistance member having a resistivity lower than that of the first member. |
| US09111968B2 |
Plasma processing chamber with a grounded electrode assembly
An optimized plasma processing chamber configured to provide a current path is provided. The optimized plasma processing chamber includes at least an upper electrode, a powered lower electrode, a heating plate, a cooling plate, a plasma chamber lid, and clamp ring. Both the heating plate and the cooling plate are disposed above the upper electrode whereas the heating plate is configured to heat the upper electrode while the cooling plate is configured to cool the upper electrode. The clamp ring is configured to secure the upper electrode to a plasma chamber lid and to provide a current path from the upper electrode to the plasma chamber lid. A pocket may be formed between the clamp ring and the upper electrode to hold at least the heater plate, wherein the pocket is configured to allow longitudinal and lateral tolerances for thermal expansion of the heater plate from repetitive thermal cycling. |
| US09111964B2 |
Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and method for manufacturing same
According one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, includes: a stacked body, and each of a plurality of electrode layers and each of a plurality of insulating layers being stacked alternately in the a stacked body; a first interlayer insulating film on the stacked body; a gate electrode on the first interlayer insulating film; a second interlayer insulating film on the gate electrode; a semiconductor layer extended from an upper end of the second interlayer insulating film to a lower end of the stacked body; a first insulating film between the semiconductor layer and each of the plurality of electrode layers; and a second insulating film between the semiconductor layer and the gate electrode, a thickness of the semiconductor layer provided above an upper end of the gate electrode being thicker than a thickness of the semiconductor layer provided below the upper end of the gate electrode. |
| US09111959B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacture method thereof
A semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The semiconductor device includes a well region disposed in a substrate, a gate disposed on the substrate, a halo region disposed in a channel region under the gate, and a source LDD region and a drain LDD region disposed on opposite sides of the halo region. |
| US09111957B2 |
Coupling well structure for improving HVMOS performance
A semiconductor structure includes a substrate, a first well region of a first conductivity type overlying the substrate, a second well region of a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type overlying the substrate, a cushion region between and adjoining the first and the second well regions, an insulation region in a portion of the first well region and extending from a top surface of the first well region into the first well region, a gate dielectric extending from over the first well region to over the second well region, wherein the gate dielectric has a portion over the insulation region, and a gate electrode on the gate dielectric. |
| US09111948B2 |
Method of fabricating semiconductor package structure
A semiconductor package structure is provided, including: a semiconductor chip having electrode pads disposed thereon and metal bumps disposed on the electrode pads; an encapsulant encapsulating the semiconductor chip; a dielectric layer formed on the encapsulant and having a plurality of patterned intaglios formed therein for exposing the metal bumps; a wiring layer formed in the patterned intaglios of the dielectric layer and electrically connected to the metal bumps; and a metal foil having a plurality of metal posts disposed on a surface thereof such that the metal foil is disposed on the encapsulant with the metal posts penetrating the encapsulant so as to extend to the inactive surface of the semiconductor chip. Compared with the prior art, the present invention reduces the overall thickness of the package structure, increases the electrical transmission efficiency and improves the heat dissipating effect. |
| US09111946B2 |
Method of thinning a wafer to provide a raised peripheral edge
A first area of a first surface of an encapsulated component can be thinned, the component including: a semiconductor chip having an active surface opposite the first surface, and an encapsulant extending outwardly from edges of the semiconductor chip. An entire area of the active surface may be aligned with the first area. After the abrading, a second area of the encapsulated component beyond the first area may have a thickness greater than a thickness of the first area. The second area can be configured to fully support the abraded encapsulated component in a state of the encapsulated component being manipulated by handling equipment. |
| US09111945B2 |
Package having ESD and EMI preventing functions and fabrication method thereof
A package having ESD (electrostatic discharge) and EMI (electromagnetic interference) preventing functions includes: a substrate unit having a ground structure and an I/O structure disposed therein; at least a semiconductor component disposed on a surface of the substrate unit and electrically connected to the ground structure and the I/O structure; an encapsulant covering the surface of the substrate unit and the semiconductor component; and a metal layer disposed on exposed surfaces of the encapsulant and side surfaces of the substrate unit and electrically insulated from the ground structure, thereby protecting the semiconductor component against ESD and EMI so as to improve the product yield and reduce the risk of short circuits. |
| US09111944B2 |
Method of fabricating a ferroelectric capacitor
Ferroelectric capacitors used in ferroelectric random access memories (F-RAM) and methods for fabricating the same to reduce sidewall leakage are described. In one embodiment, the method includes depositing over a surface of a substrate, a ferro stack including a bottom electrode layer electrically coupled to a bottom electrode contact extending through the substrate, a top electrode layer and ferroelectric layer there between. A hard-mask is formed over the ferro stack, and a top electrode formed by etching through the top electrode layer and at least partially through the ferroelectric layer. A non-conductive barrier is formed on sidewalls formed by etching through the top electrode layer and at least partially through the ferroelectric layer, and then a bottom electrode is formed by etching the bottom electrode layer so that conductive residues generated by the etching are electrically isolated from the top electrode by the non-conductive barrier. |
| US09111942B2 |
Local interconnect structure and fabrication method
Local interconnect structures and fabrication methods are provided. A dielectric layer can be formed on a semiconductor substrate. A first film layer can be patterned on the dielectric layer to define a region surrounded by a local interconnect structure to be formed. A sidewall spacer can be formed and patterned surrounding the first film layer on an exposed surface portion of the dielectric layer. A second film layer can be formed on the exposed surface portion of the dielectric layer and can have a top surface substantially flushed with a top surface of the sidewall spacer. The patterned sidewall spacer can be removed to form a first opening. After forming the first opening, the dielectric layer can be etched to form a second opening through the dielectric layer. The second opening can be filled with a conductive material to form the local interconnect structure. |
| US09111941B2 |
Non-volatile memory device with TSI/TSV application
Memory devices and methods for forming the device are disclosed. The device includes a substrate having an array surface and a non-array surface and a memory array having a plurality of memory cells interconnected by first conductors in a first direction and second conductors in a second direction. The memory array is disposed on the array surface of the substrate. The device further includes through silicon via (TSV) contacts disposed in the substrate. The TSV contacts extend from the array surface to the non-array surface, enabling electrical connections to the array from the non-array surface. |
| US09111940B2 |
Repairing method, repairing structure, and repairing system for disconnected defect
The present disclosure provides a repairing method, a repairing structure and a repairing system for a disconnected defect, the repairing method includes: forming a first repairing line connecting two ends of a disconnected portion of a scanning line; forming an insulation layer covering the first repairing line; and forming a second repairing line connecting two ends of a disconnected portion of a data line with the insulation layer located at an intersection of the first repairing line and the second repairing line. By forming the insulation layer between the first repairing line and the second repairing line, the present disclosure avoids the short circuit generated after the scanning line and the data line are repaired, repairs the disconnected defect at the intersection of two metal layers, improves the yield rate of the repairing of the disconnected defect, and reduces manufacturing cost. |
| US09111937B2 |
Semiconductor devices with multilayer flex interconnect structures
Semiconductor devices with multilayer flex interconnect structures. In some embodiments, a semiconductor device may include a semiconductor chip coupled to a planar substrate and a multilayer flex interconnect structure coupled to the semiconductor chip, the multilayer flex interconnect structure including at least: a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, and a dielectric layer disposed between the first and second conductive layers. The semiconductor device may also include another semiconductor chip coupled to the planar substrate and placed in a side-by-side configuration with respect to the semiconductor chip, where the multilayer flex interconnect structure provides electrical connections between at least two terminals of the semiconductor chip and at least two terminals of the other semiconductor chip. |
| US09111936B2 |
Three-dimensional semiconductor architecture
A system and method for making semiconductor die connections with through-substrate vias are disclosed. Through substrate vias are formed through the substrate to allow for signal connections as well as power and ground connections. In one embodiment the substrate has an interior region and a periphery region surrounding the interior region. A first set of through substrate vias are located within the periphery region, and a second set of through substrate vias are located within the interior region, wherein the second set of through substrate vias are part of a power matrix. The second set of through substrate vias bisect the substrate into a first part and a second part. |
| US09111935B2 |
Multiple-patterned semiconductor device channels
A semiconductor device and method of manufacture are provided. The semiconductor device may include a multiple-patterned layer which may include multiple channels defined by multiple masks. A width of a first channel may be smaller than a width of a second channel. A conductor in the first channel may have a conductor width substantially equivalent to a conductor width of a conductor in the second channel. A spacer dielectric on a channel side may be included. The method of manufacture includes establishing a signal conductor layer including channels defined masks where a first channel may have a first width smaller than a second width of a second channel, introducing a spacer dielectric on a channel side, introducing a first conductor in the first channel having a first conductor width, and introducing a second conductor in the second channel having a second conductor width substantially equivalent to the first conductor width. |
| US09111930B2 |
Package on-package with cavity in interposer
A package includes an interposer, which includes a core dielectric material, a through-opening extending from a top surface to a bottom surface of the core dielectric material, a conductive pipe penetrating through the core dielectric material, and a device die in the through-opening. The device die includes electrical connectors. A top package is disposed over the interposer. A first solder region bonds the top package to the conductive pipe, wherein the first solder region extends into a region encircled by the conductive pipe. A package substrate is underlying the interposer. A second solder region bonds the package substrate to the interposer. |
| US09111929B2 |
Package substrate dynamic pressure structure
Devices and methods for their formation, including electronic assemblies having a shape memory material structure, are described. In one embodiment, a device includes a package substrate and an electronic component coupled to the package substrate. The device also includes a shape memory material structure coupled to the package substrate. In one aspect of certain embodiments, the shape memory material structure is formed from a material selected to have a martensite to austenite transition temperature in the range of 50-300 degrees Celsius. In another aspect of certain embodiments, the shape memory material structure is positioned to extend around a periphery of the electronic component. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US09111928B2 |
Switch circuit package module
A switch circuit package module includes a semiconductor switch unit and a capacitor unit. The semiconductor switch unit includes sub micro-switch elements. The capacitor unit is arranged at a periphery of the semiconductor switch unit or stacked on a surface of the semiconductor switch unit, such that impedances of commutation loops between the capacitor unit and the sub micro-switch elements are close to or the same with each other. |
| US09111925B2 |
Process for enhanced 3D integration and structures generated using the same
An enhanced 3D integration structure comprises a logic microprocessor chip bonded to a collection of vertically stacked memory slices and an optional set of outer vertical slices comprising optoelectronic devices. Such a device enables both high memory content in close proximity to the logic circuits and a high bandwidth for logic to memory communication. Additionally, the provision of optoelectronic devices in the outer slices of the vertical slice stack enables high bandwidth direct communication between logic processor chips on adjacent enhanced 3D modules mounted next to each other or on adjacent packaging substrates. A method to fabricate such structures comprises using a template assembly which enables wafer format processing of vertical slice stacks. |
| US09111920B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes: a die pad comprised of a metal, and having at least one cutout portion in its peripheral edge portion, and a protruding portion formed by the cutout portion so as to protrude laterally from the peripheral edge portion; an inner lead having at its end a bonding pad that is placed in the cutout portion with an interval between the bonding pad and the die pad; a semiconductor chip held on the die pad so that a center position of the semiconductor chip is located on the protruding portion side with respect to a center position of the die pad; and a wire configured to electrically connect the semiconductor chip to the bonding pad. |
| US09111913B2 |
Semiconductor package
A semiconductor package, comprising: a package substrate including chip regions, a separation region between the chip regions, and an edge region around the chip and separation regions; semiconductor chips disposed on the chip regions of the package substrate; and signal patterns. The package substrate comprises an upper layer substantially adjacent to the semiconductor chips, a lower layer including interconnection structures disposed in the chip regions, and an intermediate layer between the upper and lower layers, the intermediate layer includes through holes disposed only outside of the separation region; and the signal patterns are in contact with the interconnection structures through the through holes. |
| US09111912B2 |
3D packages and methods for forming the same
Embodiments of the present disclosure include a semiconductor device and methods of forming a semiconductor device. An embodiment is a method of forming a semiconductor device, the method including bonding a die to a top surface of a first substrate, the die being electrically coupled to the first substrate, and forming a support structure on the top surface of the first substrate, the support structure being physically separated from the die with a top surface of the support structure being coplanar with a top surface of the die. The method further includes performing a sawing process on the first substrate, the sawing process sawing through the support structure. |
| US09111911B2 |
Heat sink, and heat sink-equipped electronic component part
A heat sink includes a flow path through which a cooling medium that cools a heat-producing body flows, the flow path having two flow path wall surfaces that face each other; and a plurality of columnar fins provided on one of the flow path wall surfaces, which is positioned at a side where the heat-producing body is provided, the plurality of columnar fins including a long columnar fin and a short columnar fin, and the other of the flow path wall surfaces having a recess in which a distal end portion of the long columnar fin is inserted. |
| US09111910B2 |
Heat dissipation device with fin set
A heat dissipation device includes a heat pipe and a fin set. The fin set includes a plurality of fins. Each of the fins includes a body, a first flange vertically extending from a top side of the body, and a second flange vertically extending from a bottom side of the body. The first flange has a first edge abutting a front neighboring fin and a second edge spaced to the first edge to define a slit. The first flange forms an extending portion extending from the second edge to define a gap between the extending portion and the body of the front neighboring fin. Each of the extending portions is soldered to the body of the front neighboring fin by solder filled in the gap between the extending portion and the body of the front neighboring fin from the slit. |
| US09111908B2 |
Split-gate non-volatile memory cells having improved overlap tolerance
Embodiments include a split-gate non-volatile memory cell that is formed having a control gate and a select gate, where at least a portion of the control gate is formed over the select gate. A charge storage layer is formed between the select gate and the control gate. The select gate is formed using a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer. The second conductive layer is formed over the first conductive layer and has a lower resistivity than the first conductive layer. In one embodiment, the first conductive layer is polysilicon and the second conductive layer is titanium nitride (TiN). In another embodiment, the second conductive layer may be a silicide or other conductive material, or combination of conductive materials having a lower resistivity than the first conductive layer. |
| US09111907B2 |
Silicide protection during contact metallization and resulting semiconductor structures
A semiconductor transistor has a structure including a semiconductor substrate, a source region, a drain region and a channel region in between the source region and the drain region. A metal gate, having a top conductive portion of tungsten is provided above the channel region. A first silicon nitride protective layer over the source region and the drain region and a second silicon nitride protective layer over the gate region are provided. The first silicon nitride protective layer and the second silicon nitride protective layer are configured to allow punch-through of the first silicon nitride protective layer while preventing etching through the second silicon nitride protective layer. Source and drain silicide is protected by avoiding fully etching a gate opening unless either the etching used would not harm the silicide, or the silicide and source and drain contacts are created prior to fully etching an opening to the gate for a gate contact. |
| US09111905B2 |
High electron mobility transistor and method of forming the same
A high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) includes a first III-V compound layer. A second III-V compound layer is disposed on the first III-V compound layer and is different from the first III-V compound layer in composition. A carrier channel is located between the first III-V compound layer and the second III-V compound layer. A salicide source feature and a salicide drain feature are in contact with the first III-V compound layer through the second III-V compound layer. A gate electrode is disposed over a portion of the second III-V compound layer between the salicide source feature and the salicide drain feature. |
| US09111898B2 |
Multiple layer substrate
A substrate for an integrated circuit includes a device wafer having a raw carrier concentration and an epitaxial layer disposed over the device wafer. The epitaxial layer has a first carrier concentration. The first carrier concentration is higher than the raw carrier concentration. |
| US09111897B2 |
Methods of forming a polysilicon layer and methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices
A method of forming a polysilicon layer includes providing a silicon precursor onto an object loaded in a process chamber to form a seed layer. The silicon precursor includes a nitrogen containing silicon precursor and a chlorine containing silicon precursor. The method further includes providing a silicon source on the seed layer. |
| US09111895B2 |
System and method for electrical testing of through silicon vias (TSVs)
An embodiment of a testing system for carrying out electrical testing of at least one first through via extending, at least in part, through a substrate of a first body of semiconductor material. The testing system has a first electrical test circuit integrated in the first body and electrically coupled to the first through via and to electrical-connection elements carried by the first body for electrical connection towards the outside; the first electrical test circuit enables detection of at least one electrical parameter of the first through via through the electrical-connection elements. |
| US09111888B2 |
Organic light emitting diode display device
An organic light emitting diode display device includes: a reflective electrode and an auxiliary electrode; a bank layer on the reflective electrode and the auxiliary electrode, the bank layer including a first open portion and a second open portion exposing a portion of the reflective electrode and a portion of the auxiliary electrode, respectively; a separator on the auxiliary electrode, the separator disposed within the second open portion; a pixel electrode in contact with the portion of the reflective electrode exposed by the first open portion of the bank layer, the pixel electrode being disposed separated from the separator; an organic emission layer on the pixel electrode, the organic emission layer divided by the separator, the organic emission layer being disposed separated from the separator; and a common electrode on the organic emission layer, the common electrode connected to the auxiliary electrode. |
| US09111887B2 |
Flexible display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same
A flexible display apparatus and a method of manufacturing the flexible display apparatus are disclosed. A flexible organic light-emitting display apparatus includes: a thin film transistor formed on a substrate in which a plurality of subpixels are located; an organic light-emitting device electrically connected to the thin film transistor and in one of the subpixels, the organic light-emitting device including a first electrode, an organic layer on the first electrode; and a second electrode on the organic layer; a pixel defining layer having an opening that exposes at least a region of the first electrode, and covering an edge region of the first electrode; a capping layer covering the organic light-emitting device; and at least one clamp unit in a non-organic layer region defined next to the one of the subpixels, wherein the non-organic layer region is a region in which the organic layer is not formed. |
| US09111886B2 |
Method of repairing a defect of an organic EL display
The disclosed method is for manufacturing organic EL displays that comprise a substrate and multiple organic EL elements that are disposed in a matrix form on said substrate, and wherein said organic EL elements comprise pixel electrodes that are disposed on said substrate, an organic layer that is disposed on said pixel electrodes and a counter-electrode that is disposed on said organic layer. The organic EL display manufacturing method comprises a step for forming banks that delineate the organic layer on the substrate, a step for coating the region delineated by said banks with a solution comprising an organic material and forming the organic layer, a step for detecting defectively formed portions of said organic layer, a step for removing said defectively formed portions, a step for forming a recessed part or a protruding part around the region from which said poorly formed portion has been removed, and a step for re-coating the region from which said defectively formed portion was removed with the solution comprising the organic material. |
| US09111885B2 |
Electronic devices and methods of making the same using solution processing techniques
An electronic device comprising: an electronic substrate comprising circuit elements; a double bank well-defining structure disposed over the electronic substrate, the double bank well-defining structure comprising a first layer of insulating material and a second layer of insulating material thereover, the second layer of insulating material having a lower wettability than the first layer of insulating material; and organic semiconductive material disposed in wells defined by the double bank well-defining structure. |
| US09111883B2 |
Method for evaluating silicon single crystal and method for manufacturing silicon single crystal
The present invention provides a method for evaluating silicon single crystal wherein an amount Δ[C] of carriers generated due to oxygen donors produced when a heat treatment is performed to the silicon single crystal is calculated and evaluated, the amount Δ[C] being calculated from oxygen concentration [Oi] in the silicon single crystal, a temperature T of the heat treatment, a time t of the heat treatment, and an oxygen diffusion coefficient D(T) at the temperature T by using the following relational expression: Δ[C]=α[Oi]5×exp(−β·D(T)·[Oi]·t) (where α and β are constants). As a result, there is provided a method that enables evaluating an amount of carriers generated due to oxygen donors in silicon single crystal in a further versatile manner. |
| US09111881B2 |
Organic EL device having a convex portion, method of manufacturing and electronic apparatus having an organic EL device having a convex portion
The organic EL device includes a base material as a substrate, a plurality of organic EL elements disposed on the based materials, a seal layer covering the plurality of organic EL elements to seal, color layers of at least red, green, and blue corresponding to a plurality of organic EL elements and formed on the seal layer, and a convex portion which is formed by dividing each of colored layers with different colors on the seal layer, and whose height is lower than the height of a colored layer of at least red, green, blue on the seal layer. The convex portion has a property of optical transparency, and is formed using a photosensitive resin material which is a main material of the colored layers, for example. |
| US09111879B2 |
Semiconductor processing methods, and methods for forming silicon dioxide
Some embodiments include methods for semiconductor processing. A semiconductor substrate may be placed within a reaction chamber. The semiconductor substrate may have an inner region and an outer region laterally outward of said inner region, and may have a deposition surface that extends across the inner and outer regions. The semiconductor substrate may be heated by radiating thermal energy from the outer region to the inner region. The heating may eventually achieve thermal equilibrium. However, before thermal equilibrium of the outer and inner regions is reached, and while the outer region is warmer than the inner region, at least two reactants are sequentially introduced into the reaction chamber. The reactants may together form a single composition on the deposition surface through a quasi-ALD process. |
| US09111870B2 |
Microelectronic packages containing stacked microelectronic devices and methods for the fabrication thereof
Microelectronic packages and methods for fabricating microelectronic packages are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes encapsulating a device stack within a molded panel having a frontside and a backside. The device stack contains an upper semiconductor die and an interconnect buffer layer, which is formed over the upper semiconductor die and which is covered by the frontside of the molded panel. Material is removed from the frontside the molded panel to expose the interconnect buffer layer therethrough. One or more frontside redistribution layers are produced over the frontside of the molded panel and electrically coupled to the upper semiconductor die through the interconnect buffer layer. The molded panel is then singulated to yield a microelectronic package including a molded package body containing the device stack. |
| US09111867B2 |
Split gate nanocrystal memory integration
A process integration is disclosed for fabricating non-volatile memory (NVM) cells having spacer control gates (108) along with a high-k-metal-poly select gate (121, 123, 127) and one or more additional in-laid high-k metal CMOS transistor gates (121, 124, 128) using a gate-last HKMG CMOS process flow without interfering with the operation or reliability of the NVM cells. |
| US09111866B2 |
Method of forming split-gate cell for non-volative memory devices
Fabrication of a slim split gate cell and the resulting device are disclosed. Embodiments include forming a first gate on a substrate, the first gate having an upper surface and a hard-mask covering the upper surface, forming an interpoly isolation layer on side surfaces of the first gate and the hard-mask, forming a second gate on one side of the first gate, with an uppermost point of the second gate below the upper surface of the first gate, removing the hard-mask, forming spacers on exposed vertical surfaces, and forming a salicide on exposed surfaces of the first and second gates. |
| US09111865B2 |
Method of making a logic transistor and a non-volatile memory (NVM) cell
An oxide-containing layer is formed directly on a semiconductor layer in an NVM region, and a first partial layer of a first material is formed over the oxide-containing layer in the NVM region. A first high-k dielectric layer is formed directly on the semiconductor layer in a logic region. A first conductive layer is formed over the first dielectric layer in the logic region. A second partial layer of the first material is formed directly on the first partial layer in the NVM region and over the first conductive layer in the logic region. A logic device is formed in the logic region. An NVM cell is formed in the NVM region, wherein the first and second partial layer together are used to form one of a charge storage layer if the cell is a floating gate cell or a select gate if the cell is a split gate cell. |
| US09111857B2 |
Method, system and device for recessed contact in memory array
Embodiments disclosed herein may relate to forming a contact region for an interconnect between a selector transistor and a word-line electrode in a memory device. |
| US09111855B2 |
Shift register memory and driving method thereof
A shift register memory according to the present embodiment includes a magnetic pillar including a plurality of magnetic layers and a plurality of nonmagnetic layers provided between the magnetic layers adjacent to each other. A stress application part applies a stress to the magnetic pillar. A magnetic-field application part applies a static magnetic field to the magnetic pillar. The stress application part applies the stress to the magnetic pillar in order to transfer magnetization states of the magnetic layers in a stacking direction of the magnetic layers. |
| US09111854B2 |
Non-volatile memory, writing method for the same, and reading method for the same
A non-volatile memory of an embodiment includes a plurality of memory cells, each of the memory cells including a plurality of transistors including a first to fourth transistors, a first non-volatile element, a second non-volatile element, a first node, and a second node, the first and second transistors being connected in series with the first non-volatile element, the third and fourth transistors being connected in series with the second non-volatile element, the first node being disposed between the first and second transistors, the second node being disposed between the third and fourth transistors, gates of the first and third transistors being connected to one of first wiring lines, a gate of the second transistor being connected to the second node, a gate of the fourth transistor being connected to the first node, the first transistor being connected between one of second wiring lines and the first node. |
| US09111849B2 |
High voltage resistor with biased-well
Provided is a high voltage semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes a doped well located in a substrate that is oppositely doped. The semiconductor device includes a dielectric structure located on the doped well. A portion of the doped well adjacent the dielectric structure has a higher doping concentration than a remaining portion of the doped well. The semiconductor device includes an elongate polysilicon structure located on the dielectric structure. The elongate polysilicon structure has a length L. The portion of the doped well adjacent the dielectric structure is electrically coupled to a segment of the elongate polysilicon structure that is located away from a midpoint of the elongate polysilicon structure by a predetermined distance that is measured along the elongate polysilicon structure. The predetermined distance is in a range from about 0*L to about 0.1*L. |
| US09111847B2 |
Method for manufacturing a chip package, a method for manufacturing a wafer level package, a chip package and a wafer level package
A method for manufacturing a chip package is provided. The method includes forming a layer over a carrier; forming further carrier material over the layer; selectively removing one or more portions of the further carrier material thereby releasing one or more portions of the layer from the further carrier material; and adhering a chip including one or more contact pads to the carrier via the layer. |
| US09111841B2 |
Display device
Display of a display device is made less likely to appear divided when a plurality of display panels are used as one screen. Provided is a display device including two display units and a foldable housing that includes a joint portion between the two display units and supports the two display units. Each display unit includes a display panel including a display region and a non-display region and a support having a first surface overlapped with the display region and a second surface that meets the first surface and is overlapped with the non-display region. The two display units are placed in the housing in an opened state such that the first surfaces of the supports face the same direction and the second surfaces of the supports face each other. |
| US09111840B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention disclose a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same. The semiconductor device includes a gallium nitride substrate, a plurality of semiconductor stacks disposed on the gallium nitride substrate, and an insulation pattern disposed between the gallium nitride substrate and the plurality of semiconductor stacks, the insulation pattern insulating the semiconductor stacks from the gallium nitride substrate. |
| US09111836B2 |
Semiconductor device and driving method thereof
A semiconductor device includes a photodiode, a first transistor, a second transistor, and a third transistor. The second transistor and the third transistor have a function of retaining a charge accumulated in a gate of the first transistor. In a period during which the second transistor and the third transistor are off, a voltage level of a voltage applied to a gate of the second transistor is set to be lower than a voltage level of a source of the second transistor and a voltage level of a drain of the second transistor, and a voltage level of a voltage applied to a gate of the third transistor is set to be lower than a voltage level of a source of the third transistor and a voltage level of a drain of the third transistor. |
| US09111832B2 |
Infrared reflection/absorption layer for reducing ghost image of infrared reflection noise and image sensor using the same
An image sensor includes a photosensing element for receiving infrared (IR) radiation and detecting the IR radiation and generating an electrical signal indicative of the IR radiation. A redistribution layer (RDL) is disposed under the photosensing element, the RDL comprising pattern of conductors for receiving the electrical signal. An IR reflection layer, an IR absorption layer or an isolation layer is disposed between the photosensing element and the RDL. The IR reflection layer, IR absorption layer or isolation layer provides a barrier to IR radiation such that the IR radiation does not impinge upon the RDL. As a result, a ghost image of the RDL is not generated, resulting in reduced noise and improved sensitivity and performance of the image sensor. |
| US09111829B2 |
Color-optimized image sensor
An image sensor pixel array includes a photoelectric conversion unit comprising a photoelectron accumulation region of n-type in a substrate of p-type and vertically below a gate electrode of a transistor. A light guide transmits a light of red or green or yellow color across the gate electrode to the photoelectron accumulation region. The gate electrode may be made thinner by a wet etch. An etchant for thinning the gate electrode may be introduced through an opening in an insulating film on the substrate. The light guide may be formed in the opening after the thinning. An anti-reflection stack may be formed at a bottom of the opening prior to forming the light guide. |
| US09111825B2 |
Image sensor, light quantity measurement method, and microscope system
An image sensor includes an effective pixel region formed of a pixel group which is irradiated with light, and an optical black region formed of a pixel group which is shielded from light. In the image sensor, when the image sensor is used for a light quantity measurement, the effective pixel region is sectioned into a measurement region used for the light quantity measurement and a light shielding region which is used for a calculation of a value of one of an offset component and a noise component and is shielded from light. |
| US09111824B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for driving the same
An image sensor is provided which is capable of holding data for one frame period or longer and conducting a difference operation with a small number of elements. A photosensor is provided in each of a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, each pixel accumulates electric charge in a data holding portion for one frame period or longer, and an output of the photosensor changes in accordance with the electric charge accumulated in the data holding portion. As a writing switch element for the data holding portion, a transistor with small leakage current (sufficiently smaller than 1×10−14 A) is used. As an example of the transistor with small leakage current, there is a transistor having a channel formed in an oxide semiconductor layer. |
| US09111823B2 |
Image sensor
An image sensor having a sensor array area, a circuit area around the sensor array area, and a pad area adjacent to the circuit area includes a substrate, a multi-layer wiring structure including a plurality of wiring layers on a first surface of the substrate in the circuit area, at least one well in the substrate in the circuit area, and metal wiring that extends on a second surface of the substrate opposite to the first surface, from the pad area to the circuit area, and extends from the second surface into contacts with the at least one well. |
| US09111822B2 |
Thermally and electrically conductive apparatus
The present invention provides a thermally and electrically conductive apparatus that can provide both thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity for one or more electronic devices connected thereto. The apparatus comprises a thermally conductive element that is in thermal contact with one or more electronic devices and optionally in contact with a heat dissipation system. A portion of the thermally conductive element is surrounded by a multilayer coating system comprising two or more layers. The multilayer coating system includes alternating electrically insulating and electrically conductive layers in order to provide paths for the supply of electric current to the one or more electronic devices. A conductive layer of the multilayer coating system may be selectively patterned to connect to one or more electronic devices. In this manner, the combination of an electronic circuit carrier and a thermally conductive element can unify thermal conductivity with the provision of power and/or communication into a single integrated unit for use with electronic devices. |
| US09111821B2 |
Packaged semiconductor devices and packaging devices and methods
Packaged semiconductor devices and packaging devices and methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of packaging a semiconductor device includes providing a first integrated circuit die that is coupled to a first surface of a substrate that includes through-substrate vias (TSVs) disposed therein. A conductive ball is coupled to each of the TSVs on a second surface of the substrate that is opposite the first surface of the substrate. A second integrated circuit die is coupled to the second surface of the substrate, and a molding compound is formed over the conductive balls, the second integrated circuit die, and the second surface of the substrate. The molding compound is removed from over a top surface of the conductive balls, and the top surface of the conductive balls is recessed. A redistribution layer (RDL) is formed over the top surface of the conductive balls and the molding compound. |
| US09111817B2 |
Bump structure and method of forming same
An embodiment bump on trace (BOT) structure includes a contact element supported by an integrated circuit, an under bump metallurgy (UBM) feature electrically coupled to the contact element, a metal bump on the under bump metallurgy feature, and a substrate trace on a substrate, the substrate trace coupled to the metal bump through a solder joint and intermetallic compounds, a ratio of a first cross sectional area of the intermetallic compounds to a second cross sectional area of the solder joint greater than forty percent. |
| US09111814B2 |
Array substrate, manufacturing method thereof and LCD
There is disclosed an array substrate which has a base substrate and data lines and gate lines on the base substrate, The data lines and gate lines intersect with each other to define pixel units, and each pixel unit comprises a pixel electrode, a gate electrode, a source electrode, a drain electrode and an active layer, and the pixel electrode, the gate electrode and the gate line adjoin to the base substrate, and the gate electrode is formed of a same material as that for forming the pixel electrode. |
| US09111808B2 |
Semiconductor device, display device, and electronic device
A semiconductor device including: one or more pieces of first wiring having a main wiring section and a bifurcation wiring section; one or a plurality of pieces of second wiring having a trunk wiring section and a plurality of branch wiring sections within a gap region between the main wiring section and the bifurcation wiring section; one or a plurality of transistors each divided and formed into a plurality of pieces, the plurality of branch wiring sections individually functioning as a gate electrode and the one or plurality of transistors having a source region formed within the main wiring section and within the bifurcation wiring section and having a drain region formed between the plurality of branch wiring sections; and one or a plurality of pieces of third wiring electrically connected to the drain region of the one or plurality of transistors. |
| US09111800B2 |
Floating body memory cell system and method of manufacture
A plurality of integrated circuit features are provided in the context of an array of memory cells including a plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit lines. Each memory cell includes a floating body or is volatile memory. The aforementioned features may include, among others, an option whereby the foregoing bit lines may be situated below a channel region of corresponding memory cells, etc. |
| US09111799B2 |
Semiconductor device with a pick-up region
Provided are a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same. The semiconductor device includes a substrate doped with a first conductive type dopant, a plurality of stacked structures arranged side by side on the substrate and extending in a first direction, each of the stacked structures including gate electrodes spaced apart from each other, the plurality of stacked structures including a pair of stacked structures spaced apart from each other at a first interval in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a pick-up region extending in the first direction in the substrate between the pair of stacked structures and doped with the first conductive type dopant. |
| US09111798B2 |
Memory with carbon-containing silicon channel
A memory includes a first memory cell and a second memory cell formed over the first memory cell. Each of the first memory cell and the second memory cell includes a channel region comprising silicon and carbon, a control gate, and a dielectric stack between the channel region and the control gate. A carbon content of the channel region of the second memory cell is less than a carbon content of the channel region of the first memory cell. |
| US09111785B2 |
Semiconductor structure with improved channel stack and method for fabrication thereof
A method for fabricating a semiconductor structure with a channel stack includes forming a screening layer under a gate of a PMOS transistor element and a NMOS transistor element, forming a threshold voltage control layer on the screening layer, and forming an epitaxial channel layer on the threshold control layer. At least a portion of the epitaxial channel layers for the PMOS transistor element and the NMOS transistor element are formed as a common blanket layer. The screening layer for the PMOS transistor element may include antimony as a dopant material that may be inserted into the structure prior to or after formation of the epitaxial channel layer. |
| US09111783B2 |
Semiconductor devices with self-aligned source drain contacts and methods for making the same
Replacement metal gates well suited for self-aligned contact formation are made by replacing the dummy gate with a recessed polysilicon layer and then effecting an aluminum-polysilicon substitution. The resulting upper polysilicon layer is easily removed from the recessed aluminum layer, which can then be protected with a protective dielectric layer for subsequent formation of a source or drain contact hole. |
| US09111782B2 |
Solderless die attach to a direct bonded aluminum substrate
A DBA-based power device includes a DBA (Direct Bonded Aluminum) substrate. An amount of silver nanoparticle paste of a desired shape and size is deposited (for example by micro-jet deposition) onto a metal plate of the DBA. The paste is then sintered, thereby forming a sintered silver feature that is in electrical contact with an aluminum plate of the DBA. The DBA is bonded (for example, is ultrasonically welded) to a lead of a leadframe. Silver is deposited onto the wafer back side and the wafer is singulated into dice. In a solderless silver-to-silver die attach process, the silvered back side of a die is pressed down onto the sintered silver feature on the top side of the DBA. At an appropriate temperature and pressure, the silver of the die fuses to the sintered silver of the DBA. After wirebonding, encapsulation and lead trimming, the DBA-based power device is completed. |
| US09111778B2 |
Light emitting diode (LED) devices, systems, and methods
Light emitting diode (LED) devices, systems, and methods are disclosed. In one aspect, an illumination panel can be configured to provide backlighting for a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. The illumination panel can include one or more LEDs arranged in an array. The one or more LEDs can be attached using metal-to-metal die attach methods over an illumination panel, or attached within packages disposed over the illumination panel. In one aspect, the one or more LEDs can be attached using robust metal-to-metal die attach techniques and/or materials disclosed herein. |
| US09111773B2 |
Forming three dimensional isolation structures
A three dimensional shallow trench isolation structure including sets of parallel trenches extending in two perpendicular directions may be formed by depositing a conformal deposition in a first set of parallel trenches, oxidizing the second set of trenches to enable selective deposition in said second set of trenches and then conformally depositing in said second set of trenches. In some embodiments, only one wet anneal, one etch back, and one high density plasma chemical vapor deposition step may be used to fill both sets of trenches. |
| US09111769B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for producing same
A semiconductor device of the present invention includes a semiconductor layer made of a wide bandgap semiconductor and a Schottky electrode being in contact with a surface of the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer includes a drift layer that forms the surface of the semiconductor layer and a high-resistance layer that is formed on a surface layer portion of the drift layer and that has higher resistance than the drift layer. The high-resistance layer is formed by implanting impurity ions from the surface of the semiconductor layer and then undergoing annealing treatment at less than 1500° C. |
| US09111765B2 |
Integrated circuit (IC) structure
One or more techniques or systems for forming an integrated circuit (IC) or associated IC structure are provided herein. In some embodiments, the IC includes a junction gate field effect transistor (JFET) and a lateral vertical bipolar junction transistor (LVBJT). For example, the JFET and the LVBJT are formed in a same region, such as a substrate. In some embodiments, the JFET and the LVBJT are at least one of adjacent or share one or more features. In this manner, a reliable IC is provided, thus enabling power amplification, for example. |
| US09111764B2 |
Integrated semiconductor device and a bridge circuit with the integrated semiconductor device
A bridge circuit is provided. The bridge circuit includes a first integrated semiconductor device having a high-side switch, a second integrated semiconductor device having a low-side switch electrically connected with the high-side switch, a first level-shifter electrically connected with the high-side switch and integrated in one of the first integrated semiconductor device and the second integrated semiconductor device, and a second level-shifter electrically connected with the low-side switch and integrated in one of the first integrated semiconductor device and the second integrated semiconductor device. Further, an integrated semiconductor device is provided. |
| US09111762B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of pillars vertically extending from the semiconductor substrate, each pillar including a groove formed in an upper surface thereof, a salicide layer formed to cover the upper surface and a lateral circumference of an upper end of each pillar and a lower electrode formed to cover an upper surface and a lateral surface of the salicide layer. |
| US09111761B2 |
Multi component dielectric layer
An in-situ process is described incorporating plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition comprising flowing at least one of a Si, Si+C, B, Si+B, Si═B+C, and B+C containing precursor, and a N containing precursors at first times and removing the N precursor at second times and starting the flow of an oxidant gas and a porogen gas into the chamber. A dielectric layer is described comprising a network having inorganic random three dimensional covalent bonding throughout the network which contains at least one SiCN, SiCNH, SiN, SiNH, BN, BNH, CBN, CBNH, BSiN, BSiNH, SiCBN and SiCBNH as a first component and a low k dielectric as a second component adjacent thereto. |
| US09111759B2 |
Semiconductor device manufacturing method
A semiconductor device manufacturing method with high productivity is disclosed with improved trade-off relationship between auto-doping and breakdown in alignment mark form. First to sixth epitaxial layers are grown sequentially on Si {100} main surface of an arsenic doped substrate using multilayer epitaxial technology. Epitaxial growth conditions of the first to sixth epitaxial layers are growth at atmospheric pressure and a temperature of 1,150° C. to 1,180° C., with epitaxial growth rate of 2.2 to 2.6 μm/minute. An alignment mark of depressed form whose bottom surface is the Si {100} plane is formed in the arsenic doped substrate. Every time one of the first to sixth epitaxial layers is grown on the main surface of the arsenic doped substrate, an alignment mark of depressed form is formed in the outermost epitaxial layer by a portion above the alignment mark of the layer below being transformed. |
| US09111757B2 |
Display having a backplane with interlaced laser crystallized regions
Systems including and methods for forming a backplane for an electronic display are presented. The backplane includes interlaced crystallized regions, and the interlaced crystallized regions include at least a left column of crystallized regions and a right column of crystallized regions. The left and right columns include rows of crystallized regions with gaps disposed between each of the rows. Furthermore, each crystallized region in the left column extends into a corresponding gap in the right column, and each crystallized region in the right column extends into a corresponding gap in the left column. |
| US09111755B1 |
Bond pad and passivation layer having a gap and method for forming
A semiconductor device comprises an integrated circuit including a wire bond pad and a passivation material, and a first gap between a first selected portion of the wire bond pad and the passivation material. The first gap is positioned to contain at least a first portion of a splash of the wire bond pad formed during a wire bond process. |
| US09111754B2 |
Floating gate structure with high electrostatic discharge performance
Systems and methods for floating gate structures with high electrostatic discharge performance. In one embodiment, a semiconductor structure includes a floating gate device. The floating gate device includes an embedded diode characterized as having less temperature dependence than a Zener diode. The breakdown voltage of the embedded diode is greater than an operating voltage of an associated integrated circuit and a snapback trigger voltage of the embedded diode is lower than a breakdown voltage of the semiconductor structure. |
| US09111752B1 |
Electrostatic discharge protection device
An electrostatic discharge protection device having a P-type substrate, a common N-well formed in the P-type substrate, a common N-doped region formed in the first common N-well, wherein the common N-doped region is electrically connected to a reference voltage node. The device further has a common P-doped region formed in the common N-well, wherein the common P-doped region surrounds the common N-doped region, the common P-doped region and the common N-well form a common diode, a plurality of peripheral N-wells formed in the P-type substrate and surrounding the common N-well, each of the peripheral N-wells comprising a P-type doped region and a N-type doped region, wherein the P-type doped region is electrically connected to one of a plurality of I/O terminals, and a circular P-doped region formed in the P-type substrate and disposed between the common N-well and the peripheral N-wells, and the circular P-doped region surrounding the common N-well. |
| US09111751B2 |
Silicon carbide semiconductor device and method of fabricating same
A silicon carbide semiconductor device including an SBD measuring a temperature of a silicon carbide semiconductor element. The silicon carbide semiconductor device includes a MOSFET formed on a silicon carbide epitaxial substrate, and an SBD section measuring a temperature of the MOSFET. The SBD section includes an n-type cathode region in a surface portion of a silicon carbide drift layer; an anode titanium electrode formed on the cathode region, the electrode serving as a Schottky electrode; an n-type cathode contact region of a higher concentration than that of the cathode region, formed in the surface portion of the silicon carbide drift layer to make contact with the cathode region; a cathode ohmic electrode formed on the cathode contact region; and a first p-type well region formed within the silicon carbide drift layer to surround peripheries of the cathode region and the cathode contact region. |
| US09111747B2 |
Film deposition apparatus, substrate processing apparatus and film deposition method
A film deposition apparatus configured to perform a film deposition process on a substrate in a vacuum chamber includes a turntable configured to rotate a substrate loading area to receive the substrate, a film deposition area including at least one process gas supplying part configured to supply a process gas onto the substrate loading area and configured to form a thin film by depositing at least one of an atomic layer and a molecular layer along with a rotation of the turntable, a plasma treatment part provided away from the film deposition area in a rotational direction of the turntable and configured to treat the at least one of the atomic layer and the molecular layer for modification by plasma, and a bias electrode part provided under the turntable without contacting the turntable and configured to generate bias potential to attract ions in the plasma toward the substrate. |
| US09111745B2 |
Methods for producing rectangular seeds for ingot growth
A method of producing rectangular seeds for use in semiconductor or solar material manufacturing includes connecting an adhesive layer to a top surface of a template, the template including a plurality of parallel slots, and drawing alignment lines on the adhesive layer, the alignment lines aligned with at least some of the parallel slots. The method also includes connecting quarter sections to the alignment layer such that an interface between a rectangular seed portion and a curved wing portion of each quarter section is aligned with at least one of the alignment lines drawn on the adhesive layer, and slicing each of the quarter sections to separate the rectangular seed portions from the curved wing portions. |
| US09111744B2 |
High-pressure discharge lamp with starting aid
A high-pressure discharge lamp having an ignition aid, mounted in an outer bulb, wherein the discharge vessel comprises two ends having seals in which electrodes are mounted and wherein a frame having a clip wire retains the discharge vessel in the outer bulb. The clip wire is bent toward the seal of the opposite pole electrode until the bent part formed thereby acts as an ignition aid. |
| US09111737B2 |
Method for fabricating an amplification gap of an avalanche particle detector
The invention relates to an improved method for fabricating the amplification gap of an avalanche particle detector in which two parallel electrodes are spaced apart by dielectric spacer elements. A foil including a bulk layer made of dielectric material sandwiched by two mutually parallel metallic electrodes is provided, and holes are formed in one of the metallic layers by means of photolithography. The amplification gap is then formed in the bulk layer by means of carefully controlled etching of the bulk material through the holes formed in one of the metallic layers. The invention not only provides a simplified fabrication process, but also results in a detector with enhanced spatial and energy resolution. |
| US09111733B2 |
Plasma ignition performance for low pressure physical vapor deposition (PVD) processes
A plasma ignition system includes a first voltage supply that selectively supplies a plasma ignition voltage and a plasma maintenance voltage across an adapter ring and a cathode target of a physical vapor deposition (PVD) system. A second voltage supply selectively supplies a second voltage across the adapter ring and an anode ring of the PVD system. A plasma ignition control module ignites plasma using the plasma ignition voltage and the auxiliary plasma ignition voltage and, after the plasma ignites, supplies the plasma maintenance voltage and ceases supplying the plasma ignition voltage and the auxiliary plasma ignition voltage. |
| US09111731B2 |
Gas feed insert in a plasma processing chamber and methods therefor
A gas feed insert configured to be disposed in a passage through an electrode assembly comprising a first insert end having therein a first bore aligned parallel with a linear axis of the gas feed insert. The gas feed insert further includes a second insert end opposite the first insert end, the second insert end having therein a second bore aligned parallel with the linear axis of the gas feed insert and a bore-to-bore communication channel in gas flow communication with the first bore and the second bore. The bore-to-bore communication channel is formed in an outer surface of the gas feed insert so as to prevent a line-of-sight when a gas flows from the first insert end through the bore-to-bore communication to the second insert end. |
| US09111729B2 |
Small plasma chamber systems and methods
A plasma etch processing tool is disclosed. The plasma etch processing tool, comprising a substrate support for supporting a substrate having a substrate surface area, a processing head including a plasma microchamber having an open side that is oriented over the substrate support, the open side of the plasma microchamber having a process area that is less than the substrate surface area, a sealing structure defined between the substrate support and the processing head and a power supply connected to the plasma microchamber and the substrate support. A method for performing a plasma etch is also disclosed. |
| US09111728B2 |
E-beam enhanced decoupled source for semiconductor processing
A semiconductor substrate processing system includes a processing chamber and a substrate support defined to support a substrate in the processing chamber. The system also includes a plasma chamber defined separate from the processing chamber. The plasma chamber is defined to generate a plasma. The system also includes a plurality of fluid transmission pathways fluidly connecting the plasma chamber to the processing chamber. The plurality of fluid transmission pathways are defined to supply reactive constituents of the plasma from the plasma chamber to the processing chamber. The system further includes an electron injection device for injecting electrons into the processing chamber to control an electron energy distribution within the processing chamber so as to in turn control an ion-to-radical density ratio within the processing chamber. In one embodiment, an electron beam source is defined to transmit an electron beam through the processing chamber above and across the substrate support. |
| US09111723B2 |
Linear plasma source
Embodiments of the present application disclose a linear plasma source applied to the field of solar cell production. A linear plasma source comprising a housing which forms a reaction chamber having an outlet; a gas intake system comprising an internal pipeline which is mounted on the housing and located inside the reaction chamber for releasing reaction gas into the reaction chamber; an electrode system comprising at least two electrode plates which are mounted on the housing and located around the internal pipeline within the reaction chamber; and an electromagnetism system comprising an electromagnetic coil, and the electromagnetic coil is mounted at the outlet of the reaction chamber of the housing and has a plasma outlet. The embodiments of the present application have a simple structure, a low production cost, a good uniformity and a high film compactness. |
| US09111719B1 |
Method for enhancing beam utilization in a scanned beam ion implanter
A dosimetry system and method are provided for increasing utilization of an ion beam, wherein one or more side Faraday cups are positioned along a path of the ion beam and configured to sense a current thereof. The one or more side Faraday cups are separated by a distance associated with a diameter of the workpiece. The ion beam reciprocally scans across the workpiece, interlacing narrow scans and wide scans, wherein narrow scans are defined by reversing direction of the scanning near an edge of the workpiece, and wide scans are defined by reversing direction of the scanning at a position associated with an outboard region of the side Faraday cups. A beam current is sensed by the side Faraday cups concurrent with scanning the beam, wherein the side Faraday cups are connected to a dosimeter only concurrent with a wide scan of the ion beam, and are disconnected concurrent with narrow scans of the ion beam. The side Faraday cups are further connected to ground concurrent with narrow scans of the ion beam. |
| US09111708B2 |
Fusible link
A fusible link includes a fuse portion that has a first resistance portion and a second resistance portion which are formed of a fusible metal conductor. The first resistance portion has a fusible portion which is provided in proximity to a connecting portion of the first resistance portion with the second resistance portion. The fusible link further includes a metal chip whose melting point is lower than a melting point of the fusible metal conductor. A ratio of resistance values of the first resistance portion and the second resistance portion is set so that a heat concentration portion of the fuse portion whose temperature is increased by an overcurrent in a rare-short-circuit range is shifted to a part of the first resistance portion which excepts the fusible portion. |
| US09111705B2 |
Device and method for switching electrical load circuits
A device and method for switching electrical load circuits involve the use of an overload contact integrated in an exciting current circuit of a magnetic coil. The electrical load circuits include an electromagnetic contactor having a magnetic drive formed from a magnet yoke with a magnet coil and a magnet armature to which a contact bridge is coupled as a movable contactor contact by a contact retainer. In the switched-on state the contactor generates a magnetic retaining force for contacting the contact bridge with fixed contacts. The retaining force results from a magnetic field generated by the magnet coil, and the retaining force is greater than an armature opening force. The overload contact is integrated in the exciting current circuit of the magnet coil in such a manner that that when the exciting current circuit is closed and a movement of the contact bridge against the magnetic retaining force occurs, the magnet coil can be short-circuited by closing the overload contact. |
| US09111704B2 |
Rotary paddle level switch
A rotary paddle level switch has a housing, a driving unit, two switches, a resilient member, a clutch, a transmission shaft, and a propeller. A resilient clip of the clutch holds a non-circular actuation section of the transmission shaft. When the driving unit drives the clutch to rotate, the transmission shaft and the propeller are driven by the clutch. When the propeller is rapidly rotated by suddenly exerting an excessively large external force thereon, as the resilient clip holds the transmission shaft by elastic force, the fast rotating transmission shaft removes itself from the holding of the resilient clip and is rotated without driving the resilient clip to rotate, thereby avoiding the transmission of the external force and damage to the driving unit. As the clutch just needs a clutch stand and a resilient clip to achieve the foregoing function, the level switch is structurally simple and relatively inexpensive. |
| US09111702B2 |
Knob structure and electronic device thereof
A knob structure and an electronic device thereof are disclosed. The knob structure is assembled with a case of the electronic device and includes a plurality of pressing portions, an elastic component, and a fixing component. At least one pressing portion has a pressing rib used for pressing a switch module. The elastic component includes a main body and a plurality of elastic ribs. The plurality of elastic rib is disposed on the main body to support the pressing portion. When the pressing portion is pressed along a supporting direction, the elastic rib is capable of providing an elastic force. The fixing component includes a first end and a second end, wherein the first end connects to at least one of the plurality of pressing portions and the second end is extended along a direction different from the supporting direction and fixed to the case. |
| US09111697B2 |
Power switchgear
Each outermost part of fixed-side connection conductors, fixed-side fixed contacts, movable-side fixed contacts, and movable-side connection conductors are placed outside of an outermost diameter of a fixed-side conductor and a movable-side conductor, as viewed from an axis line of the fixed-side conductor and the movable-side conductor as a center. This arrangement provides a power switchgear that can diminish mutual effects of currents among conduction parts to suppress decrease in a current-carrying capacity for each of the conduction parts and to increase a current-carrying capacity for a total of the conduction parts, without increasing the size of the switchgear. |
| US09111694B2 |
Electrolyte solution for electric double layer capacitor
The present invention provides an electric double layer capacitor having a high withstanding voltage, less deterioration, and excellent long-term reliability, especially an effect of suppressing expansion. The present invention relates to an electrolyte solution for an electric double layer capacitor. The solution comprises an electrolyte-salt-dissolving solvent (I) and an electrolyte salt (II). The electrolyte-salt-dissolving solvent (I) contains a fluorine-containing chain ether and a nitrile compound. |
| US09111693B2 |
Super capacitor of high specific capacity and energy density and the structure of said super capacitor
This invention provides a method of manufacture of the electrochemical system of the electric double layer prismatic capacitor from electrically connected in parallel of semi-wound packages of micro/mesoporous carbon composite electrode pairs separated by porous cage. According to the method the pre-made carbon film will be covered with a layer of aluminum foil layer using a vacuum deposition method thus forming a current collector of an electrochemical system. Subsequently the pairs of electrodes are formed from a carbon composite electrode which are wounded or flipped to flat packages so that the ends of current collectors protruding from folded packages are joined together in parallel and thereafter the ends of current collectors are connected correspondingly to the positive and negative current terminal of the electric double layer capacitor. |
| US09111690B2 |
Multilayer electronic component
A method is used to manufacture a multilayer electronic component including a multilayer composite including internal electrodes having ends that are exposed at a predetermined surface of the multilayer composite. In the method, the exposed ends of the internal electrodes are coated with a metal film primarily composed of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Pd, Au, Pt and Ag and having a thickness of at least about 0.1 μm by immersing the multilayer composite in a liquid containing a metal ion or a metal complex. Then, a continuous plating layer is formed by depositing a plating metal on the ends of the internal electrodes exposed at the predetermined surface of the multilayer composite, and subsequently growing the deposits of the plating metal so as to be connected to each other. Thus, exposed ends of the internal electrodes are electrically connected to each other. |
| US09111684B2 |
Non-aqueous electrolyte storage element
To provide a non-aqueous electrolyte storage element, including: a positive electrode which includes a positive-electrode active material capable of intercalating or deintercalating anions; a negative electrode which includes a negative-electrode active material capable of storing or releasing metallic lithium or lithium ion, or both thereof; a first separator between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and a non-aqueous electrolyte which includes a non-aqueous solvent and a lithium salt dissolved in the non-aqueous solvent, wherein the non-aqueous electrolyte storage element includes a solid lithium salt at 25° C. and a discharge voltage of 4.0 V, wherein the non-aqueous electrolyte storage element includes an ion-exchange membrane between the first separator and the positive electrode, between the first separator and the negative electrode, or between the first separator and the positive electrode and between the first separator and the negative electrode. |
| US09111683B2 |
Dielectric ceramic and laminated ceramic capacitor
A dielectric ceramic that contains, as its main constituent, main-phase grains including a perovskite-type compound containing Ba, Ca, and Ti; first heterogeneous-phase grains containing Ca, a rare-earth element, and Si; and second heterogeneous-phase grains containing no Ca and containing the rare-earth element and Si. The second heterogeneous-phase grains are present in the dielectric ceramic in a ratio of 0.05 or less (including 0) of the number of the second heterogeneous-phase grains to the total of the first heterogeneous-phase grains and the second heterogeneous-phase grains. In the first heterogeneous-phase grains, the content of Ca is preferably 8% or more in terms of molar ratio with respect to the total content of Ca, the rare-earth element, and Si. |
| US09111679B2 |
Method producing rare earth magnet
A method of producing an R-T-B rare earth magnet that include forming an R-T-B (R: rare-earth element, T: Fe, or Fe and partially Co that substitutes for part of Fe) rare earth alloy powder into a compact and performing hot working on the compact, wherein the hot working is performed in a direction that is different from the direction in which the forming was performed. |
| US09111669B2 |
Control panel with resistive keys and prestressed sensors
A control panel comprising a cover that is equipped with at least one zone for detecting tactile contact forming a control button, in which a force sensor comprising a pressure-sensitive zone is arranged between the cover and the support so as to detect actuation of the control button, the force of the tactile contact being transmitted axially to the sensitive zone via a spacer plate made of an elastically compressible material that is inserted between the sensor and the cap, characterized in that the internal surface of the cap comprises a series of protruding elements that are distributed over the internal surface of the cap opposite the sensitive zone so as to form a number of regularly distributed zones of localized overpressure. |
| US09111659B2 |
Electrodes of solar cell formed by active solder and method therefor
Electrodes of a solar cell formed by an active solder and a method therefor are provided. The method includes steps of: providing a solar cell substrate; providing an active solder having at least one type of soldering alloy mixed with 6 wt % or less of at least one type of active component and 0.01-2.0 wt % of at least one type of rare earth element (Re); firstly melting the active solder at a temperature lower than 450° C.; then applying the molten active solder on the solar cell substrate (or firstly applying and then melting); and cooling to solidify the active solder, so as to form an electrode pattern. |
| US09111658B2 |
CNS-shielded wires
A shielded wire includes a carbon nanostructure (CNS)-shielding layer including a CNS material in a matrix material, the CNS-shielding layer being monolithic and disposed about a dielectric layer and a conducting wire, wherein the dielectric layer is disposed between the CNS-shielding layer and the conducting wire. An extruded thermoplastic jacket includes a CNS material, the extruded thermoplastic jacket being configured to protect at least one wire. A thermoplastic article includes a CNS-infused fiber material and a flexible thermoplastic. |
| US09111650B2 |
Zirconium alloys for a nuclear fuel cladding having a superior oxidation resistance in a severe reactor operation condition and methods of preparing a zirconium alloy nuclear cladding by using thereof
Disclosed are a zirconium alloy for a nuclear fuel cladding having a good oxidation resistance in a severe reactor operation condition and a method of preparing zirconium alloy nuclear fuel claddings by using thereof. The zirconium alloy includes 1.8 to 2.0 wt % of niobium (Nb); at least one element selected from iron (Fe), chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu); 0.1 to 0.15 wt % of oxygen (O); 0.008 to 0.012 wt % of silicon (Si) and a remaining amount of zirconium (Zr). The amount of Fe is 0.1 to 0.4 wt %, the amount of Cr is 0.05 to 0.2 wt %, and the amount of Cu is 0.03 to 0.2 wt %. A good oxidation resistance of the nuclear fuel cladding may be confirmed under a severe reactor operation condition at an accident condition as well as a normal operating condition of a reactor, thereby improving economic efficiency and safety. |
| US09111649B2 |
Tamper resistant semiconductor device with access control
There is provided a semiconductor device which is simple in configuration and resistant to tampering. A user input unit receives an authentication code input by a user. A CPU determines whether a user's access is legal based on the input authentication code and activates an enable signal if the user's access is legal. A normal row decoder decodes the row address specified by the CPU and selects a normal memory cell of any row based on the result of decode. A redundancy row decoder prohibits the selection by the normal row decoder when the specified row address agrees with the row address of a predetermined normal memory cell only if the enable signal is activated and selects a redundant memory cell of any row. |
| US09111647B2 |
System in a package (SiP)
A system in a package (SiP) includes a first semiconductor die having a nonvolatile memory and trim/repair circuitry, and a second semiconductor die having a volatile memory and trim/repair circuitry. The first and the second semiconductor die are in a same package. The nonvolatile memory of the first semiconductor die is configured to store trim/repair values for each of the first and the second semiconductor die. The trim/repair circuitries of the first and second semiconductor die are configured to, in response to a reset of the second semiconductor die, copy the trim/repair values from the nonvolatile memory of the first semiconductor die to the volatile memory of the second semiconductor die. |
| US09111646B2 |
Chip tester and test method of semiconductor device
A chip tester includes a test unit suitable for performing a test on guarantee blocks and for detecting at least one second defective block from the guarantee blocks, a storage unit suitable for storing repair information, a determination unit suitable for comparing the number of available redundancy blocks, which are not allocated for first defective blocks, with the number of at least one second defective block, by referring to the repair information, and a guarantee block management unit suitable for updating the repair information to cancel allocation of at least one of a plurality of redundancy blocks based on a result of the comparison of the determination unit. |
| US09111644B2 |
Readout circuit and semiconductor device
Provided is a readout circuit capable of detecting inversion of retained data caused by a noise, such as static electricity. The readout circuit is configured to retain opposing data in a first latch circuit and a second latch circuit in a readout period so as to be capable of detecting an anomaly of the retained data by making use of the fact that the data in the first latch circuit and the second latch circuit are inverted in the same direction due to a noise, such as static electricity. |
| US09111643B2 |
Method and apparatus for repairing defective memory cells
A method for repairing defective memory cells includes receiving an access command having an access address and an access operation. The access address includes a row address and a column address. The method further includes determining whether the row address and the column address are the same as a pre-recorded row address and column address of a defective memory cell. If the row and column addresses of the access address are the same as the respective row and column addresses of the defective memory cell, the method includes replacing the defective memory cell with a redundant memory cell, and executing the access operation using the redundant memory cell. |
| US09111637B1 |
Differential latch word line assist for SRAM
Word line assist circuits are disclosed for high performance sub-micron SRAM designs. One embodiment is an SRAM device that includes a memory cell array and a pair of word lines that traverse the memory cell array for selecting memory cells. The SRAM device further includes a pair of word line drivers, each coupled to one of the word lines. The SRAM device further includes a word line assist circuit coupled to the pair of word lines that receives an enable signal. Responsive to receiving the enable signal, the word line assist circuit assists the first word line driver and the second word line driver in transitioning their respective word lines from a logic level zero to a logic level one in response to a voltage differential between the word lines. |
| US09111632B2 |
Semiconductor device and data processing system with coordinated calibration and refresh operations
Provided is a memory control technique for avoiding that the issue of a refresh command and the issue of a calibration command are arranged in succession.The memory control circuit issues a refresh command to make a request for a refresh operation based on a set refresh cycle, and issues a calibration command to make a request for a calibrating operation based on a set calibration cycle, for which the control function of suppressing the issue of the calibration command only for a given time after the issue of the refresh command, and suppressing the issue of the refresh command only for a given time after the issue of the calibration command is adopted. |
| US09111628B1 |
Read margin measurement in a read-only memory
Read margin measurement circuitry for measuring the read margin of floating-gate programmable non-volatile memory cells. In some embodiments, the read margin of a cell with a floating-gate transistor in a non-conductive state is measured by periodically clocking a counter following initiation of a read cycle; a latch stores the counter contents upon the cell under test making a transition due to leakage of the floating-gate transistor. Logic for testing a group of cells in parallel is disclosed. In some embodiments, the read margin of a cell in which the floating-gate transistor is set to a conductive state is measured by repeatedly reading the cell, with the output developing a voltage corresponding to the duty cycle of the output of the read circuit. |
| US09111626B2 |
Semiconductor memory systems using regression analysis and read methods thereof
A memory system includes: a bit counter and a regression analyzer. The bit counter is configured to generate a plurality of count values based on data read from selected memory cells using a plurality of different read voltages, each of the plurality of count values being indicative of a number of memory cells of a memory device having threshold voltages between pairs of the plurality of different read voltages. The regression analyzer is configured to determine read voltage for the selected memory cells based on the plurality of count values using regression analysis. |
| US09111622B2 |
Self referencing sense amplifier for spin torque MRAM
Circuitry and a method provide self-referenced sensing of a resistive memory cell by using its characteristic of resistance variation with applied voltage in one state versus a relatively constant resistance regardless of the applied voltage in its opposite state. Based on an initial bias state with equalized resistances, a current comparison at a second bias state between a mock bit line and a bit line is used to determine the state of the memory cell, since a significant difference in current implies that the memory cell state has a significant voltage coefficient of resistance. An offset current applied to the mock bit line optionally may be used to provide symmetry and greater sensing margin. |
| US09111617B2 |
Three-dimensional semiconductor memory device
A semiconductor memory device is provided including first and second cell strings formed on a substrate, the first and second cell strings jointly connected to a bit line, wherein each of the first and second cell strings includes a ground selection unit, a memory cell, and first and second string selection units sequentially formed on the substrate to be connected to each other, wherein the ground selection unit is connected to a ground selection line, the memory cell is connected to a word line, the first string selection unit is connected to a first string selection line, and the second string selection unit is connected to a second string selection line, and wherein the second string selection unit of the first cell string has a channel dopant region. |
| US09111615B1 |
RAM-based ternary content addressable memory
A memory is disclosed that includes one or more TCAM memory units, each configured to store a respective set of rules. Each unit has an input coupled to receive an input search key from an input of the memory and includes a plurality of stages 1 through H. Each stage is configured to receive a respective multi-bit segment of the input search key and provide a result segment in response thereto. The result segment includes, for each rule of the respective set of rules, a bit that indicates whether or not the rule matches the segment of the input search key. Each unit also includes a first output circuit configured to generate a combined result indicating which rules match all of the respective segments received by each of the plurality of stages. The memory can also include one or more update circuits to update rules in a plurality of units. |
| US09111613B2 |
Adaptive reading of a resistive memory
An adaptive reading and programming method is presented for resistive memory. The core operating principle is to cause a change in the conductance of a resistive memory cell and measure the magnitude of the change. The magnitude of change can be used to determine the logic state of the resistive memory cell. The proposed methods are evaluated in simulation programs with integrated circuit emphasis and a hand analysis model is extracted to help explain the sources of power and energy consumption. |
| US09111610B2 |
Method of driving nonvolatile memory element and nonvolatile memory device
A method of driving a nonvolatile memory element including a variable resistance element having a state reversibly changing between low and high resistance states by an applied electrical signal and a transistor serially connected to the variable resistance element. The method including: setting the variable resistance element to the low resistance state by applying a first gate voltage to a gate of the transistor and applying a first write voltage negative with respect to a first electrode; and changing a resistance value of the transistor obtained in a low-resistance write operation, when a value of current passing through the variable resistance element in the setting of the low resistance state or a resistance value of the nonvolatile memory element in the case where the variable resistance element is in the low resistance state is outside a predetermined range. |
| US09111609B2 |
Concentric phase change memory element
The present invention in one embodiment provides a memory device including a first electrode; a second electrode; and a memory cell positioned between the first electrode and the second electrode, the memory cell including a core of a first phase change material and a cladding of a second phase change material, wherein the first phase change material has a lower crystallization temperature than the second phase change material. The present invention also provides methods of forming the above described memory device. |
| US09111607B2 |
Multiple data rate memory with read timing information
A memory includes a memory array, read circuitry, and a strobe generator. The read circuitry is configured to provide read data from the memory array in response to a read request, wherein the read circuitry provides the read data in accordance with a first clock. The strobe generator is configured to provide a strobe signal with the read data, wherein the strobe generator provides the strobe signal in accordance with a second clock. The second clock is out of phase with the first clock by a phase in a range of 30 degrees to 150 degrees. |
| US09111602B2 |
Accurate global reference voltage distribution system with local reference voltages referred to local ground and locally supplied voltage
A system and method for accurately distributing a master reference voltage to a plurality of local circuits within a system. A central master reference voltage is distributed to a plurality of local circuits as a difference in the voltage of a pair of conductors oriented substantially spatially parallel. Local reference voltages are generated based on the master reference voltage and a local voltage source. |
| US09111599B1 |
Memory device
A memory device including a training circuit, a data strobe transmission path, data transmission paths, data latching circuits and a phase detection circuit is provided. When the memory device is under a training mode, a training process is performed on at least one of the data transmission paths. The phase detection circuit detects a phase difference between signals between the data transmission path and the data strobe transmission path to adjust a delay time of the adjustable delay circuit of the data transmission path until the signals are in phase. When the memory device is under an operation mode, each of the data latching circuits receives a treed data strobe signal from the data strobe transmission path to latch a delayed data signal received from the adjustable delay circuit of one of the data transmission paths. |
| US09111598B2 |
Increased I/O rate for solid state storage
The storage device receives a write request from a disk controller to write data to a storage array. The storage device determines that one or more blocks are marked for deletion. In response to receiving the write request and determining that blocks are marked for deletion, the storage device issues a write command on a first media access channel for a first location of the storage array, and issues an erase command on a second media access channel for a different storage location of the storage array. Thus, the commands are issued concurrently on different channels. |
| US09111597B2 |
Memory device structure with decoders in a device level separate from the array level
A memory device structure and method of fabricating the memory device structure is described. The memory device structure has a memory array disposed in a array level and peripheral circuitry, including decoders and other peripheral circuitry, disposed in a device level. The array of memory cells has a perimeter that defines a cylinder that extends above and beneath the array of memory cells. The decoders and the other peripheral circuitry or at least part of the decoders and the other peripheral circuitry are disposed within the cylinder in the device level. The memory device structure also includes a plurality of pads in a pad level. A first plurality of inter-level conductive lines electrically couples the decoders to the bit lines and word lines in the array of memory cells. |
| US09111590B2 |
Semiconductor memory with sense amplifier
In an exemplary aspect, the present invention provides a semiconductor memory device including sense amplifiers that drive bit lines to which memory cells are connected, and driver transistors that supply a power supply to the sense amplifiers, wherein the sense amplifiers are arranged in rows and constitutes a first sense-amplifier row in which transistors of a first conductive type are arranged and a second sense-amplifier row in which transistors of a second conductive type are arranged, and the driver transistors constitutes at least one transistor row including a first driver transistor of the first conductive type corresponding to the first sense-amplifier row and a second driver transistor of the second conductive type corresponding to the second sense-amplifier row between the first sense-amplifier row and the second sense-amplifier row. |
| US09111588B2 |
Multi-die DRAM banks arrangement and wiring
A memory die for use in a multi-die stack having at least one other die. The memory die includes a plurality of contacts arranged in a field and configured to interface to the other dies of the multi-die stack. A first subset of the buffer lines of a number of buffer lines are connected to respective contacts in the field. The memory die also includes a number of buffers and cross-bar lines. The buffers are coupled between respective signal lines and respective buffer lines. The cross-bar lines interconnect respective pairs of buffer lines in a second subset of the buffer lines that is distinct from the first subset of the buffer lines. |
| US09111584B2 |
Mounting structure for data storage device and electronic device using the same
A mounting structure for a data storage device includes a receiving member and a fastening member. The receiving member has a bottom wall and a side wall and the data storage device is located between the bottom wall and the side wall. The bottom wall has a first edge and a second edge adjacent to each other. The fastening member is disposed inside the receiving member and can rotate pivotally between the first edge and the second edge. The fastening member includes a rod member, a hook and an elastic piece. When the data storage device is enclosed in the receiving member, the rod member and the elastic piece sandwich and lean against the data storage device and the hook clasps on the data storage device. When the hook is off the data storage device, the elastic piece pushes the data storage device out from the receiving member. |
| US09111577B2 |
Storage space savings via partial digital stream deletion
A method, computer system, and/or computer program product enables a reuse of media storage space via partial file deletion. Multiple friends in a same social circle, which together have control of multiple media storage devices that are storing all segments of a media file, are identified. A last friend from the multiple friends, who has control of a last media storage device to have a last copy of a particular segment of the media file, is identified. The last media storage device is the only media storage device, from the multiple storage devices, to have a copy of the particular segment of the media file. The last media storage device is prevented from deleting the particular segment of the media file until another of the multiple storage devices stores a copy of the particular segment of the media file. |
| US09111574B2 |
Data storage device and method for generating a reference clock signal for data storage device
Various embodiments provide a data storage device. The data storage device includes a recording medium having a dedicated servo layer for providing servo information. The dedicated servo layer may include a plurality of servo patterns, wherein each servo pattern includes a preamble providing information for synchronization of at least one of a read and a write operation of the data storage device. |
| US09111571B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program
An image processing apparatus for processing a plurality of moving image files each including moving image data relating to continuity of time between the moving image data other moving image file, performs an editing process for deleting a portion of the moving image data of one scene including a plurality of the moving image files, and changes the identification information of the moving image file in accordance with the editing process, wherein in accordance with the editing process for deleting a portion of the moving image data of the one scene being performed, the identification information of at least one of the plurality of moving image files included in the one scene is changed. |
| US09111570B1 |
Replication of tape cartridge data
Embodiments of the present invention disclose methods, computer program products, and systems for replicating data stored on a tape cartridge on one or more computing devices. In one embodiment, when priming a first tape cartridge for writing of data, the first tape cartridge is configured for replication to a second tape cartridge. Subsequently, after loading the first tape cartridge into a first tape drive, data stored on the first tape cartridge can be directly transmitted from the first tape drive to a second tape drive in which the second tape cartridge is loaded without using an intermediate host computer system to facilitate data transfer. |
| US09111562B2 |
Recording medium and a method of writing servo information on the same
In various embodiments, a method of writing servo information to a recording medium may be provided. The method include forming a first servo pattern (including a servo burst pattern) on a segment of a first track of a first layer of the recording medium, the first track having a track width. The method may further include forming a second servo pattern (including addressing information) on a segment of a second track of a second layer of the recording medium. The second track is arranged from the first track by half the track width. |
| US09111561B1 |
Magnetic recording disk drive with write current overshoot amplitude (OSA) responsive to data transitions
A disk drive dynamic wave shaper (DWS) write driver includes a write current generator that produces a baseline output current for the write current pulses and an overshoot current generator that produces an overshoot current with different values. The overshoot current is added to the baseline current, with the value of the overshoot current amplitude (OSA) being selected in response to the frequency of transitions in the write data signal. The write driver includes logic circuitry that detects the pattern of transitions. Transitions that are immediately followed by a transition will receive a larger-than-nominal OSA1, transitions that are not immediately followed by a transition and that are not preceded by a long sequence of non-transitions will receive a nominal OSA2, and transitions after longer sequences of non-transitions will receive a smaller-than-nominal OSA3. |
| US09111560B1 |
Dynamic configuration of seek recovery in a disk drive
An apparatus comprises a controller configured to detect a seek failure of a read/write head. The controller is additionally configured to perform a seek recovery operation in accordance with a recovery sequence in response to the seek failure; the recovery sequence comprising a plurality of recovery procedures. Further, the controller is configured to determine if the seek recovery operation is successful and determine which of the recovery procedures provided the success. And, the controller is configured to dynamically calculate the success rate of each recovery procedure, modify the recovery sequence based on the success of the seek recovery operation and based on the success rate of recovery procedures providing the success. |
| US09111558B1 |
System and method of diffractive focusing of light in a waveguide
A focusing structure including an array of localized optical alterations that alter the propagation of light through the waveguide to diffractively focus the light as it exits the focusing structure. The array of optical alterations may be formed along either a straight or a curved line within a cross section of the focusing structure. In energy assisted magnetic recording apparatus a laser beam propagates through the waveguide to a near field transducer. The waveguide comprises a focusing element that includes an array of localized optical alterations that alter the propagation of the laser beam through the waveguide to diffractively focus the laser beam approximately at the near field transducer. |
| US09111554B2 |
Optical data recording medium and method for reproducing recorded data
An optical data recording medium, in which irradiation of a light beam is used for recording and/or reproducing data includes (i) a substrate having an a rise and/or a recess which are a light-incident surface, (ii) a reflective layer, provided on the light-incident surface of the substrate, for reflecting the light beam, (iii) a light absorption layer for converting, to heat, a light of the light beam to heat on the surface of the reflective layer, (iv) a reproducing layer, provided on the surface of the heat-light converting layer, having a transmittance that changes in accordance with a light intensity distribution of the light beam. The optical data recording medium is excellent in super-resolution property, and enables reproduction of a shorter mark length. |
| US09111550B1 |
Write transducer having a magnetic buffer layer spaced between a side shield and a write pole by non-magnetic layers
A write transducer for a disk drive magnetic head includes a ferromagnetic write yoke having a write pole protruding towards an air bearing surface. The write transducer also includes a ferromagnetic side shield, and a ferromagnetic buffer layer disposed between the write yoke and the side shield. A first non-magnetic layer is disposed between the side shield and the ferromagnetic buffer layer. A second non-magnetic layer is disposed between the ferromagnetic buffer layer and the write yoke. The ferromagnetic buffer layer extends in a direction normal to the air bearing surface by a buffer layer throat height in the range of 10 nm to 500 nm. In certain embodiments, such a write transducer may advantageously reduce undesired wide area track erasure, without unacceptably degrading write field rise time for acceptable on-track writing data rate. |
| US09111549B2 |
Hearing aid and a method of improved audio reproduction
A hearing aid comprising a frequency shifter (20) has means (22) for detecting a first frequency and a second frequency in an input signal. The frequency shifter (20) transposes a first frequency range of the input signal to a second frequency range of the input signal based on the presence of a fixed relationship between the first and the second detected frequency. The means (34, 35, 36) for detecting the fixed relationship between the first and the second frequency is used for controlling the frequency transposer (20). A speech detector (26) configured for detecting the presence of voiced and unvoiced speech is provided for suppressing the transposition of voiced-speech signals in order to preserve the speech formants. The purpose of transposing frequency bands in this way in a hearing aid is to render inaudible frequencies audible to a user of the hearing aid while maintaining the original envelope, harmonic coherence and speech intelligibility of the signal. The invention further provides a method for shifting a frequency range of an input signal in a hearing aid. |
| US09111548B2 |
Synchronization of buffered data in multiple microphones
First analog signals are received from a first microphone, converted into first digital data and stored in a first buffer. A determination is made as to whether voice activity has occurred when voice activity is determined, a voice activity detect signal is sent to an external processor. The external processor responsively provides an exterior clock signal upon receiving the voice activity detect signal. Second analog signals are received from a second microphone, converted into second digital data and stored in a second buffer. The first digital data in the first buffer is not necessarily synchronized in real time with the second digital data in the second buffer. The first digital data from the first buffer and the second digital data from the second buffer is decimated using the external clock to provide decimated output data, the decimated output data having the first digital data and the second digital data aligned in real time. |
| US09111543B2 |
Processing signals
Method, device and computer program product for processing signals. Signals are received at a plurality of sensors of the device. The initiation of a signal state in which signals of a particular type are received at the plurality of sensors is determined. Responsive to the determining of the initiation of the signal state, data indicating beamformer coefficients to be applied by a beamformer of the device is retrieved from data storage means, wherein the indicated beamformer coefficients are determined so as to be suitable for application to signals received at the sensors in the signal state. The beamformer applies the indicated beamformer coefficients to the signals received at the sensors in the signal state, thereby generating a beamformer output. |
| US09111535B2 |
Method and apparatus for decoding audio signal
Provided are a method and an apparatus for decoding an audio signal. A method for decoding an audio signal encoded by a layered sinusoidal pulse coding scheme using one or more sinusoidal pulses includes decoding the encoded audio signal, setting a smoothing frequency band of the decoded audio signal according to a layer structure of the layered sinusoidal pulse coding scheme, dividing the smoothing frequency band into one or more subbands, and smoothing the decoded audio signal on a subband-by-subband basis. Accordingly, a decoding operation time can be reduced and the quality of a synthesized signal can be improved by variably setting a frequency band to be smoothed, when decoding an audio signal encoded by a layered sinusoidal pulse coding scheme using one or more sinusoidal pulses. |
| US09111533B2 |
Audio coding device, method, and computer-readable recording medium storing program
An audio coding device includes a time-to-frequency converter that performs time-to-frequency conversion on each frame of a signal in at least one channel included in an audio signal in a predetermined length of time in order to convert the signal in the at least one channel to a frequency signal; a complexity calculator that calculates complexity of the frequency signal for each of the at least one channel. The audio further includes a bit allocation controller that determines a number of bits to be allocated to each of at least one channel so that more bits are allocated to the each of the at least one channel as the complexity of the each of at least one channel increases, and increases the number of bits to be allocated as an estimation error in the number; and a coder that codes the frequency signal. |
| US09111531B2 |
Multiple coding mode signal classification
Improved audio classification is provided for encoding applications. An initial classification is performed, followed by a finer classification, to produce speech classifications and music classifications with higher accuracy and less complexity than previously available. Audio is classified as speech or music on a frame by frame basis. If the frame is classified as music by the initial classification, that frame undergoes a second, finer classification to confirm that the frame is music and not speech (e.g., speech that is tonal and/or structured that may not have been classified as speech by the initial classification). Depending on the implementation, one or more parameters may be used in the finer classification. Example parameters include voicing, modified correlation, signal activity, and long term pitch gain. |
| US09111530B2 |
MDCT-based complex prediction stereo coding
The invention provides methods and devices for stereo encoding and decoding using complex prediction in the frequency domain. In one embodiment, a decoding method, for obtaining an output stereo signal from an input stereo signal encoded by complex prediction coding and comprising first frequency-domain representations of two input channels, comprises the upmixing steps of: (i) computing a second frequency-domain representation of a first input channel; and (ii) computing an output channel on the basis of the first and second frequency-domain representations of the first input channel, the first frequency-domain representation of the second input channel and a complex prediction coefficient. The upmixing can be suspended responsive to control data. |
| US09111527B2 |
Encoding device, decoding device, and methods therefor
An encoding device, a decoding device, and encoding and decoding methods are provided, wherein when a multi-channel signal is encoded with high efficiency, using an adaptive filter, the number of arithmetic operations to update a filter coefficient of the adaptive filter can be reduced. An update range determination unit determines the range of a filter coefficient order (update order range) of a filter coefficient to be updated, among filter coefficients gk(n) of the adaptive filter, on the basis of a mutual correlation function between an input (L) signal and an input (R) signal. The adaptive filter updates the filter coefficient gk(n) of the filter coefficient order (n) to be updated, using a decoding (L) signal and a decoding error (R) signal. |
| US09111525B1 |
Apparatuses, methods and systems for audio processing and transmission
This disclosure details the implementation of apparatuses, methods and systems for audio processing and transmission. Some implementations of the system are configured to provide a method for encoding an arbitrary number of audio source signals using only a small amount of (transmitted or stored) information, while facilitating high-quality audio playback at the decoder side. Some implementations may be configured to implement, a parametric model for retaining the essential information of each source signal (side information). After the side information is extracted, the remaining information for all source signals may be summed to create a reference signal from which noise information for the original source signals may be reconstructed. The reference signal and the side information form the new collection of information to be transmitted or stored for subsequent decoding. |
| US09111521B2 |
Modular acoustic horns and horn arrays
A modular horn type loudspeaker and a modular horn array formed of modular loudspeakers. An acoustic horn includes a first acoustic module. The first acoustic module includes a first acoustic driver and a first acoustic duct, for conducting acoustic energy from the first acoustic driver. The first acoustic duct has a first opening through which acoustic energy is radiated. The first acoustic duct is characterized by a first centerline. A second acoustic module includes a second acoustic driver and a second acoustic duct, for conducting acoustic energy from the acoustic driver. The second acoustic duct has a second opening through which acoustic energy is radiated. The second acoustic duct is characterized by a second centerline. The first module and the second module are configured to be positioned and held in place so that the first and second openings are aligned to form a substantially continuous diffraction slot and so that the first and second centerlines are normal to an arc and intersect at a first one of a plurality of angles. |
| US09111518B2 |
Musical systems and methods
Musical performance/input systems, methods, and products can accept user inputs via a user interface, generate, sound, store, and/or modify one or more musical tones. The user interface can present one or more regions corresponding to related chords. A set of related chords and/or a set of rhythmic patterns are generated based on a selected instrument and a selected style of music. The related chords can be modified via one or more effects units. |
| US09111517B2 |
System and method for sound augmentation of acoustic musical instruments
A sound capture device is affixed to an acoustic instrument to capture the natural sound output of the instrument. The captured sound signal is routed to an electronic sound augmentation system that is configured to augment the captured sound with spatial sound effects such as reverb, echo, delay, etc. The processed and augmented sound is then reproduced via a vibrating driver that has been affixed to the body of the acoustic instrument. This creates a situation where the body of the musical instrument, responding to a series of vibrations produced by the vibrating driver, acts as a speaker component, reproducing a rich augmented sound output that comprises the sum of the sound produced by the original sound production capabilities of the acoustical instrument plus the added augmented or enhanced sound effects. |
| US09111516B1 |
Portable floor piano with folding keyboard
An electronic interactive instrument that is played by the feet of a person who walks upon the instrument. The instrument has a flexible cover plate upon which a person can walk. The cover plate contains an image of a keyboard with both imaged white keys and imaged black keys. A plurality of support beams are provided under the cover plate. At least one of the support beams is disposed under each of the imaged white keys and the imaged black keys. A plurality of pressure sensors are affixed to the support beams. The pressure sensors can detect when the cover plate is flexed by the weight of person. As such, the pressure sensors can detect where a person is standing on the cover plate. |
| US09111514B2 |
Delayed registration data readout in electronic music apparatus
A storage stores at least one set of registration data comprising a plurality of tone setting parameters. An instruction section instructs readout of the registration data set from the storage. A controller makes a setting such that the parameters in the registration data set are used in response to an instruction for reading out the registration data set, and makes a setting such that at least one or some of the tone setting parameters in the one set of registration data are used at delayed readout timing later than a time point at which the instruction has been issued. Thus, two or more sub-sets of the parameters in the registration data set can be set to be used at mutually different timing. Namely, a sub-set of the parameters can be set to be used at delayed readout timing later than a time at which a readout instruction has been issued. |
| US09111513B1 |
Luthiery fixture
A luthiery fixture or tool provides for a guitar or other stringed instrument to be rotationally supported and securely held above a surface, such as a work bench. The fixture is especially configured to support instruments having differing body dimensions. |
| US09111506B2 |
Display device having a gate driver responsive to multiple scan start signals
A display device includes a plurality of pixels arranged in matrix, a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, and a gate driver connected to the plurality of gate lines. The gate driver receives a first scan start signal, a second scan start signal and clock signals and outputs a gate-on voltage to each of the plurality of gate lines. The gate driver outputs the gate-on voltage to the plurality of gate lines such that the gate-on voltages do not overlap with each other when the gate driver receives the first scan start signal. The gate driver outputs the gate-on voltage to at least two of the gate lines at substantially the same time when the gate driver receives the second scan start signal. |
| US09111499B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
In a liquid crystal display device that performs two-line inversion driving, a difference of a write period of a substantial video signal between a pair of pixel rows scanned with the same polarity is compensated. An input signal pre-processing circuit 42 receives display data DATA and an original data enable signal DTMG, generates and inputs a data enable signal DTMG_R and display data DATA_R to a driver control signal generation block 40. DTMG_R is reduced in the active period, and an interval of the active period between a (2n−1)-th row and a 2n-th row is set to be larger than an interval of the active period between the 2n-th row and a (2n+1)-th row. The input signal pre-processing circuit 42 reads out DATA of each row from a buffer as DATA_R in an active period of DTMG_R. |
| US09111498B2 |
Head-mounted display with environmental state detection
Controlling a head-mounted display includes providing a head-mounted display, the head-mounted display includes a switchable viewing area that is switched between a transparent viewing state and an information viewing state. The transparent viewing state is transparent with respect to the viewing area and enables a user of the head-mounted display to view the scene outside the head-mounted display in the user's line of sight. The information viewing state is opaque with respect to the viewing area and displays information in the switchable viewing area visible to a user of the head-mounted display. An external environmental state detector provides an external stimulus notification in response to a detected change in the external environment and causes the viewing state to automatically switch in response to the external stimulus notification. |
| US09111497B2 |
Apparatus and associated methods for dynamic sequential display update
A controller and method have been described for use in conjunction with a sequential display system including a display having a plurality of pixels. A series of update cycles is performed on the display to establish the grayscale value of each pixel for viewing on the display based on the pixel values for a video frame by selectively switching each pixel responsive to the update cycles such that a total number of the update cycles is less than the total number of pixel values of the frame. Statistical characterization of frame data can be the basis of the reduction of the number of update cycles. |
| US09111491B2 |
Organic light emitting display device and method for driving the same
An organic light emitting display device includes a display panel including a plurality of pixels having an organic light emitting diode and a pixel circuit; a gate driver to supply the plurality of pixels with a scan signal, a sensing signal, and a driving voltage; a data driver to supply data voltages and a reference voltage to the plurality of pixels in a driving mode, and sense voltages charged into the plurality of pixels in a sensing mode; a discharging driving unit to initialize voltages of a plurality of sensing power lines when the display device switches from the driving mode to the sensing mode; a timing controller to control the gate driver, the data driver, and the discharging driving unit to operate in and switch between the driving mode and the sensing mode; and a memory to store compensation data for the plurality of pixels. |
| US09111487B2 |
Display device and method of driving the same
A display device and a method of driving the same are provided. The display device includes a plurality of display pixels, a plurality of data lines that are connected to the display pixels, and a plurality of sensing lines that are connected to the display pixels. Each display pixel includes: a driving transistor that has a control terminal, an input terminal, and an output terminal; a capacitor that is connected to the control terminal of the driving transistor; a first switching transistor that is connected to the data line and the control terminal of the driving transistor; a light-emitting element that receives a driving current from the driving transistor to emit light; a second switching transistor that is connected between the sensing line and the light-emitting element; and a third switching transistor that is connected between the output terminal of the driving transistor and the light-emitting element. |
| US09111486B2 |
Organic light emitting display device
An organic light emitting display device includes: a scan driver; a data driver; a display unit including pixels located at crossing regions of scan lines and data lines; first power lines coupled between a first power supply and the pixels; at least one second power line located outside the display unit and coupled to a second power supply having a voltage different from a voltage of the first power supply; at least one third power line coupled to a third power supply having a voltage different from the voltage of the first power supply; and fourth power lines coupled to the pixels, wherein the pixels are charged with voltages corresponding to the data signals and the third power supply and are configured to control the amount of current flowing from the first power supply in response to the voltages charges in the pixels. |
| US09111485B2 |
Compensation technique for color shift in displays
A system for maintaining a substantially constant display white point over an extended period of operation of a color display formed by an array of multiple pixels in which each of the pixels includes multiple subpixels having different colors, and each of the subpixels includes a light emissive device. The display is generated by energizing the subpixels of successively selected pixels, and the color of each selected pixel is controlled by the relatives levels of energization of the subpixels in the selected pixel. The degradation behavior of the subpixels in each pixel is determined, and the relative levels of energization of the subpixels in each pixel are adjusted to adjust the brightness shares of the subpixels to compensate for the degradation behavior of the subpixels. The brightness shares are preferably adjusted to maintain a substantially constant display white point. |
| US09111483B2 |
Display device
To provide a display device with high image quality and fewer terminals. The present invention is made with a focus on the positional relation between a serial-parallel conversion circuit and an external connection terminal for supplying a serial signal to the serial-parallel conversion circuit. The structure conceived is such that a serial-parallel conversion circuit and an external connection terminal for supplying a serial signal to the serial-parallel conversion circuit are provided close to each other so that an RC load between the serial-parallel conversion circuit and the external connection terminal is reduced. |
| US09111481B2 |
Display device and method of driving the same
A display device including pixels has formed therein at least two drive blocks each made up of pixel rows. Each of the pixels includes: a drive transistor; a first electrostatic capacitor and a second electrostatic capacitor; an organic EL element; a first switching transistor provided between the source and the drain of the drive transistor; and a second switching transistor that supplies a signal current to the organic EL element. Each of the pixels in a kth drive block includes a third switching transistor provided between a first signal line and the first electrostatic storing capacitor, and each of the pixels in a k-th drive block includes a fourth switching transistor provided between a second signal line and the first electrostatic storing capacitor. A second control line for controlling conduction of the first switching transistor is connected to each of the pixels in a same one of the drive blocks. |
| US09111476B2 |
Apparatus and method for driving liquid crystal display device
An apparatus and method for driving an image display device are disclosed. The disclosed driving apparatus and method achieve synchronous driving of driving integrated circuits for driving an image display panel, through internal generation of drive control signals, thereby preventing a degradation in picture quality caused by erroneous driving timing while achieving an enhancement in product reliability. The driving apparatus includes a display panel, which includes a plurality of pixel regions, to display an image, a plurality of data integrated circuits, which share at least one of synchronizing signals internally generated therefrom, generate gate and data control signals in accordance with the shared synchronizing signal, and drive data lines of the display panel, using the internally-generated data control signals, and a gate driver for driving gate lines of the display panel in accordance with the gate control signal generated from one of the plural data integrated circuits. |
| US09111475B2 |
Method of driving display device, program, and display device
A display device includes first and second display pixels connected to a first source line, third and fourth display pixels connected to the second source line. The device further includes a receiver receiving display voltage for each display pixel, a calculator calculating first difference voltage between the display voltages of the first and second display pixels, and calculating a second difference voltage between the display voltages of the third and fourth display pixels. A parasitic capacitance is generated between the first display pixel and each source line and between the third display pixel and each source line. The display device further includes a generator correcting the first display voltage based on the first and second difference voltages and generating first write voltage for the first display pixel, and correcting the third display voltage based on the second difference voltage and generating third write voltage for the third display pixel. |
| US09111474B2 |
Display device
A method of terminating a pair of transmission lines is changed over by terminal setting. Display data is supplied to a master drive circuit and (n−1)-pieces of drive circuits from a host computer via the pair of transmission lines in accordance with a differential serial transmission system. Each drive circuit includes an SELC terminal. When a voltage inputted to the SELC terminal is at a first voltage level, a resistor having a resistance value of Ra is connected between the pair of transmission lines in the master drive circuit thus terminating the pair of transmission lines, and the pair of transmission lines in the slave drive circuits is opened. When the voltage inputted to the SELC terminal is at a second voltage level which differs from the first voltage level, a resistor having a resistance value of (n×Ra) is connected between the pair of transmission lines. |
| US09111467B2 |
Sealing system for sealing of doors of transport vehicles with door specific seals
Provided is a sealing system for sealing of doors of transport vehicles comprising at least one door with at least one first electrical contact and a corresponding door frame with at least one second electrical contact, where the first and the second contact are arranged on the same side of the door and the door frame and are electrically connected to build an open electrical circuit, and a seal to be attached to the closed door and the door frame suitable to close the open electrical circuit between first and second electrical contact in order to indicate the closure of the door. Additionally provided is a portable logging device for recording the sealing of doors as used by the sealing system and to a method to operate such a sealing system. |
| US09111465B2 |
Stylized hanging gift tag
A stylized hanging gift tag includes a decorative main body that is adorned with indicia having a plurality of shapes, colors, patterns and at least one celebratory message. An elongated tether is secured to the top end of the main body and terminates into an expandable bottle attachment loop. A decorative chain is disposed along the back side of the main body and is attached at either end to the sides of the main body. |
| US09111458B2 |
Interactive educational tool
Systems, devices, and methods associated with interactive educational tools are described herein. One device includes instructions executable by a processor to cause a plurality of mobile devices to each represent a respective subsystem associated with an objective, cause an interaction between at least two of the plurality of mobile devices to represent a relationship between the respective subsystems represented by the at least two mobile devices, and aggregate a number of interactions between the at least two of the plurality of mobile devices to form a coordinated response associated with achieving a particular objective. |
| US09111457B2 |
Voice pronunciation for text communication
A method, computer program product, and system for voice pronunciation for text communication is described. A selected portion of a text communication is determined. A prompt to record a pronunciation relating to the selected portion of the text communication is provided at a first computing device. The recorded pronunciation is associated with the selected portion of the text communication. A visual indicator, relating to the selected portion of the text communication and the recorded pronunciation, is displayed. |
| US09111456B2 |
Dynamically presenting practice screens to determine student preparedness for online testing
An online test platform facilitates the dynamic presentation of practice screens to determine student preparedness for online testing. The platform also facilitates development, delivery, and management of educational tests with interactive participation by students, teachers, proctors, and administrators even when some or all of them are remotely located. The platform may include administrator interfaces, test proctor interfaces, and test taker (e.g. student) interfaces to allow each participant to view, navigate, and interact with aspects of the online test platform that are intended to meet their needs. |
| US09111450B2 |
Method and system for parking assistance for a vehicle
A method and system for parking assistance for a vehicle, wherein the parking of said vehicle on a parking space at least partly occupied by a second vehicle is enabled by transmitting a maneuver request to the second vehicle. The method includes the steps of: allocating a priority to the driver of the first vehicle, wherein said priority implements a classification of said driver with respect to the extent to which the driver is entitled to the prioritized use of the parking space; and transmitting the maneuver request to the second vehicle based on said priority. |
| US09111445B1 |
Wireless traffic lights synchronizer
A control arrangement for overriding automated control of sets of traffic lights at a string of intersections. The control arrangement comprises a control unit and a plurality of base units. The control unit comprises electrical circuitry disposed to generate at least one command signal and to wirelessly transmit the at least one command signal comprising traffic light control instructions to the base units. The control unit electrical circuitry comprises a control unit processor. Each of the base units include an electrical circuitry comprising a base unit processor and a receiver, the receiver being disposed to receive the at least one command signal from the control unit, and pass the command single onto other base units, wherein the circuitry comprises a hard wire connection disposed to connect to the mechanical connector of an automated traffic light controller. |
| US09111443B2 |
Heavy vehicle traffic flow optimization
There is provided a method for heavy vehicle traffic flow optimization. The method includes determining location information and destination information of qualifying heavy vehicles. The method further includes modifying one or more traffic signal sequences to optimize a traffic flow of the qualifying heavy vehicles responsive to the location information and the destination information. Each of the qualifying heavy vehicles has a respective associated weight greater than a predetermined weight threshold. |
| US09111442B2 |
Estimating incident duration
A method, an apparatus and an article of manufacture for incident duration prediction. The method includes obtaining incident data for at least one traffic-related incident in a selected geographic area, obtaining traffic data for the selected geographic area, spatially and temporally associating the at least one traffic-related incident with the traffic data to generate incident duration data for the at least one traffic-related incident, and predicting incident duration of at least one additional traffic-related incident based on the incident duration data for the at least one traffic-related incident. |
| US09111440B2 |
Refrigerator and remote controller
Provided is a refrigerator, which includes a display part and a control part. The display part displays information. The control part controls the display part. The display part includes a first display part for displaying information related to an additional function except for a cooling function, and a second display part for displaying temperature information related to the cooling function. |
| US09111439B2 |
Programming a universal remote control via direct interaction
A method and system for programming a universal remote control (URC) to operate with a remote-controlled device is disclosed. Programming codes for the remote-controlled device may be transferred from an original remote control using a programming interface. The transfer may be performed directly with the URC. The transfer may also be performed using consumer-premises equipment of a multimedia content distribution network. The URC may be configured to use at least one of the programming codes to remotely control the remote-controlled device. |
| US09111434B2 |
System and method for monitoring the presence of a person in a monitored area
A system and a corresponding method for monitoring the presence of a person in a monitored area, includes a passive radiometer that detects radiation emitted from a predetermined monitored area in a predetermined frequency range between 1 GHz and 100 THz and that generates a radiation signal from the detected radiation, a radiation signal processor that processes the radiation signal and that generates, based on the processed radiation signal, a monitoring signal indicating the presence or absence of a person in the monitored area, and an application controller that controls an application based on the monitoring signal. |
| US09111426B2 |
Recreational smoking monitor system for use in occupied spaces
A system detects presence of particles in the air of guest rooms of facilities such as motels and hotels for example that indicate that guests are engaged in recreational smoking. The system provides an indication to the facility manager of such behavior. |
| US09111425B2 |
Indicating devices and associated methods
Indicator devices, systems, and methods are provided. Indicator devices include a housing having a bore and an indicating component placed therein. The indicator devices are activated in response to an increase in temperature or pressure. Indicator systems include an indicator device coupled to a housing, such as a conduit or enclosure. Methods include utilizing an indicator device to determine if an area within a conduit or enclosure has been sealed. |
| US09111424B2 |
Three dimensional (3D) tactile feedback apparatus and method
A three-dimensional (3D) tactile feedback apparatus and method for implementing the same may include a tactile feedback providing unit which provides a 3D tactile feedback, in response to a motion input by a user, a position measuring unit which measures a position of the tactile feedback providing unit, and a movement controlling unit which controls a movement of the tactile feedback providing unit based on the position of the tactile feedback providing unit. |
| US09111420B2 |
Gaming system and method providing a multiplay game with resultant symbols
Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a gaming system and method providing a multiplay game with resultant symbols. The game is associated with a plurality of reel sets each including a plurality of reels. Each reel is associated with one or more symbol display areas. For each reel set, each symbol display area associated with a reel of that reel set is associated with a symbol display area associated with one of the reels of each other reel set. The gaming system independently generates and displays certain of the symbols on the reels of the respective reel sets at the corresponding symbol display areas. If associated symbol display areas display symbols having a designated relationship with one another, the gaming system forms a resultant symbol from those symbols. The gaming system determines any awards based on the resultant symbols and not based on any non-resultant symbols. |
| US09111419B2 |
Blackjack game with bonus feature
A bonus event for Blackjack card games is provided. The bonus event has two or more designated bonus element, such as card hands. If one of the bonus elements is achieved as the result of play of a first Blackjack game, the bonus event is triggered. A bonus award is paid to the player if the player receives remaining required bonus elements as a result of the play of additional Blackjack games during the bonus period. The game is preferably played against a dealer at a video Blackjack machine and offers the player the opportunity for awards for each Blackjack game win and one or more additional bonus awards. |
| US09111417B2 |
System and method for providing enhanced services to a user of a gaming application
A system for providing enhanced services to users of a gaming application comprises a server and a platform remotely coupled to the server. The server executes a gaming application. The platform receives a request for enhanced services, and establishes an enhanced services session with a user of the gaming application in response to the request for enhanced services. The enhanced services session corresponds in time at least in part with the execution of the gaming application. The platform further provides enhanced services to the user of the gaming application during the enhanced services session. |
| US09111416B2 |
Method and apparatus for gaming machines with a tournament play bonus feature
A gaming method and device includes a game, at least one non-qualifying outcome in the game, and at least one qualifying outcome in the game, wherein a player qualifies for a multi-player tournament to be held in the future when the player achieves the at least one qualifying outcome. |
| US09111415B2 |
Gaming system and a method of gaming
A method of gaming comprising: receiving a bet from a player; awarding to the player an entitlement to a plurality of game outcomes in exchange for the bet; determining that the player has exhausted the entitlement; and determining, subsequent to exhaustion of the entitlement, whether the player is entitled to an award based, at least in part, on at least one of the game outcomes. |
| US09111414B1 |
Spinning game
Described herein are electronic game devices that display a center region, and circular-shaped regions surrounding the center region. The circular-shaped regions, as well as the center region, contain various symbols. The circular-shaped regions spin around the center region for various amounts of time such that the entirety of each circular-shaped region is visible while the circular-shaped regions spins. When the circular-shaped regions stop spinning, if the symbols are located in pre-determined winning positions, an action occurs such as a user winning points. |
| US09111413B2 |
Detection and response to audible communications for gaming
A wagering game system and its operations are described herein. In some embodiments, the operations can include detecting one or more audible communications made during a wagering game session, evaluating the one or more audible communications in context with gaming information associated with the wagering game session; and presenting an automated response to the one or more audible communications based on the evaluating of the one or more audible communications in context with gaming information. |
| US09111412B2 |
Casino games
Apparatus and methods related to multi-player casino games are described. An electronic gaming device is provided that allows a live player to compete against a virtual player in a multi-player wager-based game using playing cards derived from the insertion of a physical denomination of currency. The electronic gaming device can be configured to simulate the decision making of a virtual player and associated behaviors of the virtual player during game play. In some instances, the simulated behaviors of the virtual player output at the electronic gaming device can be learned by a live player so that the live player can make better or more advantageous game play decisions. The simulated behaviors of the virtual player can be conveyed to the live player via visual images, such as simulated facial expressions of the virtual player. |
| US09111411B2 |
Verifying a first device is in communications with a server by strong a value from the first device and accessing the value from a second device
A system includes a first server and a second server. The second server receives a value from a first device, possibly via the first server, and stores the value. In response to a request from a second device, the second server then determines the value and sends the value to the second device. In this fashion, verification can be made that the first device is in communications with the first server. |
| US09111409B2 |
Financial transactions processing system including cash automation machine
A financial transactions processing system includes a safe (cash automation machine) that performs transactions including at least one of receiving and distributing money. A controller, such as a teller computer, issues instructions to the cash automation machine to perform the transactions. A processor, such as a bank branch CPU, receives data from the cash automation machine and the controller relating to the transactions and analyzes the data. This data can include data relating to at least one of the following: number of transactions, duration of each transaction, type of each transaction, denomination of money distributed and/or received, and date and time of the transactions. The processor (bank branch CPU) can advantageously use this data in a number of ways, including at least one of the following: to accurately and effectively assign teller work schedules, perform or schedule maintenance or repairs, provide economic advantages, etc. |
| US09111407B2 |
Speaker recognition and denial of a transaction based on matching a known voice print
One-to-many comparisons of callers' voice prints with known voice prints to identify any matches between them. When a customer communicates with a particular entity, such as a customer service center, the system makes a recording of the real-time call including both the customer's and agent's voices. The system segments the recording to extract at least a portion of the customer's voice to create a customer voice print, and it formats the segmented voice print for network transmission to a server. The server compares the customer's voice print with multiple known voice prints to determine any matches, meaning that the customer's voice print and one of the known voice prints are likely from the same person. The identification of any matches can be used for a variety of purposes, such as determining whether to authorize a transaction requested by the customer. |
| US09111398B2 |
Method and system to perform dynamic layout of photographs
Disclosed is a layout software routine which automatically creates complex and aesthetically pleasing layouts without any user interaction, though user interaction is possible. |
| US09111397B2 |
Pre-fetching map tile data along a route
The present application describes techniques for fetching map data as a selected subset of entire map data available by selecting map data tiles corresponding to an area that encompasses a route. An amount of map data accessed may be adjusted based on a priority assigned to areas or points along the route. A sequence of map data may be accessed based on a priority assigned to sets of map data. |
| US09111394B1 |
Rendering based on multiple projections
A workflow for 3D content authoring, delivery, and rendering is facilitated based on pre-authored image projections to obtain improvements in authoring efficiency. Additionally, a content delivery platform centered on such pre-authored image projections provides a mechanism for significantly improving streaming efficiency for 3D worlds. Multiple images encode primary surface detail of 3D worlds in real-time applications. Examples of such projections include images that can be as rich as film frames, feature animation frames, high end digital renders, concept paintings, or any suitable combination thereof. An algorithm for improved image projection camera path trajectories, sampling selection, and blending may be implemented by various systems and methods to facilitate smooth transitions during movements of a player within a game set in the 3D space. In addition, a back-projection technique may be implemented by various systems and methods to propagate revisions of one or more projections. |
| US09111392B2 |
Stochastic depth buffer compression using generalized plane encoding
Unlike a static primitive, where the depth function is planar, the depth function for a moving and defocused triangle is a rational function in time and the lens parameters. Compact depth functions can be used to design an efficient depth buffer compressor/decompressor, which significantly lowers total depth buffer bandwidth usage. In addition, this compressor/decompressor is substantially simpler in the number of operations needed to execute, which makes it more amenable for hardware implementation than previous methods. |
| US09111387B2 |
Color information generation device, color information generation method, and recording medium
A color database, in which a mutual correlation is established among an L*a*b*-color-system L*a*b* value as an attribute with respect to a color stimulus, an RGB value, and a sphere radius which is proportional to a color difference and is set in advance as a value indicating a level at that a person can sensuously distinguish between colors, the sphere radius being a radius of a color sphere having the L*a*b* value as a center point in an L*a*b*-color-system color solid, is included, and when the L*a*b* value or RGB value is input to an input unit, display data generation unit refers to the color database to generate display data in which the color sphere having a center point of the L*a*b* value or the L*a*b* value correlated with RGB value is disposed in the L*a*b*-color-system color solid of a line drawing, the color sphere having the correlated sphere radius. |
| US09111385B2 |
Apparatus and method for rendering volume data
A method renders volume data having multi-resolution. The volume data is divided into a plurality of sub-volumes according to a resolution, a sampling interval for each of the plurality of sub-volumes is determined based on resolutions of the plurality of sub-volumes, sub-volumes present in a path of a ray passing through each of pixels on a projection plane onto which the volume data is projected from one viewpoint are sampled according to the sampling intervals thereof, and a rendering value of each of the pixels on the projection plane is obtained by synthesizing a plurality of sampling values corresponding to each of the pixels from among sampling values obtained through the sampling. |
| US09111384B2 |
Systems and methods for obtaining and using augmentation data and for sharing usage data
Computationally implemented methods and systems include receiving augmentation data associated with one or more first augmentations, the one or more first augmentations having been included in a first augmented view of a first actual scene that was remotely displayed at a remote augmented reality (AR) device, displaying one or more second augmentations in a second augmented view of a second actual scene, the displaying of the one or more second augmentations being in response, at least in part, to the augmentation data, and transmitting to the remote AR device usage data that indicates usage information related at least to usage or non-usage of the received augmentation data. In addition to the foregoing, other aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text. |
| US09111362B2 |
Method, system and apparatus for applying histogram equalization to an image
A method for applying histogram equalization to an image comprises calculating a histogram of at least one image portion of an input image to obtain histogram data representing the number of occurrences of different brightness values in said at least one image portion. Said histogram data is filled up such that substantially all brightness values have a minimum number of occurrences. A cumulative distribution function is calculated from said filled up histogram data and is equalized in a predetermined range. Finally, said at least one image portion of the input image is remapped based on said equalized cumulative distribution function. |
| US09111357B2 |
System and method of pill identification
A system and method for identifying pills by determining a size and shape of each pill in a digital image. The system includes a background grid organized as a grid of alternating-colored shapes. The system also includes a digital camera, a processor and a memory. The processor is used to receive and process the digital image taken by the digital camera so as to determine contours for each pill in the image. The contour determination is refined and is used to determine size and shape information for each pill. |
| US09111352B2 |
Automated detection and correction of stereoscopic edge violations
Pixel-based and region-based methods, computer program products, and systems for detecting, flagging, highlighting on a display, and automatically fixing edge violations in stereoscopic images and video. The highlighting and display methods involve signed, clamped subtraction of one image of a stereo image pair from the other image, with the subtraction preferably isolated to a region of interest near the lateral edges. Various embodiments include limiting the detection, flagging, and highlighting of edge violations to objects causing a degree of perceptual discomfort greater than a user-set or preset threshold, or to objects having a certain size and/or proximity and/or degree of cut-off by a lateral edge of the left or right eye images of a stereo image pair. Methods of removing violations include automatic or semi-automatic cropping of the offending object, and depth shifting of the offending object onto the screen plane. |
| US09111351B2 |
Minimizing drift using depth camera images
A device may obtain, from a camera associated with a reference object, depth image data including objects in a first frame and a second frame; identify features of the objects in the first frame and the second frame; and track movements of the features between the first frame and the second frame. The device may also identify independently moving features in the second frame, based on the tracking movements; remove the independently moving features from the depth image data to obtain a static feature set; and process the depth image data corresponding to the static feature set to detect changes in the relative position of objects in the first frame and the second frame. The processor may further translate the changes in relative position into corresponding movement data of the camera and provide the corresponding movement data to an inertial navigation system. |
| US09111346B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and recording medium
An image corresponding to a pattern having a first size is detected from a first detection region in an acquired, first image, and an image corresponding to a pattern having a second size is detected from a second detection region different from the first detection region in the first image. |
| US09111344B2 |
Image processing method and image processing device thereof for image alignment
An image processing method for image alignment, includes sequentially receiving a plurality of images; generating at least one threshold corresponding to each image according to a plurality of intensities of each image of the plurality of images; converting each image according to the thresholds of each image, for generating a plurality of binary images; acquiring a plurality of characteristic pixels of each binary image according to the plurality of binary images; and aligning the plurality of images according to the plurality of characteristic pixels of each binary image. |
| US09111343B2 |
Microscope slide coordinate system registration
Systems, methods and computer program products for mapping coordinates of various imaging stations are described. In some implementations, cells (e.g., red blood cells) in a biological specimen can be used for determining the mapping information between the imaging stations. The use of cells allows a target image (e.g., an image of a sub-region of cells in the biological specimen) taken by one imaging station to be pattern-matched to a reference image (e.g., an image showing a larger region of cells in the biological specimen that also includes the sub-region) taken by another imaging station. Once the target image is matched to the reference image, point by point correspondence (and therefore coordinates) between the target image and the reference image can be established for computing the coordinate transformation to map the imaging stations. |
| US09111341B2 |
Watermarking image block division method and device for western language watermarking processing
The application provides a method for partitioning a watermark image with western language characters, comprising: partitioning a western language characters image along rows and columns to form a plurality of character image blocks; identifying valid character image blocks from the formed character image blocks; counting sizes of the valid character image blocks to determine if the image corresponds to a document with a large font size or a document with a small font size; dividing words in the image into a plurality of groups, wherein each divided group in the document with large font size has different numbers of words from that with small font size; and dividing equally the divided word groups into multiple portions corresponding to watermark image blocks. The application further provides a device for partitioning a watermark image with western language characters. The operability of watermark embedding process can be ensured through the above technical solution. |
| US09111339B1 |
System and method for reducing noise from an image
Systems and methods for reducing noise in an image are provided. Noise is reduced in a luminance channel of the image using a first filtering procedure. Noise is reduced in a chrominance channel of the image using a second filtering procedure. The chrominance channel is decomposed into a plurality of frequency sub-bands, where each frequency sub-band of the plurality of frequency sub-bands represents the chrominance channel at a first resolution. The noise is further reduced in the chrominance channel using a third filtering procedure. The third filtering procedure is applied to each frequency sub-band of the plurality of frequency sub-bands. A lowest frequency sub-band of the plurality of frequency sub-bands is decomposed into a second plurality of frequency sub-bands after the third filtering procedure. Each frequency sub-band of the second plurality of frequency sub-bands represents the chrominance channel at a second resolution that is lower than the first resolution. |
| US09111334B2 |
Dielectric encoding of medical images
Microwave imaging apparatus and method for completely imaging the human body (or portions thereof) in sufficient detail to render a timely and accurate medical diagnosis by trained medical professionals. The data conversion processes presented will not require physicians and radiologists to learn to use image data in a format they are not familiar with. Hounsfield encoded and/or MRI intensity encoded medical images in the DICOM format are provided from reconstructed dielectric images obtained from raw scattering data. This allows for the exchange of information created from microwave imaging techniques to be implemented with existing diagnostic tools and analysis techniques. Furthermore, methods are presented for converting image data with Hounsfield encoded units to an image with dielectric encoded units. |
| US09111330B2 |
Scalable systems for controlling color management comprising varying levels of metadata
Several embodiments of scalable image processing systems and methods are disclosed herein whereby color management processing of source image data to be displayed on a target display is changed according to varying levels of metadata. |
| US09111324B2 |
Programmed dispensing of consumable compositions
Methods and systems for programmed dispensation of consumable compositions are provided.A method for administering a consumable composition may comprise: (a) dispensing a dose of a first consumable composition according to a programmed dosing schedule; and (b) detecting an identity of the first consumable composition.A system for administering a consumable composition may comprise: (a) means for dispensing a dose of a first consumable composition according to a programmed dosing schedule; and (b) means for detecting an identity of the first consumable composition. |
| US09111320B2 |
Automated location-based information recall
A geoposition is determined at a point using a geoposition determining mobile communication device. A crop management zone is identified based on one or more predetermined crop management boundaries and the geoposition of the point. Information about the field is wirelessly communicated between the geoposition determining mobile communications device and a remote site. Analysis may be performed at the remote site with the results of the analysis communicated to the mobile communication device at the growing point. Information may be collected at the point which is stored or analyzed at the remote site. Information may include digital images of plant conditions which may be analyzed to determine conditions such as disease or pest infestation. Contextual information from a number of different types of sources may be used to provide meaningful analysis and feedback to the producer. The producer may define crop management zones using the geoposition determining mobile communication device. |
| US09111315B2 |
Method for providing a searchable, comprehensive database of proposed rides
A method is disclosed that matches travelers for ride sharing according to personal preferences, such as smoking, music, allergies, drive sharing, expense sharing, number of riders, and gender, as well as basic trip details. In preferred embodiments the method is accessed via a website, and trips can be over any distance and/or by any land, air, or water vehicle. Embodiments require traveler verification by a payment and/or other means, and/or require travelers to supply identifying information. Matches can take into account ratings of travelers by other travelers. Confirmations, reminders, and ride sharing advice can be sent to riders before scheduled rides, and information about a shared ride can be sent to a non-rider. Fees can be charged, and credited if no match is accepted. Communications can be secure and requesting and/or accepting matches can be logged. Origin and/or destination radii can be automatically enlarged to provide more matches. |
| US09111314B2 |
System and method for custom service markets
Methods and systems for providing custom services are disclosed. A developer interface provides standards, such as an application platform interface, for developers to use to make and test applications and services. A user interface can access downloadable or hosted services or applications to multiple users, such as, merchants, banks and networks. The system can then provide custom individual or packages of services to users based on the services requested by the user and charge the user for them on a subscription or per-use basis. |
| US09111313B2 |
Automated store for selling articles
An automated store for storing and then distributing articles, including a housing for receiving closed shipping containers for storage, and for distributing articles retrieved from inside the shipping containers to an output of the housing. The housing further including entry means for controlling entry into the housing of closed shipping containers. Automated forming means form an opening in each of the plurality of the shipping containers, storing means for storing the opened shipping containers, computer controlled retrieving means for entering into selected ones of tee opened shipping containers via the formed opening to retrieve an article and moving means for moving the retrieved articles to an output are further included in the housing. |
| US09111310B2 |
Universal ordering for manufacturing custom products
A computer-implemented method for multi-vendor printing including maintaining a data store that includes information about service level agreements with partner systems, wherein a partner system enables customers to order a plurality of customized print products, and wherein a service level agreement designates maximum delays for manufacturing customer print orders, and characteristics of print vendors, receiving a customer print order from one of the partner systems, the print order specifying a customized print product, determining a latest ship date for the customized print product, selecting one of the print vendors to manufacture the customized print product, and receiving updates from the selected print vendor and relaying the received updates to the partner system that issued the customer print order. |
| US09111306B2 |
System and method for providing products from multiple websites
A system and method that combines content with one or more canvas products to provide finished products for dissemination to end customers is provided. More specifically, a system and method are provided to enable a content provider to select one or more canvas products to which content would be applied, whereby the content provider may then provide web links on any of a multitude of locations to redirect an end customer to a canvas product center and/or fulfillment center to acquire finished products having content thereon. The finished product is customizable for and by any one or more content providers for a unique appearance and offering to end customers. Content providers are able to leverage the infrastructure, network and benefits of a third party while enjoying the ease of setup, minimal up-front costs and eliminate the need to invest in or carry an inventory of finished products. |
| US09111305B2 |
Personal remote storage for purchased electronic content items
Architectures and techniques are described to provide personal remote storage space for electronic content items acquired (e.g., purchased) by a user of a client device. In some cases, as part of a transaction to acquire the electronic content item, an individual may receive an option that is selectable to indicate a preference to send electronic content items acquired by the individual to a personal remote storage space of the individual. When the option to store the electronic content item in the personal remote storage space is not selected by the individual, the electronic content item may be provided directly to a designated computing device of the individual. |
| US09111302B2 |
Communication method, apparatus and system for a retail organization
A data communication method and apparatus for a retail organization is disclosed. In the method an intermediate data processing entity generates a set of data for sending to at least one mobile terminal based on data from at least one data processing device associated with the retail organization and send the generated set of data to the at least one mobile terminal. At least one mobile terminal may send user data to the intermediate data processing entity. Upon receipt of user data from at least one mobile terminal the received user data is processed in the intermediate data processing entity to determine if data is to be communicated from the intermediate data processing entity. If it is determined that communication of data is needed, data can be communicated to at least one of a data processing device associated with the retail organization and at least one mobile terminal. |
| US09111301B2 |
Activating an account based on an SMS message
A plurality of consumer accounts are stored in a data store before being activated by consumers, each having a first pass code and a first PAN or other consumer account identifier. A data exchange module receives an SMS message including a second pass code and extracts a first phone number from the message. A consumer account activation module identifies a selected one of the consumer accounts by matching the second pass code with a selected one of the first pass codes, and stores the first phone number as a second phone number in association in the selected consumer account. A communication and routing module receives a charge request including a second PAN, and identifies a selected one of the consumer accounts by associating one of the first PANs with the second PAN. A transaction processing system then reduces a stored value of the identified consumer account based on the charge. |
| US09111292B2 |
Dynamic messaging in a personal data protection suite
An online protection suite provides password management and a dashboard set of services combining single-click access to user accounts and a simple browser window automatically filled with offers for a variety of related products and services targeted especially for particular users. Each user is identified to a business partner server with a unique customer automatically sent from a simple browser embedded in the password management dashboard. The business partner server returns a webpage back to the simple browser that has been constructed especially for this user by leveraging sensitive and proprietary information collected by the business partner. Such customer information is not directly accessible to the password manager. |
| US09111290B2 |
Managing targeted customer loyalty promotions
Targeted customer loyalty promotions are managed by an application through a point of sale contact. The application recognizes a customer visiting a store through communication (e.g. near field communication) with a customer device. The application receives a customer identifier (ID) from the customer device. Using the customer ID, the application retrieves a customer record matching the customer ID from a local data store of the point of sale, a networked data store, or a social network data store. The application determines customer loyalty promotions associated with the customer record and transmits the customer loyalty promotions to the customer. |
| US09111289B2 |
System and method for providing automatic high-value listing feeds for online computer users
A system and method for providing automatic high-value listing feeds for online computer users is disclosed. A particular embodiment includes obtaining publisher information corresponding to a plurality of publisher content items from a plurality of publisher sites; obtaining merchant information including value information corresponding to the plurality of publisher content items; using a processor, the publisher information, and the merchant information to generate a set of high-value feeds for transfer to the plurality of publisher sites, the set of high-value feeds each being ranked corresponding to a quality score computed for each listing item of each high-value feed; and transferring the set of high-value feeds to corresponding publisher sites of the plurality of publisher sites. |
| US09111287B2 |
Video content-aware advertisement placement
Computer-readable media and computerized methods for utilizing an awareness of video content within a media file to incorporate an advertisement therein are provided. Building the video-content awareness involves performing an offline authoring process to generate a trajectory. In particular, the offline authoring process includes targeting an object appearing in the video content, tracking movement of the object over a sequence of frames within the media file, and, based on the tracked movement, writing locations of the object to the trajectory. In an online rendering process, invoked upon initiating play of the media file, the advertisement is automatically selected and dynamically placed on top of the video content as a function of the locations within the trajectory. Accordingly, by repositioning the advertisement (typically an animation) within the video content based on the movement of the object, an illusion that the advertisement visually interacts with the object is generated. |
| US09111286B2 |
Multiple actions and icons for mobile advertising
On a mobile communication device there are many more possible workflows that could be followed given the available functions of that device. These may include, but are not limited to, “click to call”, “click to locate”, “click to SMS”, “click to send a picture”, “click to handle later”, and can be constrained only by the available and accessible functionality of the user's device. A list of actions to be made available associated with an advertisement are provided along with an iconic visual representation of those actions for the user to identify what the resultant workflow will be if they activate the action. The list can be presented as selectable actions within the advertisement, on a sub menu activated by a dedicated device key or assigned softkey, or directly activated by using dedicated device keys or assigned soft keys, or other user-to-device interaction methods. |
| US09111285B2 |
System and method for representing content, user presence and interaction within virtual world advertising environments
A control system renders a shared virtual environment to one or more users and obtains metadata associated with content accessed by the users. Representations based on the gathered metadata are provided to a viewing user, and may include visual elements serving as host, content and/or presence representations. Applicable representations are identified from a plurality of defined possible content representations based on the metadata associated with and obtained for a hosting user. The representations may be descriptive of a variety of parameters, including but not limited to the type, timing, nature or other parameters associated with content currently being accessed by a hosting user, content available from the hosting user, a future schedule for content access, time remaining for the hosting user to remain within a shared virtual environment, the hosting user's social network status relative to the viewing user. Presence representations may be displayed to provide information on a hosting user's presence availability within a shared virtual environment relative to one or more determined time slots. |
| US09111283B1 |
RFID tag authentication with public-key cryptography
An authentication method includes RFID readers authenticating RFID tags using public-key cryptography. A tag manufacturer or other legitimate authority produces a tag private-public key pair and stores the tag private key in externally unreadable tag memory and the tag public key in externally readable tag memory. The authority produces a master private-public key pair and distributes the master public key to readers in the field. The authority generates a tag-specific electronic signature based on at least the tag public key and the master private key and stores this signature in externally readable tag memory. A reader authenticates the tag by retrieving the tag public key and electronic signature from the tag, verifying the authenticity of the tag public key using the master public key and the electronic signature, challenging the tag, receiving a response from the tag to the challenge, and verifying the response using the tag public key. |
| US09111282B2 |
Method and system for identifying business records
A method and system as described identifies business records. A business listing stores one or more business records. In order to filter spam records, the method and system operate to identify whether a target business record is a spam business record. To identify the target record as a spam record, the method and system compare extracted characteristics of the target record with characteristics of known spam or good business records. Depending upon the similarity with the known business records, the target business record is identified as a spam record or a good record. |
| US09111277B2 |
Methods and systems for processing electronic transactions and managing vehicle costs
A computer-implemented method for performing an electronic transaction using a payment computer coupled to a database is provided. The transaction includes an item purchased in association with a vehicle and initiated by a cardholder with a merchant. The method includes receiving, at the payment computer, an authorization request message from the merchant, the authorization request message including first transaction data, wherein the first transaction data includes a vehicle identifier for identifying the vehicle; transmitting an authorization response message from the payment computer to the merchant; storing, within the database, the first transaction data including the vehicle identifier; storing, within the database, other transaction data associated with other purchased items for the vehicle, wherein the first transaction data and the other transaction data define a total transaction data associated with the vehicle; and tracking, by the vehicle identifier, the total transaction data for access by the cardholder. |
| US09111275B2 |
Systems and methods for providing a transaction card package assembly including sample product or service
A transaction card package assembly comprising at least one transaction card, at least one sample product, and a card holder, and methods and system for processing the same. |
| US09111272B2 |
Mobile payments
A method and system for processing payment transaction at a computing device is provided. The method includes receiving a payment request at the computing device from a purchaser terminal, the payment request including purchaser information, determining whether payment information associated with the purchaser information exists at the computing device, and processing payment transaction using the payment information if it is determined that the payment information associated with the purchaser information exists at the computing device. |
| US09111270B2 |
Authentication system
An authentication system is provided that authenticates a member using the member's mobile terminal. The authentication system includes a mobile terminal, a shop computer, and a head office server. The head office server includes an authentication unit. The authentication unit compares member identification information read by the shop computer with member identification information stored in a member database. Additionally, the authentication unit compares a one-time password (OTP) password with the OTP of the mobile terminal generated by the server-side OTP generation unit and received from the shop computer. The authentication unit authenticates a member based on the results of the comparison. That is, the authentication unit authenticates a member as a valid member if the former member identification information and OTP match the latter member identification information and OTP. |
| US09111266B2 |
Device for collecting and disbursing electronic gratuities
The present invention relates to systems and methods for collecting and disbursing electronic gratuities. According to one embodiment, a device for submitting gratuities by credit card is provided at a place of business or other appropriate location. A method of using this device is disclosed, whereby consumers pay a predetermined or adjustable gratuity amount by inserting a credit card into the device. According to another embodiment, technological infrastructure is provided to transmit encrypted payment information such that the acquiring bank of the device provider obtains authorization for gratuity transactions conducted using the device. The acquiring bank is thus enabled to credit the device provider's merchant account or disbursal accounts with electronic gratuity payments less acquisition fees. According to another embodiment, a method of disbursing gratuity shares to employees of the business is provided, wherein processing fees are collected by the device provider. |
| US09111265B2 |
Step identifier based on a universal timestamp
One or more transactions, and their audited update actions, operating on a database may be identified by a step ID. The step ID may include a first set of bits identifying a time the step was created. The step ID may also include a second set of bits uniquely identifying a step created at a certain time from other step created at the same time. The first set of bits may be generated from a coordinated universal time (UTC) that does not change with local seasons, such as daylight saving time. |
| US09111264B2 |
System and method for pre-evaluation vehicle diagnostic and repair cost estimation
Systems and methods are provided for estimating a diagnosis of a vehicle in need of repair in advance of performing any diagnostic tests on the vehicle. The invention further estimates the costs for a repair to a vehicle in need of repair in advance of performing any diagnostic tests to the vehicle. The system is particularly useful at a point-of-sale system in a vehicle repair center or in a off-site customer access tool. |
| US09111261B2 |
Method and system for management of electronic mail communication
A method, system, and article for management of email communication content across a computer system network. An archive of email communications is retained on storage media in communication with the network. In addition, email communication is retained on storage media in communication with a client machine in the network. To mitigate duplication of email communications, duplicate communications are replaced with a hyperlink to the archive communication. This replacement supports removal of the duplicate communication from the storage media in communication with the client machine. |
| US09111251B1 |
Shuffling inventory holders
An inventory system has mobile drive units that freely and independently move about a facility to transport inventory holders. The mobile drive units may operate through communications with other drive units, or under a more centralized control of a management module. For various operating scenarios, the mobile drive units are directed to shuffle the inventory holders in a manner that minimizes travel of the mobile drive units, thereby improving overall system efficiency. One or more single mobile drive units may be used to transport inventory holders to and from a region, and one or more other mobile drive units may be used to reposition or slide each of the inventory holders back and forth within the region to efficiently place inventory holders before an operator on an as-needed basis. |
| US09111249B2 |
Physical layer management (PLM) system for use with an optical distribution frame using RFID antennas with localized fields
One embodiment is directed to a tray for use in a subrack of a rack, the tray comprising a printed circuit board configured so that a plurality of connections can be made at a plurality of positions on the printed circuit board. Each of the plurality of connections involves at least one connector having an RFID tag associated therewith. The tray further comprises a plurality of RFID antennas integrated into the printed circuit board, each the RFID antennas associated with a respective one of the positions. The printed circuit board is configured to localize a field emitted from each RFID antenna so that only the RFID tag associated with that RFID antenna is energized and read. |
| US09111242B2 |
Event data processing apparatus
An event data processing apparatus calculates a meeting person number difference which is a difference in the number of meeting persons between a first number of meeting persons at a first time and a second number of meeting persons at a second time, determines that a continuous communication is conducted between the first time and the second time if the meeting person number difference is equal to or smaller than a meeting person number threshold value which is a predetermined threshold value, and records persons included in the first number of meeting persons and the second number of meeting persons, the first time, and the second time in association with event identifiers for identifying events in a recording module. |
| US09111238B2 |
Data feed having customizable analytic and visual behavior
A data marketplace infrastructure allows a data source company or a third party to associate to a data feed with a customizable preview application having analytic and visual features (e.g., business logic and a user interface). A potential customer can use discovery services of the data marketplace infrastructure to identify one or more data feeds offering sample data in a domain of interest of the potential customer. The data feed can transmit the customizable preview application to allow the potential customer to interact with the data from the data feed before purchasing the data. The potential customer may also customize the preview application so as to change the default application behavior in a manner that improves the potential customer's understanding and appreciation of the data feed. |
| US09111236B2 |
Techniques for generating a visual representation of user activity associated with an information resource
A system and methodology for visually representing user activity associated with an information resource is described. User activities are associated with symbolic representations of those user activities. To visually convey selected aspects of the user activity, the activity is mapped to visual attributes that alter the appearance of the symbolic representation. The result is a dynamic and universal representation of user activities that aide online users to efficiently discern the relevancy and popularity of an information resource. |
| US09111232B2 |
Portable workload performance prediction for the cloud
Systems and methods are disclosed to perform performance prediction for cloud-based databases by building on a computer a cloud database performance model using a set of training workloads; and using a learned model on the computer to predict database performance in the cloud for a new workload, wherein for each reference workload r and hardware configuration h, system throughput tr,h, average throughput of αr and standard deviation σr, comprising normalizing each throughput as: t r , h _ = t r , h - a r σ r . |
| US09111230B2 |
Frequency arrangement for surface code on a superconducting lattice
A device lattice arrangement including a plurality of devices, a plurality of physical connections for the plurality of devices, wherein each of the plurality of devices are coupled to at least two of the plurality of physical connections, a plurality of identity labels associated with individual devices of the plurality of devices and an arrangement of identity labels such that pairs of devices of the plurality of devices connected by some number of the plurality of connections have different identity labels. |
| US09111229B2 |
Quantum repeater and system and method for creating extended entanglements
A method is provided of creating an end-to-end entanglement (87) between qubits in first and second end nodes (81, 82) of a chain of optically-coupled nodes whose intermediate nodes (80) are quantum repeaters. Local entanglements (85) are created on an on-going basis between qubits in neighboring pairs in the chain through interaction of the qubits with light fields transmitted between the nodes. The quantum repeaters (80) are cyclically operated with their top-level operating cycles being synchronized. Once every top-level operating cycle, each repeater (80) initiates a merging of two entanglements involving respective repeater qubits that are at least expected to be entangled with qubits in nodes disposed in opposite directions along the chain from the repeater. A quantum repeater (80) adapted for implementing this method is also provided. |
| US09111226B2 |
Modulated plasticity apparatus and methods for spiking neuron network
Apparatus and methods for modulated plasticity in a spiking neuron network. A plasticity mechanism may be configured for example based on a similarity measure between post-synaptic activities of two or more neurons that may be receiving the same feed-forward input. The similarity measure may comprise a dynamically determined cross-correlogram between the output spike trains of two neurons. An a priori configured similarity measure may be used during network operation in order to update efficacy of inhibitory connections between neighboring neurons. Correlated output activity may cause one neuron to inhibit output generation by another neuron thereby hindering responses by multiple neurons to the same input stimuli. The inhibition may be based on an increased efficacy of inhibitory lateral connection. The inhibition may comprise modulation of the pre synaptic portion the plasticity rule based on efficacies of feed-forward connection and inhibitory connections and a statistical parameter associated with the post-synaptic rule. |
| US09111224B2 |
Method and apparatus for neural learning of natural multi-spike trains in spiking neural networks
Certain aspects of the present disclosure support a technique for neural learning of natural multi-spike trains in spiking neural networks. A synaptic weight can be adapted depending on a resource associated with the synapse, which can be depleted by weight change and can recover over time. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the weight adaptation may depend on a time since the last significant weight change. |
| US09111222B2 |
Method and apparatus for switching the binary state of a location in memory in a probabilistic manner to store synaptic weights of a neural network
Certain aspects of the present disclosure support a technique for utilizing a memory in probabilistic manner to store information about weights of synapses of a neural network. |
| US09111218B1 |
Method and system for remediating topic drift in near-real-time classification of customer feedback
A method and system of classifying documents is provided. The method includes receiving a stream of documents from at least one user wherein each document includes a topic of information relating to a customer support issue or sentiment. The method includes classifying each of the received documents using a plurality of trained classifiers, the classification based on a voting by the trained classifiers, each document labeled according to a similar topic. A drift of the topic of one or more of the classifications is determined wherein the drift is related to the received documents that include information relating to an unclassified customer support issue or sentiment. If the determined drift exceeds a predetermined threshold range, rebuilding the plurality of classifiers to include a second set of classifiers trained to recognize the unclassified customer support issue or sentiment. |
| US09111208B2 |
Internal interface of image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a communication interface configured to receive printing data and an image forming unit configured to perform a printing operation by using the received printing data. In addition, the communication interface includes a communication controller configured to support a first interface method and a second interface method, and include a first pin port for communication in the first interface method and a second pin port for communication in the second interface method, a first connector configured to be connected to one of the first pin port and the second pin port, and a second connector configured to be connected to the first pin port or the second pin port which is not connected to the first connector. |
| US09111206B1 |
Method and apparatus for storing image data in a memory of an image deposition device
Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatuses and methods for determining usage maps in handheld image deposition devices. The utilization of usage maps in combination with color planes may facilitate the output of varying levels of intensity. Additionally, the storage of processed images and the print data associated with various image locations of the processed image, according to a consistent offset of memory addresses, may expedite retrieval of print information. |
| US09111202B2 |
Presentation-based quality determination
A solution for evaluating a printing configuration for an electronic document in which one or more presentation attributes of a physical reproduction (e.g., a printed copy) of the electronic document are considered. A perceived quality of the physical reproduction of the electronic document can be determined using a set of properties of the electronic document and the one or more presentation attributes. The perceived quality can be utilized in various ways as part of a printing process. |
| US09111198B2 |
Print control method, print control device, and storage medium
A print control method executes a process of adding a command to print data output from an application to a communication port in a computer having a communication port and executing a specific process by an application installed on an application layer and operating under an operating system on the OS kernel layer, the method including: the computer acquiring the print data at the OS kernel layer before the print data is received by the communication port; determining on the application layer if each command of the acquired print data is a print instruction command for an object that should be printed at a different print speed than the standard speed; and adding and outputting to the communication port a command that changes the print speed before the print instruction command when the command is determined to be a print instruction command for printing an object at a different speed. |
| US09111197B2 |
Image processing apparatus having report printing function, method of controlling image processing apparatus, and storage medium
An image processing apparatus that is capable of performing report printing in a language desired by a user in either manual report printing or autonomic report printing. A storage unit stores information on the image processing apparatus. A touch panel receives input from a log-in user A control unit controls execution of the automatic report printing in which the information is printed by the printing unit as a report when predetermined conditions are satisfied, and execution of the manual report printing in which the information is printed by the printing unit as a report based on an instruction from the log-in user. The control unit performs the automatic report printing in a predetermined language and performs the manual report printing in a language for the log-in user. |
| US09111193B2 |
System and method for providing contactless payment with a near field communications attachment
A system and method in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include an attachment with a near field communication antenna, a secure element, a plug capable of connecting the attachment to an audio jack on a mobile device. Further, a system and method in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include receiving a payment initiation instruction from a customer, using a near field communication antenna, sending payment information to a point of sale device, using one or more computer processors, encoding data related to the payment as audio data, and transmitting the data related to the payment through an audio jack. |
| US09111191B2 |
Method of making RFID devices
A method of producing antennas for RFID devices includes cutting or otherwise physically separating the antennas from a preformed sheet of conductive material that includes apertures in the conductive material. Cutting locations relative to the apertures may be selected based on desired performance characteristics of the antenna and/or of the RFID device for which the antenna is to be used. The cutting locations may include one or more cuts through the aperture, and other cuts that do not pass through an aperture. The cutting locations may be selected as a function of such parameters as the desired bandwidth of the antenna and the operating frequency of the antenna. The method allows production of antennas with different characteristics, from a previously-prepared supply of sheet conductive material. This facilitates the ability to make small production runs of antennas, and/or to reduce the lead time for providing antennas with specified characteristics. |
| US09111188B2 |
Electronic entity with contact and remote communication means
An electronic entity includes contact communication elements (4) and remote communication elements (6). Members (2, K) are also provided to authorize an exchange of certain data at least via the remote communication elements based on the prior reception of an instruction via the contact communication elements. A terminal for communication with such an electronic entity as well as methods for controlling and for customizing the electronic entity are disclosed. |
| US09111187B2 |
Contactless card clamp circuits that compensate for regulator reference voltage fluctuations
A contactless card includes an inductive circuit configured to send and receive signals, a rectifier circuit coupled to the inductive circuit and configured to generate a DC voltage from an AC voltage generated by the inductive circuit, a clamp circuit configured to limit the DC voltage, a regulator circuit configured to regulate the DC voltage and a control circuit configured to selectively enable and disable the clamp circuit and the regulator circuit. |
| US09111183B2 |
Performing a comparison between two images which are scaled to a common resolution
A system and method for comparing digital images, such as checks images used by banks, includes receiving and processing the images to be compared, including scaling the images to a common resolution, as well as filtering them to remove spot noise, background pels, and other non-information carrying elements. One or more regions of each image are selected for comparison. The selected regions are compared to one another by subtracting the pels of one image from the other's pels. A determination is made of whether the two or more images are duplicates of one another, or depict a substantially identical subject, based on the results of the subtractions. Furthermore, the amount of filtering and scaling may be adjusted to enhance the effects of the system to take advantage of common characteristics that may be known or detected in a particular set of images to be compared. |
| US09111182B1 |
System, method, and computer program product for multispectral image processing with spiking dynamics
Described is a system for multispectral image processing with spiking dynamics. For example, the system receives an input image and compresses the image through space and spectrally variant sampling. Center-surround dynamics are modeled to control high dynamic ranges of the image and provide gain control. Further, habituative dynamics are modeled to produce outputs specialized for static or dynamic image content. Finally, neural spikes are generated based on the habituative dynamics. The neural spikes are saved or provided to other systems for further image processing. |
| US09111179B2 |
High-throughput biomarker segmentation utilizing hierarchical normalized cuts
A method and apparatus for obtaining segmented images of the stained regions may comprise quantifying the extent of the presence of staining of a biomarker in an original image of a sample, which may comprise selecting a domain swatch of data based upon a user specified domain knowledge; clustering the data within the original image by conducting a frequency weighted mean shift of the data within the original image to convergence, forming a hierarchical plurality of layers each having a different data resolution to form a hierarchical data pyramid; segmenting the plurality of mean shifted data images to determine in each mean shifted data image within the hierarchical data pyramid data not excluded as outside of the swatch; mapping the data not excluded as outside the swatch spatially back to the original image to create a final image; and, storing the final image on a storage medium for further analysis. |
| US09111177B2 |
Position/orientation measurement apparatus, processing method therefor, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
A position/orientation measurement apparatus holds a three-dimensional shape model of a object, acquires approximate value indicating a position and an orientation of the object, acquires a two-dimensional image of the object, projects a geometric feature of the three-dimensional shape model on the two-dimensional image based on the approximate value, calculates the direction of the geometric feature of the three-dimensional shape model projected on the two-dimensional image, detects an image feature based on the two-dimensional image, calculates the direction of the image feature, associates the image feature and the geometric feature by comparing the direction of the image feature calculated based on the two-dimensional image and the direction of the geometric feature calculated based on the three-dimensional shape model, and calculates the position and orientation of the object by correcting the approximate value based on the distance between the geometric feature and the image feature associated therewith. |
| US09111173B2 |
Learning part-based models of objects
A system and method are provided for learning part-based object models during a learning phase from training images and applying the learned object models to an input image during runtime. The learned part-based object models are augmented by appearance-based models of the objects. The part-based object models correspond to the shapes of the parts of an object. The appearance-based models provide additional appearance cues to the object models for object classification. The approach to learning part-based object models has the capability of learning object models without using viewpoint labels of the objects. The learning is also invariant to scale and in-plane rotation of the objects. |
| US09111171B2 |
Method for correcting user's gaze direction in image, machine-readable storage medium and communication terminal
A method and mobile terminal for correcting a gaze of a user in an image includes setting eye outer points that define an eye region of the user in an original image, transforming the set eye outer points to a predetermined reference camera gaze direction, and transforming the eye region of the original image based on the transformed eye outer points. |
| US09111169B2 |
Method and system of identifying one or more features represented in a plurality of sensor acquired data sets
A method and system for identifying one or more features represented in a plurality of sensor acquired data sets is described. The method and apparatus is particularly useful in automatic license plate recognition applications, where the sensor acquired data sets are data obtained from one or more digital cameras. This is achieved by determining a first probability of the identity of the one or more features (e.g., alphanumeric characters) from a first one of the data sets; determining a second probability of the identity of the one or more features from a second one of the data sets; and, using data fusion techniques, fusing the determined first and second probabilities to provide a fused probability. This fused probability is used to identify the one or more features from data sets. |
| US09111163B2 |
Apparatus for and method of electro-optically reading a selected target by image capture from a picklist of targets
A selected target from a picklist having a plurality of targets is electro-optically read, by image capture, over a range of working distances, by capturing an image of the picklist in the range over an imaging field of view, by storing coordinates of a trajectory of an aiming light pattern in the imaging field of view over the range, by processing the captured image along the trajectory to find and identify a target, by determining whether the target covers the trajectory, and by determining that the target is the selected target when the target at least partially covers the trajectory. |
| US09111161B2 |
Four dimensional (4D) color barcode for high capacity data encoding and decoding
A method for encoding and decoding color barcodes to increase their data capacity. The encoding steps include determining a shape, a foreground color and a background color for each data cell, wherein a combination of the shape, foreground and background colors for the data cell is chosen from a plurality of such combinations in accordance with a value of the digital data to be encoded; and coloring some pixels in the data cell with a foreground color and other pixels with a background color, in accordance with the shape, foreground and background colors for the data cell determined above. The decoding steps include segmenting the data cells, recognizing a shape, a foreground color of the shape and a background color of the data cell, and obtaining digital data from a combination of the shape and foreground and background colors in each data cell. |
| US09111160B1 |
Computer implemented non-intrusive remote monitoring and capturing system and a method thereof
The present disclosure envisages a computer implemented non-intrusive remote monitoring and capturing system for remotely monitoring operations on a plurality of workstations from an administrator. The system includes a first application installed on the workstations and a second application on the administrator. The first application executed on the workstations and the second executed on the administrator communicates with each other via a network. The first application of the workstation receives an electronic signal from a supervisor administering the administrator. The first application includes a first receiver having an extractor which is capable of extracting a first operation and a second operation command from the received electronic signal. Both the first operation command and the second operation command are embedded in a format selected from the group consisting of an email format, a short message service (SMS) format, a missed call format, a voice command format and a combination thereof within the electronic signal. |
| US09111159B2 |
Imaging based barcode scanner engine with multiple elements supported on a common printed circuit board
An apparatus for use in decoding a bar code symbol may include an image sensor integrated circuit having a plurality of pixels, timing and control circuitry for controlling an image sensor, gain circuitry for controlling gain, and analog to digital conversion circuitry for conversion of an analog signal to a digital signal. The apparatus may also include a printed circuit board for receiving the image sensor integrated circuit. The connection between the image sensor integrated circuit and the printed circuit board characterized by a plurality of conductive adhesive connectors disposed between a plurality of electrode pads and a plurality of contact pads, where the conductive adhesive connectors provide electrical input/output and mechanical connections between the image sensor integrated circuit and the printed circuit board. The apparatus may be operative for processing image signals generated by the image sensor integrated circuit for attempting to decode the bar code symbol. |
| US09111155B2 |
RFID reader and method of controlling the same
A radio frequency identification (RFID) reader and a method of controlling the RFID reader are provided. The RFID reader includes a link frequency calculator which calculates a link frequency by using a signal transmitted from a tag and a sampling signal; a first decoder which converts the signal transmitted from the tag into a first signal or a second signal having a different value from the first signal; a decoding controller which outputs a mode signal representing a format used to decode the signal converted in the first decoder; and a second decoder which decodes the converted signal according to the mode signal. |
| US09111154B2 |
Acoustic tags for E-waste tracking
Methods, systems and acoustic tags for tracking, locating and identifying an object are disclosed. An acoustic tag may include a power source and a transmitter in electrical communication with the power source. The transmitter may be configured to transmit an acoustic signal. The power source and the transmitter may be configured to be affixed to and/or embedded in an electronic component. The acoustic signal may include a unique acoustic code that is configured to provide information pertaining to one or more of the electronic component and the recyclability of the electronic component. |
| US09111149B2 |
Biometric identification and analysis
A system and method for identifying an unknown individual from a plurality of enrolled individuals is provided. In an embodiment, the method comprises comparing at least two parameters of the unknown individual to at least two enrolled parameters of the enrolled individuals. The method then determines a score correlating to the closeness of the comparison and then stores the score. |
| US09111142B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing sign information
A method and apparatus for proving sign information are disclosed. The sign information providing method includes: extracting a first sign from an input image, wherein the first sign is pre-defined; extracting a second sign representing information corresponding to the first sign around the location of the first sign, from the input image; and providing at least one piece of information of information about the first sign and information about the second sign in the form of voice. Accordingly, a user may correctly recognize information expressed by a sign. |
| US09111136B2 |
System and method for vehicle occupancy detection using smart illumination
A multi-view imaging system for Vehicle Occupancy Detection (VOD) including a gantry mounted camera and illuminator to view the front seat of vehicles, and a roadside mounted camera and illuminator to view the rear seat of vehicles. The system controls the illuminator units to preserve/maximize bulb life, thus reducing the service cost of the system. In one embodiment, a target vehicle's license plate is read. If the vehicle is on a pre-approved list to use the HOV lane, then no further interrogation of the vehicle is performed. If the vehicle is not on the pre-approved list, then the front seats are interrogated by a camera and illuminator located on an overhead gantry as the vehicle continues down the highway. If the front seat analysis indicates that the passenger seat is not occupied, then the system interrogates the rear seats using a separate camera and illuminator located on the roadside. |
| US09111132B2 |
Image processing device, image processing method, and control program
An image processing device that identifies a characteristic of a lip from a face image including a mouth of a person has a representative skin color determination unit that determines a representative color of a skin in the face image, a candidate color determination unit that sets a plurality of regions in the face image such that at least one of the regions contains a part of the lip, and determines representative colors of the regions as candidate colors, and a representative lip color determination unit that determines a representative color of the lip from the plurality of candidate colors, in accordance with a difference in hue and saturation between the representative color of the skin and each candidate color. |
| US09111129B2 |
Subject detecting method and apparatus, and digital photographing apparatus
A subject detecting method and a subject detecting apparatus, by which face detection may be efficiently performed in a digital photographing apparatus having a flippable display unit, and when an image input via an image sensor of the digital photographing apparatus is different from an image displayed on the display unit due to rotation of the digital photographing apparatus, a face detection coordinate may be corrected to increase the reliability of face detection. |
| US09111127B2 |
Image processing apparatus and method for three-dimensional (3D) image
An image processing apparatus and method for a three-dimensional (3D) image is provided. The image processing apparatus may include a parameter setting unit to set a first parameter related to a color image, and a parameter determining unit to determine an optimal second parameter related to a depth image, using the first parameter. |
| US09111125B2 |
Fingerprint imaging and quality characterization
A fingerprint processing system comprises a fingerprint sensor configured to generate an image of a fingerprint, and a processor configured to process the fingerprint image. The processor is operable to generate a ridge flow map comprising ridge flow vectors characterizing the fingerprint, and a multi-layer decomposition based on the ridge flow vectors. The decomposition includes at least first and second-order residuals, based on the ridge flow vectors, and the processor is operable to characterize a quality of the fingerprint image, based on the residuals. |
| US09111123B2 |
Firmware for protecting data from software threats
In a method for protecting data, an electronic card device receives encrypted data, the data encrypted using a valid encryption key. The electronic card device stores the encrypted data in a first memory. The electronic card device decrypts the encrypted data using a decryption key. The electronic card device stores the decrypted data in a second memory. |
| US09111119B2 |
Methods, devices and data structures for trusted data
An apparatus includes a processor and a memory to implement a method to provide a proof that two or more instances of a data structure type are as trustworthy as each other. |
| US09111118B2 |
Managing access in a software provisioning environment
A provisioning server can be configured to associate user actions with users that have access to perform the associated user actions. The user actions can include any user action performed within or by the provisioning server, such as configuring the provisioning server, modifying provisioning objects in the provisioning server, accessing provisioning processes by the provisioning server, and the like. The association can be based on the identity of the users or a type of user (administrator, client, guest, etc.). Once a request is received for a particular user action, the provisioning server can be configured to enable the requested action if the requested action is associated with the requesting user. |
| US09111117B2 |
Methods, devices, and computer readable storage for sharing sensitive content securely
Sensitive content is securely shared. A request is received from a first communication device to share sensitive content. The first communication device is associated with an account for a communication service provided by a network provider. A message including a link to the sensitive content is sent to a second communication device associated with a phone number. That message is addressed to the second communication device. An authentication message is received, indicating that the second communication device is associated with the phone number. Responsive to receipt of the authentication message, the sensitive content is made accessible via the second communication device without requiring that the second communication device be associated with an account for the communication service provided by the network provider. |
| US09111116B2 |
Collision avoidance in a distributed tokenization environment
A client receives sensitive data to be tokenized. The client queries a token table with a portion of the sensitive data to determine if the token table includes a token mapped to the value of the portion of the sensitive data. If the mapping table does not include a token mapped to the value of the portion of the sensitive data, a candidate token is generated. The client queries a central token management system to determine if the candidate token collides with a token generated by or stored at another client. In some embodiments, the candidate token includes a value from a unique set of values assigned by the central token management system to the client, guaranteeing that the candidate token does not cause a collision. The client then tokenizes the sensitive data with the candidate token and stores the candidate token in the token table. |
| US09111109B2 |
Using different secure erase algorithms to erase chunks from a file associated with different security levels
Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for using different secure erase algorithms to erase chunks from a file associated with different security levels. A request is received to secure erase a file having a plurality of chunks stored in at least one storage device. A determination is made of a first secure erase algorithm to apply to a first chunk in the file in response to the request and of a second secure erase algorithm to apply to a second chunk in the file in response to the request. The first secure erase algorithm is applied to erase the first chunk and the second secure erase algorithm is applied to erase the second chunk. The first and second secure erase algorithms use different processes to erase the chunks to which they are applied. |
| US09111105B2 |
Policy-based application management
Improved techniques for managing enterprise applications on mobile devices are described herein. Each enterprise mobile application running on the mobile device has an associated policy through which it interacts with its environment. The policy selectively blocks or allows activities involving the enterprise application in accordance with rules established by the enterprise. Together, the enterprise applications running on the mobile device form a set of managed applications. Managed applications are typically allowed to exchange data with other managed applications, but are blocked from exchanging data with other applications, such as the user's own personal applications. Policies may be defined to manage data sharing, mobile resource management, application specific information, networking and data access solutions, device cloud and transfer, dual mode application software, enterprise app store access, and virtualized application and resources, among other things. |
| US09111103B2 |
Remote access control of storage devices
An access control device can be communicationally coupled to a storage device and can control access thereto. The access control device can comprise information, such as identities of authorized entities, to enable the access control device to independently determine whether to provide access to an associated storage device. Alternatively, the access control device can comprise information to establish a secure connection to an authorization computing device and the access control device can implement the decisions of the authorization computing device. The access control device can control access by instructing a storage device to execute specific firmware instructions to prevent meaningful responses to data storage related requests. The access control device can also comprise storage-related cryptographic information utilized by the storage device to encrypt and decrypt data. In such a case, the access control device can control access by not releasing the storage-related cryptographic information to the storage device. |
| US09111102B2 |
Creation of security roles through user walkthrough of business process workflow
A user interface is displayed to an administrator (or other user) and allows the administrator to walk through a workflow performed by a user in a given role. Data access steps performed in walking through the workflow are recorded and a set of permissions is identified, based upon the recorded workflow. The set of permissions corresponds to the role. |
| US09111098B2 |
System and method for managing electronic assets
An asset management system is provided which comprises one or more controllers, which operate as main servers and can be located at the headquarters of an electronic device manufacturer to remotely control their operations at any global location. The controller can communicate remotely over the Internet or other network to control one or more secondary or remote servers, herein referred to as appliances. The appliances can be situated at different manufacturing, testing or distribution sites. The controller and appliances comprise hardware security modules (HSMs) to perform sensitive and high trust computations, store sensitive information such as private keys, perform other cryptographic operations, and establish secure connections between components. The HSMs are used to create secure end-points between the controller and the appliance and between the appliance and the secure point of trust in an asset control core embedded in a device. |
| US09111095B2 |
Apparatus and method for identifying similarity via dynamic decimation of token sequence n-grams
An apparatus for identifying related code variants or text samples includes processing circuitry configured to execute instructions for receiving query binary code, processing the query binary code to generate one or more query code fingerprints comprising compressed representations of respective functional components of the query binary code, generating token sequence n-grams of the fingerprints, hashing the n-grams, partitioning samples by length to compare selected samples based on length, and identifying similarity via dynamic decimation of token sequence n-grams. |
| US09111093B1 |
Using signals from developer clusters
Systems and techniques are provided for the mining signals from developer clusters in an application ecosystem and the creation of rules to proactively ban applications when they are submitted to the application ecosystem. Applications may be received. Each application may be associated with a developer account that submitted the application to an application ecosystem. Signals may be extracted for one of the applications from one of the applications and the developer accounts. A banned prevalence percentage may be determined for the signal. A signal rule may be generated from the signal based on the banned prevalence percentage for the signal. The signal rule may be stored. |
| US09111091B2 |
Automatic extraction, modeling, and code mapping of application user interface display screens and components
Managing user applications is provided. A visual model of user interface display screens of a user application is generated by mapping components displayed within the user interface display screens to screen position coordinates and by mapping the screen position coordinates corresponding to the components to original source code of the user application. A runtime policy for each component in a selected set of components within the user interface display screens of the user application is generated based on user interaction with the generated visual model of the user interface display screens. The generated runtime policy for each component in the selected set of components is sent to a client device via a network. Activity of each component in the selected set of components in the client device is tracked using data that is tracked and logged on the client device based the generated runtime policy for each selected component. |
| US09111083B2 |
Applications login using a mechanism relating sub-tokens to the quality of a master token
Methods and systems allow a user to log in to a device so that a number of apps become accessible on the device without the user repeatedly logging in to each different app as the user launches multiple apps. A mechanism of providing a master token with a quality score and providing sub-tokens for each app that can use the sub-token and the score quality to evaluate the level of security provided by the initial login allows each app to skip its own login process and provides a level of enhanced efficiency and convenience for the user. A method includes authenticating a user; creating a master token on the user device; creating a sub-token of the master token for an app launched on the device; the app skipping the login process of the app in response to the sub-token so that the app proceeds directly to validating a transaction. |
| US09111075B1 |
Bank speech authentication
Authentication mechanisms are disclosed herein that authenticate user access to enterprises. For example, either an enterprise associated number or a social security number (SSN) can be provided to the enterprise to enter a first level. Then, any one of a ZIP code number, a device calling/contacting number, a date of birth, and a portion of the SSN can be provided to access applications in the first level. Lastly, a PIN can be provided to enter a second level of the enterprise. Additionally, these authentication mechanisms can be added and/or changed. In the former case, if a user used a SSN to enter the mentioned first level of the enterprise, then a date of birth can be used to update an authentication mechanism. Alternatively, if a user used an enterprise number to gain such access, then part of the SSN can be used for the update. If the user wants to change the authentication mechanism, the date of birth can be used for the update. |
| US09111072B1 |
Anti-reverse engineering unified process
Computer-implemented systems, methods, and computer-readable media for generating and executing anti-reverse engineering software include receiving at least one of a set of input instructions and a set of input values; creating a deterministic environment; executing one or more functions corresponding to at least one of the set of input instructions and the set of input values while simultaneously generating a set of output values corresponding to the executed one or more functions, wherein the set of output values is generated based on a deterministic function of the computing device executing the one or more functions; and outputting the set of output values. |
| US09111065B2 |
Method for dummy metal and dummy via insertion
A method of inserting dummy metal and dummy via in an integrated circuit design includes inserting, by a computer, dummy metals using a place and route tool, wherein the place and route tool has timing-awareness to improve a timing performance of the integrated circuit design, and the dummy metals have a length less than or equal to a predetermined maximum length. The method further includes inserting, by the computer, dummy vias using a design-rule-checking utility separately from the inserting of the dummy metals. |
| US09111064B2 |
Adjusting sizes of connectors of package components
A device includes a plurality of connectors on a top surface of a package component. The plurality of connectors includes a first connector having a first lateral dimension, and a second connector having a second lateral dimension. The second lateral dimension is greater than the first lateral dimension. The first and the second lateral dimensions are measured in directions parallel to a major surface of the package component. |
| US09111057B2 |
Method for predicting arc flash energy and PPE category within a real-time monitoring system
A method for simulating an arc flash event on an electrical power system is disclosed. The virtual system model of the electrical system is modified to introduce a short circuiting feature. The standard to supply equations used in the arc flash event calculations is chosen. The arc flash event is simulated using the modified virtual system model in accordance with the chosen standard. The quantity of arc energy released by the arc flash event is calculated using results from the simulation. The report that forecasts an aspect of the arc flash event is communicated. |
| US09111053B2 |
Operations on shapes divided in portions
It is provided a computer-implemented method for designing a CAD modeled object. The method comprises displaying several three-dimensional parametric shapes on a screen, wherein each of the several three-dimensional parametric shapes is divided in several portions, a different design operation being assigned to each portion; user-interacting with the screen; determining one portion upon a location of the user-interacting on a support, the determining being performed among all the portions; and performing, on the shape to which the determined portion belongs, the operation assigned to this portion. Such a method makes the design of a CAD modeled object easier. |
| US09111051B2 |
Asynchronous protocol converter
An asynchronous protocol converter, which is capable of flexibly carrying out communications between tens of IP cores in an asynchronous protocol Network-on-Chip system, and which is multiple input multiple output is provided. In an LSI (20), which comprises a plurality of IP cores (21), and routers (22) positioned adjacent to the plurality of IP cores (21), an asynchronous protocol converter (1) is positioned between adjacent routers (22). The asynchronous protocol converter (1) is configured to comprise: a two-to-four-phase converter (11) that is connected to an adjacent router (22a) within the LSI (20); a four-phase pipelined router (12) that is connected on the output side of the two-to-four-phase converter (11); a four-to-two-phase converter (13) that is connected to the outputs of the four-phase pipelined router (12); an input controller (14) that controls the two-to-four-phase converter (11); and an output controller (15) that controls the four-to-two-phase converter (13). |
| US09111049B2 |
Apparatus for coupling to a USB device and a host and method thereof
An apparatus is provided for coupling a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device and a USB host. The apparatus includes a memory and a controller. The memory includes one or more descriptor entries. The controller is configured to obtain a descriptor of the USB device upon detection of the USB device on a USB bus, and compare the descriptor to a specific descriptor entry to generate a comparing result. Then the controller enables or disables a link path between the USB host and the USB device according the comparing result. |
| US09111048B2 |
Semiconductor device and memory system
A semiconductor device capable of communicating with a host apparatus includes a symbol generation unit, a coding unit, and a transmission unit. The symbol generation unit includes a random number generation circuit and generates a symbol according to a random number generated by the random number generation circuit. The coding unit performs 8b/10b coding for the symbol. The transmission unit transmits the symbol coded by the 8b/10b coding unit to the host apparatus. |
| US09111036B2 |
Preloading unwind data for non-intrusive backtracing
An unwind data system stores unwind data for a target module in memory pages in main memory prior to an introspection tool making an attempt to generate a backtrace for the target module. The unwind data system detects a trigger in a user script, which includes instructions to generate a backtrace for the target module using the introspection tool. The trigger corresponds to a section of software code of the target module. The unwind data system locates the unwind data in the memory pages in the main memory for the section of software code of the target module and unwinds the section of software code to generate a backtrace using the unwind data located in the memory pages in the main memory. |
| US09111035B2 |
Methods, systems, and computer program products for analyzing an occurrence of an error in a computer program by restricting access to data identified as being sensitive information
A method of analyzing an occurrence of an error in a computer program executing on a data processing system includes receiving data that are associated with an execution leg of the computer program at the time of the error and restricting access to at least a portion of the data associated with the execution leg of the computer program based on an identification of the portion of the data associated with the execution leg of the computer program as being sensitive information. |
| US09111033B2 |
Compiling source code for debugging with user preferred snapshot locations
Compiling source code for debugging, including: receiving, by an optimizing compiler from a debugger, a user specification of preferred breakpoint locations in the source code; compiling, by the optimizing compiler, the source code, wherein compiling includes inserting a snapshot at one or more of the preferred breakpoint locations, and recording the location of each inserted snapshot; and providing, to the debugger by the optimizing compiler, the recorded locations of each inserted snapshot along with the compiled source code. |
| US09111028B2 |
Methods for selecting medications
The invention provides methods for selecting and administering antidepressant medications to a patient based upon the patient's combination genotype and phenotype for a panel of genes. |
| US09111024B2 |
Medical treatment management device, method, and program for tracking and advising patient caregivers
A portable medical treatment device is designed to be placed on or near a patient when the patient is moved. The device communicates with a database that stores patient profiles and/or treatment protocols. Based on input patient information, the device communicates with the database and loads a patient profile and/or treatment protocol. The device evaluates data entered by a user according the patient profile and/or treatment protocol to determine metrics, and the determined metrics are compared with parameters to determine whether the entered data is within acceptable limits. The device tags and displays the entered data in a manner that reflects whether it was within the acceptable limits. |
| US09111021B2 |
Bio-medical unit and system with electromagnetic power harvesting and communication
A medical system includes a transmitter unit, a bio-medical unit, and a receiver unit. The transmitter unit generates a magnetic resonance imaging signal and a downstream electromagnetic communication signal. The transmitter unit then modulates the downstream electromagnetic communication signal on the magnetic resonance imaging signal. The bio-medical unit receives the modulated magnetic resonance imaging signal and recovers, therefrom, the downstream electromagnetic communication signal. The bio-medical unit converts the downstream electromagnetic communications signal into downstream information. The bio-medical also converts upstream information into an upstream electromagnetic communication signal. The receiver unit receives the modulated magnetic resonance imaging signal and the upstream electromagnetic communication signal. The receiver unit then recovers the magnetic resonance imaging signal from the modulated magnetic resonance imaging signal and the upstream information from the upstream electromagnetic communication signal. |
| US09111017B2 |
Personal information system
The present invention provides systems and methods to realize the potential benefit of portable storage devices by taking advantage of standard PCs including an optical disk drive capable of reading an optical disk, such as a CD or a DVD, cost effective optical disks, and the Internet.In a preferred embodiment, an individual patient provides personal data to a healthcare service center. The healthcare service center then creates a portable optical disk for the patient to carry, if he/she so desires. The personal data that is written onto the portable optical disk is stored on a database management server database and is readable and updateable by the individual patient using his/her PC with an optical disk drive and connected to the Internet. The individual patient can choose to update his/her personal data on the portable optical disk and can receive a new portable optical disk that includes the update. The new portable optical disk containing the latest update is created and delivered to the patient by the database management server. |
| US09111016B2 |
Management of live remote medical display
A system and method of locally displaying multiple items of medical information from at least one remote medical system having an output display. The method includes assembling the multiple items of medical information from the output display of at least one remote medical systems into a composite display having regions corresponding to the multiple items of medical information. Video data for the composite display is communicated over a network to a local display. Video data corresponding to the regions of the display are treated differently to provide a composite display with regions of different image quality. |
| US09111015B1 |
System and method for generating a point-in-time copy of a subset of a collectively-managed set of data items
Various systems and methods selectively generate a point-in-time copy of less than all of the data items within a collectively-managed set of data items. One method involves detecting a modification to a first unit of data within a collectively managed set, subsequent to generation of a selective snapshot of the collectively managed set, and then accesses a first tag associated with the first unit of data. Based on a value of the first tag, the method determines whether the first unit of data is included in a subset of the collectively managed set. The subset includes at least two of the units of data and fewer than all of the units of data in the collectively managed set. Based upon whether the unit of data is included in the subset, the method selects whether to preserve an original value of the first unit of data. |
| US09111014B1 |
Rule builder for data processing
Disclosed are various embodiments for a rule builder for data processing. A proper subset of a set of strings is selected. A first user interface is generated that is configured to present the proper subset of the set of strings. The first user interface is further configured to obtain multiple substring selections corresponding to each one of the proper subset of the set of strings. One or more selection patterns are identified based at least in part on the corresponding substring selections. A second user interface is generated that is configured to present the selection patterns for user verification. |
| US09111007B2 |
Adaptive rendering of a webpage on an electronic display device
Disclosed herein is a method and system for rendering a web page on an electronic display device in a visual presentation format based on preferences of a user. An embedded browser application is provided on the electronic display device. The embedded browser application identifies alterable display attributes of elements on the web page and presents display options corresponding to the identified display attributes to the user. The user selects the presented display options based on preferences of the user. The embedded browser application modifies the identified display attributes of the web page elements by applying adaptive rendering rules on the identified display attributes. The embedded browser application creates the visual presentation format by incorporating the modified display attributes of the web page elements. The embedded browser application renders the web page adaptively on the electronic display device in the created visual presentation format. |
| US09110996B2 |
System for targeting advertising content to a plurality of mobile communication facilities
A system for targeting advertising content includes the steps of: (a) receiving respective requests for advertising content corresponding to a plurality of mobile communication facilities operated by a group of users, wherein the plurality includes first and second types of mobile communication facilities with different rendering capabilities; (b) receiving a datum corresponding to the group; (c) selecting from a first and second sponsor respective content based on a relevancy to the datum, wherein each content includes a first and second item requiring respective rendering capabilities; (d) receiving bids from the first and second sponsors; (e) attributing a priority to the content of the first sponsor based upon a determination that a yield associated with the first sponsor is greater than a yield associated with the second sponsor; and (f) transmitting the first and second items of the first sponsor to the first and second types of mobile communication facilities respectively. |
| US09110995B2 |
Framework for selecting and presenting answer boxes relevant to user input as query suggestions
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for identifying answer boxes for presentation to a user. In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include the actions of, while receiving an input entered in a search engine query input field by a first user, and before the first user has submitted the input as a search request, obtaining content for an answer box for the input and presenting the answer box to the first user. The answer box can be an answer box associated with a dominant query for the input, or can be an answer box identified from historical answer box data for the input. |
| US09110994B2 |
Perturbation of a shared, distributed cube
A method of performing a query on a cube of data is provided. A cube of data is distributed onto a plurality of computing devices with each computing device of the plurality of computing devices storing a different portion of the cube of data. A perturbation rule configured for application to the cube of data and associated with a user is received. A process space associated with the user is created. The received perturbation rule is compiled in association with the created process space. A query on the portion of the cube of data stored at the computing device is received. The received query is associated with the created process space. The query is processed while applying the compiled perturbation rule to data extracted from the portion of the cube of data stored at the computing device. A result of the processed query is sent to a requesting computing device. |
| US09110991B2 |
Associative search engine
This invention relates to an advertisement machine which provides advertisements to a user searching for desired information within a data network. The machine receives, from a user, a search request including a search argument corresponding to the desired information and searches, based upon the received search argument, a first database having data network related information to generate search results. It also correlating the received search argument to a particular advertisement in a second database having advertisement related information. The search results together with the particular advertisement are provided by the machine to the user. |
| US09110988B1 |
Methods, systems, and media for aggregating and presenting multiple videos of an event
Methods, systems, and media for aggregating and presenting multiple videos of an event are provided. In some implementations, a method for identifying related video content is provided, the method comprising: receiving a first video and first video metadata that describes the first video from a first camera device; receiving a second video and second video metadata that describes the second video from a second camera device; comparing the first video metadata and the second video metadata; determining whether the first video and the second video are associated with an event based on the comparison; in response to determining that the first video and the second video are associated with the event, grouping the first video and second video into a plurality of videos associated with the event; and causing the plurality of videos to be displayed to a viewer based on the viewer requesting at least one of the plurality of videos. |
| US09110987B2 |
System and method for providing music
The present disclosure includes a system, method, and computer program product for providing music. A method in accordance with one particular embodiment may include storing a plurality of cues in a memory, each of the plurality of cues having a plurality of tags associated therewith. The plurality of tags may include both musical and non-musical tags. The method may further include receiving an input at a computing device, the input corresponding to at least one of the plurality of tags. The method may also include searching the memory of the computing device to locate at least one of the plurality of cues having at least one tag that corresponds to the input. The method may further include providing a cue having the at least one tag that corresponds to the input to a client device. Numerous other embodiments are also within the scope of the present disclosure. |
| US09110983B2 |
Traversing data utilizing data relationships
Systems and methods may provide traversing data using metadata. In one example, a method may include gathering a textual description of a first object, wherein the textual description includes a word, generating a vector represent the textual description, assigning a first weight value to the word, associating an object space with the word including assigning a second weight value to the word, and associating an object space with the first object. |
| US09110977B1 |
Autonomous real time publishing
Techniques for autonomous and automatic real-time publishing of content are described. In an example embodiment, one or more topic terms are obtained. A set of information that is related to the one or more topic terms is automatically acquired. Linguistic analysis on the set of information is automatically performed to determine a set of linguistic structures that are represented in the set of information. The set of linguistic structures is used to automatically create a set of content items that are responsive to searches that include the one or more topic terms. New content that includes the set of content items is then automatically published. |
| US09110975B1 |
Search result inputs using variant generalized queries
Systems, methods and computer program products for generalizing a user-submitted query by forming one or more variants of the user-submitted query to generate one or more other queries, each of the one or more other queries being different from the user-submitted query. A generalized quality of result statistic is derived for a first document from respective data associated with each of the other queries, each respective data being indicative of user behavior relative to the first document as a search result for the associated other query. The generalized quality of result statistic is provided as the quality of result statistic input to a document ranking process for the first document and the user-submitted query. |
| US09110974B2 |
Display and navigation of structured electronic documents
A user interface display aids in the navigation between representations of different levels of detail of a structured document. A drilldown corresponds to a greater level of detail and a drillup corresponds to a reduced level of detail. A user enters an input to perform either a drilldown or a drillup. A transition animation is generated to provide contextual information to aid a user to understand that the transition in representation is being performed. |
| US09110973B2 |
Method and apparatus for processing a query
Provided are a method and apparatus for processing a query. The method includes generating string sets comprising a plurality of partial strings from a query string, determining a subset of the string sets as a candidate set, and searching for a document comprising the query string from the candidate set. |
| US09110972B2 |
Power over ethernet dynamic power allocation system
A power allocation system includes a manager provided on a network controller. An agent is provided on a line module coupled to the network controller. The agent is operable to detect a connection of a powered device to a port on the line module and communicate that to the manager. The manager then classifies the powered device and provides a first power to the powered device through the port from a global power budget according to the classification. At least one of the manager and agent then monitor the power consumption of the powered device subsequent to providing the first power, and a second power is provided to the powered device through the port from the global power budget according to the monitoring, wherein the second power is different from the first power. |
| US09110971B2 |
Method and system for ranking intellectual property documents using claim analysis
The present invention provides a method and system for re-ranking search results in a patent retrieval system where the query text is derived in whole or in part from a patent claim, which may be from an existing patent or a prospective claim. The re-ranking is based on several features of the candidate patent, such as the text similarity to the claim, international patent code or other classification or subject matter relatedness or overlap, and internal citation structure of the candidates. One alternative aspect provides a re-ranker that is trained on automatically generated training data, thus obviating the expensive and time-intensive step of expert annotation. |
| US09110969B2 |
Association acceleration for transaction databases
An association rule accelerator may be used to access a transaction database storing a plurality of transactions, each transaction including one or more items. The association rule accelerator also may select a sampling rate based on an item frequency of frequent items within the transaction database, relative to a sampled item frequency of sampled items within a corresponding sampled transaction database. An an association rule selector may determine, using the selected sampling rate and corresponding sampled transaction database, frequent item sets within the sampled transactions, and may further determine an association rule relating at least two items of the sampled transactions, based on the frequent item sets. |
| US09110961B2 |
Single command data warehouse table update
Information warehouse table data is updated through a full outer join between warehouse tables and source tables in response to a single query language command statement of a relational database computer language. The single command statement comprises table mapping instructions for updating the warehouse tables that define matching conditions, delete instructions, archive instructions, and update instructions. The full outer join inserts rows in the warehouse tables for source table data rows that do not have corresponding matching rows in the warehouse table. Data rows in the warehouse tables without corresponding matching source table rows are deleted if a value of a parameter in the warehouse table system is set to delete; updated if the parameter is update; and updated with archive values and a new table row inserted with existing values if the parameter is archive. |
| US09110956B2 |
Integration of statistical languages for reporting
Methods and systems for integrating the output generated by a statistical language script into a report of a reporting application. In some implementations a uniform resource identifier may include a hostname, a port, a location of the statistical language script, and one or more parameter names and associated values. The script may be sent to a statistical programming language interface. The statistical programming language interface may generate an output based on the script and using data from a database. The output may be sent to the reporting application for inclusion within a report. |
| US09110954B2 |
Single access method for multiple media sources
Method and systems for searching for media instances of interest to a user are described. User input specifying criteria for content is received and parameters are defined based on the user input. A plurality of databases are searched for media instances meeting the defined parameters, wherein the plurality of databases includes at least one database containing broadcast television content information and at least one database containing non-broadcast television content information. Information about the media instances meeting the defined parameters is retrieved from the plurality of databases. The retrieved information is provided to the user. |
| US09110952B2 |
Footprint tracking of contacts
A footprints device includes an input module and an output module. The input module receives a request for footprint data. The footprint data relates to names of users. The output module sends the footprint data to an address book. The footprint data is marked to indicate when at least one of the names of the users is a contact of the address book. |
| US09110949B2 |
Generating estimates for query optimization
Processes, machines, and stored machine instructions are provided for estimating how many rows would be processed by a query. In one embodiment, model aggregating logic may generate a global model based on separate models for separate portions of a set of data. For example, the separate portions may be assigned to separate partitions of the set of data based at least in part on key values in the separate portions. Generating the global model may include generating an uncompressed model that includes components of the separate models before generating a compressed model to estimate the uncompressed model. Query analysis logic may use the global model to estimate how many rows would be processed by queries that, when executed, would access portion(s) of the set of data. |
| US09110947B1 |
Column-oriented task execution in a row-partitioned database system
A database system may process multiple column-oriented tasks in parallel for a database being stored according to a row-partitioning protocol. The database system may determine when the query should process the column-oriented task serially or in parallel. For parallel processing, the database system may generate processing tasks for each unique column-oriented task contained in the query used to retrieve column data and to process the column data according to the column-oriented tasks requested. A method of operating the database system may determine that multiple column-oriented tasks included in a query are to be processed in parallel. The method may further include generating a processing task for each unique column-oriented task included in the query. The method may further include performing the column-oriented tasks in parallel based on the processing threads. The method may implement various considerations in determining to process to the column-oriented tasks in parallel. |
| US09110946B2 |
Database query optimization
Embodiments relate to a system, computer program product and method for database query optimization. An aspect includes a method that extracts complex predicates from a query statement, the query statement having at least two complex predicates. The method then executes a query associated with the query statement and obtains at least a respective execution structure cost (ΔTi) for each of the complex predicates. The method also calculates an overall execution structure cost corresponding to each of the complex predicates, the complex predicates being arranged according to result of the query and the execution structure costs (ΔTi); and optimizes a database query by selecting the arrangement of complex predicates having a lowest overall execution structure cost. |
| US09110942B2 |
Programmer interface for manufacturing execution system
In order to accelerate the analysis of the structure of a data source of the manufacturing execution system a programmer interface for analyzing a data source of a manufacturing execution system includes a query browser having query building means for generating a query, an execute means configured to provide provides means for receiving data from the data source according to the query, and a data structure means configured to provide a structure of the received data based on the query. |
| US09110941B2 |
Master data governance process driven by source data accuracy metric
A method, apparatus, and computer program product for processing data is disclosed. In one aspect of the invention, a computer implemented method comprises receiving, on one or more computers, a record having one or more attributes from a source system. The method also comprises measuring, on one or more computers, a data accuracy of the received record as compared to a golden record stored in a master data management system. One or more remediation actions are performed, on one or more computers, to enforce improvements to the measured data accuracy of the received record in the source system. In one or more embodiments, measurement of data accuracy comprises calculating, on one or more computers, an accuracy score defined by a closeness of the received record to the golden record. |
| US09110940B2 |
Supporting transactions in distributed environments using a local copy of remote transaction data and optimistic locking
A first process executing in a computer system in a data grid receives a request to perform at least one transaction operation of a transaction based on remote transaction data of at least one other process in the data grid. The at least one other process is capable to perform a prepare operation for a transaction. The first process identifies a local copy of the remote transaction data in a local data structure and performs the at least one transaction operation using the local copy of the remote transaction data without acquiring a lock on the remote transaction data. |
| US09110939B2 |
Method and apparatus for providing incremental database updates based on delta pages
An approach is provided for incremental database updates based on delta pages. An update platform determines at least one new page of a first database and at least one reference page of a second database. The update platform then processes and/or facilitates a processing of the at least one new page and the at least one reference page to determine at least one difference patch comprising one or more differences between the at least one new page and the at least one reference page. In one embodiment, the at least one new page can be constructed from the at least one reference page and the at least one difference patch. |
| US09110937B2 |
Providing a content preview
A content preview of a content item stored in an online storage system can be viewed on a client device without the content item itself being downloaded to the client device and without the use of software associated with the content item being installed on the client device. Furthermore, data storage and processing requirements can be minimized by creating and storing only one content preview for each unique content item. The content item can be identified by using the content item as a hash key in a hashing algorithm. The resulting unique identifier can be used to search a preview index that lists all created content previews and their location. A content preview is only created if one does not exist. The unique identifier can be used to locate the content preview and return it in response to a preview request by a client device. |
| US09110933B1 |
Processing data triggers in an untrusted environment based on information stored in a trusted environment
A computer system having memory and one or more processors running an untrusted internal process determines whether the first interaction meets a first trigger condition and when the first interaction meets the first trigger condition, the computer system generates a first marker for the first data item. The computer system requests that a trusted external process perform the first interaction with the first data item and store the first marker in the database. After the first data item is stored, the computer system requests markers stored in the database and receives the first marker. The computer system determines whether an operation corresponding to the first data item is to be executed based on the first marker. When the computer system determines that a first operation corresponding to the first data item is to be executed, the computer system requests execution of the first operation. |
| US09110928B2 |
Media identification system for efficient matching of media items having common content
To identify a media item from a database of media items that have common content, a region of interest is defined to include a plurality of frames of a test fingerprint that correspond to different segments of a media item. A media identification system queries a database of reference fingerprints to identify candidate reference fingerprints that contain a frame that matches a frame of the test fingerprint. When a candidate reference fingerprint is found, additional matching frames are determined and the region of interest is reduced to eliminate the matched frames of the test fingerprint. This continues until the region of interest is empty or there are no further matching candidates. Once the set of candidate reference fingerprints are identified, the media identification system compares the test fingerprint to the candidates to determine a closest match, thereby identifying the media item associated with the test fingerprint. |
| US09110927B2 |
Method and apparatus for organizing digital photographs
A method and system for organizing digital photographs is disclosed. A plurality of digital photographs are obtained. Each digital photograph in the plurality is analyzed to obtain metadata related to the digital photograph and/or photograph content information related to the digital photograph. The metadata and/or the photograph content information is then analyzed. The plurality of digital photographs are automatically organized into clusters. Each cluster is associated with one or more predetermined cluster parameter. Each cluster parameter is associated with a metadata item. The digital photographs are then displayed (e.g., in a web page) on a computing device in accordance with the cluster parameter(s). One or more of the digital photographs are reorganized into a different cluster each time additional metadata related to the one or more digital photographs is received. |
| US09110925B2 |
Image capture and identification system and process
A digital image of the object is captured and the object is recognized from plurality of objects in a database. An information address corresponding to the object is then used to access information and initiate communication pertinent to the object. |
| US09110923B2 |
Ranking over hashes
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for training an image ranking model to rank images based on hashes of their contents using a lookup table. An image training set is received. An image ranking model is trained with the training set by generating an image hash for each image of the ordered pair of images based on one or more features extracted from the image, computing a first score for a first image hash of a first image of the pair and a second score for a second image hash of a second image of the pair using the image ranking model, determining whether to update the image ranking model based on the first score and the second score, and updating the image ranking model using an update value based on the first score and the second score. |
| US09110921B2 |
Map editing with little user input
A semi-automatic map editor may allow a user to add features to a map with a minimum of effort. In one example, a user may add a road to a map by indicating where the endpoints of the road are. A system may then attempt to fill in the path of the road using the user-provided endpoints, an analysis of an aerial or satellite photograph, existing maps that show the road, or any other appropriate information. Using this information, the system may display a proposed path for the road between the endpoints that the user has indicated. The user may then fine tune and/or confirm the proposed path, thereby adding the road to the map. In addition to roads, other feature such as bodies of water, ski trails, etc., may be added in this manner. |
| US09110920B1 |
CIFS access to NFS files and directories by translating NFS file handles into pseudo-pathnames
A file handle produced by a file server is encoded into a pseudo-pathname used as a substitute for a pathname in a network file access protocol for accessing a file in the file server. The method avoids repeating a directory lookup and may permit the network file access protocol to access a file that has been renamed since the file handle was produced. The method is particularly advantageous for enabling a file server to use a CIFS client for virus checking or backup of a file modified by an NFS client. In a preferred implementation, the encoding of the file handle into a pseudo-pathname involves converting the file handle to an ASCII hexadecimal format to produce a component name, and appending the component name to a special name of a pseudo-directory of file handles of files in a file system. |
| US09110917B2 |
Creating a file descriptor independent of an open operation
A server computer system receives a file access request for accessing a file in a file system. The file access request includes a file handle for the file. The server computer system assigns a value as a file descriptor for the file. The assignment is performed without issuing a file open request to open the file. The server computer system associates the file descriptor with the file handle in a data store accessible to a storage subsystem and provides the file descriptor for accessing the file to the storage subsystem according to the file access request. |
| US09110916B1 |
System and method of removing duplicate leads
A duplicate lead removal system comprises a matching engine, a vendor duplicates database, and a conflict engine. The matching engine is configured to determine at least one vendor to receive a lead. The vendor duplicates database is configured to store duplicate lead information that is at least partly created by and received from vendors outside of the duplicate lead removal system. The conflict engine is configured to compare information that is at least derived from the lead with information stored in the vendor duplicates database in order to determine if the lead is a duplicate lead for the vendor such that the system can prevent transmission of duplicate leads to the vendor. |
| US09110915B2 |
Highly scalable and distributed data de-duplication
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for both maintaining referential integrity within a data storage system, and freeing unused storage in the system, without the need to maintain reference counts to the blocks of storage used to represent and store the data. |
| US09110914B1 |
Continuous data protection using deduplication-based storage
In one aspect, a method includes intercepting a write I/O to a first storage volume of a first storage array having a deduplication-based storage functionality, sending metadata and a signature to a replication data protection appliance and increasing a first reference count representing the data in the write I/O stored at the first storage array if the signature is written to the first journal. |
| US09110910B1 |
Common backup format and log based virtual full construction
Systems and methods are described for backing up files and directories using a common backup format. The files and directories may be represented by objects within a data stream constructed using the common backup format. The data streams may be traversed and updated using a size tree such that modifications are made to individual objects within the data streams without complete traversal. This process results in efficient management of storage systems as read and write operations are not dependent on exhaustive traversal of data streams. |
| US09110909B2 |
File level hierarchical storage management system, method, and apparatus
Time required for a file server to determine files to be migrated from a first storage region to a second storage region is reduced. A file service system coupled to the storage system for providing a first storage region and a second storage region stores identifiers of files that have been accessed by a client, in accessed file identifier information and determines the files to be migrated from the first storage region to the second storage region based on metadata of the files stored in the first storage region and the accessed file identifier information. |
| US09110904B2 |
Rule-based metadata transformation and aggregation for programs
A method and devices for obtaining metadata associated with programs from multiple metadata sources. Title metadata is compared to determine if any title metadata match. Transformation rules are applied to the title metadata when title metadata does not match with other title metadata. The transformation rules transform the title metadata into a common format. The title metadata is compared after transformation to determine whether the title metadata matches other title metadata. Title metadata that matches other title metadata, the metadata associated with a program is aggregated. |
| US09110901B2 |
Identifying web pages of the world wide web having relevance to a first file by comparing responses from its multiple authors
Methods and systems for providing related web pages are disclosed. One method includes identifying a plurality of web pages, wherein the plurality of web pages each have a relationship with the first file, wherein the world wide web provides a platform for sharing web pages, and wherein each web page includes a document or information resource that is suitable for the world wide web and is accessible through a web browser. The method further includes generating a list of inquiries based on the plurality of web pages, providing, the list of inquiries to at least one author of the first file, receiving from the at least one author at least one response to the list of inquiries, selecting a subset of the plurality of web pages based on the at least one response, and storing information related to the selected subset of the plurality of web pages. |
| US09110897B2 |
Sensor tag and method of providing service using the same
A sensor tag includes: a tag chip that receives a supply of a driving voltage that is generated from a radio frequency (RF) signal that is received from a reader and that transmits sensor data to the reader according to a request from the reader; at least one sensor that receives a supply of a necessary driving voltage from the tag chip and that measures corresponding sensor data; and a micro controller unit (MCU) that receives a supply of a necessary driving voltage from the tag chip and that transfers sensor data that is measured from the at least one sensor to the tag chip. |
| US09110895B2 |
System and method for a serialized data service
The present disclosure includes a system and method for a serialized data service. A method for a serialized data service includes retrieving serialized data to a data service, and augmenting the serialized data with information corresponding to one or more data retention policies. The augmented serialized data is stored to a data source. The augmented serialized data is removed from the data source based on the augmented information. |
| US09110889B2 |
Methods and systems for generation of flexible sentences in a social networking system
A method and system for providing flexible sentences are disclosed. The system includes a developer interface for providing options to define actor, edge, target and aggregation of a flexible sentence syntax. In one embodiment, tokens are provided to define property expressions of the edge and/or target of the flexible sentence syntax. Based on the defined edge and target, the developer interface may generate a plurality of flexible sentence syntaxes for a developer to select. In some embodiments, the developer can add additional property expressions to further define the edge and/or target of the flexible sentence syntax. In some instances, the plurality of flexible sentence syntaxes may be prioritized based on a percentage coverage, which is determined by the impressions received over a given time frame. |
| US09110877B2 |
Method and apparatus for utilizing an extensible markup language schema for managing specific types of content in an electronic document
An extensible markup language (“XML”) schema is provided for defining a content region which displays specific types of content in an electronic document created in a word processing application program. The schema includes structural elements for defining the content region in the electronic document. The structural elements include a properties element for defining properties associated with the content to be displayed in the content region and a content element for receiving the content to be displayed according to the defined properties. The properties element and the content element define the content region in the electronic document. |
| US09110871B2 |
Correcting a document character size based on the average value of each character size
A document generating apparatus and a document generating method capable of easily and effectively generating a document with a supplementary explanation in which a supplementary explanation character string is given in a ruby form in a character size which conforms to a character size of a document. The document generating apparatus (and method thereof) decides, for each line, a character size for characters included in each line in each character area, and corrects information on the character size based on the calculated value of the character size. |
| US09110869B2 |
Visual representation of a character identity and a location identity
A method comprising determining that, at least a part of, content of a section of a document is being displayed, determining at least one character identity, determining at least one location identity indicated by the section, and determining at least one visual representation of the location identity such that the visual representation of the location identity comprises a visual representation of the character identity that indicates a relationship between the character identity and the location identity is disclosed. |
| US09110868B2 |
System and method for logical structuring of documents based on trailing and leading pages
A system, method, and computer program product for determining the structure of a document are provided. The method includes receiving a set of document pages for a document and linking one page frame to each of a plurality of document pages in the set. For each document page linked to a page frame, a content bounding box surrounding the content on the document page is identified, and the document page categorized, based at least in part on the geometrical relationship between the page frame and the content bounding box of the document page. The document page can then be identified as a logical cut based at least in part on the categorization of the document page. Information, such as a table of contents or updated table of contents, can then be output, based on the determined logical unit(s) of the document. |
| US09110867B2 |
Providing application based monitoring and recovery for a hypervisor of an HA cluster
An embodiment of the invention is directed to a method associated with a node comprising a hypervisor and guest VMs, each guest VM being managed by the hypervisor and disposed to run applications, the node being joined with other nodes to form an HA cluster. The method includes establishing an internal bidirectional communication channel between each guest VM and the hypervisor, and further includes sending commands and responses thereto through the channel, wherein respective commands manage a specified application running on the given guest VM. The messages are selectively monitored, to detect a failure condition associated with the specified application running on the given guest VM. Responsive to detecting a failure condition, action is taken to correct the failure condition, wherein the action includes sending at least one command through the internal channel from the hypervisor to the given guest VM. |
| US09110865B2 |
Virtual machine dynamic routing
Dynamic network routing in a virtual machine environment. The dynamic network routing includes receiving an indication that a network outage has occurred and receiving a network communication to a guest or from the guest executing on a hypervisor. It is then determined if the guest that is the source or destination for the network communication is configured to use a revised network route. In response to determining that the guest is not configured to use the revised network route, then the transmission of the network communication is prevented and the guest is provided with network routing information. Once the guest has received the updating routing information the transmission of the network communication on the new route is allowed. |
| US09110864B2 |
Fault tolerance solution for stateful applications
A fault tolerance method and system for VMs on a cluster identifies a client state for each client session for those applications. The method replicates the client session onto a primary and a backup VM, and uses a network controller and orchestrator to direct network traffic to the primary VM and to periodically replicate the state onto the backup VM. In case of a VM failure, the method reroutes network traffic of states for which the failed VM serves as a primary to the corresponding backup, and replicates states without a backup after the failure onto another VM to create new backups. The method may be used as part of a method or system implementing the split/merge paradigm. |