最新美国发明专利第2015-10-27期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

Document	Document Title
US09171821B2	Semiconductor packages and methods of manufacturing the same A semiconductor package comprises a board including a board pad, a plurality of semiconductor chips mounted on the board, the semiconductor chips including chip pads. Bumps are disposed on the chip pads, respectively, and a wire is disposed between the chip pads and the bumps. The wire electrically connects the chip pads of the plurality of semiconductor chips and the board pad to each other.
US09171817B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor chip having an electrode, a connector having a chip contact surface, an interconnecting portion, and an external electrode terminal contact surface, the chip contact surface being electrically connected to the electrode, and a first connection material disposed between the chip contact surface and the electrode, the first connecting material having a surface area that is greater than a surface area of the chip contact surface.
US09171815B2	Method of forming package systems having interposers A package system includes a first integrated circuit disposed over an interposer. The interposer includes at least one molding compound layer including a plurality of electrical connection structures through the at least one molding compound layer. A first interconnect structure is disposed over a first surface of the at least one molding compound layer and electrically coupled with the plurality of electrical connection structures. The first integrated circuit is electrically coupled with the first interconnect structure.
US09171814B2	Method of manufacturing semiconductor device and semiconductor device To improve coupling reliability in flip chip bonding of a semiconductor device. By using, in the fabrication of a semiconductor device, a wiring substrate in which a wiring that crosses an opening area of a solder resist film on the upper surface of the wiring substrate has, on one side of the wiring, a bump electrode and, on the other side, a plurality of wide-width portions having no bump electrode thereon, a solder on the wiring can be dispersed to each of the wide-width portions during reflow treatment in a solder precoating step. Such a configuration makes it possible to reduce a difference in height between the solder on each of terminals and the solder on each of the wide-width portions and to enhance the coupling reliability in flip chip bonding.
US09171813B2	Substrate including a dam for semiconductor package, semiconductor package using the same, and manufacturing method thereof A substrate for a semiconductor package includes a substrate body having a first surface and a second surface which faces away from the first surface, and formed with at least one bump land on the first surface, and a dam formed and projected over an edge of the first surface of the substrate body, and having an underfill member discharge unit.
US09171809B2	Escape routes Methods of and devices for providing escaping routes for the flux and gases generated to move away from the solder joint in the process of solder joint formation.
US09171808B2	Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same In a semiconductor integrated circuit sandwiched between a pair of a first impact resistance layer and a second impact resistance layer, an impact diffusion layer is provided between the semiconductor integrated circuit and the second impact resistance layer. By provision of the impact resistance layer against the external stress and the impact diffusion layer for diffusing the impact, force applied to the semiconductor integrated circuit per unit area is reduced, so that the semiconductor integrated circuit is protected. The impact diffusion layer preferably has a low modulus of elasticity and high breaking modulus.
US09171807B2	Semiconductor device in which internal stress in a layer is relaxed to suppress warping According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer, an electrode, and an insulating portion. The semiconductor layer has a first surface. The electrode is provided on the first surface of the semiconductor layer. The insulating portion includes a first layer and a second layer. The first layer covers the electrode on the first surface of the semiconductor layer and has a first internal stress along the first surface. The second layer is provided on the first layer and has a second internal stress in a reverse direction of the first internal stress.
US09171802B2	Semiconductor wiring patterns A semiconductor device includes a rectangular semiconductor element mounted on a substrate formed with an external input terminal, an external output terminal, and a plurality of wiring patterns connected to each of the external input terminal and the external output terminal. The semiconductor element includes, a plurality of first electrodes formed along a first edge of a surface thereof, a plurality of second electrodes formed along an edge opposite to the first edge of the surface, a plurality of third electrodes formed in the neighborhood of a functional block, and an internal wiring for connecting the first electrodes and the third electrodes. The substrate includes, a first wiring pattern for connecting the external input terminal and the first electrodes, a second wiring pattern for connecting the external output terminal and the second electrodes, and a third wiring pattern for connecting the first electrodes and the third electrodes.
US09171801B2	E-fuse with hybrid metallization A structure including a first interconnect including a first line overlying a first via and a second interconnect including a second line overlying a second via. The first line and the second line are co-planar. The first interconnect comprises a first conductor, the first conductor comprises a metal silicide including titanium silicide, cobalt silicide, nickel silicide, tungsten silicide, platinum silicide, molybdenum silicide, tantalum silicide, or some combination thereof. The second interconnect comprises a second conductor, the second conductor comprising copper.
US09171798B2	Methods and apparatus for transmission lines in packages Methods and apparatus for forming a semiconductor device package with a transmission line using a micro-bump layer are disclosed. The micro-bump layer may comprise micro-bumps and micro-bump lines, formed between a top device and a bottom device. A signal transmission line may be formed using a micro-bump line above a bottom device. A ground plane may be formed using a redistribution layer (RDL) within the bottom device, or using additional micro-bump lines. The RDL formed ground plane may comprise open slots. There may be RDLs at the bottom device and the top device above and below the micro-bump lines to form parts of the ground planes.
US09171795B2	Integrated circuit packaging system with embedded component and method of manufacture thereof An integrated circuit packaging system, and a method of manufacture of an integrated circuit packaging system thereof, including: an embedding material on a component; a mask layer on the embedding material; a buried pattern in the mask layer, the outer surface of the buried pattern coplanar with the outer surface of the mask layer, the buried pattern electrically connected to the component; a patterned dielectric on a portion of the buried pattern; and an integrated circuit die on the buried pattern.
US09171794B2	Embedding thin chips in polymer Systems and methods are provided for the embedding of thin chips. A well region is generated in a substrate that includes a conductive material disposed on a flexible polymer. The standoff well region can be generated by pattern the conductive material, where the thin chip is embedded in the standoff well region. A cavity can be generated in the polymer layer to form a polymer well region, where the thin chip is embedded in the polymer well region.
US09171791B2	Semiconductor device This invention provides a multi-pin semiconductor device as a low-cost flip-chip BGA. In the flip-chip BGA, a plurality of signal bonding electrodes in a peripheral area of the upper surface of a multilayer wiring substrate are separated into inner and outer ones and a plurality of signal through holes coupled to a plurality of signal wirings drawn inside are located between a plurality of rows of signal bonding electrodes and a central region where a plurality of bonding electrodes for core power supply are located so that the chip pad pitch can be decreased and the cost of the BGA can be reduced without an increase in the number of layers in the multilayer wiring substrate.
US09171789B2	Lead frame, semiconductor package including the lead frame, and method of manufacturing the lead frame There is provided a lead frame including a plurality of plating layers formed on both an upper surface and a lower surface of a base material including a metal, wherein an upper outermost plating layer of an upper part of the lead frame is a silver plating layer including silver, and a lower outermost plating layer of a lower part of the lead frame is a gold plating layer including gold.
US09171788B1	Semiconductor package with small gate clip and assembly method A method of manufacturing a semiconductor package having a small gate clip is disclosed. A first and second semiconductor chips, each of which includes a source electrode and a gate electrode at a top surface, are attached on two adjacent lead frame units of a lead frame such that the lead frame unit with the first chip formed thereon is rotated 180 degrees in relation to the other lead frame unit with the second semiconductor chip formed thereon. A first and second clip sets are mounted on the first and second semiconductor chips, wherein the first clip set is connected to the gate electrode of the first chip, the source electrode of the second chip, and their corresponding leads and the second clip set is connected to the gate electrode of the second chip, the source electrode of the first chip and their corresponding leads.
US09171782B2	Stacked redistribution layers on die Some implementations provide a semiconductor device (e.g., die) that includes a substrate, several metal layers and dielectric layers coupled to the substrate, a pad coupled to one of the plurality of metal layers, a first metal redistribution layer coupled to the pad, and a second metal redistribution layer coupled to the first metal redistribution layer. The second metal redistribution layer includes a cobalt tungsten phosphorous material. In some implementations, the first metal redistribution layer is a copper layer. In some implementations, the semiconductor device further includes a first underbump metallization (UBM) layer and a second underbump metallization (UBM) layer.
US09171780B2	Method for manufacturing semiconductor package Disclosed herein is a method for manufacturing a semiconductor package. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor package includes: preparing a rectangular frame having a plurality of quadrangular holes; attaching a plurality of semiconductor chips and the frame on one surface of a tape; forming a molding part on the tape to cover the semiconductor chip and the frame; peeling the tape; forming a resin layer at a portion at which the tape is peeled; and forming a wiring on the resin layer to be connected to the semiconductor chip.
US09171775B2	Evaporation-assisted heat dissipation apparatus An evaporation-assisted heat dissipation apparatus includes a heat sink, a fan, and a spraying member. The spraying member includes a water tank, a water transmitting tube, and a plurality of water output tubes. The water tank accommodates a heat-dissipating liquid which flows to the tops of the plurality of water output tubes via the water transmitting tube. The convex meniscus which is formed at the top of each of the plurality of water output tubes is atomized and blown toward the heat sink by the fan and the droplets attach on the heat sink. The droplets are evaporated from the heat sink and remove heat from the heat sink by doing so.
US09171770B2	Electronic device and manufacturing method thereof An electronic device and the manufacturing method thereof are provided. The method comprises providing a module, in which the module includes a substrate, at least one component mounted on the substrate and a molding, and the molding encapsulates the component and a portion of the substrate; forming a first hole to expose a ground pad of the component; forming a first conductive layer which covers the module and is electrically connected to the ground pad.
US09171753B2	Semiconductor devices having conductive via structures and methods for fabricating the same In one embodiment, the method includes forming a conductive via structure in a base layer. The base layer has a first surface and a second surface, and the second surface is opposite the first surface. The method further includes removing the second surface of the base layer to expose the conductive via structure such that the conductive via structure protrudes from the second surface, and forming a first lower insulating layer over the second surface such that an end surface of the conductive via structure remains exposed by the first lower insulating layer.
US09171751B2	Method and system for fabricating floating guard rings in GaN materials A method for fabricating an edge termination structure includes providing a substrate having a first surface and a second surface and a first conductivity type, forming a first GaN epitaxial layer of the first conductivity type coupled to the first surface of the substrate, and forming a second GaN epitaxial layer of a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type. The second GaN epitaxial layer is coupled to the first GaN epitaxial layer. The method also includes implanting ions into a first region of the second GaN epitaxial layer to electrically isolate a second region of the second GaN epitaxial layer from a third region of the second GaN epitaxial layer. The method further includes forming an active device coupled to the second region of the second GaN epitaxial layer and forming the edge termination structure coupled to the third region of the second GaN epitaxial layer.
US09171750B2	Methods of forming electrically conductive lines A method of forming an electrically conductive buried line and an electrical contact thereto includes forming of a longitudinally elongated conductive line within a trench in substrate material. A longitudinal end part thereof within the trench is of spoon-like shape having a receptacle. The receptacle is filled with conductive material. Insulative material is formed over the conductive material that is within the receptacle. A contact opening is formed over the conductive material that is within the receptacle. Conductor material is formed in the contact opening in electrical connection with the second conductive material that is within the receptacle. Other method and device implementations are disclosed.
US09171749B2	Handler wafer removal facilitated by the addition of an amorphous carbon layer on the handler wafer A method of removing a handler wafer. There is provided a handler wafer and a semiconductor device wafer having a plurality of semiconductor devices, the semiconductor device wafer having an active surface side and an inactive surface side. An amorphous carbon layer is applied to a surface of the handler wafer. An adhesive layer is applied to at least one of the amorphous carbon layer of the handler wafer and the active surface side of the semiconductor device wafer. The handler wafer is joined to the semiconductor device wafer through the adhesive layer or layers. Laser radiation is applied to the handler wafer to cause heating of the amorphous carbon layer that in turn causes heating of the adhesive layer or layers. The plurality of semiconductor devices of the semiconductor device wafer are then separated from the handler wafer.
US09171746B2	Heater elements with enhanced cooling A heater assembly with enhanced cooling pursuant to various embodiments described herein makes use of fluidic flow in the insulation or in the space used for insulation. By creating a natural convection or forced convection flow, the heater cools down faster, it can operate at lower temperatures and/or higher temperature precision, and it can improve temperature controllability by generating higher heat loss rates.
US09171744B2	Attaching passive components to a semiconductor package Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method comprising forming an electrically conductive structure on a surface of a semiconductor die, attaching the semiconductor die to a substrate, forming a molding compound to encapsulate the semiconductor die, forming an opening in the molding compound, the opening to at least partially expose the electrically conductive structure, and electrically coupling a passive component to the electrically conductive structure through the opening in the molding compound. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
US09171735B2	Method for fabricating a semiconductor integrated circuit with a litho-etch, litho-etch process for etching trenches Methods are provided for fabricating semiconductor integrated circuits including isolated trench features. In one embodiment, a method includes providing a semiconductor substrate with an overlying process layer. A trench pattern to be etched into the process layer is determined and that trench pattern is decomposed into first and second patterns, the second pattern including an isolated trench. First and second lithographic masks are formed to implement the first and second patterns, the second mask implementing the second pattern, the isolated trench, and a plurality of density balancer patterns symmetrically positioned with respect to the isolated trench. A first resist layer is patterned with the first lithographic mask and the process layer is etched with the first resist layer. A second resist layer is patterned with the second lithographic mask and the process layer is etched with the second resist layer to implement the required trench pattern in the process layer.
US09171734B1	Substrate processing apparatus, method of manufacturing semiconductor device and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium A substrate processing apparatus includes a processing chamber accommodating a substrate; first and second process gas supply units that respectively supply first and second process gases from above and laterally relative to the substrate; and first and second reactive gas supply units that respectively supply first and second reactive gases from above and laterally relative to the substrate. A control unit controls the other units such that a total amount of the first and second process gases supplied to a center portion of the substrate is different from that supplied to a peripheral portion of the substrate, or a total amount of the first and second reactive gases supplied to the center portion of the substrate is different from that supplied to the peripheral portion of the substrate.
US09171732B1	Thin film transistor and method for manufacturing the same, and display device A method for manufacturing a thin film transistor according to the present disclosure may include the following steps of: performing a two-step etching on an active layer such that part of the active layer is consistent with a source-drain electrode layer, and etching the active layer within a photoresist-removed-area to form an active layer tail; ashing a photoresist layer such that a contour of the photoresist layer is consistent with that of the source-drain electrode layer; further etching the source-drain electrode layer to form a source-drain electrode layer pattern including a source electrode and a drain electrode, and etching off a doped semiconductor layer between the source electrode and the drain electrode, and meanwhile etching off the active layer tail.
US09171725B2	Enriched silicon precursor compositions and apparatus and processes for utilizing same Isotopically enriched silicon precursor compositions are disclosed, as useful in ion implantation to enhance performance of the ion implantation system, in relation to corresponding ion implantation lacking such isotopic enrichment of the silicon precursor composition. The silicon dopant composition includes at least one silicon compound that is isotopically enriched above natural abundance in at least one of 28Si, 29Si, and 30Si, and may include a supplemental gas including at least one of a co-species gas and a diluent gas. Dopant gas supply apparatus for providing such silicon dopant compositions to an ion implanter are described, as well as ion implantation systems including such dopant gas supply apparatus.
US09171722B2	Method of vapor-diffusing impurities A method of vapor-diffusing impurities into a diffusion region of a target substrate to be processed using a dummy substrate is provided. The method includes loading the target substrate and the dummy substrate in a substrate loading jig, accommodating the substrate loading jig loaded with the target substrate and the dummy substrate in a processing chamber of a processing apparatus, and vapor-diffusing impurities into the diffusion region of the target substrate in the processing chamber having the accommodated substrate loading jig. The vapor-diffused impurities are boron, an outer surface of the dummy substrate includes a material having properties not allowing boron adsorption.
US09171721B2	Laser assisted direct bonding Techniques are described for directly bonding different substrates together. In some examples, a technique includes placing a first surface of a first substrate in contact with a second surface of a second substrate to directly bond the first substrate to the second substrate at a contact location. The contact location is defined where at least a portion of the first surface of the first substrate contacts at least a portion of the second surface of the second substrate. The technique may also include directing a laser beam on at least a portion of the contact location to strengthen the direct bond between the first substrate and the second substrate. In this manner, a direct bond may be heated with localized laser energy to strengthen the direct bond. Localized laser energy may create a strong direct bond while minimizing thermal defects in regions proximate the direct bond.
US09171720B2	Hardmask surface treatment Methods of treating the surface of a metal-containing hardmask used in the manufacture of semiconductors by contacting the hardmask surface with a composition capable of adjusting the water contact angle so as to substantially match that of subsequently applied organic coatings are provided.
US09171719B2	Method of defining poly-silicon growth direction A method of defining poly-silicon growth direction includes Step 1, forming a buffer layer on a substrate; Step 2, forming a regular graphene array; Step 3, forming an amorphous silicon thin film on the buffer layer, which the regular graphene array has formed thereon; and Step 4, transferring the amorphous silicon thin film into poly-silicon with an excimer laser anneal process. The growth direction of the poly-silicon as being formed can be controlled according to the present method of defining poly-silicon growth direction. Accordingly, the grain size of the poly-silicon can be raised.
US09171717B2	Method for manufacturing a group III nitride substrate using a chemical lift-off process The non-polar or semi-polar group III nitride layer disclosed in a specific example of the present invention can be used for substrates for various electronic devices, wherein problems of conventional polar group III nitride substrates are mitigated or solved by using the nitride substrate of the invention, and further the nitride substrate can be manufactured by a chemical lift-off process.
US09171712B2	Lamp having a secondary halide that improves luminous efficiency A lamp to produce white light includes an envelope; and a composition disposed in the envelope and including an initiator; a primary halide; and a secondary halide, wherein the primary halide, in a presence of the secondary halide, has a vapor pressure that is greater than a vapor pressure in an absence of the secondary halide, and the composition is configured to emit white light in a presence of an electrical discharge in the envelope.
US09171711B2	Method and system for vacuum driven mass spectrometer interface with adjustable resolution and selectivity A mass spectrometer system and method of operating same are provided. The system comprises an ion conduit for receiving ions; a boundary member defining a curtain gas chamber containing the ion conduit; a curtain gas supply for providing a curtain gas to an inlet of the ion conduit to provide a gas flow into the conduit, and a curtain gas outflow out of a curtain gas chamber inlet; a mass spectrometer at least partially sealed to, and in fluid communication with, the conduit for receiving the ions from the conduit; a vacuum chamber surrounding the mass spectrometer operable to draw the gas flow including the ions through the conduit and into the vacuum chamber; and, a gas outlet for drawing a gas outflow from the gas flow located between the conduit and the mass spectrometer to increase the gas flow rate through the conduit.
US09171710B2	Mass spectrometric analysis using nanoparticle matrices Methods of characterizing an analyte of interest are provided. The methods can involve using a population of nanoparticles (e.g., magnetic ferrite nanoparticles) as a matrix for matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. The size, shape, and composition of the nanoparticles can be selected in view of a variety of factors, including the nature of the analyte of interest, the desired characteristics of the mass spectrum, the nature of the energy directed onto the target composition, and combinations thereof. The nanoparticle matrix can enhance MALDI analysis by providing a cleaner mass spectral background and/or inducing abundant fragmentation of analyte ions by in-source decay (ISD). The nanoparticles are also versatile and selective; the nanoparticle matrix can be tuned to render the matrix particles compatible with an analyte of interest and/or improve selectivity for an analyte of interest.
US09171709B2	Analysis of microbes by MALDI mass spectrometry The invention relates to methods for the mass spectrometric analysis of microbes, in particular to a transfer method of microbes that are required to be identified from agar plates onto mass spectrometric sample supports and their preparation for ionization by matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALDI). Microbes from microcolonies which have grown on the agar plates after a culture time of only six to eight hours are transferred with a high transfer yield onto contact surfaces of suitable size by direct contact and cell disrupted on the contact surface; the released proteins are prepared with matrix material on the contact surface as MALDI samples. The ionization by matrix-assisted laser desorption also takes place on the contact surface.
US09171707B2	Reagents for electron transfer dissociation in mass spectrometry analysis The invention provides improvements in reagents for use in electron transfer dissociation ionization techniques for use in mass spectrometry, particularly for sequencing peptides and proteins using mass spectrometric techniques involving electrospray ionization and MS/MS characterization of fragment ions. The novel reagents used in the inventive methods allow for more effective determination of protein sequences, especially of long peptides or post-translationally modified protein fragments. Use of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons azulene, homoazulene, and acenaphthylene, and homodimers and heterodimers thereof, are described.
US09171698B2	Drawing apparatus, and method of manufacturing article A drawing apparatus for performing drawing on a substrate with a charged particle beam, includes: a controller configured to control a dose of the charge particle beam at each of a plurality of positions of the charged particle beam on the substrate based on information of displacement of each of the plurality of positions from a target position corresponding thereto and a target dose of the charged particle beam at the target position corresponding to each of the plurality of positions.
US09171695B2	Stage apparatus and sample observation apparatus In order to provide a stage apparatus with high speed stability in addition to being able to achieve positioning with a high degree of accuracy, and a sample observation apparatus, such as an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope, including the stage apparatus, the stage apparatus and the sample observation apparatus of the present invention correct a command voltage value of standard waveform data or an output timing of a command voltage value such that a difference between a first time history response and a second time history response is reduced to zero, the first time history response for displacement or speed when the stage mechanism is driven with use of the standard waveform data showing the command voltage value at each predetermined time and the second time history response for displacement or speed when a speed of the stage mechanism is constant, to be set as drive waveform data to be outputted to a drive unit of the stage mechanism.
US09171694B2	Asymmetric electrostatic quadrupole deflector for improved field uniformity An electron beam device for inspecting a target substrate or specimen thereon includes a beam separator with an asymmetric quadrupole electrostatic deflector for improving field uniformity for a single direction of deflection. The asymmetric quadrupole electrostatic deflector includes two orthogonal electrode plates spanning roughly 60 degrees and two electrode plates spanning roughly 120 degrees, the two latter plates defining a unidirectional deflection field. The device generates a primary electron beam and focuses the primary electron beam along an optical axis into the target substrate. Secondary electrons detected at the target substrate are focused into a secondary electron beam. The beam separator with asymmetric quadrupole electrostatic deflector deflects the secondary electron beam away from the axis of the primary electron beam in the direction of deflection and into a detector array.
US09171691B2	Film target for laser-induced particle acceleration and method of manufacturing the same A film target for laser-induced particle acceleration includes a first target layer on which a laser is incident; an intermediate layer located behind the first target layer along a propagating direction of the laser, and in which an intended ion beam is generated; and a second target layer located opposite to the first target layer with the intermediate layer interposed therebetween.
US09171689B2	Method for making carbon nanotube field emitter A method for making carbon nanotube field emitter includes providing a carbon nanotube array formed on a surface of a substrate. A plurality of carbon nanotubes of the carbon nanotube array is selected and pulled out a carbon nanotube film by a drawing tool, wherein the carbon nanotube film includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes oriented along a fixed direction. The carbon nanotube film is cut to a plurality of uniform carbon nanotube sub-films along the fixed direction. The plurality of carbon nanotube sub-films is treated to a plurality of carbon nanotube yarns. The plurality of carbon nanotube yarns is fixed on a surface of a conductive base, and cutting off the plurality of carbon nanotube yarns by a laser beam, to form a carbon nanotube field emitter.
US09171687B2	Circuit breaker A miniature intelligent circuit breaker, including a box body, the box body including an upper cover and a bottom box, and a circuit breaker actuating mechanism for switching on/off the circuit breaker, a wire inlet end, and a wire outlet end being arranged in the box body. An automatic closing function part is arranged inside the box body and includes an automatic closing mechanical unit and an automatic closing control unit. The automatic closing mechanical unit includes a motor and an intermediate transmission mechanism. The operation of the motor is realized through the automatic closing control unit. The circuit breaker actuating mechanism is driven to move through the transmission of the intermediate transmission mechanism, such that the closing action of the circuit breaker is ultimately realized.
US09171685B2	Power source circuit shutoff apparatus In a power source circuit shutoff apparatus, with the lever rotated from a connector mating start position to a connector mating completion position, a pair of first signal terminals and a pair of second signal terminals are brought into on-state after a pair of first main terminals and a pair of second main terminals are brought into on-state. With the lever rotated from the connector mating completion position to the connector mating start position, a pair of first main terminals and a pair of second main terminal are brought into off-state after a pair of first signal terminals and a pair of second signal terminals are brought into off-state. The pair of first signal terminals and the pair of second signal terminals are each disposed along a straight line extending in a direction perpendicular to a rotational spindle direction of the lever.
US09171684B2	Circuit breaker latching mechanism A circuit breaker includes a latching mechanism including a switching mechanism operatively connected to a tensioning element, and an unlatching mechanism by which, in response to a tripping signal, the tensioning element can be transferred from a tensioned state into an at least substantially relaxed state. The tensioning element is indirectly coupled to a tension lever which can be locked or tripped as a function of a position of a blocking pawl of the unlatching mechanism and which includes a blocking mechanism by which, in an OFF position of the latching mechanism in which the switch is open and the tensioning element is tensioned, tripping of the tension lever is prevented despite a tripping signal. The blocking mechanism of the tension lever includes a rocker arm which is fastened movably on the tension lever.
US09171683B2	Sealed and vented switch actuator The present invention relates to a switch device (100) for use in hand-held power tools. The switch device (100) may include at least one chamber (102) whose interior serves as an accommodation space. The chamber (102) may partially encase an operational member (104) for actuating the hand-held power tool through the switch device (100). Further, the switch device (100) is provided with multiple holes (202) on side walls (204) of the chamber (102) to create a passageway for external particulate materials. Also, a bottom surface (205) of the chamber (102) may be sloped to extend from an interior of the chamber (102) to each of the multiple holes (202), to enhance the discharging of the external particulate materials through the holes (202).
US09171682B2	Operation switch An operation switch where a switch unit can be separated from an operation unit in a simple manner even when the operation switches are densely fitted is disclosed herein. The operation switch of the invention includes an operation unit that is disposed on a front surface side of a panel and operated by external pressing force, a switch unit that can be separated from a rear surface side of the panel from the operation unit, a latching unit formed on an external circumferential surface of the operation unit along an axial center direction, a latching receiving unit which is formed along an external circumferential surface of the switch unit and to which the latching unit is latched, and a release lever that releases a latching state of the latching unit and the latching receiving unit so that the switch unit is separated from the operation unit.
US09171678B2	Supercapattery and method for controlling charge/discharge of the supercapattery by using a magnetic force A supercapattery includes at least one tank filled with a conductive material. The conductive material has an arrangement-variable crystal lattice. The conductive material is graphite, grapheme, graphene oxide, a composite of graphite, metal, and a polymer, or a composite of graphene, metal, and a polymer. A magnetic member is mounted outside of the at least one tank. The magnetic member can be supplied with electricity to create a magnetic field. A method for controlling charge/discharge of a supercapattery includes supplying electricity to a supercapattery filled with a conductive material having an arrangement-variable crystal lattice. The crystal lattice of the conductive material supplied with electricity is transformed from an isotropic phase into an electro-nematic phase and absorbs electrons. An external magnetic field is created to return the crystal lattice of the conductive material from the electro-nematic phase to the isotropic phase, releasing the electrons.
US09171674B2	Ionic electron conductive polymer capacitor Technologies are generally described for an electron conductive polymer capacitor may incorporate a conductive polymer mixture embedded with carbon nanoparticles between electrodes to rapidly charge and store large amounts of charge compared to conventional electrolytic capacitors. Such a capacitor may be constructed with a laminate sheet including layers of inner and outer electrodes, an electrolyte mixture between the electrodes, a conductive polymer mixture, and a composite mixture of carbon nanoparticles embedded in the conductive polymer between the inner electrodes. The laminate sheet may be wound into a roll and the inner and outer electrodes are coupled electrically. When an electric field is applied, cations within the electrolyte mixture move towards the outer electrodes and anions towards the inner electrodes. Further, the inner conductive polymer layer is ionized causing electrons to move toward the inner electrodes to be deposited onto high surface area carbon nanoparticles where charge is stored.
US09171667B2	Magnetic device having integrated current sensing element and methods of assembling same A magnetic device is provided. The magnetic device includes a magnetic core and a conductive winding inductively coupled to the magnetic core. The conductive winding includes a first terminal segment, a second terminal segment, and an inductive segment electrically coupled in series therebetween. The first terminal segment includes a current sensing element.
US09171665B2	Integrated inductor assemblies and methods of assembling same An integrated inductor assembly is provided. The integrated inductor assembly includes a magnetic core, a first inductor, and a second inductor. The magnetic core has a first side, an opposing second side, and an opening defined within the magnetic core. The opening extends into the magnetic core from at least one of the first side and the second side. The first inductor includes a first conductive winding inductively coupled to the magnetic core. The first conductive winding includes a first shorting segment positioned within the opening. The second inductor includes a second conductive winding inductively coupled to the magnetic core. The second conductive winding includes a second shorting segment positioned within the opening. The first and second inductors are configurable to operate independently of one another.
US09171664B2	Touch input device and induction coil thereof An induction coil of a touch input device provided in the present invention includes a ribbon cable and a coupling device. The ribbon cable is disposed on a plane, and the ribbon cable has a first terminal and a second terminal and has a plurality of wires. The ribbon cable defines a sensing region on the plane by a plurality of bends. The coupling device is utilized to couple the wires at the first terminal and the second terminal such that the wires form a circuit with a plurality of turns wound by a single conducting wire. A touch input device is further provided in the present invention.
US09171663B2	High efficiency on-chip 3D transformer structure An integrated circuit transformer structure includes at least two conductor groups stacked in parallel in different layers. A first spiral track is formed in the at least two conductor groups, the first spiral track includes first turns of a first radius within each of the at least two conductor groups, and second turns of a second radius within each of the at least two conductor groups, the first and second turns being electrically connected. A second spiral track is formed in the at least two conductor groups, the second spiral track including a plurality of adjacent turns of one or more radii within each of the at least two conductor groups and disposed in a same plane between the first and second turns in each of the at least two conductor groups.
US09171654B2	High thermal stability pellet compositions for thermal cutoff devices and methods for making and use thereof The present disclosure provides a pellet composition having enhanced thermal stability for use in a thermally-actuated, current cutoff device. Certain inorganic stability additive particles, such as silica, talc, and siloxane, can be mixed with one or more organic compounds to form a thermal pellet composition. A solid thermal pellet maintains its structural rigidity up to a transition temperature (Tf), but further has improved overshoot temperature ranges. Therefore, the improved thermal pellets have a maximum dielectric capability temperature (Tcap), above which the pellet composition may lose substantial dielectric properties and conducts current that is at least 50° C. greater than the Tf. In certain variations, maximum dielectric capability temperature (Tcap) is greater than or equal to about 380° C.
US09171652B2	Process for preparing precursors for transition metal mixed oxides A process for preparing transition metal mixed oxide precursors, including: (A) precipitating, from aqueous solution at a pH of 8.0 to 9.0, a compound of formula (I): M(CO3)bOc(OH)dAmBe(SO4)fXg(PO4)h (I), wherein: M is one or more transition metals, A is sodium or potassium, B is one or more metals of groups 1 to 3, excluding Na and potassium, X is halide, nitrate or carboxylate, b is 0.75 to 0.98, c is zero to 0.50, d is zero to 0.50, where the sum (c+d) is 0.02 to 0.50, e is zero to 0.1, f is zero to 0.05, g is zero to 0.05, h is zero to 0.10, m is 0.002 to 0.1, and (B) separating the precipitated material from the mother liquor, where the particles of material of formula (I) have a spherical shape.
US09171650B2	X-ray imaging A method of aligning masks for phase imaging or phase contrast imaging in X-ray apparatus using a pixel-type X-ray detector makes use of non-idealities of all real detectors. A mask may be provided before the sample to generate beams, adjacent to the pixels of the detector or both. The method includes moving the mask into a plurality of translational position increments and identifying the increment for which the intensity has a maximum or minimum. The identified value of the increment may vary over the pixels of the detector. Alignment positions are selected in which steps in a plot of the increment over the area of the detector are minimized and/or aligned with the rows and columns of pixels.
US09171647B2	Spacer grid for nuclear fuel assembly for reducing flow-induced vibration Disclosed herein is a spacer grid for a nuclear fuel assembly. The spacer grid has dimples for supporting fuel rods and is formed from grid strips which are assembled in a lattice shape to form lattice cells. Each grid strip has at least one hole which is formed separately from the dimples. Therefore, when coolant is drawn into the fuel assembly, a pressure difference between opposite sides of the holes is reduced, and friction generated between cut edges of the holes and the coolant reduces the magnitude of the vibration and causes a damping effect, thus reducing flow-induced vibration. The hole formed in the grid strip function to widen the range of the frequency of the flow-induced vibration caused by vortex sheddings formed around the edges of the grid strip, thus reducing the possibility of the generation of resonance with the natural frequency of the spacer grid.
US09171646B2	Control of a laser inertial confinement fusion-fission power plant A laser inertial-confinement fusion-fission energy power plant is described. The fusion-fission hybrid system uses inertial confinement fusion to produce neutrons from a fusion reaction of deuterium and tritium. The fusion neutrons drive a sub-critical blanket of fissile or fertile fuel. A coolant circulated through the fuel extracts heat from the fuel that is used to generate electricity. The inertial confinement fusion reaction can be implemented using central hot spot or fast ignition fusion, and direct or indirect drive. The fusion neutrons result in ultra-deep burn-up of the fuel in the fission blanket, thus enabling the burning of nuclear waste. Fuels include depleted uranium, natural uranium, enriched uranium, spent nuclear fuel, thorium, and weapons grade plutonium. LIFE engines can meet worldwide electricity needs in a safe and sustainable manner, while drastically shrinking the highly undesirable stockpiles of depleted uranium, spent nuclear fuel and excess weapons materials.
US09171639B2	eFuse macro An eFuse with at least one fuse unit is provided. The fuse unit includes a first common node providing a first reference voltage, a second common node providing a second reference voltage, at least one fuse coupled to the first common node, and a determining unit coupled between the fuse and the second common node, generating an output signal indicating whether the fuse is blown or not according to a first condition in a normal mode and a second condition in a test mode.
US09171637B2	Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and method of controlling the same This nonvolatile semiconductor memory device comprises: a word line connected to a control gate; a bit line electrically connected to one end of a NAND cell unit; a source line electrically connected to the other end of the NAND cell unit; and a control circuit that controls a voltage applied to a semiconductor layer, the control gate, the bit line, and the source line.The control circuit is configured to, when performing a write verify operation for determining whether a write operation has been completed or not after finishing the write operation, temporarily raise a voltage of the bit line or the source line to a light erase voltage which is higher than a voltage applied to the bit line or the source line during the write verify operation.
US09171636B2	Hot carrier generation and programming in NAND flash A memory device is described that includes a three-dimensional array of memory cells having a plurality of levels of memory cells accessed by a plurality of word lines, and a plurality of bit lines. Control circuitry is coupled to the plurality of word lines and the plurality of bit lines. The control circuitry is adapted for programming a selected memory cell in a selected level of the array and on a selected word line, by hot carrier generation assisted FN tunneling, while inhibiting disturb in unselected memory cells in unselected levels and in the selected level and on unselected word lines by self-boosting.
US09171635B2	Semiconductor memory device having page buffer and method of operating the same The semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array including a plurality of cell transistors, and a page buffer configured to perform an verification operation for verifying a program state of a selected cell transistor by sensing a voltage of a sense node connected to a selected bit line of the memory cell array through a bit line selection transistor, wherein a logic level corresponding to a voltage of the selected bit line is constantly maintained regardless of the program state of the selected cell transistor during the verification operation.
US09171634B2	Memory device and method of controlling leakage current within such a memory device A memory device includes an array of memory cells arranged as a plurality of rows and columns, each row being coupled to an associated read word line, and each column forming at least one column group, where the memory cells of each column group are coupled to an associated read bit line. Each column has an active mode of operation where a read operation may be performed on an activated memory cell within that column group, and a non-active mode of operation where the read operation is not performable. Precharge circuitry is used, for each column group, to precharge the associated read bit line to a first voltage level prior to the read operation. Each memory cell includes coupling circuitry connected between the associated read bit line and a reference line associated with the column group containing that memory cell.
US09171632B2	Reducing weak-erase type read disturb in 3D non-volatile memory A read process for a 3D stacked memory device provides an optimum level of channel boosting for unselected memory strings, to repress both normal and weak-erase types of read disturbs. The channel is boosted by controlling of voltages of bit lines (Vbl), drain-side select gates (Vsgd_unsel), source-side select gates (Vsgs_unsel), a selected level (word line layer) of the memory device (Vcg_sel), and unselected levels of the memory device (Vcg_unsel). A channel can be boosted by initially making the drain-side and source-side select gates non-conductive, to allow capacitive coupling from an increasing Vcg_unsel. The drain-side and/or source-side select gates are then made conductive by raising Vsgd_unsel and/or Vsgs_unsel, interrupting the boosting. Additionally boosting can occur by making the drain-side and/or source-side select gates non-conductive again while Vcg_unsel is still increasing. Or, the channel can be driven at Vbl. Two-step boosting drives the channel at Vbl, then provides boosting by capacitive coupling.
US09171631B2	Semiconductor memory device and method for controlling the same According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a first transistor, a detector, and a second transistor. The first transistor is capable of transferring a first voltage to a bit line. The detector reads data held by a memory cell connected to the bit line. The second transistor is capable of transferring a second voltage and a third voltage to the detector. The second voltage is generated by a source different from a source of the first voltage. The third voltage is larger than the second voltage. The second transistor charges the detector to one of the second voltage and the third voltage, while the first transistor transferring the first voltage to the bit line.
US09171626B2	Memory devices and programming memory arrays thereof An embodiment of a method includes decreasing a difference of a voltage applied to a first select gate minus a voltage applied to a source while the first select gate is off, decreasing a difference of a voltage applied to a second select gate minus a voltage applied to a data line while the second select gate is off, and increasing a voltage of a signal applied to a selected access line that is coupled to an untargeted memory cell in a string of memory cells coupled to the first and second select gates to a program voltage after or substantially concurrently with decreasing the difference of the voltage applied to the first select gate minus the voltage applied to the source and with decreasing the difference of the voltage applied to the second select gate minus the voltage applied to the data line.
US09171623B2	Non-volatile semiconductor memory device A non-volatile semiconductor memory device includes first through third memory strings, a first word line group shared by first and second memory strings and a second word line group shared by second and third memory strings, the first and second word line groups extending in a first direction and disposed adjacent to each other in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. The first word line group includes laminated first word lines with each upper first word line extending in the first direction less than the first word line directly below, and the second word line group includes laminated second word lines with each upper second word line extending in the first direction less than the second word line directly below.
US09171621B2	Non-volatile memory (NVM) and method for manufacturing thereof A nonvolatile memory and a method of manufacturing a nonvolatile memory are disclosed. A nonvolatile memory according to an exemplary embodiment may include a deep well formed on a substrate, a first well formed within the deep well, a second well formed separately from the first well within the deep well, a first metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) formed on the first well, and a second MOSFET formed on the second well. According to a method of manufacturing a nonvolatile memory according to an exemplary embodiment, a well region of a control MOSFET of a memory cell may be shared with a control MOSFET of an adjacent memory cell, or a well region of a tunneling MOSFET of a memory cell may be shared with a tunneling MOSFET of an adjacent memory cell, thereby reducing an area of the memory cells. Further, the nonvolatile memory according to the exemplary embodiment may constantly maintain a voltage of a shared well region in the tunneling MOSFET and apply a different voltage to a source/drain from that of an adjacent cell, thereby recording data only in the selected memory cell or deleting recorded data from the selected memory cell while sharing the well region.
US09171620B2	Weighted read scrub for nonvolatile memory In a nonvolatile memory array, such as a three-dimensional array of charge-storage memory cells, data is scrubbed according to a scheme which weights particular data that is exposed to potentially damaging voltages. Data that may cause damage to other data is moved to a location where such potential damage is reduced.
US09171616B2	Memory with multiple levels of data retention A method for operating a memory includes receiving a command to program a data value at a memory cell, and an indication of which write mode in a plurality of write modes to use. Write modes in the plurality are characterized by different sets of resistance ranges that correspond to data values stored in the memory cell. The method includes executing a program operation according to the indicated one in the plurality of write modes to program the data value in the memory cell. The plurality of write modes includes a first write mode and a second write mode corresponding to shorter data retention than the first write mode. The first and second write modes are characterized by first and second sets of resistance ranges in the different sets of resistance ranges. The method includes periodically refreshing data values in memory cells storing data in the second write mode.
US09171612B2	Resistive changing memory cell architecture having a select transistor coupled to a resistance changing memory element A resistance changing memory array architecture includes an array of resistance changing memory unit cell arranged in rows and column, wherein at least two adjacent columns share a sense bit line, and a control line individually associated with each column, wherein a current control component within each unit cell along a respective column is coupled to a respective control line. The architecture further includes a plurality of word lines each associated with a respective row, wherein a resistance changing element associated with each unit cell along a respective row is coupled to a respective word line.
US09171608B2	Three-dimensional (3D) memory cell separation among 3D integrated circuit (IC) tiers, and related 3D integrated circuits (3DICS), 3DIC processor cores, and methods A three-dimensional (3D) memory cell separation among 3D integrated circuit (IC) (3DIC) tiers is disclosed. Related 3DICs, 3DIC processor cores, and methods are also disclosed. In embodiments disclosed herein, memory read access ports of a memory block are separated from a memory cell in different tiers of a 3DIC. 3DICs achieve higher device packing density, lower interconnect delays, and lower costs. In this manner, different supply voltages can be provided for the read access ports and the memory cell to be able to lower supply voltage for the read access ports. Static noise margins and read/write noise margins in the memory cell may be provided as a result. Providing multiple power supply rails inside a non-separated memory block that increases area can also be avoided.
US09171607B2	Ground-referenced single-ended system-on-package A system of interconnected chips comprising a multi-chip module (MCM) includes a first processor chip, a system function chip, and an MCM package configured to include the first processor chip and the system function chip. The first processor chip is configured to include a first ground-referenced single-ended signaling (GRS) interface circuit. The system function chip is configured to include a second GRS interface circuit. A first set of electrical traces are fabricated within the MCM package and coupled to the first GRS interface circuit and to the second GRS interface circuit. The first GRS interface circuit and second GRS interface circuit together provide a communication channel between the first processor chip and the system function chip.
US09171606B2	Semiconductor device having complementary bit line pair Disclosed herein is a semiconductor device comprising complementary pair of bit lines, memory cells connected to the bit lines, dummy cells having the same structure as the memory cells, a differential sense amplifier, an equalizing circuit equalizing potentials of the bit lines, and a control circuit. The memory cells are disconnected from the bit lines and the dummy cells are connected to the bit lines, and subsequently the bit lines are equalized by the equalizing circuit. When accessing a selected memory cell, the equalizing circuit is inactivated, a corresponding dummy cell is disconnected from the bit line, and subsequently the selected memory cell is connected to the bit line. Thereafter, the sense amplifier is activated so that potentials of the bit lines are amplified respectively.
US09171604B2	Refresh control circuit of semiconductor apparatus and refresh method using the same A refresh control circuit of a semiconductor apparatus includes a repair address processing unit configured to compare refresh addresses and repair information, activate a redundant enable signal, and convert the semiconductor apparatus into the same operation state as an initialization state of the repair information in response to activation of a repair initialization signal; a refresh counter configured to count the refresh addresses extended to a signal bit in response to activation of a redundant count enable signal; and a refresh control unit configured to activate the repair initialization signal and the redundant count enable signal when an additional refresh mode is set in response to a refresh command.
US09171603B1	Sensor read/write circuit and method A sensor read/write circuit having a sensor, an integrator, a pulse generator, at least a first and second memory device, and a counter. The sensor senses a parameter and produces a sensor output representative of the sensed parameter. The sensor output is provided to the integrator which produces an integrated output representative of the sensed parameter. The integrated output triggers the pulse generator to produce a pulse which causes the first memory device to be written. The above sequence is repeated whereby a new sensor reading is generated and a second pulse causes the second memory device to be written but only if the first memory device has been substantially completely written, the first memory device has been subsequently disabled and the second memory device has been enabled.
US09171601B2	Scalable magnetic memory cell with reduced write current One embodiment of a magnetic random access memory includes a magnetic memory cell comprising a magnetoresistive element including a free ferromagnetic layer comprising a reversible magnetization direction directed substantially perpendicular to a film plane in its equilibrium state, a pinned ferromagnetic layer comprising a fixed magnetization direction directed substantially perpendicular to the film plane, a tunnel barrier layer disposed between the free and pinned layers, and an assist ferromagnetic layer disposed adjacent to the free layer; circuitry for providing a bias magnetic field pulse along a magnetic hard axis of the free layer, circuitry for providing a spin-polarized current pulse through the magnetoresistive element in a direction perpendicular to the film plane, wherein the magnetization direction in the free layer is reversed by a collective effect of the bias magnetic field pulse and the spin-polarizing current pulse.
US09171600B2	Semiconductor memory device A semiconductor memory device is capable of executing a first mode having a first latency and a second mode having a second latency longer than the first latency. The semiconductor memory device includes: a pad unit configured to receive an address and a command from an outside; a first delay circuit configured to delay the address by a time corresponding to the first latency; a second delay circuit including shift registers connected in series and configured to delay the address by a time corresponding to a difference between the first latency and the second latency; and a controller configured to use the first delay circuit and the second delay circuit when executing the second mode.
US09171599B2	Circuits, apparatuses, and methods for oscillators Circuits, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed for oscillators. In one such example oscillator circuit, a plurality of delay stages are coupled in series. A variable delay circuit stage is coupled to the plurality of delay stages and is configured to delay a signal through the variable delay circuit stage by a variable delay. The variable delay increases responsive to a rising magnitude of a supply voltage provided to the variable delay circuit stage.
US09171595B2	Semiconductor device including negative bias voltage generation circuit A semiconductor device includes a bit line connected to memory cells, a negative bias voltage generation circuit generating a negative bias voltage that is to be applied to the bit line during writing, and a negative bias reference voltage generation unit generating a negative bias reference voltage based on a resistance ratio between a first resistor and a second resistor.
US09171592B2	Semiconductor integrate circuit Provided is a semiconductor integrated circuit according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention including a data transmitting circuit that transmits data in parallel through a plurality of signal lines and a data receiving circuit that receives the data. The data transmitting circuit includes a plurality of data output circuits that output the data in a data transmission mode or set an output to a high impedance state in a HiZ mode, a plurality of data selection circuits that select one of the data and fixed data and output the selected data to the data output circuits, and a control circuit that controls the data output circuits to output the fixed data during a period between a time when a mode is switched from the HiZ mode to the data transmission mode and a time when the data output circuits start to output the data.
US09171588B2	Semiconductor device capable of performing a read leveling and a write leveling based on an ambient temperature Disclosed herein is an apparatus that includes a first semiconductor chip including a first electrode, and a second semiconductor chip including a second electrode connected to the first electrode. One of the first and second semiconductor chips includes a first temperature sensor circuit generating a first detection signal, the first detection signal taking a first level when a temperature is equal to or higher than a first temperature, the first detection signal taking a second level when the temperature is lower than the first temperature; and a first delay code generation circuit outputting a first delay code signal in response to the first level of the first detection signal, and outputting a second delay code signal different from the first delay code signal in response to the second level of the first detection signal.
US09171585B2	Configurable memory circuit system and method A memory circuit system and method are provided in the context of various embodiments. In one embodiment, an interface circuit remains in communication with a plurality of memory circuits and a system. The interface circuit is operable to interface the memory circuits and the system for performing various functionality (e.g. power management, simulation/emulation, etc.).
US09171583B1	Disk drive having a top cover channel vented to a central cavity via a peripheral clearance gap A disk drive has a disk drive base with a central cavity surrounded by a peripheral wall that has a peripheral top face. The disk drive has a top cover with an outer periphery spaced from the peripheral wall by a peripheral clearance gap. A foil seal is adhered to a central top face of the top cover and the peripheral top face of the peripheral wall, and spans the peripheral clearance gap. The top cover includes a first channel that is depressed relative to the central top face. The foil seal covers the first channel, and the first channel is vented to the central cavity by a venting channel that connects the first channel to the peripheral clearance gap.
US09171580B2	Systems and methods for recording and playing back programs having desirable recording attributes Systems and methods for recording multiple copies of a program are provided. The method may include receiving a user instruction to record a program. A determination may be made to record multiple copies of the program. In response to the determination, multiple copies of the program may be recorded. A user instruction to display the recorded program may be received. A copy of the program may be played back. The user may switch to another copy of the recorded program if the original copy lacks desirable recording attributes, or the interactive television application may automatically switch to another copy of the program.
US09171579B2	Method and apparatus for editing a program on an optical disc The present invention provides a method and apparatus for editing a program on a re-writable compact disc. The method comprises the steps of acquiring the description information of two program segments of said program, said program segments being in sequence in playing-back order, said description information comprising the ending description information of the previous program segment and the start point information of the subsequent program segment, generating a guiding information to guide the ending point information to the start point information according to the description information and playing-back order of said program segments and updating the description information of said program according to said guiding information. With this invention, excessively detailed application editing work and an expense of high buffering cost may be avoided in editing compact disc program.
US09171577B1	Encoding and decoding selectively retrievable representations of video content A system and method disposed to enable encoding, decoding and manipulation of digital video with substantially less processing load than would otherwise required. In particular, one disclosed method is directed to generating a compressed video data structure that is selectively decodable to a plurality of resolutions including the full resolution of the uncompressed stream. The desired number of data components and the content of the data components that make up the compressed video data, which determine the available video resolutions, are variable based upon the processing carried out and the resources available to decode and process the data components. During decoding, efficiency is substantially improved because only the data components necessary to generate a desired resolution are decoded. In variations, both temporal and spatial decoding are utilized to reduce frame rates, and hence, further reduce processor load. The system and method are particularly useful for real-time video editing applications.
US09171575B1	Data storage device detecting media defects by writing opposite polarity test pattern A data storage device is disclosed comprising a disk comprising a plurality of tracks, and a head actuated over the disk. A first test pattern having a first polarity is written to a target track, and the first test pattern is read to generate a first read signal. The first test pattern is overwritten with a second test pattern having a second polarity opposite the first polarity, and the second test pattern is read to generate a second read signal. A defect in the target track is detected based on the first read signal and the second read signal.
US09171565B2	Method of producing a data storage medium The present invention relates a method of producing a data storage medium comprising the steps of: a) coating a layer comprising a polymer material onto at least a part of a template surface thereby to obtain a modified template surface; b) clamping the modified template surface produced in step (a) with a target surface thereby to obtain an assembly; and c) introducing a liquid to an environment of the assembly obtained in step (b) thereby to transfer the layer comprising the polymer material of the modified template surface onto at least an adjacent region on the target surface.
US09171558B2	Magnetic head with multiple reproducing elements each having magnetically coupled free layers, magnetic recording reproducing apparatus and magnetic head manufacturing method A magnetic head includes a plurality of reproducing elements so that the magnetic head can acquire reproduction signals from a plurality of tracks at the same time. The magnetic head includes a first reproducing element, a first magnetic film formed on a first side wall of the first reproducing element with a first side wall insulating film interposed therebetween, a second magnetic film formed on a second side wall of the first reproducing element with a second side wall insulating film interposed therebetween, a second reproducing element electrically isolated from the first reproducing element and formed on the first magnetic film, a third magnetic film formed on the first magnetic film, and a fourth magnetic film formed on the first reproducing element and electrically isolated from the second reproducing element.
US09171547B2	Multi-pass speech analytics Included are embodiments for multi-pass analytics. At least one embodiment of a method includes receiving data associated with a communication, performing first tier analytics on the received data, and performing second tier analytics on the received data, where the second tier analytics determines different characteristics of the received data than the first tier analytics.
US09171546B1	Performing functions based on commands in context of telephonic communication Aspects of this disclosure are directed to establishing a telephonic communication between a first computing device and a second device and receiving, with the first computing device, a command that defines a function to be performed. When the command comprises a voice command, the function defined in the voice command may be performed. When the command does not comprise the voice command, it may be determined that the command comprises an instruction to perform the function after an occurrence of a future condition. The function defined by the command may be performed after the occurrence of the future condition.
US09171544B2	System for providing a sound source information management service Disclosed is a system for providing a sound source information management service. The system for providing a sound source information management service manages sound source information transmitted from a driver terminal and extracts the sound source information corresponding to voice input data via voice recognition according to the voice input data transmitted from the driver terminal and provides the extracted sound source information to the driver terminal.
US09171542B2	Anaphora resolution using linguisitic cues, dialogue context, and general knowledge An automatic conversational system has multiple computer-implemented dialogue components for conducting an automated dialogue process with a human user. A user client delivers dialogue output prompts to the human user and receives dialogue input responses from the human user including speech inputs. An automatic speech recognition engine processes the speech inputs to determine corresponding sequences of representative text words. A natural language understanding (NLU) processing arrangement processes the dialogue input responses and the text words to determine corresponding semantic interpretations. The NLU processing arrangement includes an anaphora processor that accesses different information sources characterizing dialogue context, linguistic features, and NLU features to identify unresolved anaphora in the text words needing resolution in order to determine a semantic interpretation. A dialogue manager manages the dialogue process with the human user based on the semantic interpretations.
US09171539B2	Transforming components of a web page to voice prompts Embodiments of the invention address the deficiencies of the prior art by providing a method, apparatus, and program product to of converting components of a web page to voice prompts for a user. In some embodiments, the method comprises selectively determining at least one HTML component from a plurality of HTML components of a web page to transform into a voice prompt for a mobile system based upon a voice attribute file associated with the web page. The method further comprises transforming the at least one HTML component into parameterized data suitable for use by the mobile system based upon at least a portion of the voice attribute file associated with the at least one HTML component and transmitting the parameterized data to the mobile system.
US09171538B2	Method and system for reducing impulsive noise disturbance FM and AM receivers in car environments require a noise blanker circuit or method to reduce the audible disturbances generated by impulse noise, such as ignition noise, in the audio signal. The invention proposes a combination of time-domain and frequency-domain processing to reduce the audible distortion. The time-domain processing interpolates the signal during the impulse noise bursts, and the frequency-domain processing disperses the remaining signal distortion over time, or relocates it to positions in time where it is attenuated by a windowing technique.
US09171531B2	Device and method for interpreting musical gestures Musical rendition is provided through the use of microsensors, in particular of accelerometers and magnetometers or rate gyros, and through an appropriate processing of the signals from the microsensors. In particular, the processing uses a merging of the data output from the microsensors to eliminate false alarms in the form of movements of the user unrelated to the music. The velocity of the musical strikes is also measured. Embodiments make it possible to control the running of mp3 or wav type music files to be played back.
US09171525B2	Graphics processing unit with a texture return buffer and a texture queue A processor and a system are provided for performing texturing operations loaded from a texture queue that provides temporary storage of texture coordinates and texture values. The processor includes a texture queue implemented in a memory of the processor, a crossbar coupled to the texture queue, and one or more texture units coupled to the texture queue via the crossbar. The crossbar is configured to reorder texture coordinates for consumption by the one or more texture units and to reorder texture values received from the one or more texture units.
US09171523B2	GPU-accelerated, two-pass colorspace conversion using multiple simultaneous render targets Disclosed is a method including converting, during a first pass, video data from a first multi-component format to an intermediate multi-component format, the intermediate multi-component format including a first video component, the intermediate multi-component format including a second video component interleaved with a third video component, and converting, during a second pass, the video data from the intermediate multi-component format to a second multi-component format by de-interleaving the second component and third component.
US09171515B2	Liquid crystal panel, scanning circuit and method for generating and utilizing angle waves to pre-charge succeeding gate line A liquid crystal panel, a scanning circuit and a method for generating angle waves are provided. A scanning circuit for generating angle waves includes a scanning module and a plurality of angle wave modules. The scanning module has a plurality of scan output ends for outputting scan driving signals respectively in order, wherein the scan driving signal includes a first voltage and a second voltage. The angle wave modules are electrically connected to the scan output ends respectively in order; wherein a second output end of each angle wave module is electrically connected a first output end of next one of the angle wave modules, whereby a part of electrical energy received by the second output end of the angle wave modules is transmitted to the first output end of the next one of the angle wave modules.
US09171514B2	Source driver, method thereof, and apparatuses having the same A method of muxing data by using clock signals having different timings and an apparatus performing the method are provided. Storing and muxing (or dividing) the data are simultaneously performed. The apparatus includes a first latch circuit arranging data blocks, which are input in series, in parallel in response to non-overlapping latch control signals and a second latch circuit latching the data blocks arranged in parallel simultaneously in response to a clock signal.
US09171510B2	Method and apparatus for setting gamma reference voltage, driving circuit and display apparatus A method and an apparatus for setting a gamma reference voltage, and a driving circuit are provided, which decrease a driving voltage of a display apparatus and reduce power consumption by resetting the gamma reference voltage of the display apparatus. The method comprises: acquiring a dielectric constant of a liquid crystal capacitor according to a first gamma reference voltage (101); acquiring a value of the liquid crystal capacitor according to the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal capacitor (102); acquiring a feedback voltage according to the value of the liquid crystal capacitor, acquiring a second gamma reference voltage according to the feedback voltage, and updating the first gamma reference voltage to the second gamma reference voltage (103). The method and apparatus for setting a gamma reference voltage, and the driving circuit may be applied to production and manufacture of a liquid crystal display.
US09171505B2	Scan driving unit and organic light emitting display device having the same A scan driving unit and OLED display device including the unit are disclosed. In one aspect, the unit includes a first pre-decoder block that receives upper scan-line selection signals for selecting one of upper scan-lines that are arranged in an upper display region of a display panel, and outputs first logic signals based on the upper scan-line selection signals. It also includes a second pre-decoder block that receives lower scan-line selection signals for selecting one of lower scan-lines that are arranged in a lower display region of the display panel, and outputs second logic signals based on the lower scan-line selection signals. It further includes a first final-decoder block coupled between the upper display region and the first pre-decoder block that selects one of the upper scan-lines based on the first logic signals, and a second final-decoder block coupled between the lower display region and the second pre-decoder block that selects one of the lower scan-lines based on the second logic signals.
US09171500B2	System and methods for extraction of parasitic parameters in AMOLED displays A system reads a desired circuit parameter from a pixel circuit that includes a light emitting device, a drive device to provide a programmable drive current to the light emitting device, a programming input, and a storage device to store a programming signal. One embodiment of the extraction system extracts a parasitic capacitance value from a pixel circuit by measuring at least one parameter of the pixel circuit when in a first state having a first set of operating voltages and currents, measuring at least one parameter of the pixel circuit when in a second state having a second set of operating voltages and currents different from the first set, and extracting the value of a selected parasitic capacitance from the measurements.
US09171487B2	Mechanical sign waving device A sign waving apparatus that includes a base, a housing enclosing a motor, a frame support connecting the base and the housing, and a sign mount mechanically connected to a motor. The sign or signs attach to the surfaces of the sign mount. The sign mount moves relative to the housing in a variety of different motions.
US09171485B2	Geodatabase information processing A system is described for processing data of at least one location aware devices for obtaining geo-information. The system comprises an input means for obtaining vector-based data from at least one location aware devices, a data processor for inserting information from the vector-based data into a raster-based data structure so as to derive geo-information based on the raster-based data structure. A corresponding method as well as corresponding computer program products also are described.
US09171484B2	Determining location and orientation of an object positioned on a surface Systems and methods are described in the present disclosure for determining the location and orientation of an object placed on a surface. One such system, among others, includes an optical device physically supported by an object at a fixed position with respect to a reference point of the object. The system also includes a surface upon which the object can be placed. A reference pattern, which is applied to the surface, includes an array of markings visible to the optical device. The array of markings includes encoded location information and orientation information. In addition, the system includes a processing device in communication with the optical device. The processing device is configured to calculate the location and orientation of the reference point of the object with respect to the surface.
US09171480B2	Early learning tools and kits including manipulator devices for organized play Disclosed are manipulator devices for use in learning games, and kits utilizing the same. The manipulator devices may be a substantially elongated and flat body formed of flexible material and at least partially stuffed to resemble a bean bag. The body is adapted to be capable of manipulation between an unfolded position and a folded position, where the folded position conceals an identifiable attribute of the device selected from the group consisting of a number or a symbol. The kits may include three or more manipulator devices each having at least two attributes identifiable by children and allowing them to associate the plurality of devices into subsets according to shared types of these attributes.
US09171479B2	Training system of a powered vehicle A training system for the solo operation of a powered vehicle, wherein the system includes: —providing means for electronic control of the speed and orientation of a ground vehicle or of the speed, orientation and height of a flying vehicle; —providing a virtual enclosure training area delineated by a plurality of spaced sensors; —providing means associated with said vehicle for communicating with, and receiving instructions from, each of said sensors; —whereby instructions received from said sensors may be used to control said means for electronic control such that movement of said vehicle is restricted to said virtual enclosure training area, and within said virtual enclosure training area, the speed and orientation of a ground vehicle or the speed, orientation and height of a flying vehicle controlled within preset parameters.
US09171476B2	System and method for airport surface management Described herein are systems and methods for surface management of an airport. One embodiment of the disclosure of this application is related to a method including receiving airport data from an airport network, receiving surface surveillance data for specific segments of an airport area, identifying predicted conflicts within one of the segments based on the airport data and surface surveillance data, and allocating a taxi time slot for the flight. Another embodiment of the disclosure of this application is related to a system comprising a user interface displaying information related to flight plan data and airport data received from an airport network, and a surface management module receiving the airport data and surface surveillance data for specific segments of an airport area, identifying predicted conflicts within one of the segments based on the airport data and surface surveillance data, and allocating a taxi time slot for the flight.
US09171474B2	Navigation aid instrument for aircraft Navigation aid instrument for an aircraft pilot including: a first display device (R3) extending horizontally, wherein the center of the display device embodies the longitudinal axis (X) of the aircraft, a mobile marker can move on either side of the center of the first display device (R3) indicating the aircraft flight direction relative to the ground, and the mobile marker is further away from the center of the display device (R3) the further the aircraft drifts from the rectilinear flight path, and/or two left (R2) and right (R1) display devices that extend vertically at a distance from each other and have the function of indicating the angle of inclination of the aircraft wings relative to the horizontal respectively on the left side or right side of the aircraft, wherein a mobile marker can move either along the left display device (R2), or along the right display device (R1) to indicate to the pilot which way his aeroplane is inclined and the value of the inclination is higher the further the mobile marker is away from the top of the left (R2) or right (R1) display device concerned.
US09171472B2	System and method for displaying symbology on an in-trail procedure display graphically and textually representative of a vertical traffic scenario and air-traffic-control negotiation A system and method is provided for displaying information related to an in-trail procedure (ITP) on a ITP display aboard a host aircraft. Current flight status data of the host aircraft and at least a second aircraft is obtained, and a vertical traffic scenario including at least the host aircraft ant the second aircraft is rendered on the display. A textual representation of a negotiation between ATC and the host aircraft is also rendered on the ITP display.
US09171470B2	Wireless locating and monitoring system A wireless tracking device including a positioning system for determining a location of the device and a processor connected to the positioning system. The wireless tracking device further including a wireless radio connected to the processor for transmitting the location of the device across a wireless area network.A vehicle monitoring system including a sensor, a microcontroller configured to receive a sensor input from the sensor and determine a vehicle condition data, and a wireless transmitter in communication with the microcontroller. The wireless transmitter is configured to transmit the vehicle condition data to a remote data network access point.A method of monitoring a vehicle including determining a status of the vehicle, locating an available wireless data network access point, and transmitting the status of the vehicle though the access point.
US09171466B2	On-vehicle information terminal and information distribution system An on-vehicle information terminal includes a traffic information obtaining unit that obtains traffic information through wireless communication, a telematics information obtaining unit that obtains telematics information provided from a distribution server via a mobile communication network, a selection unit that selects either the traffic information or the telematics information when contents of the traffic information and contents of the telematics information are different, and a traffic condition indicating unit that indicates road traffic conditions based upon either the traffic information or the telematics information having been selected by the selection unit.
US09171465B2	Weather information processing device and weather information processing system Disclosed is a weather information processing device that can make the users of a mobile object aware of the changes in weather conditions in various environments. The weather information processing device is mounted in a vehicle and includes a first arithmetic processing element and a second arithmetic processing element. The first arithmetic processing element intermittently measures a weather condition variable indicating the weather conditions that a vehicle is in contact with, and if the current measurement value of the weather condition variable has a deviation of a predetermined value or greater from a reference value, generates a weather change detection information indicating the deviation. The second arithmetic processing element transmits the weather change detection information to another weather information processing device mounted in another vehicle to make it output a first weather information according to the weather change detection information.
US09171464B2	Encoded representation of route data For a route server that generates route data for a route between a starting location and a destination location on a map, a method of compressing the route data that includes a maneuvering instruction for each of a plurality of junctures from the starting location to the destination location of the route is described. For a maneuvering instruction for each juncture of the route, the method determines whether the maneuvering instruction for the juncture is needed at a route client that is to receive the route data. When the maneuvering instruction for a particular juncture is determined not to be needed at the route client, the method modifies the route data by removing the maneuvering instruction for the particular juncture from the route data.
US09171463B2	Congestion estimation device Disclosed is a congestion estimation device including a speed detection unit configured to detect a speed of a host vehicle and then outputting a speed detection result, an inter-vehicle distance detection unit configured to detect an inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and other vehicle and then outputting an inter-vehicle distance detection result, a correlation calculation unit configured to calculate a correlation based on the speed detection result and the inter-vehicle distance detection result and then outputting a correlation calculation result, and a display unit configured to display the correlation calculation result or information relating to the correlation calculation result.
US09171462B2	Traffic impact prediction for multiple event planning Embodiments relate to traffic impact prediction in a transportation network. Link level background traffic demand in a transportation network may be estimated based on information about available routes, and based on expected background traffic volumes between origins and destinations. A background traffic flow model that optimizes a background flow of the expected background traffic volumes among the available routes to minimize a sum of background congestion costs, background path entropy, and errors between an observed background traffic flow and the optimized background flow may be applied. Alternative routes may be identified based on the available routes and event based control plans. Expected additional event based traffic volumes may be received. A link level total traffic demand in the transportation network may be estimated based on the expected additional event based traffic volumes, the identified alternative routes, and the estimated background traffic demand.
US09171459B2	Traffic monitoring and notification system and associated methods A traffic monitoring and notification system for vehicles includes road devices to be spaced apart along a road, and a traffic management controller. A portion of the vehicles may carry an electronic device that transmits an electronic address associated therewith. Each road device detects vehicles traveling on the road, determines if each detected vehicle is carrying an electronic device, and if so, then detects the electronic address associated therewith. A vehicle detection signal is transmitted based on each detected vehicle, and an electronic address signal is transmitted based on each detected electronic address. The traffic management controller receives the vehicle detection signals and the electronic address signals, determines a traffic pattern of the vehicles on the road based on the vehicle detection signals, and transmits a respective travel notification signal to each electronic device transmitting the electronic address associated therewith to provide travel information to a driver.
US09171456B2	Key fob dongle A dongle for programming a replacement key fob transmitter to a vehicle. The dongle mates to the vehicle's on-board electronics through the Data Link Connector. A diagnostic circuit in the dongle determines a communications protocol for programming a key fob transmitter to the vehicle. Audio and visual indicators are provided to indicate that communications are established and to indicate the successful programming of the key fob transmitter to the vehicle.
US09171455B1	Multi-modal wireless controller for controlling an LED lighting system A multi-modal wireless controller can include a processor, memory storage, a radio frequency (RF) engine, outputs, power inputs, switches, a mode input, and a RF input. The memory storage can have machine-readable instructions that define the functionalities of a multi-modal wireless controller. The RF engine can be configured to transmit and receive wireless RF signals. The outputs can provide electrical power and a direct current (DC) voltage control signal. The power input can be configured to receive electrical power from a power source. The switches can be configured to switch the electrical power between one of the power input and outputs on or off, responsive to the processor. The mode input can include a switch element that designates an operating mode. The RF input can be coupled to the RF engine and can include a switch element that designates an operating frequency of the RF engine and/or a zone.
US09171454B2	Magic wand The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can facilitate rich interaction with and/or management of environmental components included in an environment. The architecture can exist in whole or in part in a housing that can resemble a wand or similar object. The architecture can utilize one or more sensor from a collection of sensors to determine an orientation or gesture in connection with the wand, and can further issue an instruction to update a state of an environmental component based upon the orientation. In addition, the architecture can include an advisor component to provide contextual and/or comprehensive guidance in an intuitive manner.
US09171451B2	Method and apparatus for tracking and disseminating health information via mobile channels An approach is provided for tracking and disseminating health information. Health information corresponding to a geographic location is caused, at least in part, to be received. Location information associated with a user equipment configured to receive a message specifying content is determined. Whether the location information is encompassed by the geographic location is determined. The message is modified to present a health alert indicator by appending supplemental content to the message or by amending the content. Initiation of delivery of the modified message to the user equipment when the user equipment is in or within a predetermined range of the geographic location is caused, at least in part.
US09171442B2	Item identification using video recognition to supplement bar code or RFID information A method and system for confirming the identity of a product in a security system and for determining sales-related information pertaining to the products. One or more products are associated with a product identification element, such as a bar code or an RFID tag. A reader or a scanner within the system receives a signal from the product identification element containing product identity information about the product. The system further includes a camera that captures a video image of the product. Signals representing the product identity information and the video image of the product are forwarded to a data correlation unit that determines if the product associated with the product identity information matches the product in the video image.
US09171439B2	Method and apparatus for powering a security device A security apparatus and method for protecting merchandise items is presented. In the preferred embodiment, a merchandise security device includes a housing with an access door that has an open position and a closed position, a primary power source, a secondary power source and alarm system. The alarm system determines when a voltage of the primary power source drops below a threshold value. When the voltage drops below the threshold value, the alarm system switches to the secondary power source for its power. When the alarm system is in a standby mode, it will not generate alarms when operating on the secondary power source. However, when the alarm system has not been placed into a standby mode, the alarm system will generate alarms when operating on the secondary power source and the access door is in the open position.
US09171437B2	Haptic information presentation system and method A system and method are disclosed in which in a conventional non-grounding man-machine interface having no reaction base on the human body and for giving the existence of a virtual object and the impact force of a collision to a person, a haptic sensation of a torque, a force and the like can be continuously presented in the same direction, which cannot be presented by only the physical characteristic of a haptic sensation presentation device. In a haptic presentation device, the rotation velocity of at least one rotator in the haptic presentation device is controlled by a control device, and a vibration, a force or a torque as the physical characteristic is controlled, so that the user is made to conceive various haptic information of the vibration, force, torque or the like.
US09171425B2	Gaming device with interactive spin action visual effects The present invention relates to a reel-type slot machine having interactive spin action visual effects. The reel-type slot machine includes at least M reels, each reel having symbols associated with it; a video display for displaying a video image of a M N matrix of squares, each square associated with a symbol of a corresponding reel; and a spin actuator for initiating play and interactively producing spin action visual effects associated with the M×N matrix of squares by inputting a direction vector and speed, wherein the direction vector and speed respectively determine the direction and speed of the spin action visual effects. Preferably, the spin actuator is a trackball.
US09171419B2	Coin operated entertainment system This invention in certain example instances relates generally to coin-operated video entertainment systems. More particularly, certain exemplary aspects of the invention provide methods and/or systems for controlling access to a portable coin-operated interactive entertainment device that may be used to play video games and access other forms of entertainment as well as providing features via such portable coin-operated interactive entertainment devices.
US09171417B2	Fault tolerant gaming systems Method and apparatus are provided wherein, in one example embodiment, a gaming machine includes a computing platform and a software program executing on the computing platform to provide a gaming experience to a user of the gaming machine, and there are provided one or more hardware or software components operative on the computing platform to detect faults occurring on the platform. At least one fault recovery software component is also operative on the gaming platform, and the fault recovery software component is adapted to operate in response to the detection of a fault.
US09171413B2	Paper processing apparatus and paper processing system A paper processing apparatus includes a discriminating unit. The discriminating unit can discriminate papers inserted into the papers processing apparatus. Discriminated papers are ejected to storage compartments based on discrimination results. Only papers that are discriminated as counterfeit are ejected to one of the storage compartments.
US09171412B2	Sensor and method for operating the sensor A sensor for checking different features of value documents is arranged to carry out a self-test for testing its functionality. Before the sensor carries out its self-test, at least one of the features that is to be checked by the sensor is selected. It is provided in the self-test that the sensor rates a malfunction ascertained in the self-test differently and reacts to the ascertained malfunction differently in dependence on the selected feature. While a malfunction of the sensor has hitherto always led to a failure of the sensor, the sensor, despite ascertained malfunctions, can nevertheless carry out the check of certain features. It is achieved that the number of function failures of the sensor is reduced through the different reactions of the sensor to the ascertained malfunction in dependence on the feature.
US09171411B2	Compensation of disturbances upon magnetic measurements on value documents A method for the compensation of disturbances upon magnetic measurements on value documents, in which a sensor having several measuring tracks for generating measurement signals is employed, in which for each value document a specified number of data records is generated, the value document not being captured by at least one of the measuring tracks during the measurement, wherein from the measurement signal of the at least one measuring track there is ascertained a value for the quantity of a disturbance present in the region of the sensor during the measurement on the value document, and a compensation of the deviations of the measurement signals of the measuring tracks capturing the value document, which deviations are caused by the disturbance present during the measurement, is carried out by means of said ascertained value for the quantity of the disturbance.
US09171410B2	Mobile terminal device, authentication system, authentication method, program, and integrated circuit A mobile terminal device which a user carries includes: an entry determining unit for determining entry of the mobile terminal device in a residential area; an authentication information storage unit for storing authentication information indicating multiple authentication actions performed by the user carrying the mobile terminal device and an authentication order indicating an order of the authentication actions to be performed; an authentication processing unit for processing for authentication of the user by determining, based on the authentication information, whether or not the user has performed the authentication actions in the authentication order after the mobile terminal device enters the residential area; and an alarm processing unit for indicating a failure of the authentication when the result of the processing for the authentication is the failure.
US09171409B2	System and method for vehicle driving style determination In one embodiment, a system and method may collect acceleration data for a driver for a vehicle, compare the acceleration data for the driver to a set of acceleration data representing a plurality of sample drivers driving in the same type of vehicle as the vehicle, and based on the comparison, determining a driving style rating for the driver.
US09171406B2	Offline exception processing of mail Mail processing systems and methods. A method includes scanning a plurality of mail pieces in a first processing step to produce mail piece images. The method includes producing a template based on a plurality of the mail piece images and associating a plurality of mail pieces with the template, the associated plurality of mail pieces forming a mail set. The method includes identifying quality-control problems associated with the mail set, separating the mail set from other mail during a second processing step, and separately processing the mail set from the other mail.
US09171403B2	Contour completion for augmenting surface reconstructions Surface reconstruction contour completion embodiments are described which provide dense reconstruction of a scene from images captured from one or more viewpoints. Both a room layout and the full extent of partially occluded objects in a room can be inferred using a Contour Completion Random Field model to augment a reconstruction volume. The augmented reconstruction volume can then be used by any surface reconstruction pipeline to show previously occluded objects and surfaces.
US09171402B1	View-dependent textures for interactive geographic information system Systems and methods for rendering a view-dependent texture in conjunction with a polygon mesh to provide a textured three-dimensional model of a geographic area are provided. The view-dependent texture can be optimized for viewing the three-dimensional model from a single reference direction. When a user navigates to a camera viewpoint of the three-dimensional model associated with the single reference direction, the view-dependent texture can be rendered in conjunction with the three-dimensional model to provide a more realistic representation of the geographic area to the user. When a user navigates to a camera viewpoint of the three-dimensional model that is not associated with the single reference direction, a base texture can be rendered in conjunction with the three-dimensional model. The base texture can be optimized based on viewing the three-dimensional model from a plurality of differing viewpoints.
US09171399B2	Shadow rendering in a 3D scene based on physical light sources A method, system, and computer program product/computer readable storage medium provide the ability to render a shadow. A three-dimensional (3D) scene comprising an object is obtained. An external physical light source that is external to the 3D scene is detected by a sensor. An artificial light source is created in the 3D scene that corresponds to the external physical light source. Based on the artificial light source, a shadow of the object is cast. The 3D scene including the object and the shadow are then rendered.
US09171397B2	Rendering of two-dimensional markup messages Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, systems, and apparatuses configured to receive or retrieve markup data associated with a message formatted for two-dimensional (2D) rendering, virtually render, by a first rendering module, the message in a non-displayed image in accordance with the markup data, and render, by a second rendering module, a three-dimensional (3D) object in a 2D display environment including texturing the non-displayed image on a surface of the 3D object in order to render the message. Other embodiments are also described.
US09171393B2	Three-dimensional texture reprojection Methods and systems for three-dimensional texture reprojection are provided herein. The method includes calculating an initial distance vector from a vertex within a 3D mesh of an object to each of a plurality of texture images. For each texture image, the method also includes determining coordinates of an intersection point of the initial distance vector with the texture image, determining a number of neighboring points within a specified distance from the intersection point, and calculating an overall distance vector from the neighboring points to any of the points within the 3D mesh. Furthermore, the method includes determining a number of texture images with a lowest difference between the initial distance vector and the overall distance vector.
US09171390B2	Automatic and semi-automatic generation of image features suggestive of motion for computer-generated images and video In an animation processing system, generating images to be viewable on a display using a computer that are generated based on scene geometry obtained from computer readable storage and animation data representing changes over time of scene geometry elements, but also images can be modified to include shading that is a function of positions of objects at other than the current instantaneous time for a frame render such that the motion effect shading would suggest motion of at least one of the elements to a viewer of the generated images. Motion effects provide, based on depiction parameters and/or artist inputs, shading that varies for at least some received animation data, received motion depiction parameters, for at least one pixel, a pixel color is rendered based on motion effect program output and at least some received scene geometry, such that the output contributes to features that would suggest the motion.
US09171389B2	Method for planning digital images to be printed on a roll of media A method for displaying a plurality of individual digital images to be printed on a roll of media includes constructing a composed digital image representing the roll and including a plurality of representations of the individual digital images to be printed on the roll in a sequence order corresponding to the time sequence order of printing the plurality of individual digital images on the roll, constructing a time line along the composed digital image, the time line indicating a start time and/or a completion time and/or a time duration of the printing of an image of the plurality of individual digital images on the roll, and displaying at least a part of the composed digital image on the user interface. The composed digital image is scrollable on a user interface in order to scroll through the plurality of representations of the individual digital images, and each displayed representation of an individual digital image of the composed digital image is displayed wholly along a part of the time line, which part starts at the start time of printing of the individual digital image on the roll and ends at the completion time of printing of the individual digital image on the roll. A printing system is configured to apply the method.
US09171386B2	Caching coverage values for rendering text using anti-aliasing techniques Techniques for calculating sub-pixel coverage values for text to be displayed, so as to enable caching of the sub-pixel coverage values. The sub-pixel coverage values may enable a linear combination of color information for the text with color information for one or more other, overlapping display elements for calculating composite color values to be used in controlling a display. Such composite color values to be used in controlling sub-pixels of a display may be calculated, in some embodiments, without performing a gamma correction process. Also described are techniques for retrieving cached sub-pixel coverage values and combining the values with color information for text and for other, overlapping display elements to calculate composite color values for sub-pixels of a display. At least one graphics processing unit (GPU) may be configured to perform operations using the sub-pixel coverage information and to calculate the composite color values for the sub-pixels.
US09171385B2	Image processing apparatus capable of determining color amount, image processing method, and program When a printing fee is changed, if a printing fee is changed to one for a color amount that is smaller than an actual color amount of an input image, an image processing apparatus automatically performs image processing in order to maximize the color amount at the selected printing fee and prints an image processing result.
US09171382B2	Tracking speeding violations and controlling use of parking spaces using cameras Tracking speeding violations and the use of at least one destination location are disclosed. Initially, two or more first images are received from a first camera, two or more second images are received from a second camera having a different field of view, and two or more third images are received from a third camera having a field of view overlapping with the field of the view of the second camera. Next, a speed of the first vehicle at a first time is determined. It is determined that the first vehicle exceeded a first predetermined speed limit at the first time. A unique identifier of the first vehicle and the speed of the first vehicle at the first time are then indicated. Next, it is determined that the second vehicle is stopped in the at least one destination location at a second time and that the second vehicle has left the at least one destination location at a third time that is after the second time. Finally, a unique identifier of the second vehicle, the second time, and the third time are indicated.
US09171373B2	System of image stereo matching A system of image stereo matching includes at least one stereo matching unit (SMU) each receives a first view and a second view of a view pair, according to which the SMU generates a first depth map for the first view. The system also includes a backward tracer operable to receive the first depth map, according to which a second depth map for the second view is derived.
US09171369B2	Computer-aided detection (CAD) system for personalized disease detection, assessment, and tracking, in medical imaging based on user selectable criteria An embodiment of the current invention includes computer-implemented method for image processing. The method includes receiving a first medical image from a data storage device, the first medical image comprising a plurality of image voxels and representing a plurality of tissue regions of a subject; automatically determining a reference value based on the first medical image, the reference value capable of providing a range of background level of voxel intensity values within at least one non-disease tissue region of the subject; generating a disease threshold based on the reference value; identifying portions of the medical image corresponding to disease-tissue regions according to the disease threshold, each of the portions comprising a plurality of connected image voxels in the medical image; and entering data encoding the disease-tissue regions into a database for subsequent comparisons.
US09171368B2	System and method for estimating a quantity of a blood component in a fluid canister A variation of a method for estimating a quantity of a blood component in a fluid canister includes: within an image of a canister, identifying a reference marker on the canister; selecting an area of the image based on the reference marker; correlating a portion of the selected area with a fluid level within the canister; estimating a volume of fluid within the canister based on the fluid level; extracting a feature from the selected area; correlating the extracted featured with a concentration of a blood component within the canister; and estimating a quantity of the blood component within the canister based on the estimated volume and the concentration of the blood component within the canister.
US09171365B2	Distance driven computation balancing Methods for improving the processing time, scalability, and resource usage for three-dimensional projecting-backprojecting rays with respect to voxels (pixels) and detector bins are provided. Specifically, improvements to a distance-driven technique, wherein the pixels and detector edges are projected on to a predetermined reference plane are disclosed. The methods balance the computational load of a system of parallel processors, which results in a balanced memory and cache access operations, while reducing the computational complexity of projection-backprojection techniques in scanning systems.
US09171363B2	Computer-readable recording medium and road surface survey device A road surface survey device specifies a position at which abnormality is detected at one of a position at which abnormality on pavement of a road surface is detected from an image of a road captured by a camera and a position at which abnormality on pavement of a road surface is detected from a change in an acceleration measured when a car runs on the road surface by a G sensor. Further, the road surface survey device derives conditions that abnormality which is not detected at the specified position can be detected, and outputs an instruction of a resurvey for the specified position under the derived conditions.
US09171362B2	Method for determining the luminance of traffic signs and device for implementing same The method of the invention comprises: obtaining a sequence of at least two images, with different levels of illumination; extracting the region containing the sign in the image; calculating the luminance values of the signs; and obtaining the difference in luminance of the sign corresponding to the two levels of illumination. The value obtained is the luminance of the sign (11) corresponding to an illumination equal to the difference between the illuminations, or additional illumination. This result is based on the additive property of luminance, according to which the luminance of a sign is the sum of the luminance produced by each source of illumination. A basic illumination device (5), an additional illumination device (7), at least one camera for taking images, and image recording, positioning and synchronism systems are required to implement the method.
US09171359B1	Method and system for auto-correcting perspective distortion in document images Auto-correcting perspective distortion in document images is described. Line segments are identified in a distorted document image. Line segments are combined to form candidate lines. Candidate lines are grouped into a substantially horizontal group of lines and a substantially vertical group of lines. Linear equations are calculated to fit the substantially horizontal group of lines. Linear equations are calculated to fit the substantially vertical group of lines. The distorted document image is transformed based on two linear equations associated with two substantially horizontal lines and two linear equations associated with two substantially vertical lines.
US09171354B2	Image processing apparatus and method for enhancing the quality of an image An image processing apparatus and method for enhancing quality of image data are provided. The image processing apparatus includes an encoder which encodes source image data and outputs compressed image data, a first representative transform coefficient calculator which calculates a first representative transform coefficient by transforming the source image data into frequency characteristics; a decoder which decodes the compressed image data and outputting decoded image data, a second representative transform coefficient calculator which calculates a second representative transform coefficient by transforming the decoded image data into frequency characteristics, and a quality enhancer which enhances the quality of the decoded image data by using the first representative transform coefficient and the second representative transform coefficient.
US09171351B2	Image processing device that synthesizes image An image processing device, includes: an obtaining unit which successively obtains a plurality of images; a synthesis unit which partially superimposes the plurality of images obtained by the obtaining unit to generate a synthesis image when the obtaining unit obtains the images; a first judgment unit which judges whether the synthesis image contains a feature region having a predetermined feature when the synthesis image is generated by the synthesis unit; and a control unit which makes predetermined processing be executed when the first judgment unit judges that the synthesis image contains the feature region.
US09171349B1	Method and system for application broadcast Methods and apparatuses are described for application broadcasting. For one embodiment, pixel data being broadcast from a moderator to one or more participants is divided into tiles. Display data is generated for each tile. Each display data segment (segment) contains the pixel data for the tile, and also contains a tile identifier. The segments are periodically evaluated. If the pixel data has changed, the segment is replaced with the most recent segment corresponding to that tile. A time indicator is also included within each segment for each tile indicating the time at which the segment was updated. A participant DPS requests data from the server and provides the time indicator for the last segment it received. The server then transmits the current segment for each tile that has been updated subsequently. This allows presentation at the participant's DPS of the most current version of the moderator's display screen.
US09171348B2	Rendering content on computing systems A computer-implemented method for rendering video content is disclosed according to an aspect of the subject technology. The method comprises retrieving video content from a network, directing the retrieved video content to a video hardware accelerator, wherein the video hardware accelerator renders the video content into rendered video content, and determining whether the video content is to be displayed in an embedded mode or a full screen mode. The method also comprises, if the video content is to be displayed in the embedded mode, then instructing a graphics processing unit (GPU) to composite the rendered video content with other rendered content for display to a user on a display, and, if the video content is to be displayed in the full screen mode, then instructing the video hardware accelerator to send the rendered video content to the display without compositing by the GPU.
US09171347B2	System and method for analysis and authentication of covert security information using a smart device A system and method for hidden security feature detection, analysis and authentication using a smart device is disclosed. The smart device can detect and analyze hidden security features using the camera capability of the smart device to capture a digital image, and then analyze and authenticate that image using a security service including a database of security feature data, processing rules, and other information. The security service can support a variety of smart devices and security features. The smart device includes a security-specific autofocus function that allows the smart device to be positioned within a range of distances and angles from a target document that includes hidden/covert security feature(s). The smart device can display an enhanced image showing the hidden security feature(s) and/or report if the security feature is valid or invalid, along with related information, via beeps, vibration, display, text messaging, or other reporting capabilities.
US09171343B1	Means and method for improved glycemic control for diabetic patients A glycemic control system includes a physician processor, remote processor, and a portable telephone having a data input mechanism, a display, and an internal processor for bi-directional communication with the physician's processor and the remote processor. A patient inputs data to the internal processor responsive to input from the physician's processor and then transmits the information to the remote processor where an optimized number of units to be administered is sent back and displayed on the portable telephone.
US09171340B2	Identifying and visualizing attributes of items based on attribute-based RFID tag proximity A portable device receives a particular RFID signal identifying that a particular attribute is associated with a particular item placed proximate to the RFID tag emitting the particular RFID signal, wherein the particular RFID signal is identified from among a plurality of RFID signals, wherein a selection of the plurality of RFID signals are each associated with a separate attribute from among a plurality of attributes. The portable device displays a visual representation depicting that the particular item is associated with the particular attribute.
US09171333B2	Due diligence systems with integrated indication of required action A system for performing due diligence on electronically stored documents is provided. A dynamic due diligence item (DDDI) is created by one user and associated with a particular document or piece of information by the system. The created DDDI is assigned to another user. The created DDDI is then routed by the system over a computer network to another user for review of the DDDI and the associated particular document or piece of information. In certain instances, after receiving the notification and opening the document, the system may enforce upon the second user a required action when the DDDI is presented.
US09171324B2	Hybrid virtual account and token-based digital cash protocols The hybrid virtual account and token-based digital cash protocols provide a user with many pairs of secret and public keys. One of the pairs is the master pair, which consists of one master user private key and one master user public key. Other pairs are pseudonym pairs, wherein each consists of one pseudonym user private key and one pseudonym user public key. The use of a master key pair and pseudonym key pairs circumvents the need for blind signatures. None of the invention's protocols require blind signatures. The protocols comprise public key protocols, digital signatures and symmetric key protocols.
US09171303B2	System and method for checkless cash advance settlement Methods, devices, and systems for conducting a checkless cash access settlement are provided. In one embodiment, a cash advance method includes the following: a customer initiates a cash access transaction with a financial card via a cash access system; the customer receives authorization or denial; the customer provides identification and the financial card to a cashier or attendant; the cashier or attendant validates the customer's identity, retrieves the transaction information, and completes the cash advance application; the application prints a non-negotiable instrument, such as a transaction receipt; the customer signs the receipt confirming the transaction with a physical receipt or electronic capture; the receipt image is stored electronically for subsequent transmittal to a central server; the transaction information, including the receipt image if applicable, is recorded on the central server; and the central server generates an ACH file and electronically transmits the ACH file to a designated financial institution.
US09171300B2	Retail convenience market technology with enhanced vendor administration and user mobile app functionality A self-service, self-checkout micro-market retail shopping system for disposition and use in an private or public office, factory or other workspace for use by employees, workers and the like. The micro-market may supply snacks, candies, beverages, other food items and various convenience items such as toiletries for use by employees, workers and other during the work day, lunch and break time. The micro-market may also supply work related items such as uniforms and apparel, tools, office supplies, travel accessories and the like. The devices and process also include enhanced vendor administration tools and functionality. The devices and process also include enhanced user ability to use mobile devices and apps, and on-line tools for creating and managing accounts and for purchasing items.
US09171296B1	Mobile check generator Embodiments for generating a virtual check one a mobile device. The embodiments further receive a request, from the user, to perform a transaction with a merchant; generate a virtual check comprising a checking account number, a bank routing number, and a date; initiate display of the virtual check on a display of the mobile device; receive input from the user corresponding to at least one of a plurality of check fields; and populate the virtual check based on the received input.
US09171293B2	Location based system with location-enabled messaging and method of operation thereof A method of operation of a location based system includes: submitting a tagged message having a message content, a trigger, and a recipient identifier; determining a location reading for locating a recipient associated with the recipient identifier; determining a temporal reading associated with the recipient identifier; and displaying the message content on a device having the recipient identifier, the message content displayed based on the trigger with the location reading, the temporal reading, or a combination thereof.
US09171292B1	Method and system for providing electronic delivery of regulated shareholder communications to account electronic mail addresses A method, system, and computer program product for electronic delivery of regulated shareholder communications to registered electronic mail client accounts. A signed regulated shareholder communication electronic mail is generated by a proxy platform server computer and the electronic mail is transmitted to an electronic mail address inbox of a client computer. An active content associated with the shareholder communication is delivered by the proxy platform server computer when the shareholder communication is opened by a user on the client computer. The user is authenticated by the proxy platform server computer. A voting ballot is delivered by the platform server computer to the authenticated user's opened shareholder communication. The ballot votes submitted from the opened shareholder communication by the user are recorded in a proxy platform server computer voting database.
US09171291B2	Electronic device and method for updating message body content based on recipient changes A method, device and system are provided for automated insertion of message conversation or thread participant changes in a message body prior to receipt of the message by a recipient of the reply message. Once a reply message is initiated at a first device and an initial recipient set defined for the reply message based on the participants of a previous message of the thread, one or more changes may be made to the recipients specified for the message. In response to a trigger detected at the device, changes to the initial recipient set are identified and indicated by a textual or other notification within the body of the reply message, rather than merely in a header or addressing portion of the reply message. The indication may then be viewable using a recipient messaging client even if header information reflecting the change in recipients is not displayed by the client.
US09171290B1	Email handling for a contact center This disclosure relates to handling email for a contact center. In one example, a contact center system can include an email interface to access an enterprise email system, inbound emails to and from each inbound mailbox in the contact center system being stored and maintained in the enterprise email system. An email tracking data structure can be stored in memory, the email tracking data structure programmed to store interaction data corresponding to each email interaction being processed by the contact center system. An email handling control can be programmed to control sending a reply email to a given incoming contact email from a contact based on the interaction data associated with the given incoming contact email, the reply email being sent to the contact through the enterprise email system via the email interface.
US09171289B2	Methods and systems for producing, previewing, and publishing a video press release over an electronic network The present invention relates to methods and systems for producing, previewing and publishing a video press release (“VPR”) over an electronic network. A video press release comprises multimedia information. A software transcoder that performs the function of removing incompatibilities between video file formats and text document file formats for producing, previewing and publishing a VPR is implemented. The present invention assures multimedia compatibility of a VPR across video file formats, web browser formats, computer operating systems, and text file formats by transcoding a video file, as well as compressing, resizing and juxtaposing/transposing the transcoded video file along with a text presentation received from a text file, and presenting the so-produced VPR to Internet audience. The invention operates with a webpage of a secure Internet website so that a single individual for a public or private company or other organizations may generate a video press release instantly and efficiently by an accurate, efficient, and time-sensitive method.
US09171287B2	Ordering of bookmarks for objects in a social networking system A social networking system analyzes a user's interactions with objects linked to bookmarks associated with the user to generate a score for each bookmark. The score represents or is based on the probability that the user will access the bookmark or the linked object. For example, the score is a predicted click-through rate for the bookmark. Based on the scores, a subset of the bookmarks is selected for presentation to the user. Additionally, the scores may be used to order the selected subset of the bookmarks. Hence, the bookmarks that the user is most likely to access are presented while the bookmarks the user is less likely to access may be hidden.
US09171284B2	Techniques to restore communications sessions for applications having conversation and meeting environments Techniques for restoring communications sessions for applications having conversation environment and a meeting embodiment are described. A system may include a meeting component of a communications application for selecting a meeting from multiple meetings, a conversation component of the communications application for managing multiple conversation threads, and a recovery component of the communications application for recovering an active meeting from the multiple meetings or an active conversation thread from the multiple conversation threads. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09171281B1	Techniques for filling orders A system includes N location indicators and a mobile scanning device. The N location indicators are configured to be arranged throughout a store that includes a plurality of stocked items for picking according to one or more electronic customer orders. Each of the N location indicators is configured to transmit a different location signal. The mobile scanning device includes a display. The mobile scanning device is configured to wirelessly receive an electronic customer order comprising a plurality of ordered items indicating which of the stocked items are to be picked, detect at least one of the N location signals, and arrange at least some of the plurality of ordered items on the display based on which of the at least one of the N location signals is detected.
US09171280B2	Medication tracking A system and method is described for printing a label with an RFID tag. The system includes an RFID reader that queries a first RFID tag coupled to a first medicinal container that includes a medication. In response, the system receives a first unique identifier and uses the first unique identifier to determine a status of the medication, associate the first medicinal container with a medical provider and print a second label that includes a second RFID tag for a second medicinal container.
US09171279B2	Receptacle rack having an electronic memory element A system and method for tracking items, such as receptacles, during a process employs a rack configured to hold one or more receptacles. Each receptacle includes a machine-readable label providing information regarding the receptacle, such as contents thereof and process(es) to be performed thereon, and each receptacle-receiving position of the rack has associated therewith a machine-readable label identifying the receptacle receiving location. The rack also includes a memory element to which electronic data may be written. A label reading device reads the machine-readable label on each receptacle and the position-indicating, machine-readable labels on the rack. Information obtained from the machine-readable labels is written to the memory element, so that for subsequent processing of the receptacles carried on the rack, information relating to each of the receptacles can be obtained by reading the information written to the memory element. A tamper prevention element provides an indication of whether the rack may have been tampered with after data is written to the memory element.
US09171278B1	Item illumination based on image recognition An inventory item to be picked may be selected along with an inventory location (e.g., storage bin) storing a particular unit of the item among a units of heterogeneous items also stowed in the inventory location. One or more images of the inventory location may be obtained and analyzed to determine a position of the unit of the item. Instructions may be sent to direct a device to illuminate the determined position of the unit of the item, and pick instructions may be sent to the same or a different the device. A device may receive the position instructions from a control system, and illuminate the determined position of the unit of the item within the inventory location. The pick instructions may direct an agent or mobile storage bin to a particular location and direct the agent to pick the unit of the item from the illuminated position.
US09171277B2	Generation of plans for loading and unloading a container Generation of a plan for loading or unloading a variety of objects into a container. Such objects can comprise irregularly-shaped objects, regularly-shaped object, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, a method enables such generation, wherein the method can comprise the steps of storing a model for each object of a plurality of objects, each model comprising a weight, a center of gravity, and a shape of the associated object, and storing a plurality of parameters associated with the container. The method can comprise the steps of selecting a set of one or more objects, from the plurality of objects, to be loaded into the container, and generating an optimized sequence for loading the set of one or more objects into the container, based on at least the weight, the center of gravity, the shape of each of the one or more objects, and the parameters associated with the container.
US09171276B2	Facilitating revenue generation from wholesale electricity markets using an engineering-based model The disclosure facilitates generation of energy-related revenue for an energy customer of an electricity supplier. The disclosure herein can be implemented to generate suggested operating schedules for energy assets that include a controllable energy asset, using an objective function. The objective function is determined based on a dynamic simulation model of the energy profile of the energy assets. The dynamic simulation model is adaptive to physical changes in the energy assets based at least in part on a physical model of the thermodynamic property of the at least one energy asset and at least in part on data representative of an operation characteristic of the controllable energy asset, a thermodynamic property of the energy assets, and/or a projected environmental condition. Energy-related revenue available to the energy customer is based at least in part on a wholesale electricity market or on a regulation market.
US09171275B2	Method for determining communicative value A method of determining which users are experts and which tags are appropriate without some of the disadvantages of the prior art is described. The level of a user's expertise is determined based on previous tags, the categorization of one or more tags, and the rating of the tags previously left by the user. The appropriateness of a tag is based on previous tagging of information by the user, by the number of times a user has tagged information with the same categorization, and the rating of a user.
US09171274B2	Method and system for energy management A method (300) of managing energy consumption associated with premises includes firstly generating (302) and storing an initial energy profile (304) of the premises. The profile (304) includes information characterizing the premises, such as occupancy patterns, function of the premises, geographical location, installed appliances (108), and so forth. An expected energy usage (308) associated with the premises is computed over a predetermined time period based upon the information in the initial energy profile (304). Actual energy usage (312) associated with the premises is then recorded over the predetermined time period and the energy profile (304) is adaptively updated based upon the recorded energy usage (312). The energy profile (304) and the actual energy usage (312) are used to manage energy consumption associated with the premises. An installable system (100) and apparatus (102) for implementing the method at premises are also provided.
US09171273B2	Integrated electronic checklist display system A method and apparatus for electronic checklist display system. A checklist display device is connected to a number of display screens. A display screen within the number of display screens displays an integrated electronic checklist within a checklist display window on the display screen. The integrated electronic checklist comprises a number of checklist items associated with a vehicle system, systems information for the vehicle system, and graphics representing a current status of a number of components of the vehicle system.
US09171271B2	Computer system, client device and method A computer system includes a network. The system includes a first client device in communication with the network having a transaction description for a transaction t. The first client device sends the transaction description to a second client device. The second client device receives the transaction description from the first client device. One of the first or second client devices executes the transaction description and creates a second transaction description for transaction t and then sends the second transaction description to a client device. A client device of a computer system having a network and a second client device. A method of a computer system. A method of a client device of a computer system having a network and a second client device.
US09171270B2	Gas demand prediction system and gas demand prediction method A delivery server comprises: a reception unit configured to receive sets of meter indication data of a plurality of gas meters; a storage device configured to store the respective sets of meter indication data; a gas usage calculating unit configured to calculate a gas usage on a basis of comparison between corresponding sets of meter indication data; a first rate-of-change calculating unit configured to calculate a rate of change in a past gas usage consumed in each of a plurality of supply facilities on a basis of comparison between a plurality of gas usages in a time of earlier than a meter indication date of the received sets of meter indication data by a predetermined period of time; and a prediction unit configured to modify the gas usage in accordance with the rate of change and predict the modified gas usage as a prospective gas usage to be consumed.
US09171269B2	System for on-site management of an event A method includes receiving, by a check-in device associated with the event management system, a ticket information for an attendee of an event, the check-in device comprising an access point, the access point being operable to connect by a wireless signal to one or more mobile devices, transmitting, from the check-in device to a gatekeeper system associated with the event management system, the ticket information for the attendee, wherein the gatekeeper system comprises a router, a switch, and a computing system, and wherein the check-in device is communicably connected to the gatekeeper system, validating, by the gatekeeper system, the ticket information for the attendee, and transmitting, from the gatekeeper system to the check-in device, an indication of validity of the ticket information for the attendee.
US09171268B1	Methods and systems for setting and transferring user profiles to vehicles and temporary sharing of user profiles to shared-use vehicles Methods are provide access to cloud services over the Internet for locating and providing access to a shared vehicle of a shared vehicle network. One method includes receiving a request from a user device of a user to locate a vehicle to use for a shared period of time. The method enables providing an option of vehicles within a range of a location identified by the request. Then, detecting proximity of the user device to a selected vehicle proximate to the location identified by the request. The method enables transfer of a user profile of the user to the vehicle. The profile is configured to automatically set one or more user preferences of the vehicle. The method further includes receiving use data of the vehicle while the user profile is set for the vehicle. The user profile is deactivated on the selected vehicle when use of the vehicle is discontinued.
US09171266B2	Power provision based on self-sacrificing craft A biologically-inspired system and method is provided for self-adapting behavior of swarm-based exploration missions, whereby individual components, for example, spacecraft, in the system can sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the entire system. The self-sacrifice can involve donating resources or assets, such as power provisions, to a different component of an autonomous system. A receiving component of the system can benefit from receiving the donated resource or power provision.
US09171263B2	Content-based expertise level inferencing system and method A content-based expertise level inferencing system and method analyzes content such as text-based content that is associated with a user and infers an expertise level of the user that is associated with a topic. Language-based analytic techniques may be applied in inferring the expertise level, including the application of domain-specific vocabulary and frequency analyzes. The expertise level may be further inferred based on usage behaviors of the user and/or other users. Calibration information may be applied in generating the inference of the expertise level. Recommendations may be generated based on the inferred expertise level, and explanations for the recommendation and/or the inference may be generated for delivery to a recommendation recipient.
US09171262B2	Directed expertise level-based discovery system, method, and device A directed expertise level-based discovery system, method, and device infers an expertise level associated with a system user from a plurality of usage behaviors and delivers one or more computer-implemented objects to the user that are selected in accordance with the inferred expertise level and a directionally distinct relationship between computer-implemented objects. The directed expertise level-based discovery system, method, and device may infer the expertise level from textual information and/or in accordance with calibration information such as test results. Geographic location awareness associated with a portable device may inform the selection of the computer-implemented objects to be delivered to the user. An explanation may be delivered to the user that references information that is used to inform the selection of the computer-implemented objects to be delivered to the user.
US09171260B2	Method and system for configuring rules for execution Data-driven rules are eliminated from an application, and replaced with goal-driven rules that formally and completely characterize high-level business concepts, while enabling the resulting goal-driven rules to be executed eagerly using a forward chaining rule engine in a way that preserves the data-driven behavior of the original rules. A computer-implemented method for executing business rules provides a unified rule that encapsulates a goal-oriented rule with triggering information selected from dependencies of the goal-oriented rule. The unified rule may be eagerly executed in response to changes in data specified by the dependencies, or lazily executed in response to a request for the value computed by the rule.
US09171258B2	Distributed collaborative knowledge generation system System and method related to a distributed collaborative knowledge generation system are disclosed. The distributed collaborative knowledge generation system includes one or more databases configured to store content information related to the distributed collaborative knowledge generation system, a search services module configured to search for the content information, a web services module configured to retrieve and gather the content information, a presentation services module configured to share the content data with multiple users, and a data services module configured to manage the content information by providing interfaces between the one or more databases, the search services module, the web services module, and the presentation services module.
US09171256B2	Systems and methods for predicting customer compliance with demand response requests Systems and methods for predicting customer compliance with requests to participate in demand response events are disclosed. The systems and methods may include receiving demand response information for a demand response event, receiving information for a customer, and determining or adjusting for the customer a compliance probability for the demand response event based at least partially on the demand response information and the received customer information.
US09171251B2	Context-aware analysis and adaptation A system and method for providing multi-dimensional context-aware adaptation in vehicular networks is disclosed. The system comprises a collection module, a context resolving module, a parameter determination module and a distribution module. The collection module collects context data describing a context in a communication environment. The context resolving module resolves the context data to a matching historical context and determines one or more historical context groups associated with the matching historical context. The parameter determination module determines a subset of operating parameters from the one or more historical context groups. The distribution module distributes the subset of operating parameters to a network stack communication module.
US09171249B2	Systems and methods for identification of spike-processing circuits Techniques for the identification of a spike-processing circuit are provided. An exemplary method includes receiving spike trains corresponding to a circuit input over a time period, and selecting a number of spikes for each of input spike trains over a predetermined time window. Each of the selected spikes can be replaced with a sampled reproducing kernel to obtain a plurality of signals, and each obtained signal can correspond to one of the input spike trains. Each of the obtained signals can be passed through a plurality of receptive fields or filters to obtain an aggregate filter output signal. The filter output signal can be encoded into an output spike train, and the output spike train can correspond to a response of the circuit to the plurality of input spike trains.
US09171248B2	Electronic circuit with neuromorphic architecture Neuromorphic circuits are multi-cell networks configured to imitate the behavior of biological neural networks. A neuromorphic circuit is provided which comprises a network of neurons each identified by a neuron address in the network, each neuron being able to receive and process at least one input signal and then later emit on an output of the neuron a signal representing an event which occurs inside the neuron, and a programmable memory composed of elementary memories each associated with a respective neuron. The elementary memory, which is a memory of post-synaptic addresses and weights, comprises an activation input linked by a conductor to the output of the associated neuron to directly receive an event signal emitted by this neuron without passing through an address encoder or decoder. The post-synaptic addresses extracted from an elementary memory activated by a neuron are applied, with associated synaptic weights, as inputs to the neural network.
US09171240B2	Generating a display list for processing by a rendering unit A display list generation apparatus includes an interpretation unit configured to interpret page description language (PDL) data and store an interpretation result of the PDL data in a first storage unit, a copying unit configured to copy the interpretation result stored in the first storage unit, in a second storage unit, and a generation unit configured to generate a display list from the interpretation result stored in the first storage unit in a case where a data size of the interpretation result exceeds a predetermined threshold and generate a display list from the copy of the interpretation result stored in the second storage unit in a case where the data size of the interpretation result does not exceed the predetermined threshold.
US09171236B1	Dynamic spooler load balancing Methods and systems monitor print data being retrieved by a dedicated spooler of a printing device, and monitor the quantity of print data within the print queue to be printed by a printing engine of the printing device. The dedicated spooler and the printing engine share computing resources and, therefore, the processing activities of the dedicated spooler slow processing activities of the printing engine. These methods and systems dynamically reduce the rate at which the print data is retrieved by the dedicated spooler based on the quantity of documents within the print queue to increase printing speed (for example, these methods and systems can reduce the rate at which the print data is retrieved by the dedicated spooler based on the quantity of print data within the print queue being above a threshold amount).
US09171230B2	Object detection method, object detection apparatus and image pickup apparatus An object detection method performed by an apparatus which stores a general model for a specific object type in advance, the general model describing a plurality of components which are expected to co-exist in objects of the specific object type, the method including: a sample image receiving step of receiving one or more sample images, the one or more sample images each include a same query object of the specific object type; an object detector creating step of creating, using the general model and the one or more sample images, a detector specific to said query object; and an object detecting step of detecting, using the created detector specific to the query object, the query object from a destination image. According to the object detection method mentioned above, various objects of a specific object type can be precisely detected with high flexibility.
US09171225B2	Device, method, and recording medium for detecting and removing mistracked points in visual odometry systems Three-dimensional coordinates of feature points of an object to be measured are back-projected to a frame image photographed from a specific position, and image coordinates of the back-projected feature points and the feature points in this frame image are compared. In this case, the feature points, which are mismatched, are removed as feature points which are mistracked between plural frames. In this case, two processing systems, of which initial conditions of calculation for obtaining the back-projected coordinates are different from each other, are performed, and the detection of the above mistracked points is performed on each of the two back-projected coordinates. The mistracked points detected in at least one of the processing systems are removed, and are not succeeded to the following processing.
US09171223B2	System and method for effective section detecting of hand gesture A system is provided for detecting an effective section of a gesture by recognizing the gesture, pose information and motion information included in the gesture from an acquired image. In addition, a controller determines whether a pose has been recognized based on the pose information and when the pose has been recognized, an effective section is detected based on a start point and an end point of the pose. Further, when the effective section for the pose is detected, the gesture is recognized based on the motion information.
US09171221B2	Camera to track an object Methods and apparatus to create and display screen stereoscopic and panoramic images are disclosed. Methods and apparatus are provided to generate multiple images that are combined into a stereoscopic or a panoramic image. A controller provides correct camera settings for different conditions. A controller rotationally aligns images of lens/sensor units that are rotationally misaligned. A compact controllable platform holds and rotates a camera. A remote computing device with a camera and a digital compass tracks an object causing the camera in the platform to track the object.
US09171216B2	Method and device for detecting fog at night A method of detecting the presence of an element (fog, rain, etc. . . . ) disturbing the visibility of a scene illuminated by a headlight (105, 107) at night. The method comprises: a) acquiring an image of the scene with the help of a camera (120); b1) detecting the light sources in the image; b2) detecting the presence of the disturbing element as a function of the halo (H) appearing in the image in the vicinity of the light sources; c) detecting the presence of the disturbing element in the image as a function of the backscattering of the light emitted by the light sources; and d) weighting the results of the detections performed in steps b2) and c) in such a manner as to output an indication concerning the presence of the element disturbing the visibility of the scene. The method provides satisfactory results in an environment with or without lighting. The invention also provides a computer program and a device for implementing the method.
US09171207B1	Method and system for recognizing machine generated character glyphs in graphic images A method and system for recognizing machine generated character glyphs in a graphic image that uses a deterministic finite automaton (DFA) to separately recognize the individual pixelcolumns of character glyphs and then combines these separate pixelcolumns together to form correctly recognized whole glyphs. This method and system can enable data to be automatically exchanged between applications where no alternative method of data interchange exists. The DFA minimizes its space requirements by storing the current input dimension of its state transition table as a sorted list of possible values that could be matched at the current state. This sorted list can then be binary searched for the current input pixel RGB value.
US09171205B2	Device and method of binarization for payment or accounting documents A binarization device for payment or accounting documents including sensitive data located in respective data window provides a primary binarized document file of the document; a memory stores identification files including identifying images and location information associated to given types of documents; the data window can be identified and localized as comparison with the identification files of the memory; the contribution of the background is subtracted from the window file, the window file is binarized and filtered for spurious pixels obtaining a binarized window file; the binarized document file and the binarized window file are merged to provide the binarized window file in the data window; the evidence of the significant pixel is obtained by sequential analysis on groups of pixels, applying morphological expansion operators on each group of pixels and following erosion of said group of pixels.
US09171203B2	Scanbox Embodiments are provided for content item classification. In some embodiments, an image for classification is received, a compact representation for the image having values indicative of pixel values within the received image is generated, a plurality of angle measurements for possible edges of at least one potential document within the received image are determined, and the image is classified using said compact representation and said plurality of angle measurements.
US09171201B2	Portable computing device and analyses of personal data captured therefrom A personal computing device comprising: a processor, an onboard memory, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a display; a computer program to create an exercise analysis application comprising: a software module configured to receive data from the accelerometer and the gyroscope that are associated with the bodily motion of a user in three dimensions; a software module configured to place the device in a learning mode, the learning mode comprising recording the data of the user performing a defined exercise to generate a statistical model for the exercise; a software module configured to place the device in a normal mode, the normal mode comprising applying a probabilistic analysis to the bodily motion data to identify an exercise event, classify the exercise by comparison to a recorded model; and a software module configured to apply an analysis to the bodily motion data to score the user's exercise form.
US09171197B2	Facial tracking method A facial tracking method for detecting and tracking at least one face image in a region during a time period. The facial tracking method includes a step of performing an image acquiring operation, a step of performing a facial detecting operation to detect whether there is any face image in the entire of a current photo image, and at least one step of performing a facial tracking operation. For performing the facial tracking operation, plural tracking frames are located around a face image of the current photo image, and a similarity between the face image of the current photo image and the image included in each tracking frame in order to judge whether the face image exists in the next photo image. By the facial tracking method of the present invention, the time period of tracking face images is largely reduced.
US09171193B1	System and method for setting a real-time clock of a barcode reading device The present disclosure provides a system and method for setting the time for an internal clock function of a barcode reader and enabling the barcode reader to associate time, as determined by the internal clock function, with production barcodes read during operator use of the barcode reader and delivery of the combination of production barcodes and the associated time to a host system.
US09171178B1	Systems and methods for optimizing security controls for virtual data centers A computer-implemented method for optimizing security controls for virtual data centers may include 1) identifying a security policy that applies to at least one workload configured to store data on a first storage appliance, 2) identifying at least one storage-appliance functionality capable of implementing at least a part of the security policy, 3) identifying a second storage appliance that possesses the storage-appliance functionality, and 4) migrating the data from the first storage appliance to the second storage appliance in response to identifying the security policy and the storage-appliance functionality. Variants include methods, systems, and computer-readable media.
US09171169B2	System and method for dynamic analysis wrapper objects for application dataflow Systems and methods are provided for dynamic analysis wrapper objects for application dataflow. A system creates a wrapper object that points to a data object received from a data source, creates a source tracking object for the wrapper object, and records information associated with the data source into the source tracking object. The system creates a copy of the wrapper object for a tracking event in an application program, creates a flow tracking object for the tracking event, and records information associated with the tracking event into the flow tracking object as the tracking event processes the copy of the wrapper object. The system outputs the copy of the wrapper object to a data sink for the application program, creates a sink tracking object for the data sink, and records information associated with the data sink into the sink tracking object. The system outputs the source tracking object, the flow tracking object, and the sink tracking object as dynamic analysis of dataflow in the application program.
US09171165B2	Methods, systems, and apparatuses to facilitate configuration of a hardware device in a platform Embodiments of methods, systems, and apparatuses for configuring a hardware device in a platform are described. In an exemplary method, a configuration message is received that indicates that the hardware device is to be upgraded from a first configuration to a second configuration, wherein the first and second configurations were pre-determined based on previous testing of the hardware device and are stored in the hardware device. The hardware device is then configured to the second configuration.
US09171164B1	Establishing trust using side channels Disclosed are various embodiments for a trust establishment application. Machine instances executed in the same computing environment generate side channel patterns embodying data identifying themselves as trusted machine instances. The side channel patterns are detected to determine which machine instances are trusted. An operational mode of a machine instance is configured as a function of whether a quorum of trusted machine instances are executed in the computing environment.
US09171161B2	Trusted device having virtualized registers A trusted device having virtualized registers provides an extensible amount of storage for hash values and other information stored within a trusted device. The trusted device includes a buffer to which registers are virtualized to and from external storage, by encrypting the register values using a private device key. The registers may be platform control registers (PCRs) or other storage of the trusted device, which may be a trusted platform module (TPM). The registers are accessed in accordance with a register number. When the externally stored values are retrieved, they are decrypted and placed in the buffer. The buffer may implement a cache mechanism, such as a most recently used algorithm, so that encryption/decryption and fetch overhead is reduced. A register shadowing technique may be employed at boot time, to ensure that the trusted device is not compromised by tampering with the externally stored virtualized registers.
US09171158B2	Dynamic anomaly, association and clustering detection Techniques are provided for dynamic anomaly, association and clustering detection. At least one code table is built for each attribute in a set of data containing one or more attributes. One or more clusters associated with one or more of the code tables are established. One or more new data points are received. A determination is made if a given one of the new data points is an anomaly. At least one of the one or more code tables is updated responsive to the determination. When a compression cost of a given one of the new data points is greater than a threshold compression cost for each of the one or more clusters, the given one of the new data points is an anomaly.
US09171157B2	Method and system for tracking access to application data and preventing data exploitation by malicious programs Provided are a method and system for tracking access to application data and preventing data exploitation by malicious programs. In one example, the method includes shimming into a running process of the system to create at least one monitoring hook to monitor a program, building an execution path of the monitored program, and monitoring a behavior of the execution path for malicious behavior using the monitoring hook.
US09171155B2	System and method for evaluating malware detection rules A malware detection rule is evaluated for effectiveness and accuracy. The detection rule defines criteria for distinguishing files having a characteristic of interest from other files lacking that characteristic, for instance, malicious files vs. benign files. The detection rule is applied to a set of unknown files. This produces a result set that contains files detected from among the set of unknown files as having the at least one characteristic of interest. Each file from the result set is compared to at least one file from a set of known files having the characteristic to produce a first measure of similarity, and to at least one file from a set of known files lacking the characteristic to produce a second measure of similarity. In response to the first measure of similarity exceeding a first similarity threshold, the detection rule is deemed effective. In response to the second measure of similarity exceeding a second similarity threshold, the detection rule is deemed inaccurate.
US09171154B2	Systems and methods for scanning packed programs in response to detecting suspicious behaviors A computer-implemented method for scanning packed programs in response to detecting suspicious behaviors may include (1) executing a packed program that may include (i) malicious code that has been obfuscated within the packed program and (ii) unpacking code that deobfuscates and executes the malicious code when the packed program is executed, (2) monitoring, while the packed program is executing, how the packed program behaves, (3) detecting, while monitoring how the packed program behaves, a suspicious behavior of the malicious code that indicates that the unpacking code has deobfuscated and executed the malicious code, and (4) performing a security operation on the packed program in response to detecting the suspicious behavior of the malicious code. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US09171153B2	Bloom filter with memory element Techniques are provided for determining if an element is contained in a set of elements. In one aspect, an element may be received and inserted into a bloom filter. The element may also be inserted into a memory associative on the bloom filter indexes. In another aspect, a search element may be received and compared to a bloom filter. If the search element is included in the bloom filter, a memory may be used to determine if the search element is included in the set of elements.
US09171150B2	System and method for dynamic analysis tracking objects for application dataflow Systems and methods are provided for dynamic analysis tracking objects for application dataflow. A system receives a data object from a data source, creates a source tracking object for the data object, and records information associated with the data source into the source tracking object. The system creates a copy of the data object for a tracking event in the application program, creates a flow tracking object for the tracking event, and records information associated with the tracking event into the flow tracking object as the tracking event processes the copy of the data object. The system outputs the copy of the data object to a data sink, creates a sink tracking object for the data sink, and records information associated with the data sink into the sink tracking object. The system outputs the source tracking object, the flow tracking object, and the sink tracking object as dynamic analysis of dataflow in the application program.
US09171149B2	Methods and systems for implementing a secure application execution environment using derived user accounts for internet content Methods and systems are disclosed for implementing a secure application execution environment using Derived User Accounts (SAE DUA) for Internet content. Content is received and a determination is made if the received content is trusted or untrusted content. The content is accessed in a protected derived user account (DUA) such as a SAE DUA if the content is untrusted otherwise the content is accessed in a regular DUA if the content is trusted.
US09171145B2	Protecting cryptographic secrets using file system attributes Techniques are disclosed for protecting cryptographic secrets stored locally in a device, such as a mobile phone. A client device creates or downloads a shared secret to be used in a server transaction. To protect this shared secret locally, the client device encrypts the shared secret using a key generated a file system attributes value, along with other sources of entropy. The file system attributes value may correspond to the inode of a file in a UNIX-based file system. Thereafter, when the shared secret is required for logical computation, the client device reconstructs the key using the file system attributes value and the other previous sources of entropy. The client device may use the key to decrypt the information and use the shared secret for its required purpose, e.g., in generating a one-time password for a login session.
US09171143B2	System for and method of generating visual passwords Systems and methods for creating a visual password are presented. A user having an account or profile is given the option to create a visual password via a graphical user interface. The interface displays a plurality of themes to the user, wherein each theme represents a category of images. The user selects a theme and is presented with a plurality of images within the category. The user selects one or more images in a certain order to create a visual password. The selected images and order of selection are saved as the user's visual password. When the user later attempts to electronically access his account, the user will be required to select the correct pictures in the correct sequence in order to access his account.
US09171136B2	Data protection method and device An apparatus and method for encoding and decoding additional information into a digital information in an integral manner. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and device for data protection.
US09171135B2	Method for acquisition of software applications A method for acquisition of a software application stored on a software application distribution unit and intended to be supplied to a user computer unit is disclosed wherein, the user computer unit communicates an item of identification information identifying the software application to be acquired to an electronic security module connected to the user computer unit. The module generates, using a secret and identification information, an item of user information and transmits it with the identification information to the unit. The unit protects with the user information the software application identified by the identification information and the protected software application is transmitted to the user computer unit. Thus, the software application is protected with an item of information from the electronic security module of the user. The protected software application then has its protection removed on an electronic security unit equipped with an electronic security module.
US09171134B2	Electronic device and secure switch module thereof A secure switch module to allow only authorized keyholders to power on an electronic device includes a lock, a key matching the lock, and a power switch. The lock includes a first lock pin electrically connected to a ground pin of a motherboard of the electronic device, and a second lock pin. The power switch includes a button, a first elastic conductive sheet electrically connected to the second lock pin, and a second elastic conductive sheet electrically connected to a power on pin of the motherboard. When the key is engaged with the lock and the button is pressed, the first lock pin is electrically connected to the second lock pin, the first elastic conductive sheet is electrically connected to the second elastic conductive sheet, the power on pin receives a low level signal, and the electronic device is turned on.
US09171131B2	Device and methods for mobile monitoring and assessment of clinical function through sensors and interactive patient responses Methods and systems are disclosed for sensing and assessing a patients responses to tests using a device that may include tactile input, voice input, still image analysis, and responses to visual and auditory stimuli. In one example, a method includes obtaining interactive clinical assessment data using a remote client device and a computer-based control device, the method including providing on a display of a remote client device one or more test prompts for conducting an interactive clinical assessment, each displayed test prompt instructing a user to perform an action using the remote client device in response to the test prompt, and providing on the display of the remote client device one or more potential responses of actions that may be performed in response to the test prompt.
US09171121B2	Method, structure, and design structure for a through-silicon-via Wilkinson power divider A method, structure, and design structure for a through-silicon-via Wilkinson power divider. A method includes: forming an input on a first side of a substrate; forming a first leg comprising a first through-silicon-via formed in the substrate, wherein the first leg electrically connects the input and a first output; forming a second leg comprising a second through-silicon-via formed in the substrate, wherein the second leg electrically connects the input and a second output, and forming a resistor electrically connected between the first output and the second output.
US09171120B2	Method of converting between non-volatile memory technologies and system for implementing the method A method of designing a charge trapping memory array including designing a floating gate memory array layout. The floating gate memory layout includes a first type of transistors, electrical connections between memory cells of the floating gate memory array layout, a first input/output (I/O) interface, a first type of charge pump, and an I/O block. The method further includes modifying the floating gate memory array layout, using a processor, to replace the first type of transistors with a second type of transistors different than the first type of transistors. The method further includes determining an operating voltage difference between the I/O block and the second type of transistors. The method further includes modifying the floating gate memory array layout, using the processor, to modify the first charge pump based on the determined operating voltage difference.
US09171113B2	Systems and methods for semiconductor voltage drop analysis Methods and systems are provided for computing IR drop, i.e., voltage drop, in a semiconductor device. The method includes generating a modeling element corresponding to the plurality of transistors. At least one of the transistors in the modeling element is replaced with a current source. The method also includes performing an IR drop analysis of the modeling element utilizing a software program to calculate the IR drop in the semiconductor device.
US09171110B2	Accelerating functional verification of an integrated circuit Illustrative embodiments include a method, system, and computer program product for accelerating functional verification in simulation testing of an integrated circuit (IC). Using a processor and a memory, a serial operation is replaced with a direct register access operation, wherein the serial operation is configured to perform bit shifting operation using a register in a simulation of the IC. The serial operation is blocked from manipulating the register in the simulation of the IC. Using the register in the simulation of the IC, the direct register access operation is performed in place of the serial operation.
US09171108B2	Solar panel deployment configuration and management A system for deploying solar panels may include a classification module configured to receive an image of a structure with a roof and to classify portions of the image that include portions of the roof as roof image segments. The system may also include an identification module configured to identify a property of the roof based at least in part on the roof image segments and a configuration module configured to determine a configuration of one or more solar panels for placement on the roof based on the identified property of the roof.
US09171107B2	Calculating method of structural data of diffractive optical element, program, and manufacturing method A calculating method for calculating structural data of a two-level diffractive optical element configured to form a set of light intensity distributions point-symmetrical with respect to an axis on an image plane utilizing an iterative Fourier transform algorithm executed by a computer includes calculating a light intensity distribution and a phase distribution of a plane of the two-level diffractive optical element which has a Fourier transform relationship with the image plane by performing an inverse Fourier transform for a light intensity that is made by removing one of the set of light intensity distributions from the set of light intensity distributions, and calculating structural data of the diffractive optical element based upon the light intensity distribution and the phase distribution which have been calculated.
US09171098B2	Decomposing markup language elements for animation Embodiments prepare a markup language (ML) element for animation. A request to perform at least one animation on at least one ML element is intercepted or received. One or more animation preparation attribute values are defined based at least on the requested animation and current attribute values of the ML element. The ML element is altered to include the defined animation preparation attribute values, and an animation engine performs the animation of the altered ML element. The animation preparation attributes and values (e.g., style elements) may be reset, removed, or otherwise modified after animation. In some embodiments, a library of application programming interfaces (APIs) enable web browsers to request animations of legacy hypertext markup language (HTML) elements for consumption by animation engines based on JAVASCRIPT scripting or cascading style sheets (CSS).
US09171095B1	Track sharing A computer-implemented method, computer program product, and computing system for receiving, from a user, an intent to share a music track defined within a music consumption system. A query that identifies the music track is generated on a computing device. The query is provided to a video distribution system, wherein the video distribution system is configured to receive and process the query. A result set is received from the video distribution system. If the result set defines one of more videos, available via the video distribution system, that are related to the music track that the user intends to share, a post from the user is generated, on a social networking site, that includes at least one link locating at least one video selected from the one or more videos defined within the result set.
US09171094B2	Electronic information filtering system An electronic information filtering system. The system has a link datastore, on the memory, configured to hold one or more links, associated with a network location corresponding to information available over a computer network. The system has a hierarchal tree organizing structure, on a memory, having a plurality of layers and a plurality of units, each layer below a top layer of the plurality of layers comprising two or more of the plurality of units, each unit is associated with a plurality of member records, each member record corresponding to a human member. The system can receive links to be reviewed. The system can prompt a vote of the members of a unit whether to promote a link for review by a superior unit in the next layer above the current layer.
US09171093B2	User interface providing summary information or a status pane in a web analytics tool A system and method provide a summary comparison of data. The summary may compare filtered and unfiltered data or one set of filtered data to another. The system presents a status pane or window to a user in conjunction with filtered data that is dynamically updated to correspond to the data. A summary of the filtered data is available for display side by side with other filtered data or unfiltered data. The reports and summary are dynamically updated.
US09171092B2	Personal assistant context building Technologies related to personal assistant context building are generally described. In some examples, network service communications, such as network traffic resulting from the use of mobile applications or “apps” on a mobile device, may be captured, parsed, and included in personal assistant context databases for use in configuring automated personal assistant user interaction operations. In some examples, parsing services may be provided to parse forwarded network service communications and generate converted data for inclusion in personal assistant context databases.
US09171090B2	Method and apparatus for sharing media content A method that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving a plurality of operating commands for controlling a first presentation of media content by a first media processor device at a first display device to generate a first viewing experience and transmitting the playback file to a second media processor device via a first network, where a second presentation of the media content by the second media processor device at a second display device according to the plurality of operating commands of the playback file recreates the first viewing experience at the second display device and where the first and second media processor devices are members of the first network based upon common membership in a social media network by a first subscriber associated with the first media processor device and a second subscriber associated with the second media processor device. Other embodiments are disclosed.
US09171087B2	Method and apparatus for the implementation of a real-time, sharable browsing experience on a host device The present invention describes a method and apparatus for the implementation of a real-time, sharable web browsing experience on a host device, utilizing the transfer of URL and form data information. The present invention further describes a method for establishing a synchronized browsing session, comprising sending a request to establish the synchronized browsing session to a synchronization server, receiving a confirmation message from the synchronization server including a session identifier associated with the established synchronized browsing session, and sending an invitation to an invitee to join the synchronized browsing session, wherein the invitation includes the session identifier. The present invention further describes a method for implementing a synchronized browsing session, comprising recording a shared web browsing interaction, and transmitting information related to the shared web browsing interaction to a synchronization server.
US09171085B2	Personalized professional content recommendation A personalized content recommendation system includes a client interface configured to automatically monitor a user's information data stream transmitted on the Internet. A hybrid contextual behavioral and collaborative personal interest inference engine resident to a non-transient media generates automatic predictions about the interests of individual users of the system. A database server retains the user's personal interest profile based on a plurality of monitored information. The system also includes a server programmed to filter items in an incoming information stream with the personal interest profile and is further programmed to identify only those items of the incoming information stream that substantially match the personal interest profile.
US09171083B2	Expert network in a method and apparatus for keeping and finding information An expert network in connection with keeping and finding information provides a textual search engine which, in response to a user query comprising a search term, uses a semantic vector to promote documents that contain other, closely related terms that strongly correlate with the search term. A social graph is generated for the user in which connections for the user comprise hyper-dimensional relationships based on semantic vectors that link the search term with a collection of the other, closely related terms. A personalized semantic vector for the user is applied to the social graph. The expert network applies the user's personalized semantic vector to locate experts in the user's social graph based on a user query topic. When a connection is considered an expert for the user, content that the connection kept is recommended to the user.
US09171072B2	System and method for real-time dynamic measurement of best-estimate quality levels while reviewing classified or enriched data A system, method and computer program product for validating a document classification process, including a document collection; a document classification process performed on the document collection; a random selection module configured to automatically generate a random validation set of documents from the document collection; and a document review process performed on the random validation set of documents to validate results of the document classification process. The system, method and computer program product are configured to dynamically and in real-time measure and display on a computer display device a best case estimate of a quality of the results of the document classification process based on the documents that are validated, and given a size of a total data set of the document collection.
US09171070B2	Method for classifying unknown electronic documents based upon at least one classificaton A classification system includes a signature-based duplicate detector and an inductive classifier that share attribute information. To perform the duplicate detection and the classification, the duplicate detector and inductive classifier are first initialized by generating a lexicon of attributes for the duplicate detector and a classification model for the classifier. To develop a classification model, a training set of documents of known class are used by the classifier to determine the attributes of the documents that are most useful in classifying an unknown document. The model is developed from these attributes. Attribute information containing the attributes determined by the classifier is then passed to the duplicate detector and the duplicate detector uses the attribute information to generate the lexicon of attributes.
US09171065B2	Mechanisms for searching enterprise data graphs Highly relevant search results for unstructured queries are efficiently identified from normalized data. A server graphs relationships between each of the data objects. For each search term, the server identifies a candidate set of data objects mapped to the term. The server calculates priority scores for the candidate data objects based at least in part on one or more of: a link analysis of the graph; or an analysis of metadata describing structural constraints upon the candidate data objects. Based on the graph, the server identifies one or more search result subgraphs, each comprising at least one data object from each of the candidate sets. The server looks for subgraphs in an order that is based on the priority scores for the candidate data objects. The server may terminate its search early, in part because prioritizing the candidate data objects increases the likelihood of receiving relevant search results first.
US09171063B2	Short-term hashes In one embodiment, a server receives a search query; the server determines search terms based on the received search query, each search term including a prefix and a suffix; for each of the search term, the server generates a first binary number based on the each search term's prefix and suffix, and accesses and retrieves search results of the each search term from data stores by hashing the first binary number; the server also aggregates search results of the respective search terms.
US09171060B2	Adjustable transformations from semantic web languages Methods and systems of transforming ontologies of semantic web languages are disclosed. A user may adjust configuration settings for a transformation of primitives of a Semantic Web ontology language into primitives of a software modeling language. The adjusted configuration settings may be stored on a storage device. The transformation of primitives of the Semantic Web ontology language into primitives of the software modeling language may be performed using the adjusted configuration settings stored on the storage device. The adjusted configuration settings stored on the storage device may be selected for use in a subsequent transformation of primitives of the Semantic Web ontology language into primitives of the software modeling language. In some embodiments, the semantic web language is Resource Description Framework Schema (RDFS). In some embodiments, the software modeling language is Ecore.
US09171059B2	Selective quantity takeoff from computer aided design drawings One embodiment of the invention sets forth a CAD application configured to perform quantity takeoff computations. The CAD application is further configured to organize a CAD drawing into a hierarchical representation of object families and associated object types, where instances of the object types represent drawing objects present in the CAD drawing. The CAD application is further configured to receive a selection of an object family and to parse the selection to determine the object types associated with the selection. The CAD application then creates a takeoff object for each of the object types associated with the selection and identifies instances, associated with object properties, of each of the object types of the selection. The CAD application quantifies the instances and associated properties to produce a quantity takeoff value. Advantageously, users are able to more quickly and easily estimate the cost of a design project associated with the CAD drawing.
US09171057B2	Classifying data using machine learning Techniques for data classification include matching one or more attributes of a commodity with one or more terms of a plurality of terms in a word matrix; generating, based on the matching, a vector for the commodity; and identifying, based on the vector, one or more classification regions that each define a classification of the commodity.
US09171054B1	Systems and methods for high-speed searching and filtering of large datasets A data structure comprises a clump header table, an inline tree data structure, and one or more auxiliary data structures. Each clump header record includes an indicator of a location in the inline tree data structure of corresponding binary string segments. Clump header records or auxiliary header records include indicators of corresponding locations in the corresponding auxiliary data structure. Each auxiliary data structure can be altered without necessarily altering the inline tree or clump header table. A dedicated, specifically adapted conversion program generates the clump header file, the inline tree data structure, and the one or more auxiliary data structures. The data structure can be stored on any computer-readable medium, and can be read entirely into RAM to be searched (with or without filtering on one or more filter data fields). A dedicated, specifically adapted search and filter program is employed, which can list or enumerate the retrieved data records.
US09171053B2	Method and device for automatic migration of system configuration item A method and a device for migrating a source system configuration item: collecting through a telnet/ssh protocol channel established with a source system and a predefined shell script corresponding to the source system, a source system configuration item corresponding to a system configuration item identifier, wherein the system configuration item identifier is a predefined system configuration item identifier corresponding to the source system; comparing the collected source system configuration item with a preset default system configuration item to obtain a non-default system configuration item, wherein the non-default system configuration item is regarded as a system configuration item that needs to be migrated; querying a mapping relationship among a pre-system: the system configuration item and a key parameter value to obtain a destination system configuration item and the key parameter value; and performing migration configuration on a destination system through the telnet/ssh protocol channel established with the destination system.
US09171050B2	Data synchronization system and method for synchronizing data A data synchronization system includes a database, a management device, and a synchronization device. The database includes user folders, and the management device includes an authentication module and a data storage module. The authentication module authenticates the identification of the user who uses a client terminal device to log in the authentication module and output an authentication signal based on the result of the identification. The data storage module receives the authentication signal and output an index signal based on the authentication signal. The client terminal device is configured to connect to a corresponding user folder based on the index signal, and the corresponding user folder is used as a major user folder. The synchronization device logs in one of the accounts of a commercial database and synchronizes the data of the account to the major user folder. Furthermore, a method for synchronizing data is also disclosed herein.
US09171047B2	Methods and apparatus for targeting communications using social network metrics A method for a computer system includes receiving a first user communication, determining a first group of users, determining a target number of users, determining whether the first group of users includes the target number of users, and if not, providing the communication to the first group of users, determining a hierarchal mapping of groups of users in response to user memberships, determining a second group of users from the hierarchal mapping, determining a plurality of social network relationship factors for the second group of users with respect to the first user, and providing the communication to at least a subset of users in the second group of users in response to the first plurality of social network relationship factors.
US09171045B2	Recommending queries according to mapping of query communities A set of queries, such as a search log, is divided into commercial queries and non-commercial queries. A first set of query communities is determined from the non-commercial queries and a second set is determined from the commercial queries. The query communities are correlated based on the users who submitted the queries and instances where a query from the first set of query communities was followed by a query from the second set to generate a mapping between the first set of query communities and the second set. Later, a non-commercial query is received from a user, and the mapping is used to predict one or more commercial queries that the user is likely to submit in the future based on the non-commercial query. One or more of the commercial queries are presented to the user according to the mapping with search results responsive to the non-commercial query.
US09171042B1	Parallel processing database tree structure Database system comprising nodes configured in a tree structure is disclosed. The system includes a shared metadata store on the root node. Child nodes may request metadata from their ancestors. Parents will forward the request upward until the metadata is found or the root node is reached.
US09171035B2	Control elements of graphical user interfaces Various aspects of this disclosure are directed to displaying, by a computing device, a plurality of components of a graphical user interface. Each of the plurality of components may display one or more members of at least one dimensional level of a database having a plurality of dimensions. Each dimension of the plurality of dimensions may include one or more dimensional levels. The computing device may determine a first dimensional level of a first dimension of the plurality of dimensions having one or more members displayed in two or more of the plurality of components, and may display a control element including an indication of the dimensional level having the one or more members displayed in each of the two or more components.
US09171034B2	Method and system for allowing access to developed applications via a multi-tenant on-demand database service In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for allowing access to developed applications via a multi-tenant on-demand database service, in a controlled environment. These mechanisms and methods for providing such access can enable embodiments to provide additional control over the development process as well as the access of such developed applications. The ability of embodiments to provide such additional control may lead to an improved application development framework, etc.
US09171032B2	Radix sort with read-only key Methods and arrangements for a radix sort with a read only key. A plurality of keys are received, an array and a link table are populated for the first digit of the keys based upon the keys; and an array and a link table are populated for each successive digit of the keys based upon the array and link table populated for the preceding digit of the keys. Embodiments may be implemented in both hardware (FPGAs, ASICs, information handling devices, etc.) and software. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.
US09171027B2	Managing a multi-version database Managing different versions of a data record is provided. A mapping is maintained between a version-independent logical record identifier and a version-dependent physical record row identifier that correspond to each data record within a plurality of data records of a data table using a logical record identifier to physical record row identifier indirection mapping table. Entries within leaf pages of an index associated with the data table are updated to point to the version-independent logical record identifier corresponding to a data record instead of pointing to the version-dependent physical record row identifier corresponding to the data record. The logical record identifier to physical record row identifier indirection mapping table is updated in response to performing an operation on the data record instead of updating the entries within the leaf pages of the index associated with the data table.
US09171026B2	Test data generation and scale up for database testing using unique common factor sequencing Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for test data generation using unique common factor sequencing. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for test data generation using unique common factor sequencing is provided. The method includes loading a table for population with test data in a test data generation tool executing in a memory of a computer. A column set of multiple columns in the table associated with a key to the table is selected for processing and different cardinality sequence values are assigned to the columns in the set such that the cardinality sequence values do not share a common factor except for unity as in the case of prime numbers.
US09171025B2	Test data generation and scale up for database testing using unique common factor sequencing Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and computer program product for test data generation using unique common factor sequencing. In an embodiment of the invention, a computer program product for test data generation using unique common factor sequencing is provided. The computer program product includes loading a table for population with test data in a test data generation tool executing in a memory of a computer. A column set of multiple columns in the table associated with a key to the table is selected for processing and different cardinality sequence values are assigned to the columns in the set such that the cardinality sequence values do not share a common factor except for unity as in the case of prime numbers.
US09171016B2	Content selection apparatus and content selection method A content selection apparatus selects a target content item which is a content item to be presented to a user, from a plurality of content items. The plurality of content items are sorted into a plurality of management units according to a creation date and time of each content item. The content selection apparatus includes a selection unit that selects a predetermined number of management units in ascending order of the number of sorted content items, and selects a content item that belongs to the selected management units as the target content item.
US09171010B2	Method and system for building a streaming model A method of constructing a plurality of downloadable files from an application file and a plurality of transcripts. The application file stores data blocks and implements an application. Each of the transcripts stores at least one order in which at least a portion of the data blocks of the application file were accessed by the application when executed previously. The transcripts are combined into a combined transcript storing at least one combined order comprising a combined portion of the data blocks. The data blocks of the combined portion are arranged in a data structure having an origin. A first set of data blocks within a predetermined distance from the origin is stored in at least one initial execution file. A second set of data blocks outside the predetermined distance from the origin is stored in downloadable sequence files.
US09171007B2	Compression/decompression accelerator protocol for software/hardware integration Embodiments relate to providing a data stream interface for offloading the inflation/deflation processing of data to a stateless compression accelerator. An aspect includes transmitting a request to inflate or deflate a data stream to a compression accelerator. The request may include references to an input buffer for storing input data from the data stream, an output buffer for storing processed input data, and a state data control block for storing a stream state. The stream state is provided to the compression accelerator to continue processing the data stream responsive to the request being a subsequent request. The compression accelerator is instructed to store a current stream state in the state data control block responsive to the request being a non-final request. Accordingly, the current stream state is received from the compression accelerator responsive to the request being a non-final request. The processed input data is received from the compression accelerator.
US09170999B2	Method, system, and program product for transferring document attributes The present invention provides a method, system, and program product for transferring document attributes. Specifically, under the present invention, a change to an attribute corresponding to a document archived in a content storage system is received on an indexing system. In response to the change, an archival date corresponding to storage of the document in the content storage system is set to a current date. Also, a start date and an end date in an index transfer tool is set to the current date. Thereafter, the changed attribute is transferred to the content storage system based on a matching of the newly changed archival date with the set start and end dates.
US09170997B2	Commenting dynamic content Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to add opaque state information to a data file that includes dynamic content and is organized according to a page descriptive format. The opaque state information can be referenced to a comment and a comment state selected from a plurality of states associated with the dynamic content. In some embodiments, the apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to access the data file and the opaque state information to recreate the comment state associated with the dynamic content. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
US09170996B2	Content interchange bus Disclosed is a content interchange bus that is configured for (i) receiving a first content creation request from a client, the first content creation request including a first content object that includes data intended for distribution, a first metadata name/value pair describing the first content object, and a second metadata name/value pair describing a first content container; (ii) creating the first content container in the cloud storage platform; (iii) storing the first content object in the cloud storage platform; (iv) receiving a first message from the client, the first message including the first content container's uniform resource identifier and/or the first content object's uniform resource identifier, the message including a topic string that includes a first routing string; and (v) routing the first message to a first subscriber based at least partially on the topic string including the first routing string.
US09170993B2	Identifying tasks and commitments using natural language processing and machine learning An example of identifying tasks and commitments can include receiving a communication message. A task and a parameter can be identified in the communication message. Information related to the task can be extracted from the communication message using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML). A commitment related to the task can be identified using NLP extracted information. A state of the commitment can be identified using NLP and ML based on the extracted information.
US09170992B2	Treatment determination and impact analysis A method, software, database and system for determining an optimal treatment for an illness in an individual and for determining the impact (e.g., side effects and intended benefits) of the treatment in the individual are presented in which an attribute profile of the individual containing genetic and non-genetic attributes is compared against a database containing combinations genetic and non-genetic attributes that are statistically associated with successful treatment of the illness in other individuals.
US09170991B2	Enhanced visual table editing A system and method for editing a table within a hypertext markup language (HTML) editor is described, the method comprising analyzing code representing the table to determine dimension parameters based on content of the table, storing the dimension parameters in a memory, receiving edit indications from a user, concurrently comparing the edit indications against the dimension parameters, wherein edit indications that exceed the dimension parameters are rejected, and updating each instance of the dimension parameters within the code with the edit indications.
US09170990B2	Method and system for document retrieval with selective document comparison This invention discloses a novel system and method for displaying electronic documents on remote devices and enabling collaborative editing where the system upon a request by a user to access a document, automatically determines the latest version of a document that the person had accessed and also whether a newer version had been created. The invention also merges parallel changes that have not been viewed by the user into the comparison result. The invention also includes running a comparison on the two versions and presenting the result to the user.
US09170987B2	Style extensibility applied to a group of shapes by editing text files Style extensibility is provided to shapes in a diagram by editing text files. A structured data model is used to render the diagram representing items provided by the user in a text-based format such as a bulleted list. A style engine determines style properties for style labels assigned to key shapes of the diagram. Style properties include features associated with the shapes and their content that preserve an overall look-and-feel of the diagram. Color scheme(s) are also provided through the style labels. A layout engine uses layout definitions based on user input and default parameters along with style label assignments to render a presentation model. Style properties may be modified and new styles added after the diagram is rendered.
US09170984B2	Computing time-decayed aggregates under smooth decay functions Aggregates are calculated from a data stream in which data is sent in a sequence of tuples, in which each tuple comprises an item identifier and a timestamp indicating when the tuple was transmitted. The tuples may arrive at a data receiver out-of-order, that is, the sequence in which the tuples arrive are not necessarily in the same sequence as their corresponding timestamps. In calculating aggregates, more recent data may be given more weight by a decay function which is a function of the timestamp associated with the tuple and the current time. The statistical characteristics of the tuples are summarized by a set of linear data summaries. The set of linear data summaries are generated such that only a single linear data summary falls between a set of boundaries calculated from the decay function and a set of timestamps. Aggregates are calculated from the set of linear data summaries.
US09170975B2	High speed overlay of idle I2C bus bandwidth High-speed serial communications between programmable devices connected to an I2C bus that includes a serial clock channel (SCL) and a serial data channel (SDA), having at least a logical low state and a logical high state. The programmable device determines if the SCL channel is idle, indicated by a logical high state. Determining the SCL to be idle, the programmable device holds the SCL to a logical low state. The programmable device operates high-speed serial communications using the SDA channel while holding the SCL to the low logical state. In response to completion of the high-speed communications, the programmable device releases the SCL channel and the SCL channel returns to the logical high state.
US09170973B2	USB communication apparatus and method of reducing power consumption amount thereof using a squelch signal to indicate the presence of signals on a USB bus are at a predetermined level A USB (Universal Serial Bus) communication apparatus includes: a driver circuit connected to a USB bus and configured to transmit a packet onto the USB bus for a packet transmission period which is determined based on a transmission request signal from another unit. A receiver control circuit generates a fixation request signal and a generation control signal in response to the transmission request signal. A receiver circuit connected to the USB bus generates a squelch signal showing that the packet is being transmitting onto the USB bus, and stops generating the squelch signal in response to the generation control signal. A line state signal control circuit is configured to output a specific line state signal based on the squelch signal to notify to another unit that the packet is been transmitting onto the USB bus, and to fix the specific line state signal in response to the fixation request signal.
US09170967B2	System and method for transmitting information from a transmitter to a receiver via a single line A method for transmitting logical information from a transmitter to a receiver via a single line, the receiver being connected to the transmitter by the line, the receiver placing a first signal on the line and the first signal being made up of alternating recessive and dominant levels, the transmitter placing a second signal on the line and the second signal being superposed on the line by the transmitter at least in the segments in which the first signal has a recessive level, the second signal being made up of a sequence of recessive and dominant levels, and the receiver determining from the second signal the logical information that is to be received.
US09170960B2	Location of computing assets within an organization Mechanisms are provided for determining the location of computing assets within an organization. These mechanisms determine first location information identifying a location of at least one first physical asset housing in a predetermined physical area of the organization relative to a predetermined coordinate system, and second location information identifying a location of at least one second physical asset housing within the at least one first asset housing. The mechanisms automatically determine third location information identifying a location of at least one computing asset within the at least one second physical asset housing. In addition, the mechanisms generate an asset location map data structure for the organization based on the first, second and third location information. The mechanisms also perform at least one management operation for managing resources of the organization, based on the asset location map data structure for the organization.
US09170957B2	Distributed dynamic memory management unit (MMU)-based secure inter-processor communication A first processor and a second processor are configured to communicate secure inter-processor communications (IPCs) with each other. The first processor effects secure IPCs and non-secure IPCs using a first memory management unit (MMU) to route the secure and non-secure IPCs via a memory system. The first MMU accesses a first page table stored in the memory system to route the secure IPCs and accesses a second page table stored in the memory system to route the non-secure IPCs. The second processor effects at least secure IPCs using a second MMU to route the secure IPCs via the memory system. The second MMU accesses the second page table to route the secure IPCs.
US09170952B1	Configurable multi-standard device interface A configurable interface includes a transmitter module and a receiver module, each configured to operate according to at least three different interface standards. The configurable interface further includes an interface module configured to determine a physical medium attachment (PMA) standard of a PMA coupled to the configurable interface and activate at least one component of the configurable interface based on the PMA standard. In an arrangement, the device interface supports a CAUI-4 standard.
US09170951B1	Method and apparatus for event/alert enrichment Methods and apparatus to provide alert enrichment in a cloud storage system. In one embodiment, the system performs alert/event identification with information from an identity matching service for the components of the cloud storage system to generate a resource identifier for the component associated with a first one of the processed alerts/events, and use the resource identifier to identify a service, platform, virtual machine, virtual application, virtual data center, organization and/or platform component associate with the first one of the processed alerts/events.
US09170946B2	Directory cache supporting non-atomic input/output operations Responsive to receiving a write request for a cache line from an input/output device, a caching agent of a first processor determines that the cache line is managed by a home agent of a second processor. The caching agent sends an ownership request for the cache line to the second processor. A home agent of the second processor receives the ownership request, generates an entry in a directory cache for the cache line, the entry identifying the remote caching agent as having ownership of the cache line, and grants ownership of the cache line to the remote caching agent. Responsive to receiving the grant of ownership for the cache line from the home agent an input/output controller of the first processor adds an entry for the cache line to an input/output write cache, the entry comprising a first indicator that the cache line is managed by the home agent of the second processor.
US09170942B1	System, apparatus, and method of automatic data padding A computer-executable method, system, and computer program product for managing a data storage system, wherein the data storage system includes a host-cache and a data storage array, the computer-executable method, system, and computer program product comprising receiving an I/O request, processing the I/O request by locating data related to the I/O request and aligning the I/O request with the data to create an aligned portion of data, and updating the data storage array with the aligned portion of data.
US09170936B2	Communicating to update a memory Embedded devices typically have an operating system, one or more file-systems, as well as a bootloader and other data components resident in flash memory. During software development and testing, there is frequently a need to selectively update a combination of such images. The described technique organizes the images in the flash memory such that one can speed up the update process by eliminating relocation of existing images. A command-driven update mechanism provides a flexible process—eg, one can upload the images back to a host, one can update the update code itself, etc. A start handshake is used that enables auto-detection of the embedded serial port that is used for the update.
US09170935B2	Semiconductor memory device A semiconductor memory device includes a memory unit configured in page units, an error correction code (ECC) module for generating error correcting codes, a page information addition module for generating page information, and a controller for controlling the reading and writing of data to the memory unit. The controller is configured to associate error correction code information and page information with each frame unit of data written to the memory unit and to store the associated information with each frame unit. The controller is configured to output data to an external host in sizes less than one page unit, such as one frame unit.
US09170929B2	Memory controller A data storage temporarily stores an address conversion table associating the sector numbers with the physical addresses for each file. A conversion table memory allocator allocates a memory region for the address conversion table corresponding to a file when a request is made to open the file. A file system manager releases the allocated memory region at a given time. The file system manager stores sector numbers of one or multiple sectors constituting a file in each record of the address conversion table for which the memory region is allocated in sequence. Then, a memory control section searches the flash memory to acquire a physical address corresponding to a sector number in the each record of the address conversion table, and stores each acquired physical address in the corresponding record.
US09170928B1	I/O scheduling and load balancing across the multiple nodes of a clustered environment Write operations are scheduled for multiple nodes in a shared storage cluster that supports volume replication. Requests are received from nodes for allocation of space for write operations in a replication log. In response to a received request, the current capacity of the requesting node to manage a backlog can be determined. The amount of space in the replication log allocated to the node is then calibrated to the node's capacity, thereby preventing self-throttling. A separate priority can be assigned to each volume, and space in the replication log assigned to each volume based on its priority. Nodes can target synchronous and other latency sensitive operations to higher priority volumes. A single global queue can be maintained to schedule write operations for all nodes, thereby providing a fair scheduling. A separate local queue can be maintained for each node, thereby providing specific levels of preference to specific nodes.
US09170927B1	Automatic testing a software product comprising a plurality of software packages A mechanism is provided for automatic testing a software product comprising a plurality of software packages that are to be installed or de-installed in defined order. Software package dependency and prerequisite information is analyzed for each software package and a dependency abstraction level matrix is created for the software packages. The dependency abstraction level matrix is reduced by searching for software packages assigned to more than one abstraction level, determining the highest abstraction level the software package is assigned to, and deleting the software package from lower abstraction levels that the software package is assigned to. Possible software package test combinations of the software product are determined based on the reduced dependency abstraction level matrix. An installation or de-installation procedure of software packages is performed based on the software package test combinations to test installation or de-installation order of the software packages.
US09170923B2	Apparatus and method for testing conformance of service choreography An apparatus and method for testing conformance of service choreography are provided. The apparatus for testing conformance of service choreography analyzes an architecture and an operation between web services cooperating on a distributed network to test conformance of a choreography application into which the web services are combined, on the basis of a service choreography specification.
US09170918B2	Model verification system, model verification method, and recording medium A model verification system includes a formal language conversion part operable to convert model figure data registered as a design pattern in association with a program into formal language expression data based upon an expression format of a predetermined formal language, and a formal language increment part operable to add a modification to a component of the formal language and/or attribute information on the formal language expression data converted by the formal language conversion means to generate formal language expression data of a derivative design. The model verification system conducts refactoring.
US09170917B2	Flow tracing though diverse logical and physical application and infrastructure layers/dependencies In various exemplary embodiments, a system and a related method and a related computer-readable medium to perform the method, for tracking numerous software calls in an enterprise environment is provided. The method includes tracking, during a runtime operation of the enterprise environment, layers through which each of the software calls passes. The tracking includes logging each of a multitude of physical components involved in each of the software calls, annotating each of the physical components with associated metadata, logging each of a multitude of logical components involved in the software calls, annotating each of the logical components with associated metadata, and logging a reliance of each of the physical components and the logical components on other physical and logical components. A dependency map is generated indicating the layers tracked in each of the software calls.
US09170912B1	System and methods for power and energy modeling in computing devices using system call tracing A method for generating a power consumption and energy usage model for a computing device includes monitoring of the power consumption of the computing device with an external power monitor when the computing device is in a base power state, monitoring of the power consumption of the computing device during execution of a system call with a processor that interacts with a component in the computing device, and monitoring the power state of the computing device before the computing device returns to the base power state. The method further includes generating a finite state machine model of the power states and transitions between power states to model the power activities and energy consumption of the computing device in the absence of an external power monitor.
US09170908B2	System and method for dynamic analysis bytecode injection for application dataflow Bytecode is injected to create a source tracking object for a data object received from a data source and to record information associated with the data source into the source tracking object. Bytecode is injected to create a copy of the data object for a tracking event in an application program, to create a flow tracking object for the tracking event, and to record information associated with the tracking event into the flow tracking object as the tracking event processes the copy of the data object. Bytecode is injected to create a sink tracking object for outputting the copy of the data object to a data sink and to record information associated with the data sink into the sink tracking object. Bytecode is injected to output the source tracking object, the flow tracking object, and the sink tracking object as dynamic analysis of dataflow in the application program.
US09170907B2	Method of providing high integrity processing A method of providing synchronization and integrity checking in a high integrity processing system having at least two redundant processing lanes, with each lane having an application processor, with the application processors running the same application software in a non-lockstep configuration, and outputting transactions requiring access to an addressable space.
US09170903B2	System level architecture verification for transaction execution in a multi-processing environment Embodiments relate to building, by a computing device, a pseudo-random dynamic instruction stream that comprises instructions configured to perform a transaction execution. The computing device may cause the transaction execution to be tested in a multi-processing system based on the instruction stream. A status of the test may be output to one or more output devices.
US09170901B2	System and method for analyzing an electronics device including a logic analyzer A system for testing or debugging a device under test having an embedded logic analyzer. In one embodiment, the system includes software stored in non-transitory memory for testing a device under test having an embedded logic analyzer, the software program product having instructions which, when executed by a computing device associated with the device under test cause the computing device to reconstruct signals of interest in the device under test based at least in part upon signals captured by the embedded logic analyzer during the test or debug session, and cause the computing device to display the reconstructed signals of interest to a user of the computing device.
US09170898B2	Apparatus and methods for providing data integrity The present disclosure includes apparatus (e.g., computing systems, memory systems, controllers, etc.) and methods for providing data integrity. One or more methods can include, for example: receiving a number of sectors of data to be written to a number of memory devices; appending first metadata corresponding to the number of sectors and including first integrity data to the number of sectors, the first metadata has a particular format; generating second integrity data to be provided in second metadata, the second integrity data corresponding to at least one of the number of sectors (wherein the second metadata has a second format); and generating third integrity data to be provided in the second metadata, the third integrity data including error data corresponding to the second integrity data and the at least one of the number of sectors.
US09170888B2	Methods and apparatus for virtual machine recovery Methods and apparatus for recovery of virtual machine failure. A succession of data images is captured, with each of the data images comprising an operating system of the virtual machine. The data images are images of data elements chosen based at least in part on their suitability for virtual machine restoration. Upon detection of a virtual machine failure, an attempt is made to restore the virtual machine using the highest ranked. If the attempt fails, further attempts are made using lower ranked data images, until an attempt is successful or all available data images have been used.
US09170887B2	Memory system and controlling method of memory system According to one embodiment, when being notified of an interruption of an external electric power supply, a second processor performs a saving operation for storing management information and data stored in a first volatile memory to a first non-volatile memory, and records a progress log, indicating a progress of the saving operation, into a second volatile memory. The first processor periodically checks whether the progress log is recorded in the second volatile memory or not, and when the progress log is recorded in the second volatile memory, the first processor stores the progress log into the second non-volatile memory.
US09170886B2	Relaxed anchor validation in a distributed synchronization environment Relaxing of anchor validation in a distributed synchronization environment, in one aspect, updates a synchronization anchor during synchronization of data between computing devices only in response to determining that the data operation if repeated the second time on the computing device would change overall data stored on the computing device.
US09170880B1	Method and system for data integrity in TCAMS Method and system for a network device are provided. The method includes generating error correction code (ECC) for writing data to a ternary content addressable memory used by the network device; storing the ECC code and the data at the TCAM; generating an ECC for a search key, used for searching the TCAM; and detecting any error in the stored data by using the search key with appended ECC.
US09170876B1	Method and system for decoding encoded data stored in a non-volatile memory A method of decoding a primary codeword and a set of secondary codewords stored in a non-volatile memory (NVM), which includes reading, from the NVM, the primary codeword and all the secondary codewords and storing them in a second memory. The primary codeword is then read from the second memory and decoded, utilizing a soft-decision decoder, based on a log-likelihood ratio (LLR) vector. When the decoding of the primary codeword is unsuccessful: each secondary codeword of the set of secondary codewords is read from the second memory and decoded, utilizing a hard-decision decoder, to identify and correct errored data bits in the each secondary codeword and to determine a location of each errored data bit in the primary codeword. An adjusted LLR vector is generated by adjusting the LLR for each primary codeword data bit based on the determined locations of the errored data bits in the primary codeword.
US09170875B2	Method for monitoring a data memory A method is described for monitoring a data memory in which an error detection method is used to detect and/or correct incorrect data words stored in memory lines of the data memory, an address of the data memory at which a data word evaluated as incorrect by the error detection method is stored being written to an auxiliary memory and being made available to a checking program.
US09170871B2	Data polling method and digital instrumentation and control system for atomic power plant using the method The CPU includes: a data transmission instruction output processor; a failure detection signal input processor to which a failure detection signal is input from a failure detection processor for detecting a failure of an input unit; a data storage memory for, each time an input data update processor of the input unit updates data, storing the updated data; and a CPU operation processor for obtaining input data from the data storage memory and obtaining a detection signal from the failure detection signal input processor to perform operation processing. The CPU operation processor obtains periodic data as of an amount of time given by the following expression ago: {ROUNDUP(T22/T1)}×T1 where T22 is the failure detection processing time of the failure detection processor, T1 is the data transmission instruction output period of the data transmission instruction output processor, and ROUNDUP is a function of rounding up to the nearest integer.
US09170869B2	Switchable per-lane bit error count Systems, methods, and apparatuses for error checking are disclosed. In one embodiment, an error checking system is used on a device that has a plurality of parallel data lanes as inputs. It may be desired to provide an error checking system with sufficient resolution to detect single-bit errors, determine how many bits are in error, and/or determine which bit(s) of a parallel data lane are in error. In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides for switchable error checking through the use of a multiplexor configured to select a particular data lane for error checking. This switchable error checking may provide benefits such as low cost, low power consumption, and/or low size.
US09170866B2	System and method for in-service diagnostics based on health signatures In accordance with the present disclosure, a system and method are herein disclosed for providing in-service diagnostics based on health signatures of an information handling system. In one embodiment, the health of an information handling system is periodically probed by a software agent running as a service. The service polls a set of probes from interfaces on the host system and tracks parameters indicative of system and component health and performance. An analytics engine processes the data to identify anomalies and outliers, and to detect signatures that are precursors to potential service incidents. A rule set matches signatures to potential actions. Based on the detected signatures and rule sets, the service is operable to select, schedule, and execute one or more diagnostic tests. If an information handling system or component thereof fails a diagnostic test, the results are archived to persistent storage and communicated to an administrator.
US09170865B2	Executing a gather operation on a parallel computer that includes a plurality of compute nodes Executing a gather operation on a parallel computer that includes a plurality of compute nodes, including: dividing, by each task in an operational group of tasks, a send buffer containing contribution data into a plurality of chunks of data, each chunk of data located at an offset within the send buffer; sending, by each task in the operational group of tasks, one chunk of data to a root task through a data communications thread for each chunk of data; receiving the chunks of data by the root task; and storing, by the root task, each chunk of data in a receive buffer of the root task in dependence upon the offset of each chunk of data within the send buffer.
US09170862B2	Converting apparatus, conversion method, and information processing system A converting apparatus includes a storage configured to store correspondence information that indicates correspondence relations between logical addresses accessed by a processor for booting and physical addresses converted from the logical addresses, the correspondence information being correlated with each type of an event booting the processor; and an address converter configured to select correspondence information related to the type of the event, specify a physical address converted from the logical address accessed by the processor in case of the processor accessing a logical address in response to the event, and control the processor to get a program stored in the storage, the program indicated by the specified physical address.
US09170858B2	Optimized task processing method and device for an FWS The subject of the present invention is a method for processing alerts by an avionic system FWS that makes it possible to optimize the processing of these alerts without unnecessarily consuming “processor time”. The method according to the invention is characterized in that it consists in having processed, on each processing cycle of the processor of the FWS, only the operations relating to alerts for which the result has been modified since the preceding processing cycle.
US09170855B2	Virtual application extension points A virtual application may be configured with several extension points within a host operating system. The virtual application may be configured with a private namespace in which various components, such as registry settings, dynamic linked libraries, and other components may reside. During configuration, links may be placed in the host operating system that may point to objects in the virtual application's private namespace so that the operating system and other applications may launch, control, or otherwise interact with the virtual application. The links may be located in a file system, registry, or other locations and may be available to other applications, including other virtual applications. A configuration routine may place the links into the host operating system at the time the application may be configured.
US09170854B2	Thread assignment for power and performance efficiency using multiple power states A method is performed in a computing system that includes a plurality of processing nodes of multiple types configurable to run in multiple performance states. In the method, an application executes on a thread assigned to a first processing node. Power and performance of the application on the first processing node is estimated. Power and performance of the application in multiple performance states on other processing nodes of the plurality of processing nodes besides the first processing node is also estimated. It is determined that the estimated power and performance of the application on a second processing node in a respective performance state of the multiple performance states is preferable to the power and performance of the application on the first processing node. The thread is reassigned to the second processing node, with the second processing node in the respective performance state.
US09170853B2	Server device, computer-readable storage medium, and method of assuring data order A stop unit stops transmitting data to a plurality of nodes for every predetermined period. An acquisition unit acquires versions of routing tables, which are updated in accordance with movement of a query, from the plurality of nodes when the transmission of the data is stopped. A comparison unit compares the versions of the routing tables of the plurality of nodes that are acquired. When there is a node in which the routing table of an old version is stored as a result of the comparison, an update unit updates the routing table of the node.
US09170846B2	Distributed data-parallel execution engines for user-defined serial problems using branch-and-bound algorithm A distributed data-parallel execution (DDPE) system splits a computational problem into a plurality of sub-problems using a branch-and-bound algorithm, designates a synchronous stop time for a “plurality of processors” (for example, a cluster) for each round of execution, processes the search tree by recursively using a branch-and-bound algorithm in multiple rounds (without inter-processor communications), determines if further processing is required based on the processing round state data, and terminates processing on the processors when processing is completed.
US09170842B2	Information processing terminal and resource release method In an information processing terminal, a second screen activation monitoring unit that has received a focus OFF notification sends a domain switch request notification to a domain control unit, and the domain control unit that has received the notification sends a domain switch notification to a first OS. Then, the first OS sends a focus ON notification to a first screen activation monitoring unit and further sends the focus OFF notification to a first application. A resource is thereby released by the first application that is implemented to release an acquired resource upon receiving the focus OFF notification.
US09170839B2	Method for job scheduling with prediction of upcoming job combinations A method for scheduling different combinations of jobs simultaneously running on a shared hardware platform is disclosed. Schedules may be created while executing the current set of jobs, for one or more possible sets of jobs that may occur after a change in the current set of jobs. In at least one embodiment, the present invention may be implemented in a SDR system where the jobs may correspond to radios in the SDR system. The possible combinations of radios that may occur after a change in the set of currently running radios may be determined at run time by adding or removing one radio at a time from the set of currently running radios.
US09170836B2	System and method for re-factorizing a square matrix into lower and upper triangular matrices on a parallel processor A system and method for re-factorizing a square input matrix on a parallel processor. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) a matrix generator operable to generate an intermediate matrix by embedding a permuted form of the input matrix in a zeroed-out sparsity pattern of a combination of lower and upper triangular matrices resulting from a prior LU factorization of a previous matrix having a same sparsity pattern, reordering to minimize fill-in and pivoting strategy as the input matrix and (2) a re-factorizer associated with the matrix generator and operable to use parallel threads to apply an incomplete-LU factorization with zero fill-in on the intermediate matrix.
US09170835B2	Apparatus and method for expedited virtual machine (VM) launch in VM cluster environment Method and apparatus for expedited virtual machine (VM) launch in VM cluster environment. In one embodiment, at least one VM is launched within a host platform. Once initialized, a VM may issue a hypercall to a VM monitor (VMM) of a VM host platform. In response, the VMM may capture a runtime image of the VM. In one embodiment, the VMM loads the runtime image of the VM within a node of the host platform as a child VM. In an alternative embodiment, the VMM issues a VM clone command to a VMM of a next host platform including the runtime image of the VM. In response, the VMM of the next platform loads the runtime image of the first VM within a node of the second host platform as a cloned VM. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09170829B2	Method and system for improving startup performance and interoperability of a virtual application A data structure including simple and complex objects. Each simple object includes a content type indicator, a size indicator, and one or more simple data types. Each complex object includes a content type indicator, a size indicator, and one or more child objects. The complex objects include a layer object having first and second child objects. The first child object is a collection of complex objects storing information for configuring a virtual filesystem of a virtual application at application startup. The second child object is a collection of complex objects storing information for configuring a virtual registry of the virtual application at application startup. Reading of selected simple and complex objects may be deferred at startup based on the content type indicator. Deferred objects may be read after startup when access to information stored by the deferred object is request by the virtual application.
US09170827B2	Configuration file compatibility Disclosed herein is a technique that compares a first series of bits associated with a configuration file with a second series of bits associated with computer readable instructions so as to determine whether the configuration file is compatible with the instructions.
US09170826B2	Common multi-language text management in a business-oriented software framework A system, a method, and a computer-program product for providing multi-language support in applications are disclosed. A first textual expression contained within an application is obtained. The first textual expression is expressed in a first language. A unique key from a hash of the first textual expression is generated. A language code representative of a second language is determined. Based on the generated unique key and the determined language code, a second textual expression in the second language representative of a translation from the first language into the second language indicated by the language code is determined. The second textual expression is provided to the application to replace the first textual expression in a view presented to a user.
US09170825B2	Interface method resolution for virtual extension methods The disclosed embodiments provide a system that facilitates the development and execution of a software program. During operation, the system obtains, from the software program, a method call associated with one or more interfaces containing a virtual extension method. Next, the system resolves the method call by obtaining a method implementation corresponding to the method call from at least one of an inheritance hierarchy associated with the method call and the virtual extension method.
US09170823B2	Fast-boot list to speed booting an operating system A method for booting to an operating system stored on a solid state drive. The method comprises the steps of (A) determining if a boot list has one or more entries, (B) pre-reading one or more logical block addresses of each of the entries from the boot list, (C) receiving a command from a host, (D) reading the command from a memory internal to the solid state drive if the command is in a cache area of the pre-read logical block addresses and (E) reading the command from a main portion of the solid state drive if the command is not in the cache.
US09170821B1	Automating workflow validation A test document associated with a workflow definition is obtained, the test document including an input for an action of the workflow definition and an expected state for the workflow definition based on the input. The input is delivered for the action of a workflow instance, the workflow instance being an instance of the workflow definition executed by a workflow engine, and the action determined based upon a present state of the workflow instance. A next state of the workflow instance is obtained, where the next state is determined by the workflow engine based upon the present state, the action and the input. The next state of the workflow instance is compared to the expected state of the test document.
US09170817B2	Reducing branch checking for non control flow instructions Some microprocessors check branch prediction information in a branch history table and/or a branch target buffer. To check for branch prediction information, a microprocessor can identify which instructions are control flow instructions and which instructions are non control flow instructions. To reduce power consumption in the branch history table and/or branch target buffer, the branch history table and/or branch target buffer can check for branch prediction information corresponding to the control flow instructions and not the non control flow instructions.
US09170814B2	Bitstream buffer manipulation with a SIMD merge instruction Method, apparatus, and program means for performing bitstream buffer manipulation with a SIMD merge instruction. The method of one embodiment comprises determining whether any unprocessed data bits for a partial variable length symbol exist in a first data block is made. A shift merge operation is performed to merge the unprocessed data bits from the first data block with a second data block. A merged data block is formed. A merged variable length symbol comprised of the unprocessed data bits and a plurality of data bits from the second data block is extracted from the merged data block.
US09170813B2	Method and apparatus for performing logical compare operations A method and apparatus for including in a processor instructions for performing logical-comparison and branch support operations on packed or unpacked data. In one embodiment, instruction decode logic decodes instructions for an execution unit to operate on packed data elements including logical comparisons. A register file including 128-bit packed data registers stores packed single-precision floating point (SPFP) and packed integer data elements. The logical comparisons may include comparison of SPFP data elements and comparison of integer data elements and setting at least one bit to indicate the results. Based on these comparisons, branch support actions are taken. Such branch support actions may include setting the at least one bit, which in turn may be utilized by a branching unit in response to a branch instruction. Alternatively, the branch support actions may include branching to an indicated target code location.
US09170810B2	Selection and assessment of software components The present disclosure involves systems, software, and computer implemented methods for providing selection and assessment of software components. One process includes operations for identifying a software component for assessment. Dependencies associated with the software component are analyzed, wherein analyzing dependencies includes identifying at least one relevant perspective associated with the software component, identifying a scope associated with the at least one relevant perspective, and determining whether the software component is associated with at least one related infrastructure component based on the scope or at least one other software component that the software component depends on based on the scope. The software component and each of the at least one related infrastructure component or the at least one other software component are assessed against a set of criteria.
US09170807B2	Determining logical configuration commands to create a logical object An approach to generating logical configuration commands for logical objects in a system. A method may involve receiving a command requesting the logical configuration commands to configure the specified logical object (subject logical object) and the logical objects that support the logical object (the support logical objects). The method may also involve determining what logical objects in the system support the subject logical object. This may require determining the support logical objects that directly support the subject logical object, and then recursively examining each support logical objects to find the logical objects on which they depend. For each logical object (whether the subject logical object or one of the support logical objects), the method may involve determining the logical configuration commands to appropriately create and modify the logical object. The logical configuration commands may then be presented to the user.
US09170806B2	Software discovery by an installer controller A method for performing software discovery by an installer controller is provided and may include detecting, at a computer, an attempt by a software installer to execute on the computer, wherein during execution, the software installer modifies software on the computer. A Software Asset Management (SAM) computer server may be queried for an approval status corresponding to a software package provided by the software installer. The installer controller executes the software installer upon receiving on the returned approval status; aggregates a result from the execution of the software installer based on the software installer modifying the software on the computer; and updates a discovery software signature on the computer when the returned approval status is marked as known.
US09170805B2	Software maintenance supporting device for analyzing relationships between variables The invention relates to a software maintenance supporting device that analyzes and displays the structure of software, and its object is to divide software into clusters including plural variables and illustrate the result of the division. The software maintenance supporting device extracts variable dependence relation data from a source code, and divides software into clusters including plural variables, using a variable dependence relation. Also, an inter-variable dependence relation is illustrated as a directed graph in which a variable is expressed as a node and a dependence relation is expressed as a link, and variables belonging to the same cluster are highlighted.
US09170797B2	Automated deployment of an application in a computing platform A platform executing on a computer system configures an application and components that provide capabilities to the application based on an application descriptor of the application, the application and the components to be run on a plurality of nodes of the platform that are arranged in a cluster. The platform assigns a first set of the components to run on a first node of the plurality of nodes and a second set of on the components to run on a second node of the plurality of nodes. The platform installs the first set of the components on the first node and the second set of the components on the second node.
US09170796B2	Content space environment representation Embodiments of the invention relate to content space environment representation. An aspect of the invention includes selecting one or more platform attributes for a software content space. The software content space includes one or more noun spaces. A platform space is created for each noun space in the software content space. The platform space is compatible with the noun space. A set of user stories is generated on a computer using the software content space and platform specification compatible with existing content space system specifications.
US09170793B2	System and method for displaying measurement programs A computing device is connected to a measurement machine. The measurement machine measures an object to obtain images of measured elements of the object by using a measurement program. The computing device divides the measurement program into two or more program segments. An icon for each program segment is generated according to a type of the program segment. The computing device generates a title state and an opened state for each program segment. If a program segment is in the title state, the icon, a name, and a first line of program codes of the program segment is displayed on an interface provided by the electronic device. If the program segment is in the opened state, the computing device displays all program codes of the program segment on the interface.
US09170789B2	Analyzing potential benefits of vectorization Embodiments of computer-implemented methods, systems, computing devices, and computer-readable media (transitory and non-transitory) are described herein for analyzing execution of a plurality of executable instructions and, based on the analysis, providing an indication of a benefit to be obtained by vectorization of at least a subset of the plurality of executable instructions. In various embodiments, the analysis may include identification of the subset of the plurality of executable instructions suitable for conversion to one or more single-instruction multiple-data (“SIMD”) instructions.
US09170787B2	Componentization of compiler functionality Compiler functionality is componentized to enable use across different contexts. Conventionally tightly coupled functionality is decoupled and an interface afforded to facilitate interaction with compiler components/subcomponents in various scenarios. In one instance, compiler components can be employed across compile time and runtime. Compile time functionality can be employed at runtime and runtime functionality utilized at compile time thereby blurring the line between time dimensions.
US09170786B1	Composable context menus Developer-composed context menus, e.g., composed by a developer in connection with use of a software development tool to create an application, are disclosed. In various embodiments, a definition of a context menu option and an associated action are received. Application code to implement the context menu at runtime, including by performing processing at runtime as defined in the definition to determine one or both of the context menu option and the associated action, is generated programmatically.
US09170784B1	Interaction with partially constructed mobile device applications Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for creating mobile device applications. In one aspect, a method includes determining that a user has entered one or more user inputs into an integrated development environment, to select or arrange a component that defines a portion of an application, and transmitting interpreter code that corresponds to the component to a mobile device, where the interpreter code, when interpreted by a command interpreter on the mobile device, causes the mobile device to generate a mock-up of the portion of the application defined by the component.
US09170782B2	Extensible mechanism for providing suggestions in a source code editor An extensible editor for editing program source code can customize a default display provided by a language service in an IDE. The default display can be modified using source code-specific extension code. The extension code can be provided by a third party. The extension code can reside in the source code file to which it applies. The extension code can reside in a separate file from the file in which the source code resides. A naming convention can be used to enable the extensible editor to locate the extension code. Display entries can be filtered, added, removed, or modified using an API provided by the extensible editor. The API can allow the extension code to register for one or more events including but not limited to a completion hint event, a completion list event, and a function help event. User-provided extensions can be used to customize default display results.
US09170778B2	Methods and systems for application development Embodiments include a computer-readable medium embodying program code comprising code for receiving input defining a plurality of cells and a logical relationship between the cells, each cell representing a master screen of an application under development. Additional code for associating an asset with a cell, and code for storing a hyper-wireframe data structure identifying the plurality of cells, the logical relationship between the cells, and the asset may be included. The cells may be part of a hyper-wireframe embodied in a data structure alongside a plurality of assets and a target characteristic value of an intended target of the application under development. An application may determine whether to enable or disable an editing feature of an editing application based on the asset and the target characteristic value. Additionally or alternatively, permission data associated with assets may be used to enable or disable the editing feature.
US09170774B2	Fast carry lookahead circuits A fast lookahead carry adder includes adder logic and lookahead carry-path logic coupled to the adder logic. The carry path logic has a main carry path, a carry entrance path and a carry exit path, the carry entrance path separate from the carry exit path.
US09170773B2	Mixed precision estimate instruction computing narrow precision result for wide precision inputs A technique is provided for performing a mixed precision estimate. A processing circuit receives an input of a first precision having a wide precision value. The processing circuit computes an output in an output exponent range corresponding to a narrow precision value based on the input having the wide precision value.
US09170772B2	Method and apparatus for decimal floating-point data logical extraction Embodiments of systems, apparatuses, and methods for performing BIDSplit instructions in a computer processor are described. In some embodiments, the execution of a BIDSplit instruction tests the encoding of a binary-integer decimal source value and extracts a sign, exponent, and/or significand into a destination.
US09170771B2	Residue-based error detection for a processor execution unit that supports vector operations A residue generating circuit for an execution unit that supports vector operations includes an operand register and a residue generator coupled to the operand register. The residue generator includes a first residue generation tree coupled to a first section of the operand register and a second residue generation tree coupled to a second section of the operand register. The first residue generation tree is configured to generate a first residue for first data included in the first section of the operand register. The second residue generation tree is configured to generate a second residue for second data included in a second section of the operand register. The first section of the operand register includes a different number of register bits than the second section of the operand register.
US09170765B2	Printing system, information processing apparatus, and method to be used therein A printing system including a printer for storing a setup program for installing a printer driver and an information processing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatus starts up the setup program acquired from the printer, when the printer driver is installed, identifies an attribute of an OS running on the information processing apparatus, creates a port having a port name according to a predetermined format according to the identified attribute of the OS, and installs the printer driver.
US09170762B2	Multifunction peripheral and storage medium The storage section of the multifunction peripheral stores location information containing a storage location of software which transmits a control command whose execution is permissible. The execution permission judging section of the multifunction peripheral includes (I) a storage location detecting section which detects a storage location of software which has participated in a transmission of a received control command and (II) a command permitting/prohibiting section which (i) prohibits execution of the received control command when a storage location indicated by the location information is not detected by the storage location detecting section but (ii) permits execution of the received control command when the storage location is detected by the storage location detecting section.
US09170760B2	Device, method, and recording medium for outputting image A device generating a drawing to be output determines a scale of the drawing based on a size of an output area and generates a drawing to be output based on the determined scale. In this way, a drawing with an appropriate scale can be generated.
US09170758B2	Automatic load balancer for presses A press load balancer automatically balances the printing load over a number of presses by taking into account the load on each press and the substrates (i.e., paper types) and inks installed on the presses to improve throughput while minimizing load on the press operators.
US09170757B1	Optimization of raid group storage A method of operating a memory system to compress data efficiently is described. The user data and the associated metadata are separated so that user data having repeating data patterns of greater length than a single user data structure may be assembled for storage. The user metadata and the repeating pattern metadata are stored in non-volatile memory such that the repeating pattern metadata can be used to reconstruct the repeating pattern of individual user data blocks. The reconstructed user data blocks are combined with user metadata, if any, and returned to the user in response to a read request.
US09170752B2	Dynamic feedback-based throughput control for black-box storage systems Embodiments of the present invention relate to dynamic feedback-based throughput control for storage systems. In one embodiment, a method of and computer program product for storage throughput control are provided. A plurality of I/O requests is received at a rate controller. The plurality of I/O requests is sent from the rate controller to a storage system at a first rate. Throughput of the storage system is observed. The first rate is dynamically adjusted based on the variance between the observed throughput of the storage system and the first rate.
US09170751B2	Storage subsystem including logic for copy-out and write A storage server receives a write request from a client system including new data and a location to store the new data. The storage server transmits a copy instruction to a storage subsystem to relocate old data at the location and transmits a write instruction to the storage subsystem to overwrite the old data with the new data. The storage subsystem includes fast stable storage in which the copy instruction and the write instruction are stored. After receiving each instruction, the storage subsystem sends an acknowledgement to the storage server. When both instructions have been acknowledged, the storage server sends an acknowledgement to the client system. The storage subsystem performs the instructions asynchronously from the client system's write request.
US09170749B2	Management system and control method for computer system for managing a storage apparatus To provide a storage management technique for creating and managing, with single operation by a user, a large quantity of writable snapshots, which satisfy a requirement desired by the user, while controlling a use form of a storage apparatus not to exceed limits of the performance and the capacity of the storage apparatus. Therefore, a management computer manages configuration information and performance information of plural storage apparatuses and an operation state of a writable snapshot. When a writable snapshot is created, the management computer controls, concerning an original snapshot, a use form of the storage apparatuses not to exceed a disk performance limit and a controller performance limit and a capacity limit of a storage on the basis of the number of writable snapshots to be created and a performance requirement (IOPS) and a capacity requirement of the writable snapshot.
US09170744B1	Computer program product for controlling a flash/DRAM/embedded DRAM-equipped system A computer program product, apparatus and associated method/processing unit are provided for utilizing a memory subsystem including NAND flash physical memory and DRAM physical memory. Further included is a first buffer for receiving DDR signals and converting the DDR signals to SATA signals. The first buffer includes embedded DRAM physical memory. Also provided is a second buffer for receiving the SATA signals and converting the SATA signals to NAND flash signals. The second buffer is communicatively coupled to the first buffer via a first memory bus associated with a SATA protocol, the NAND flash physical memory via a second memory bus associated with a NAND flash protocol, and the DRAM physical memory.
US09170742B2	Techniques for reducing memory write operations using coalescing memory buffers and difference information A system, method, and computer program product are provided for reducing write operations in memory. In use, write operations to be performed on data stored in memory are identified. A difference is then determined between results of the write operations and the data stored in the memory. Difference information associated with the difference is stored in the memory. To this end, the write operations may be reduced, utilizing the difference information.
US09170738B2	Managing and editing stored media assets Methods and systems are described for providing editing tools that allow a user to manipulate media provided by a media content source. Media editing tools may include content analysis tools capable of extracting information from the media content itself, and may include segment identification and editing tools. Editing tools may be created by a user, and stored or shared with other users. Users may be able to specify and customize a set of storage space requirements that impose constraints on the type, quantity and content of stored assets. Automatic storage management tools provide tools with which stored and to-be-stored assets may be transformed in order to maintain satisfaction of storage preferences and requirements.
US09170736B2	Hover controlled user interface element Example apparatus and methods concern controlling a hover-sensitive input/output interface. One example apparatus includes a proximity detector that detects an object in a hover-space associated with the input/output interface. The apparatus produces characterization data concerning the object. The characterization data may be independent of where in the hover-space the object is located. The apparatus selectively controls the activation, display, and deactivation of user interface elements displayed by the apparatus on the input/output interface as a function of the characterization data and interface state. Selectively controlling the activation, display, and deactivation of the user interface elements includes allocating display space on the input/output interface to the user interface elements when they are needed for an operation on the apparatus and selectively reclaiming space on the input/output interface allocated to the user interface elements when they are not needed for an operation on the apparatus.
US09170733B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and non-transitory computer readable medium An information processing apparatus includes a display, a detector, a display controller, a display region changing unit, and an editing execution unit. The detector detects plural touches made by an indicator on a screen of the display. The display controller causes the screen to display a first element and a second element, the second element being arranged on the first element. The display region changing unit changes, if a predetermined type of change occurs in a touch position of the indicator, a display region in which the first element and the second element are displayed on the screen, in accordance with the change. The editing execution unit executes, after a first touch position and a second touch position have been detected, if a predetermined type of change occurs in the second touch position with the first touch position being maintained, editing associated with the change on the second element.
US09170723B2	Method, graphical user interface, and computer program product for processing of a light field image A method and a graphical user interface for processing of an object in light field data is provided. The method and graphical user interface may be used to remove an object or obstruction blocking another object or background of a captured scene. The method and graphical user interface may also be used for high precision edge detection in a light field image.
US09170720B2	Smart toilet systems and methods A plumbing fixture includes a basin, a plumbing system configured to supply water to the basin, a processing circuit, and a housing containing the plumbing system and the processing circuit. The housing includes ports on the second face allowing access to a digital audio input, the plumbing fixture configured to output audio via a speaker based on the digital audio input. The plumbing fixture further includes a remote control configured to control the plumbing fixture and further configured to customize selectable audio sources for playback via the speaker.
US09170718B2	Systems and methods for enhanced engagement In some embodiments, a method comprises displaying a pre-registration invitation on a first digital device connected to a wireless network, determining one or more wireless network identifiers associated with the wireless network, generating a pre-registration code request, the request including the one or more wireless network identifiers, providing the pre-registration code request to a virtual network server, the server generating a pre-registration code in response to the pre-registration code request, the pre-registration code associated with the one or more wireless network identifiers, receiving the pre-registration code, providing a registration request from a second digital device, the registration request comprising the pre-registration code, and provisioning an account based on the registration request and the wireless network identifiers, the wireless network identifiers identified based on the pre-registration code.
US09170715B1	System and method for mass visualization of real estate properties The invention relates to a method of assessing real estate properties comprising: (a) obtaining geocodes for the real estate properties based on the addresses or assessor parcel numbers; (b) obtaining at least two images of the real estate properties from an aerial vendor; (c) inputting the list of real estate properties, the addresses or assessor parcel numbers of the real estate properties, the geocodes for the real estate properties, and detailed images of the real estate properties into a database; (d) providing a computer having access to the database via a graphical user interface; (e) displaying the images of the real estate properties; and (f) rating the real estate properties. The described method of assessing real estate properties may further include steps of receiving a list of real estate properties; and obtaining the addresses or assessor parcel numbers for the real estate properties included in the list.
US09170713B2	Electronic device and control method thereof An electronic device and a method of controlling the electronic device are provided.The electronic device may group items based on a drag input on a virtual bookshelf having the items.
US09170707B1	Method and system for generating a smart time-lapse video clip An electronic device with a display, processor(s), and memory displays a video monitoring user interface including a video feed from a camera located remotely from the client device in a first region and an event timeline in a second region, the event timeline including event indicators for motion events previously detected by the camera. The electronic device detects a user input selecting a portion of the event timeline, where the selected portion of the event timeline includes a subset of the event indicators. In response to the user input, the electronic device causes generation of a time-lapse video clip of the selected portion of the event timeline. The electronic device displays the time-lapse video clip, where motion events corresponding to the subset of the event indicators are played at a slower speed than the remainder of the selected portion of the event timeline.
US09170705B1	System and method for determining an interest in promotional content displayed at a mobile communication device Determining interest in promotional content to be displayed at a mobile communication device is described. The promotional content, including a first portion that is visible and a second portion that is hidden in a first state, may be received. The first and second portions are each selectable only when visible. A promotional display that includes the promotional content in the first state is generated. Upon receipt of a first input from the user in relation to the first portion, the promotional content may be transitioned from the first state to a second state such the first portion becomes hidden and the second portion becomes visible. Upon failing to receive a second input from the user in relation to the second portion, the promotional content may be transitioned from the second state to the first state. Upon receipt of the second input, an interest in the promotional content may be indicated.
US09170703B2	Methods and apparatus for adding user-customizable features to application software An application's users are divided into two groups: administrative users and end-users. Each type of region, produced on an application's screen, is assigned a class. Each actual occurrence, of a region type, is called an instance. An end-user invokes a user-added feature by indicating a screen location and inputting a unique signal. The classes, of the screen-region instances present at the indicated location, determine whether one or more rules are activated. The rules are written by an administrative user. If activated, a rule produces a URL in accordance with an administrative-user-defined template. A value stored in the instances present, at the location indicated when the unique signal occurred, are accessed in a template by including the name of the value as a parameter. Each parameter is substituted by the text-equivalent of its current value. The URL produced can be used to provide the information desired by the end-user.
US09170700B2	Playing and editing linked and annotated audiovisual works In one embodiment, a method includes obtaining metadata that relates to a video program and that defines, for one or more specified time points in the video program, one or more web services to be invoked at those time points; generating and displaying, on a computer, a video window that is configured to play the video program; during playing the video program on a computer, detecting that the video program is playing at one of the time points and determining an identifier of a particular web service associated with that one of the time points; in response to the detecting, causing the computer to invoke the particular web service.
US09170688B2	Apparatus and method for sensing capacitance, and touch screen apparatus There are provided an apparatus for sensing capacitance, a method for sensing capacitance, and a touch screen apparatus. The apparatus for sensing capacitance includes; a driving circuit unit applying driving signals to a first capacitor; an integration circuit unit including a second capacitor and a third capacitor respectively charged by a change in capacitance generated in the first capacitor based on the driving signals to generate a predetermined output voltage and calculating a voltage difference between the output voltage of the second capacitor and the output voltage of the third capacitor; and a control unit determining characteristics of a noise signal based on the voltage difference and controlling the driving signals based on the characteristics of the noise signal.
US09170687B2	Display device including sensor A display device includes: a first display panel; a second display panel opposite to the first display panel; and an electro-optical active layer between the first display panel and the second display panel, wherein the first display panel includes a thin film transistor including a gate electrode, a source electrode, a drain electrode and a semiconductor layer, a gate line configured to transmit a gate signal to the gate electrode of the transistor and extending in a first direction, and a sensing electrode extending in the first direction and overlapping the gate line, where the sensing electrode and the gate electrode define a capacitor.
US09170684B2	Optical navigation device An optical navigation device may include an image sensor with an imaging surface, a laser, and an optical waveguide layer having an exposed user surface and a total internal reflection (TIR) surface on the underside of the exposed user surface. The waveguide layer, the laser, and the image sensor may be together arranged to direct radiation emitted by the laser onto the imaging surface at least partly by total internal reflection by the TIR surface.
US09170680B2	Method, system and computer program product for operating a touchscreen Within a display area of a touchscreen, multiple elements are displayed. A location is detected of a physical touch within the display area. In response to determining that an ambiguity exists about which of the elements is being targeted by the physical touch, a menu is displayed on the touchscreen for prompting a user to select between ones of the elements that are at least partially displayed within a specified area around the location. The ambiguity is resolved by receiving a selection from the user via the menu.
US09170679B2	Capacitance sensing apparatus and method, and touch screen apparatus There is provided a capacitance sensing apparatus including: a driving circuit unit applying a driving signal to a first capacitor; a first integrating circuit unit including a second capacitor charged by a change in capacitance generated in the first capacitor based on the driving signal to generate a first output voltage; and a second integrating circuit unit including a third capacitor charged by a change in capacitance generated in the second capacitor to generate a second output voltage, wherein a level of the second output voltage is changed at least twice during a single period of the driving signal applied to the first capacitor.
US09170677B2	Hybrid force sensitive touch devices A hybrid touch-screen display that integrates force-based touch-screen technology with any one from among a group of projective capacitive, surface capacitive, resistive, digital resistive, SAW, IR, APR, DST, optical and electromagnetic touch-screen technologies to provide an ability to compensate for non-perfect force transfer. An alternate implementation is also disclosed that employs a single force sensor for relative force measurement in a system in which force is traditionally not measured, here a water dispenser unit. This allows compensation for varying static loads, run-time calibration, and filtering of extraneous loads through firmware.
US09170676B2	Enhancing touch inputs with gestures Methods and systems according to one or more embodiments are provided for enhancing interactive inputs. In an embodiment, a method includes concurrently capturing touch input data on a screen of a user device and non-touch gesture input data off the screen of the user device. The method also includes determining an input command based at least in part on a combination of the concurrently captured touch input data and the non-touch gesture input data. And the method further includes affecting an operation of the user device based on the determined input command.
US09170675B2	Noise reduction method, device and system on the basis of touch detection of a capacitive screen It is provided a noise reduction method, device and system on the basis of touch detection of a capacitive screen. The noise reduction method includes: sending a first scanning waveform to all receiving terminals by a first sending terminal and then sending a second scanning waveform to all the receiving terminals by a second sending terminal during a detection time period, wherein the phase of the first scanning waveform is continuous with that of the second scanning waveform and the first scanning waveform has a same frequency as that of the second scanning waveform; and filtering a signal received by the receiving terminals after demodulating it. Non-gap scanning can be achieved by performing continuation process to the scanning waveform, i.e. by achieving that the phases are continuous and the frequencies are the same.
US09170673B2	Electronic device and method of data transmission A terminal device (electronic device) includes a display which displays an image that specifies data, a touch panel which is disposed on the display and detects a contact of an object, a transmission operation detection unit which, when the display displays the image that specifies data, detects that a transmission operation has been performed with respect to the data if the touch panel detects a contact that continues over at least a predetermined distance and is in a predetermined direction, and a data transmission unit which, when the transmission operation detection unit detects the transmission operation, transmits the data to another electronic device.
US09170671B2	Touch enhanced interface Some embodiments provide a Touch Enhanced Interface (TEI) that translates data from touch devices into a wide variety of output actions, free from the construct of mapping such touch data to an on-screen pointer or direct screen-mapped coordinates. Based on the touch and hold of one or more fingers, the TEI enables access to different sets of operations. Then based on different taps, holds, directional slides, and directional flicks of one or more fingers, the TEI performs specific operations in an accessed set of operations. Some embodiments provide a TEI viewer that displays symbols that identify the operations that can be performed using the various touches.
US09170667B2	Contextual user interface Embodiments of the present invention analyze a context in which a user interacts with a computer interface and automatically optimizes the interface for the context. The controller or control mode the user selects for interaction may define the context, in part. Examples of control modes include gesturing, audio control, use of companion devices, and use of dedicated control devices, such as game controllers and remote controls. The different input devices are designed for different tasks. Nevertheless, a user will frequently attempt to perform a task using a control input that is not adapted for the task. Embodiments of the present invention change the characteristics of the user interface to make it easier for the user to complete an intended task using the input device of the user's choice.
US09170666B2	Representative image A system including a display, a sensor and a controller. The sensor can detect an object and generate data related to the object. The controller can determine a first pose of the object from the data and display a first representative image on the display. The controller can determine a second pose of the object and display a second representative image on the display, wherein the second representative image is associated with a displayed element.
US09170665B2	Lifetime OLED display Light emitting devices including sub-pixels having different numbers of emissive layers are provided. At least one sub-pixel of a first color may include a single emissive layer, and at least one sub-pixel of a second color may include multiple emissive layers disposed in a vertical stack. Light emitting devices in which different voltages are applied to each sub-pixel or group of sub-pixels are also provided. In some configurations, the voltage to be applied to a sub-pixel may be selected based upon the number of emissive layers in the sub-pixel.
US09170662B2	Stylus pen and electronic device having the same A stylus pen for inputting data of an electronic device includes a cavity type cylinder housing, a head, a moving body, and at least one grip. The cavity type cylinder housing has a tip for engaging with a touch screen at one end and the head is retractably installed at the other end of the cylinder housing. A moving body disposed within the cylinder housing and coupled to the head slidably moves depending on a retraction operation of the head. At least one grip is installed such that a portion of the grip is protudes outwardly from the cylinder housing depending on a movement direction of the moving body.
US09170661B2	Cursor management system An N-screen computer display system is described that includes N panels having N screens capable of displaying a cursor. The system also includes a cursor repositioning component having N screen selectors associated with the N screens. Each of the N screen selectors can be activated to reposition the cursor such that if a particular one of the N screen selectors is activated, the cursor is repositioned to a location on a particular screen associated with the particular one of the N screen selectors. Also described is a cursor location identifier to identify the location of a cursor in a computer display system.
US09170659B2	Mobile terminal The present disclose provides a mobile terminal, including a terminal body having a front surface and a rear surface, a front display unit disposed on the front surface and configured to output visual information thereon, and a rear input unit disposed on the rear surface and configured to be manipulated to input a control command, wherein the rear input unit includes a frame installed on a case of the terminal body to be manipulated in a pressing manner, and having a mounting portion, and a rear display mounted onto the mounting portion, and configured to output visual information toward the rear surface, the visual information being related to an event generated in the mobile terminal.
US09170654B2	Object information derived from object images Search terms are derived automatically from images captured by a camera equipped cell phone, PDA, or other image capturing device, submitted to a search engine to obtain information of interest, and at least a portion of the resulting information is transmitted back locally to, or nearby, the device that captured the image.
US09170649B2	Audio and tactile feedback based on visual environment Disclosed herein is an apparatus. The apparatus includes a housing section, electronic circuitry, a touch screen, and a user sensory feedback system. The electronic circuitry is mounted within the housing section. The touch screen is on the housing section. The touch screen is configured to sense a touch at an area of the touch screen. The electronic circuitry is configured to analyze a feature displayed at the area of the touch screen. The user sensory feedback system is proximate the housing section. The user sensory feedback system is configured to perform an operation based, at least partially, upon the touch at the area of the touch screen and upon an image analysis of the feature at the area of the touch screen.
US09170648B2	System and method for virtual engineering A method and system for generating a virtual image of a virtual environment is provided. A virtual reality manager receives hand position data for at least one hand of a user from a hand system. The virtual reality manager receives head position data for a head of the user from a head-mounted system. The virtual reality manager identifies image-based position data and a current frame of reference for a current time using a target image corresponding to the current time. The virtual reality manager generates virtual image control data for the current time using the hand position data, the head position data, the image-based position data, and the current frame of reference. The virtual image control data is configured for use by a virtual image application.
US09170646B2	Ophthalmic lens system capable of interfacing with an external device The present invention provides an energizable ophthalmic lens system capable of wirelessly interfacing with an external device. The energizable ophthalmic lens system may dynamically interact with a specified external device, wherein a user may operate one or more functionalities within the external device through the energizable ophthalmic lens system. The external device may be able to recognize eye gestures, which may comprise deliberate eye and lid movements. The external device may operate a functionality within the ophthalmic lens system, wherein the operation may be based on information received from the ophthalmic lens system. The ophthalmic lens system may comprise at least one energizable ophthalmic lens. Multiple ophthalmic lenses may be preferable where the functionality of either or both the ophthalmic lens system or the external device may occur based on relative position data or communication between lenses.
US09170642B2	Dynamic power control Systems and methods are provided that facilitate power management in a processing device. The system contains a power management component and a coupled to the processing device. The power management component determines and input rate and target voltages and/or frequency. The power management component can scale voltages and/or frequencies based on target voltages and/or frequencies. Accordingly, power consumption can be reduced and processing devices can be more efficient.
US09170641B2	Electronic device and method for supplying power to at least two different loads by single power supply An electronic device and a method for supplying power are provided. The electronic device includes a power supply, a central processing module, at least two load power supply circuits including a capacitor, at least one switch and at least one feedback resistor unit. The switch is connected with the power supply and the central processing module, configured to be turned on or off according to a control signal output by the central processing module; the feedback resistor unit is connected with the switch and a load, configured to sample the load when the switch is turned on and feed back a sampled voltage, to the power supply through the switch, the power supply supplies power to the load; the capacitor is connected with the switch and the load, configured to be charged when the switch is turned on, or supply power to the load when the switch is turned off.
US09170640B2	System and method for turning off unused components in a plurality of limited operation modes, users have different terminal usage rights for each A control method, a control apparatus and a terminal are provided according to embodiments of the present invention. The method includes: receiving a trigger event; determining from the trigger event whether the terminal enters a limited operation mode in which at least one component of the terminal is unusable; generating a first control instruction when it is determined that the terminal enters the limited operation mode; and controlling to turn off power supply to the at least one component terminal according to the first control instruction. With the present invention, it is possible to switch the terminal system between a limited operation mode and a normal operation mode in terms of hardware, thereby saving power and satisfying the low-carbon environmental preservation requirements.
US09170639B2	Method and apparatus for mitigating effects of memory scrub operations on idle time power savings modes An approach for saving power in a memory subsystem that uses memory access idle timer to enable low power mode and memory scrub operation within computing system has been provided. The computing system determines that a memory subsystem is switched out of low power operation mode due to a memory scrub operation. In addition, the computing system bypasses the low power operation mode of an idle timer of the memory subsystem such that the memory subsystem is returned to the low power operation mode upon completion of the memory scrub operation. The computing system further sets a scrub flag of the memory subsystem to a high state, and clears the scrub flag to a low state to track if the idle timer should be bypassed.
US09170636B2	Operating system management of network interface devices Operating system management of network interface devices is described. In one or more implementations, a determination is made by an operating system that network traffic associated with one or more applications of the computing device has completed. Responsive to the determination, a network interface device is caused to transition to a mode to reduce power consumption of the network interface device by the operating system.
US09170634B2	Power management module for USB devices A system and method of managing power of a multi-function USB device suspends the device in response to receipt of a request to suspend from a USB host; assigns respective device functions to indefinite, locked or unlocked states; allows the device to resume if there are data or requests for host attention pending at a given function that is in the unlocked state and assigning the given function to the locked state; and otherwise maintains the suspend even if there are data are pending at one or more functions that are in the locked state.
US09170633B2	Method and apparatus for managing power in computer systems The invention is directed towards minimizing power consumption in computer systems. One embodiment of the invention is a power management system that is used for a computer system that has at least one device and one power domain. This embodiment uses two different power managers to manage the power consumption of the device and the power domain. Specifically, this embodiment has (1) a first power manager that determines when to change power state of the device, and (2) a second power manager that determines when to change power state of the power domain. Each of these power managers decides to change the power state of its corresponding device or domain based on information from several different sources. These sources can include power-management clients and power managers of related domains or devices.
US09170629B2	Medium, control method and information processing apparatus A computer-readable storage medium stores a control program for an information processing apparatus that includes a process unit capable of executing an application program. The control program causes the information processing apparatus to execute a process. The process includes acquiring control information included in the application program, generating association information associating the application program with response performance information in accordance with the control information acquired in the acquiring, type information associating a combination of control information with a type of the application program, and response performance information associated with a type of the application program, and controlling operating frequency of the process unit in accordance with the response performance information corresponding to the application program when the application program described in the association information is operating.
US09170624B2	User level control of power management policies In one embodiment, the present invention includes a processor having a core and a power controller to control power management features of the processor. The power controller can receive an energy performance bias (EPB) value from the core and access a power-performance tuning table based on the value. Using information from the table, at least one setting of a power management feature can be updated. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09170617B2	Information processing apparatus to selectively disable or throttle an external graphics controller According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus including: a first processor; a second processor that has an information processing capability and a power consumption higher than those of the first processor; a temperature monitoring module configured to acquire an operating temperature of the second processor; a throttle number determination module configured to determine whether the throttling control is performed a given number of times or more within a given time interval; and a processor switching control module configured to perform, when the operating temperature of the second processor is equal to or higher than a given temperature: stopping an operation of the second processor; causing the first processor to perform an information process; and prohibiting the operation of the second processor.
US09170616B2	Quiet system cooling using coupled optimization between integrated micro porous absorbers and rotors Micro porous absorber structures that be tuned to attenuate noise at the blade pass frequency (BPF) of a cooling fan. The absorber may comprises a panel covered with micro-porous openings with an air gap under the panel. The size of the air gap may be adjusted dynamically to optimize noise attenuation for a fan operating at different speeds.
US09170607B2	Method and apparatus for determining the presence of a device for executing operations An apparatus, method, and computer program product are described that can detect the presence of a tangible object without using computer vision. The apparatus receives a signal from a device proximate the apparatus, where the signal includes at least one of a proximity component and an orientation component, and also receives a touch input from the associated display. The apparatus then determines whether there is an association between the signal and the touch input based on the proximity component and/or the orientation component. If the signal and the touch input are associated, it is an indication that the device is disposed on the display, operations may be executed, such as to facilitate interaction between the apparatus and the device. As a result, any object capable of providing a signal having a proximity component or an orientation component can be detected (e.g., without the use of cameras or fiducial markers).
US09170606B2	Information processing device, processing control method, program, and recording medium An information processing device, while in a first input mode for receiving a touchless operation as an input, receives a touchless operation as an input, and starts processing that corresponds to the received touchless operation. If the information processing device detects a switch operation, which is made with a touch on the information processing device for switching from the first input mode to a second input mode that is a mode for receiving a touch operation as an input, within a predetermined time period after the reception of the touchless operation, the information processing device sets an output status obtained as a result of the started processing to an output status which has been obtained before the start of the processing.
US09170591B2	Low drop-out regulator with a current control circuit A circuit including a low drop-out regulator (LDO) has a current control loop configured and connected to detect whether an external capacitor is connected to the output of the LDO. The current control loop includes a differential amplifier, a current source capable to output different reference currents and a small MOS transistor. The circuit may be operated in an output capacitor detection mode when started and in a regulated voltage source mode otherwise. In the output capacitor detection mode, the small MOS transistor is driven by the differential amplifier and drives the LDO's power MOS transistor depending on a difference between a current through the small MOS transistor and the reference current output by the current source. Components of the current control loop may be used during regulated voltage source mode for short circuit protection.
US09170587B2	Current control semiconductor element and control device using the same This invention provides a current control semiconductor element that can detect a current with high accuracy in a single IC chip by dynamically correcting changes in a gain a and an offset b, and a control device that uses the current control semiconductor element, the current control semiconductor element has a transistor 4, a current-to-voltage conversion circuit 22 and an AD converter 23 on the same semiconductor chip. A reference current generation circuit 6 superimposes a current pulse Ic on a current of a load 2 and changes a voltage digital value to be output from the AD converter. A gain/offset corrector 8 executes signal processing on change in the voltage digital value caused by the reference current generation circuit 6 to dynamically acquire the gain a and the offset b that are used in an equation that indicates a linear relationship between the voltage digital value output from the AD converter 23 and the current digital value of the load. A current digital value calculator 12 uses the gain and the offset acquired by the gain/offset corrector 8 to correct the voltage value output from the AD converter.
US09170584B2	Water circulation system valve assemblies having water temperature control A valve assembly for a water circulation system includes a valve body defining a bypass passage between a hot water side and a cold water side of the valve body. The bypass passage has a valve seat therein. A bypass valve is received within the bypass passage. The bypass valve restricts the flow of water through the bypass passage based on a temperature of the water in the bypass passage. The bypass valve is variably positionable with respect to the valve seat to control a bypass shut-off temperature of the water.
US09170581B2	Industrial vehicles with overhead light based localization According to the embodiments described herein, a method for environmental based localization may include capturing an input image of a ceiling comprising a plurality of skylights. Features can be extracted from the input image. The features can be grouped into a plurality of feature groups such that each of the feature groups is associated with one of the skylights. Line segments can be extracted from the features of each feature group, automatically, with one or more processors executing a feature extraction algorithm on each feature group separately. At least two selected lines of the line segments of each feature groups can be selected. A centerline for each of the feature groups can be determined based at least in part upon the two selected lines. The center line of each of the feature groups can be associated with one of the skylights.
US09170580B2	Determining trajectories of redundant actuators jointly tracking reference trajectory A method determines trajectories of redundant actuators of a machine including a first actuator and a second actuator. The method determines a first trajectory of the first actuator tracking a reference trajectory with an error tolerance, wherein the error tolerance is a function of a constraint of the second actuator, and determines a second trajectory of the second actuator based on a difference between the reference trajectory and the first trajectory.
US09170568B1	Fail-safe static switch A fail-safe static switch for controlling the supply of redundant electrical power to critical loads. A first control path has a signal analyzer configured to monitor predetermined characteristics of a power supply voltage. The signal analyzer generates a first failure signal when the characteristics of the power supply voltage monitored by the signal analyzer are not in compliance with predetermined metrics. A second control path has a first electrical circuit configured to monitor predetermined characteristics of the power supply voltage. The first electrical circuit generates a second failure signal when the characteristics of the power supply voltage monitored by the first electrical circuit are not in compliance with predetermined metrics. The fail-safe static switch further includes an output providing an electrical output signal. The electrical output signal changes state when at least one of the first failure signal and the second failure signal are generated.
US09170565B2	Interior component positioning structure, timepiece, and interior component positioning method A structure includes a wristwatch case; an inner frame arranged inside the wristwatch case and having an upper surface provided with a positioning fitting recess; a timepiece module arranged as being positioned inside the inner frame; and a parting plate which is provided with a positioning pin that is provided on a lower surface of the parting plate facing the upper surface of the inner frame, and that is fitted into the positioning fitting recess of the inner frame, thereby positioning the parting plate with respect to respect to the inner frame. As a result, in a state where the timepiece module is arranged and positioned inside the inner frame arranged in the wristwatch case, the positioning pin of the parting plate can be fitted into the positioning fitting recess of the inner frame. Accordingly, the parting plate can be accurately positioned with respect to the inner frame.
US09170564B2	Time-to-digital converter and PLL circuit using the same A time-to-digital converter (TDC) that has high resolution, excellent linearity, and a widerange. The TDC includes a first oscillator unit that generates and outputs a pair of first oscillation signals based on a pair of predetermined clock signals that have a predetermined phase difference, a second oscillator unit that generates and outputs a second oscillation signal that have a predetermined frequency based on the pair of first oscillation signals outputted from the first oscillator unit, and a quantizer that calculates a quantized value based on a number of edges of the second oscillation signal outputted from the second oscillator unit.
US09170563B2	Timepiece comprising a winding mechanism and at least one mechanism for correcting at least one indicator member The invention relates to a horological device, in particular a horological movement or timepiece, comprising a winding mechanism and at least one mechanism for correcting at least one indicator member. According to the invention, the aforementioned mechanisms can be actuated by a control stem that can occupy at least two axial positions, each corresponding to the actuation of one of the mechanisms, said control stem (T) comprising: a winder pinion (5) that can engage with the winding mechanism; and a sliding pinion (6) that can be moved axially, both with respect to the control stem (T) and with respect to the frame of the horological device, and can engage with the correcting mechanism.
US09170559B2	Toner cartridge for an image forming device having a retainer assembly having positioning features for processing circuitry A replaceable unit for an electrophotographic image forming device according to one embodiment includes a housing having an internal toner reservoir. A circuit board is mounted within a pocket on an exterior of the housing. An outer ramp is positioned outside the pocket and ahead of the pocket with respect to a direction of insertion of the replaceable unit into the image forming device. The outer ramp is angled to direct the electrical connector of the image forming device toward a plane of the circuit board during insertion of the replaceable unit into the image forming device. An inner ramp inside the pocket is angled to direct the electrical connector of the image forming device toward the plane of the circuit board during insertion of the replaceable unit into the image forming device.
US09170557B2	Cleaning blade, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge A cleaning blade includes a blade member formed of a strip-shaped rubber material and having a leading-edge ridge line portion to contact a moving surface of a cleaning target member and remove adhering matter from the surface of the cleaning target member. The blade member has a Martens hardness of 1.0 N/mm2 or more in a vicinity of the leading-edge ridge line portion measured from an opposing surface of the blade member, the opposing surface including the leading-edge ridge line portion and opposing the cleaning target member, or measured from a leading-edge surface of the blade member, the leading-edge surface including the leading-edge ridge line portion and disposed adjacent to the opposing surface of the blade member.
US09170555B2	Image forming apparatus capable of reducing a toner consumption amount by performing toner supply control In an image forming apparatus, to provide a lubrication effect for an abutment portion of a transfer belt and a belt cleaning blade, when a control toner image is supplied, the control toner image is supplied to the abutment portion even when it is not necessary, thereby consuming a large amount of toner. In the image forming apparatus, the control unit changes a toner amount of the control toner image reaching the abutment portion of a photosensitive member and a photosensitive member cleaning blade and the toner amount thereof reaching the abutment portion of a transfer belt and a belt cleaning blade, based on a detection result of an environment detection unit.
US09170540B2	Image forming apparatus and method to determine an operation start time point of a photoconductor driving unit An image forming apparatus and a method of controlling the image forming apparatus are provided. An image forming apparatus may determine the operation start time point of a photoconductor based on ready times of the photoconductor and devices used in image forming processes so as to minimize idling of the photoconductor.
US09170538B2	Electronic device An electronic device includes a power supply, a current measuring unit, a converter, a plurality of devices, and a control unit. The current measuring unit measures a current value of current that is output from the power supply. The voltage and the current from the power supply are input into the converter, and the converter converts the input voltage into voltage of a different voltage value, and outputs the voltage thus converted and the current. The control unit controls the converter to output voltage of a voltage value corresponding to a minimum current value measured by the current measuring unit, in which the voltage is voltage of a voltage value between a maximum value of lower limit voltage and a minimum value of upper limit voltage within an operating voltage range of one or a plurality of devices that operate in the energy saving mode.
US09170531B2	Image forming apparatus with a restriction device that controls separate drive sources An image forming apparatus includes a rotary shaft, a first image bearing member, a nip forming member, a moving device, and a restriction device. The first image bearing member bears a visible image on a surface thereof and is rotatable about the rotary shaft which is driven directly or indirectly. The nip forming member contacts the first image bearing member to form a transfer nip therebetween. The moving device is disposed on the rotary shaft and rotates to move the nip forming member to contact and separate from the first image bearing member. The restriction device inhibits rotation of the moving member in a state in which the nip forming member is separated from the first image bearing member by the rotation of the moving device.
US09170528B2	Toner container and image forming apparatus having the same A toner container according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a toner container to be detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus. The toner container includes a container body, a pair of guide portions, and a storage portion. The container body contains toner. The pair of guide portions are provided on a bottom surface of the container body and allow the container body to be guided in a mounting direction toward a mounting position that allows toner to be supplied from the container body to the image forming apparatus. The storage portion is attached at a predetermined position between the pair of guide portions on the bottom surface of the container body. The storage portion stores information about toner contained in the container body.
US09170527B2	Image forming apparatus having developer replenishment control An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member and a developer replenishment device. In addition, a control portion executes a first mode of detecting a first toner image for control by a sensor and controlling an operation of the replenishment device so that a detection result from the sensor attains a first target value, a second mode of detecting a second toner image for control by the sensor and setting a development contrast of a maximum image density so that a detection result attains a second target value, and a third mode of detecting a third toner image for control by the sensor and changing, based on the detection result, at least one of the first target value and a development contrast of the first toner image for control, wherein the control portion executes the third mode according to a timing at which the second mode is executed.
US09170526B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus including a transmission mechanism transmitting a driving force in a transmission direction from a driving source to an output unit, the transmission mechanism including a movable gear configured to move between a transmission position where, when the driving source generates the driving force in a first rotational direction, and a clutch is in a rotating state, the movable gear is allowed to rotate without contacting a lock member, and a restriction position where, when the driving source generates the driving force in a second rotational direction, the clutch is in an idling state, the movable gear is restricted from rotating by contact with the lock member.
US09170524B2	Image forming apparatus for determining a time to start forming an image The image forming apparatus includes a determination unit configured to determine whether or not a polygon mirror has converged to the number of rotations that allows image formation to be performed, and the determination unit is capable of detecting a first timing and a second timing and determines that the polygon mirror has converged to a number of rotations that allows the image formation to be performed based on an earlier one of the first timing and the second timing.
US09170522B2	Light scanning device, method for manufacturing the same, and image forming apparatus with the same A light scanning device includes a plurality of light-emitting elements for scanning a scan object with respective light beams emitted from the respective light-emitting elements. The light scanning device includes secured sections, a first substrate, and a second substrate. To the secured sections, the respective light-emitting elements are secured. The first substrate includes a first connector. Mounting positions of the respective light-emitting elements to the first substrate are displaceable. The respective light-emitting elements are coupled to the first substrate. The second substrate includes a second connector coupled to the first connector. The first substrate and the second substrate are secured to a first specified position and a second specified position, respectively.
US09170521B2	Light beam detection circuit, light beam scan unit and image forming apparatus to detect light beam that changes light-amount thereof In order to detect a passage timing of a light beam and to suppress cost, a light beam detection circuit (2) includes a detection signal generation section (34) configured to receive a light beam for scanning of a scanning target (101A) with one optical sensor (10), and generate a detection signal corresponding to an amount of received light; a reference signal output section (44) configured to output a reference signal that is in proportion to a light-amount control signal of a light-emission element (LD1) that emits the light beam; and a synchronizing signal generation section (35) configured to compare a detection signal generated by the detection signal generation section (34) with a reference signal output from the reference signal output section (44) to generate a synchronizing signal to determine a position to start scanning of the scanning target (101A) with the light beam.
US09170520B2	Image forming apparatus having reduced power consumption An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a charging member, a transfer member, a cleaning member and a control device configured to switch a first mode and a second mode. When executing the second mode, the control device applies a second charging bias having the same polarity as a first charging bias and having an absolute value smaller than the first charging bias to the charging member, applies a second transfer bias having the same polarity as a first transfer bias and having an absolute value smaller than the first transfer bias to the transfer member, and applies a second cleaning bias having the same polarity as the charged polarity of the toner to the cleaning member and sets a potential difference between a surface potential of the image carrier and the second cleaning bias within a predetermined range.
US09170519B2	Color image forming apparatus and control method thereof to determine whether to transfer toner image to a transfer belt A color image forming apparatus and a control method thereof, in which a transfer start position of a transfer belt is determined based on electric signals that correspond to a width of a position indicator provided on a transfer belt and are detectable during one rotation of the transfer belt even when noise occurs in output, thereby reducing the overall printing time.
US09170516B2	Image forming apparatus and image forming method An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit that forms a pattern image for image quality adjustment on an image carrier; a detection unit that detects the pattern image for the image quality adjustment; an image quality adjustment control unit that controls an image quality adjustment process in accordance with a result of detection of the detection unit; a reception unit that receives a color mode selected from among a plurality of kinds of color modes; and a calculation unit that calculates a total pattern length so that a total length of the pattern image for the image quality adjustment in a sub-scanning direction is equal in any of the color modes, wherein the image forming unit forms the pattern image for the image quality adjustment so that the total length of the pattern image for the image quality adjustment is equal to the calculated total pattern length.
US09170515B2	Liquid developer dispersion for digital printing process This invention is related to a liquid developer dispersion for use in a digital printing apparatus comprising a non volatile carrier liquid, a marking particle and a dispersing compounds, wherein the marking particle in the liquid developer dispersion is stabilized during storage and wherein at fusing two phases are formed. The invention is also related to the use of the developer in a digital printing apparatus and to a method for preparing the liquid developer dispersion.
US09170514B2	Polymerizable monomer, polymeric compound, charge control agent containing the polymeric compound, and developer bearing member and toner which contain the charge control agent A polymerizable monomer is provided which is represented by the following formula (1): wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group; A represents —CO— or —SO2—; and the moiety represented by the formula (1) is, at the part shown by an asterisk *, linked to a moiety represented by the following formula (2), at any position of a, b, c or d thereof; wherein the sites among a, b, c and d at which the moiety represented by the formula (2) is not linked to the moiety represented by the formula (1) each has a hydrogen atom or a substituent selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group, an alkoxy group and a sulfonic acid group, or any of which may connect at mutually adjoining positions to form a ring.
US09170513B2	Yellow toner The present invention provides a yellow toner having high compatibility of a colorant with a binder resin, having good chroma, and being useful for broadening the green color gamut. The yellow toner contains the binder resin and the colorant, wherein the colorant contains a compound represented by the general formula (1).
US09170512B2	Electrophotographic toner A decolorable electrophotographic toner, containing a color former compound, a color developing agent, a binder resin, and a release agent, wherein the toner has a pH of from 6 to 9 when dispersed in water with a pH of from 5.5 to 7 at a mass ratio of toner/water of 1/10.
US09170510B2	Developer, method of manufacturing the same and toner cartridge A toner or developer is provided having toner particles which exhibit a higher glass transition temperature on their surface than the interior thereof. In one aspect, the toner particles contain a crystalline polyester resin, an amorphous polyester resin and a coloring material, in which the core of the toner particles exhibit the glass transition temperature g of from 30° C. to 45° C. and the surface of the toner particles exhibits the glass transition temperature of from 50° C. to 70° C.
US09170508B2	Particulate material production method and apparatus, toner production method and apparatus, and toner The particulate material production method includes vibrating a particulate material composition liquid in a liquid column resonance chamber having at least one nozzle to form a standing wave in the particulate material composition liquid caused by liquid column resonance, so that droplets of the particulate material composition liquid are ejected in a droplet ejection direction from the nozzle so as to fly in a space in a flight direction; feeding a gas in a direction substantially perpendicular to the droplet ejection direction to change the flight direction of the ejected droplets; and solidifying the droplets in the space to produce a particulate material. The particulate material composition liquid includes at least a solvent and a component of the particulate material dissolved or dispersed in the solvent, and the nozzle is located at a location corresponding to an anitnode of the standing wave.
US09170505B2	Arrangement for generating EUV radiation The invention is directed to an arrangement for generating EUV radiation particularly for source modules in exposure installations for EUV lithography for semiconductor chip fabrication. The object of the invention, to find a novel possibility for realizing an EUV source module which appreciably improves the ratio of resources to results in the transfer of radiation from the primary source location (plasma 3) to the secondary source location (output opening (6) of the source module (1)/intermediate focus plane (62)), is met according to the invention in that the plasma (3) is formed as a volume emitter for direct illumination of the output opening (6) without collector optics (5), and the transverse dimension (d) of the plasma (3) is greater than the diameter (D) of the output opening (6), wherein the extent to which the diameter is exceeded depends on the distance (L) between the plasma (3) and the output opening (6) and on the numerical aperture (NA) of the illumination system downstream.
US09170504B2	Movable body apparatus, exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method An exposure apparatus has a substrate holding member, a first supporting member, a second supporting member, and a driving system. The first supporting member supports the substrate holding member from below. The second supporting member supports the first supporting member from below such that the first supporting member and the second supporting member are capable of moving relative to each other. The driving system moves the substrate holding member, the first supporting member and the second supporting member. The driving system includes a first driving device and a second driving device, the first driving device moving the substrate holding member and the first supporting member in a direction along a predetermined axis, and the second driving device moving the second supporting member in the direction along the predetermined axis.
US09170500B2	Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method with corrective positioning of reflective element In a lithographic apparatus, an illumination mode is set using a field mirror comprising a plurality of movable facets to direct radiation to selectable positions on a pupil facet mirror. In the event that a field facet mirror is defective and cannot be set to a desired position, another of the movable facet mirrors is set to a corrective position, different than its desired position, to at least partially ameliorate a deleterious effect of the defective facet mirror.
US09170497B2	Projection exposure apparatus with at least one manipulator A projection exposure apparatus for microlithography includes a projection lens which includes a plurality of optical elements for imaging mask structures onto a substrate during an exposure process. The projection exposure apparatus also includes at least one manipulator configured to change, as part of a manipulator actuation, the optical effects of at least one of the optical elements within the projection lens by changing a state variable of the optical element along a predetermined travel. The projection exposure apparatus further includes an algorithm generator configured to generate a travel generating optimization algorithm, adapted to at least one predetermined imaging parameter, on the basis of the at least one predetermined imaging parameter.
US09170492B2	Silicon-containing film-forming composition, silicon-containing film, and pattern forming method A silicon-containing film-forming composition includes a polysiloxane and organic solvent. The polysiloxane includes a first structural unit, a second structural unit, and a third structural unit. The first structural unit is derived from a tetraalkoxysilane. The second structural unit is derived from a compound shown by a formula (1), wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom or an electron-donating group, at least one R1 is an electron-donating group, R2 represents a monovalent organic group, and n represents 0 or 1. The third structural unit is derived from a compound shown by a formula (2), wherein R3 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, and R4 represents a monovalent organic group.
US09170489B2	Pattern-forming method, electron beam-sensitive or extreme ultraviolet radiation-sensitive resin composition, resist film, manufacturing method of electronic device using them and electronic device A pattern-forming method includes in this order: step (1) of forming a film with an electron beam-sensitive or extreme ultraviolet radiation-sensitive resin composition that contains (A) a resin having an acid-decomposable repeating unit and capable of decreasing a solubility of the resin (A) in a developer containing an organic solvent by an action of an acid, (B) a compound capable of generating an acid upon irradiation with an electron beam or extreme ultraviolet radiation and (C) a solvent; step (2) of exposing the film with an electron beam or extreme ultraviolet radiation; and step (4) of forming a negative pattern by development of the film with a developer containing an organic solvent after the exposing of the film, wherein a content of the compound (B) is 21% by mass to 70% by mass on the basis of all solids content of the composition.
US09170488B2	Resist pattern-forming method, and radiation-sensitive resin composition A resist pattern-forming method includes coating a radiation-sensitive resin composition on a substrate to provide a resist film. The resist film is exposed. The exposed resist film is developed using a developer solution including no less than 80% by mass of an organic solvent. The radiation-sensitive resin composition includes a polymer, a radiation-sensitive acid generator, and an acid diffusion controller which includes a compound having an amide group. The polymer has a weight average molecular weight in terms of the polystyrene equivalent of greater than 6,000 and includes a first structural unit that includes an acid-labile group. The polymer includes less than 5 mol % or 0 mol % of a second structural unit that includes a hydroxyl group.
US09170484B2	Mask and method of manufacturing the same A method of manufacturing a mask includes: providing a base substrate including light-absorbing layer patterns on a first surface thereof; providing a reflective layer on the light-absorbing layer patterns and the first surface of the base substrate; and providing reflective patterns by partially removing the reflective layer. The providing the reflective patterns includes removing the light-absorbing layer patterns and a portion of the reflective layer, by irradiating the light-absorbing layer patterns with laser light.
US09170481B2	Sub-resolution assist feature implementation using shot optimization A design layout for a semiconductor chip includes information on shapes desired to be fabricated. Clusters of photolithographic exposure “shots” are generated and subject to a measure of shot density to approximate a mask shape that generates the desired fabricated shapes when exposed during wafer fabrication. A simulation is run on the clusters of shots to estimate the resulting fabrication shapes that the clusters of shots create. The clusters of shots are modified to align the estimated fabrication shapes more closely with desired fabrication shapes. The process of simulating and modifying the shots is iterative, repeating until the estimated fabrication shapes are within a desired error difference of the planned fabrication shape.
US09170480B2	Reflective extreme ultraviolet mask and method of forming a pattern using the same According to example embodiments, a reflective EUV mask may include a mask substrate, a patterned structure and a non-patterned structure on the mask substrate. At least one of the patterned structure and the non-patterned structure may include a thermally treated region configured to reduce a reflectivity of the respective patterned and non-patterned structure.
US09170478B2	Display screen of image display system and method for manufacturing the same Disclosed are a display screen of an image display system capable of displaying a 3D (three-dimensional) image and providing an image with a high contrast ratio in a bright room and a method for manufacturing the same. The display screen includes: a Fresnel lens layer; a reflective layer formed the light-exit surface of the Fresnel lens layer to reflect image light; and a protection layer formed on the light-incident surface of the Fresnel lens layer, wherein one surface of the protection layer may have an embossed pattern.
US09170474B2	Efficient spatially modulated illumination system A projector can include a projection lens that is positioned substantially one focal length away from a spatial light modulator. The projector may also include a non-imaging optic configured to illuminate the spatial light modulator. The non-imaging optic may include a light emitter and an etendue-preserving reflector. The projector can be configured to project an image created by the spatial light modulator at a distance using light from the non-imaging optic.
US09170467B2	Color electro-optic displays, and processes for the production thereof A color filter array is provided in an electro-optic display by ink jet printing a plurality of colored areas (22R, 22G, 22B) on one surface of a layer of electro-optic material (12), an adhesive layer or a protective layer. Alternatively, the ink jet printing may be effected on the same layers in various sub-assemblies used to produce electro-optic displays.
US09170465B2	Thermochromic window and method of manufacturing the same A thermochromic window, including: a first glass substrate, a transparent conductive film applied to the first glass substrate, a silicone resin layer applied to the conductive film, a second glass substrate, and a power source which supplies power to the conductive film, the silicone resin layer including vanadium oxide (e.g., VO2) nanoparticles which are encapsulated in a silica inclusive (e.g., SiO2) shell.
US09170459B2	Liquid crystal display device and manufacturing method thereof A liquid crystal display device includes: a pair of substrates disposed to face each other with a predetermined distance therebetween; a seal pattern, provided between the pair of substrates and has a closed-loop shape to surround and seal a liquid crystal, wherein the liquid crystal is provided in a form of a plurality of droplets on one of the pair of substrates and then is sandwiched between the pair of substrates, so that the plurality of droplets are respectively spread and sealed in a region surrounded by the seal pattern; and a dummy pattern, which is formed on the one substrate in the region surrounded by the seal pattern and has a height less than half of the predetermined distance, the dummy pattern being arranged adjacent to and in parallel to the seal pattern and in a range to which one droplet is spread out.
US09170455B2	Joined back panel structure of display device The present invention provides a joined back panel structure of display device, which includes: a first mounting member that is L-shaped and a second mounting member, a third mounting member, a fourth mounting member, and a fifth mounting member that are linear, ends of the first mounting member, the second mounting member, and the third mounting member are sequentially connected to form an enclosed outer frame, the fourth mounting member being disposed inside the outer frame and having two ends connected to the outer frame, the fifth mounting member being disposed inside the outer frame and having two ends connected to the outer frame so as to form a hollow back panel. The outer frame of the present invention has an improved structural strength and low cast and is easy to manufacture. It is possible to join mounting members that are manufactured by the same mold, after being properly cut, in order to form back panels of various sizes so that the production mold of back panel can be shared to thereby reduce material cost and mold cost.
US09170453B2	Liquid crystal display panel including photo conversion layer and liquid crystal display device A liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal display (LCD) device are discussed. One monochromatic light is transmitted through a liquid crystal layer and converted into white light having a plurality of wavelengths through upper photo conversion layer, thus improving light transmittance of liquid crystal and reducing a change in a screen color. The liquid crystal display panel includes: first substrate over the backlight unit; a liquid crystal layer over the first substrate to transmit the one monochromatic light; a photo conversion layer over the liquid crystal layer for converting the one monochromatic light into white light; a color filter layer over the photo conversion layer for filtering the converted white light to display color; and a second substrate on the color filter layer.
US09170452B2	System, apparatus, and method for correcting vision using an electro-active lens A spectacle lens is disclosed. The disclosed lens provides a vision correcting area for the correction of a wearer's refractive error. The viewing correction area provides Correction for non-conventional refractive error to provide at least a part of the Wearer's vision correction. The lens has a prescription based on a wave front analysis of the wearer's eye and the lens can further be modified to fit within an eyeglass frame.
US09170450B2	Printed flexible display having grating A printed flexible display having grating, comprising a printable layer, a printing ink layer, a grating layer, an electrode layer A, an electrically-controlled optical switch layer, and an electrode layer B which are arranged successively from top to bottom. The printable layer is a flexible insulating material that is foldable and printable. The printing ink layer is a CMYK ink dot matrix printed on the printable layer. The grating layer is a lenticular grating plate. The printing ink layer is arranged on a focal plane of the lenticular grating plate. The thickness of the grating layer equals to the absolute value of an object-side focal length of the lenticular grating plate. The electrode layer A and the electrode layer B are both ITO conductive thin film layers having electrode array engraved thereon, while the electrode arrays of both are perpendicular in direction. The electrically-controlled optical switch layer is a PDLC thin film. The display allows for facilitated three-dimensional visual effects, facilitated colorization, shortened response time, reduced driving voltage, comfortable reading, and reduced costs.
US09170449B2	Display device Touch-related information which cannot be acquired by the naked eye (dubbed here as sub-optical pattern information) has its corresponding sub-optical patterns respectively positioned within the aperture areas of respective domains such that the displayed image, as viewed from different viewing angles is not adversely affected by the embedded sub-optical patterns. One type of touch-related information which can be conveyed is that of touch location of a sub-optical pattern sensing pen positioned over one or more of the sub-optical patterns.
US09170447B2	LCD assembly structure of meter for automobile An LCD assembly structure of a meter for automobile includes a liquid crystal plate; a liquid-crystal plate accommodating recess formed in a liquid crystal holder; a bottom-wall elastic pressing piece configured to bias a back surface of the liquid crystal plate from the bottom wall in a direction of separation; corner fixing pieces configured to extend outward parallel to a front surface of the liquid crystal holder at a pair of corners adjoining the liquid-crystal plate accommodating recess, and abut against a front surface of the liquid crystal plate; extension pieces configured to extend outward parallel to the holder front surface of the liquid crystal holder at a pair of corners opposite to the corner fixing pieces, and abut against the front surface of the liquid crystal plate; and first elastic pressing pieces configured to press and bias one edge face of the liquid crystal plate toward the extension pieces.
US09170446B2	Joined back panel structure of display device The present invention provides a joined back panel structure of a display device, which includes a first mounting member and a second mounting member that are L-shaped and a third mounting member and a fourth mounting member that are linear, the first mounting member having two end respectively connected to two ends of the second mounting member to form an enclosed outer frame, the third mounting member being disposed inside the outer frame and having two ends respectively connected to the first mounting member and the second mounting member, the fourth mounting member being disposed inside the outer frame and having two ends respectively connected to the first mounting member and the second mounting member so as to form a hollow back panel. The outer frame of the present invention has an improved structural strength and low cast and is easy to manufacture. It is possible to join mounting members that are manufactured by the same mold, after being properly cut, in order to form back panels of various sizes so that the production mold of back panel can be shared to thereby reduce material cost and mold cost.
US09170445B2	Liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing the same Disclosed are a flexible liquid crystal display (LCD) device and a method of manufacturing the same. The flexible LCD device comprises a first flexible substrate and a second flexible substrate. A layer is disposed on the first flexible substrate and first pixel control lines are disposed on the second flexible substrate. The LCD device also includes polymer walls disposed between the first flexible substrate and the second flexible substrate that maintain a cell gap between the first flexible substrate and the second flexible substrate. The polymer walls are substantially aligned with the first pixel control lines and light transparent gaps in the layer disposed on the first flexible substrate.
US09170443B2	Liquid crystal display device The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device, which includes an enclosure and a liquid crystal display module received in the enclosure. The enclosure has a sidewall corresponding to the liquid crystal display module and including resilient retention structures mounted thereto to retain the liquid crystal display module in the enclosure. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention uses the resilient retention structures that are arranged at mounting sites between a front case or a rear case and a liquid crystal display module for retaining the liquid crystal display module in position, whereby when the liquid crystal display module expands/contracts due to humid and hot environment or is acted upon by external impacts, the resilient retention structures undergo corresponding elastic deformation to provide effective cushioning and adjustment so as to ensure the optic grade of the liquid crystal display device.
US09170442B2	Liquid crystal display, mobile terminal having the liquid crystal display, and method of manufacturing the liquid crystal display A liquid crystal display is provided that includes a first base substrate including a first surface, a second base substrate including a second surface, a liquid crystal layer including liquid crystal molecules positioned between the first and second base substrates and configured to change alignment when electrical power is applied thereto, a first electrode positioned on the second surface and including a plurality of substantially parallel grooves extending in a first direction on a surface facing the first base substrate, the plurality of grooves configured to align the liquid crystal molecules in a preset direction when electrical power is applied, and a second electrode positioned on the first surface or on the second surface, wherein a voltage difference between the first and second electrodes applies the electrical power to the liquid crystal molecules.
US09170439B2	Electro-optic modulator A method for controlling an electro-optic modulator device includes measuring a performance metric of the device to define a first measured performance value, and changing a state of a first tuning portion of the device to connect the first tuning portion to ground.
US09170438B2	Suppression of resonant polarization conversion in photonic integrated circuits A device may include a number of optical waveguides, each of which being spaced from one another. The optical waveguides may each include at least one curved section and widths of the curved sections of the optical waveguides may be selected to reduce polarization conversion of light traversing the birefringent optical waveguides.
US09170437B2	Method and device for controlling a physical parameter of an optical signal The invention relates to a method and device for controlling a physical parameter of an optical signal. According to the invention, a portion of the initial optical signal (SE) having passed through an optical waveguide from the input (24.1) to the output (24.2) thereof, is returned into said optical waveguide (24) using a sequential circulator (25) and an optical amplifier (28), in order to at least partially form the optical control signal (SE2), which counter-propagates relative to said initial optical signal (SE), so as to stabilize, or at the very least control, the physical parameter of said initial optical signal when the latter exits said optical waveguide (24) via the output (24.2) thereof.
US09170436B2	Luminescent stacked waveguide display A display includes at least two stacked waveguides (110) and (120). A first waveguide (110) contains first luminophores that fluoresce to produce light of a first color. A second waveguide (120) overlying the first waveguide and contains second luminophores that fluoresce to produce light of a second color. A light collection structure (180) transmits light from a surrounding environment transversely through the first and second waveguides (110, 120) and optical vias (172, 174) provide optical paths out of the display for light respectively from the first optical waveguide (110) and the second optical waveguide (120).
US09170431B2	Eyewear and lenses with deflection attenuation mechanisms Eyewear, lenses, and methods of forming lenses are disclosed. In an example eyewear, first and second temples are coupled to a lens. The lens includes a viewing portion, a mounting portion configured to be coupled to at least one of the first and second temples, a connecting portion connecting the mounting portion to the viewing portion of the lens. The lens further includes an elongated slot that defines at least in part the mounting portion and the connecting portion. The mounting portion and connecting portion are configured to effectively isolate the viewing portion from deflection of the mounting portion.
US09170430B2	Anti-vibration actuator, lens unit and camera furnished therewith, and manufacturing method for same To provide an anti-vibration actuator capable of smooth transition to image-blur prevention control. The present invention is an actuator (10) furnished with a locking mechanism, including: a fixed portion (12); a movable portion (14) with an image-blur prevention lens (16); a movable portion support means (18); a drive means for driving the movable portion; a movable portion locking mechanism (42) for locking a movable portion by limiting the range over which the movable portion can move to be within a predetermined locked movable range; a memory section (36a), within which is stored the movable portion initial position to which the movable portion is moved upon startup of image-blur prevention control; and a control section (36) for moving the movable portion to the initial position and releasing the lock upon startup of control; whereby the predetermined position in the locked movable range is stored as an initial position.
US09170427B2	Stereoscopic electro-optical device and electronic apparatus with cross-talk correction A display control circuit includes: a frame memory; a first correction image data generation unit that generates first correction image data that corrects a response characteristic of an electro-optical element; a second correction image data generation unit that generates second correction image data that corrects the intermixing of a right-eye image and a left-eye image; a selection unit that selects the first correction image data in a first field and the second correction image data in a second and subsequent fields; and a correction unit that generates output image data by correcting the first image data.
US09170424B2	Illumination unit and display Provided are an illumination unit and a display capable of achieving size reduction in a case where a plurality types of light sources emitting light with various different wavelengths are in use. An optical-path conversion member 12 is provided for performing optical-path conversion to light (red laser light Lr, green laser light Lg, and blue laser light Lg) coming from three types of light sources (a red laser 11R, a green laser 11G, and a blue laser 11B) in a light source unit 11 in such a manner that, compared with an angle formed by center rays in the light, an angle formed by center rays in outgoing light becomes much smaller. Such optical-path conversion is performed without using a large-scale optical system (optical members).
US09170420B2	Pixel based gobo record control format A special record format used for commanding light pattern shapes and addressable light pattern shape generator. The command format includes a first part which commands a specified gobo and second parts which command the characteristics of that hobo. The gobo is formed by making a default gobo based on the type and modifying that default gobo to fit the characteristics.
US09170419B2	Reversible piezochromic system, methods of making a reversible piezochromic system, and methods of using a reversible piezochromic system The present invention provides a reversible piezochromic system that changes appearance upon application of a mechanical force. The reversible piezochromic system includes a cavity defined by a first substrate and a second substrate. The cavity includes at least a first fluid. The first fluid spreads when a mechanical force is applied to the system. The relaxation time of the first fluid depends upon the internal forces of the system. These internal forces at least include the surface energy differences between the substrates and the fluid or fluids, and the rheological properties of the fluid or fluids.
US09170416B2	Scrolling thin film magnifier device The invention features a scrolling thin film magnifier that is integrated into a composition and can be extended and retracted when used, compositions that include the scrolling thin film magnifier, methods of using the scrolling thin film magnifier to magnify printed indicia, and methods of manufacturing the scrolling thin film magnifier.
US09170415B2	Headware mountable optical device A removable optical loupe that is mountable to headwear is provided. The inventive loupe is configured to clip on to the brim of a hat, or the bill of a cap or visor. Embodiments of the inventive loupe have a pivoting joint for positioning the lens of the optical loupe into and out of the line of sight when not in use. The lens of the inventive optical loupe is used for magnifying objects for inspection.
US09170414B2	Method and apparatus for producing a super-magnified wide-field image A wide-field optical microscope and method capable of resolving images down to 0.1 {acute over (Å)} with a magnification range in excess of 250 million power includes an objective having a primary and a secondary element. A sample is held so that the area of interest is at a location that is closer to the primary element than the focal length of the primary element. The primary element collects and collimates light reflected from the sample. The secondary element then focuses the collimated light onto a pinhole aperture, which blocks all light rays that were not parallel, thus producing a non-focused reflected pattern. The non-focused reflected pattern passes through a field stop and is then magnified by one or more negative optical elements and additional field stops to produce an enlarged pattern.
US09170410B2	Apparatus for temporal displacement of white light laser pulses A laser microscope (10) having a laser light source (22) which generates laser light pulses (23) for the purpose of examining a sample (16). An optical element (25) is arranged in the beam path of the laser light pulses (23). The optical element (25) disperses the wavelength spectrum of the laser light pulses (23). Fractions (46, 48, 60, 62) of the broad-band laser light pulses (32) having different wavelengths travel different path lengths upon passing through a compensation device (30), such that the different fractions (46, 48, 60, 62) arrive at the sample (16) at the same time.
US09170409B2	Zoom lens and imaging apparatus A zoom lens includes: a first lens group having a negative refractive power; and a second lens group having a positive refractive power, provided in this order from an object side. Magnification is changed by moving the first lens group and the second lens group. The first lens group includes a first lens having a negative refractive power, a second lens, a third lens having a negative refractive power, and a fourth lens having a positive refractive power, provided in this order from the object side. The zoom lens satisfies predetermined conditional formulae.
US09170406B2	Zoom lens and imaging apparatus A zoom lens includes: a first lens group having a positive refractive power which is fixed while changing magnification; a second lens group constituted by two or more magnification changing groups; an aperture stop; and a third lens group having a positive refractive power which is fixed while changing magnification, provided in this order from an object side. The magnification changing groups respectively move along an optical axis while changing magnification from a wide angle end to a telephoto end. The zoom lens satisfies the following conditional formula: u′/u<0.5 (1) wherein u is the angle of inclination of a paraxial chief ray of light that enters the lens surface most toward the object side within the first lens group, and u′ is the angle of inclination of the paraxial chief ray of light that exits the lens surface most toward an image side within the first lens group.
US09170404B2	Imaging lens An imaging lens substantially consists of six lenses of a negative first lens, a negative second lens, a positive third lens, a positive fourth lens, a negative fifth lens and a positive sixth lens in this order from an object side. When a curvature radius of an object-side surface of the fourth lens is R8, and a curvature radius of an image-side surface of the fourth lens is R9, and an Abbe number of the material of the third lens for d-line is νd3, and an Abbe number of the material of the fifth lens for d-line is νd5, the following conditional formulas (1) and (6) are satisfied: −0.61<(R8+R9)/(R8−R9)<0.44 (1); and 38.1<νd3+νd5<45.1 (6).
US09170402B2	Optical unit The present invention relates to optical unit comprising, seen in the direction from the object side to the imaging surface, a first substrate, a first lens, a second lens and a second substrate, characterized in that the distance [(vertex first lens) and (vertex second lens)] is 250-650 pm. Such an optical unit is used, inter alia, in image processing units, such as cameras. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical unit in which the desired dimensional precision of the lens system can be accomplished without this leading to an undesirable increase of the optical unit's dimensions.
US09170400B2	Photographing optical lens assembly, image capturing unit and mobile device A photographing optical lens assembly includes a first lens element, a second lens element, a third lens element, a fourth lens element, a fifth lens element and a sixth lens element. The first lens element has positive refractive power. The second lens element with negative refractive power has an object-side surface being convex in a paraxial region thereof and an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof. The third lens element, the fourth lens element, the fifth lens element and the sixth lens element have refractive power. The sixth lens element has an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof, wherein the image-side surface of the sixth lens element has at least one inflection point. The photographing optical lens assembly has a total of six lens elements with refractive power.
US09170398B2	Imaging lens system and imaging system including the same An imaging lens system and an imaging system that includes the imaging lens system are provided. The imaging lens system includes an aperture stop, a first lens group with positive refractive power, and a second lens group with positive refractive power, arranged in that order from an object side to an image side. The first lens group includes a positive lens L11, and a negative meniscus lens L12 that has a convex surface on the object side. The second lens group includes a negative lens L21 that has a concave surface on the object side, a positive lens L22 and a positive lens L23 each of which has a convex surface on the image side, a negative meniscus lens L24 that has a convex surface on the object side, and a positive lens L25 that has a convex surface on the object side.
US09170397B2	Supporting structure for a movable mirror, method for reducing the tilting of a movable mirror, and interferometer The present invention relates to a supporting structure for a movable mirror of an interferometer, the supporting structure comprising a fixed frame (11), a movable frame (12) to which the movable mirror (42) is arranged to be attachable, and at least two flexible members (13), first ends of said members (13) being fastened to the fixed frame (11) and second ends of said members (13) being fastened to the movable frame (12) in such a way that the distance between fixing points of each flexible member (13) is essentially the same and the distance between the fixing points of the first ends essentially equals the distance between the fixing points of the second ends. The supporting structure comprises support members (16) attached to at least one side of at least two flexible members (13). The invention also relates to an interferometer and a method for reducing the tilting of a movable mirror of an interferometer.
US09170392B2	Telecommunications assembly A telecommunications assembly includes a chassis defining an interior region and a tray assembly disposed in the interior region. The tray assembly includes a tray and a cable spool assembly. The cable spool assembly is engaged to a base panel of the tray. The cable spool assembly is adapted to rotate relative to the tray. The cable spool assembly includes a hub, a flange engaged to the hub and an adapter module. The flange defines a termination area. The adapter module is engaged to the termination module of the flange. The adapter module is adapted to slide relative to the flange in a direction that is generally parallel to the flange between an extended position and a retracted position.
US09170389B2	Hybrid fiber optic cable systems Hybrid fiber optic cables including one or more electrical coaxial subassembly allowing for fiber movement to reduce attenuation during bending are disclosed. Related connectorized cables and systems are also disclosed. The hybrid fiber optic cables include both one or more coaxial subassembly and optical fibers to provide both optical and electrical connectivity as part of a connectorized system. Use of one or more coaxial subassembly reduces impedance variations and lowers cost. Each coaxial sub-assembly also includes multiple electrical conductors to increase electrical connectivity capacity (e.g., power and signals) of the hybrid cable, as needed or desired. Further, the hybrid cable may include a channel with optical fiber(s) of the hybrid cable disposed therein, free of attachment to the channel. The channel allows the optical fibers to move relative to the cable jacket and control bend radius to reduce optical attenuation when the hybrid fiber optic cable is bent.
US09170388B2	Fiber optic ribbon cable having enhanced ribbon stack coupling and methods thereof A fiber optic ribbon cable includes a jacket of the cable, the jacket having a cavity defined therein, an optical element including an optical fiber and extending within the cavity of the jacket, and a dry water-blocking element extending along the optical element within the cavity. The dry water-blocking element is wrapped around the optical element with at least a portion of the dry water-blocking element disposed between another portion of the dry water-blocking element and the optical element, thereby defining an overlapping portion of the dry water-blocking element. The optical element interfaces with the overlapping portion to provide direct or indirect coupling between the optical element and the jacket.
US09170386B2	Opto-electronic device assembly An AOC assembly comprising two printed circuit boards (PCB) (63), a board holder (61) and two heat conducting covers (64) with integrated head spreader. Each of the two PC boards has a lower edge (632) extending in a longitudinal direction with circuit pads on opposite sides of PCB thereof. The board holder has two opposite vertical datum faces with two of said PC boards respectively positioned thereon. The two heat conducting covers oppositely fixed to the holder in a transverse direction perpendicular to the PC boards. When assembled, the integrated heat spreader of heat conducting shell would dissipate heat from the active electronic components on the PCB.
US09170385B2	Connection system for an optical cable The present invention provides a plug for mounting on at least one cable having at least one optical conductor, the plug comprising a body and including at least one optoelectronic converter provided with connection means arranged inside the body in a manner that is removable and interchangeable.
US09170383B2	Multi-channel optical transceiver module including dual fiber type direct link adapter for optically coupling optical subassemblies in the transceiver module A multi-channel optical transceiver includes a multi-channel transmitter optical subassembly (TOSA), a multi-channel receiver optical subassembly (ROSA), and a dual fiber type direct link adapter directly linked to the multi-channel TOSA and the multi-channel ROSA with optical fibers. The dual fiber type direct link adapter is also configured to receive pluggable optical connectors, such as LC connectors, mounted at the end of fiber-optic cables including optical fibers for carrying optical signals to and from the transceiver. The dual fiber type direct link adapter thus provides the optical input and output to the transceiver for the optical signals received by the ROSA and transmitted by the TOSA. The multi-channel optical transceiver may be used in a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical system, for example, in an optical line terminal (OLT) in a WDM passive optical network (PON).
US09170373B2	Systems and methods for photonic polarization-separating apparatuses for optical network applications An integrated photonic polarization-separating apparatus includes a first waveguide polarization beam splitter (PBS) having a first port, a second port, a third port, and a fourth port and a first polarization rotator optically coupled to the first port of the first waveguide PBS. The apparatus also includes a first Faraday rotator optically coupled to the first polarization rotator and a second polarization rotator optically coupled to the second port of the first waveguide PBS. The apparatus further includes a second Faraday rotator optically coupled to the second polarization rotator and a second waveguide PBS having a first port, a second port, a third port, and a fourth port. The third port is optically coupled to the first Faraday rotator and the fourth port is optically coupled to the second Faraday rotator.
US09170369B2	Graded refractive index bending-resistant multimode obtical fiber A graded refractive index bending-resistant multimode optical fiber includes a core layer and claddings. The core layer has a radius in a range of 22.5-27.5 μm; refractive indexes being a gradient-graded refractive index distribution with a distribution exponent α in a range of 1.99-2.06; and a maximum relative refractive index difference (RRID) Δ1% max in a range of 0.9%-1.3%. The claddings has an inner cladding surrounding the core layer, an intermediate cladding surrounding the inner cladding and an outer cladding surrounding the inner cladding. The inner cladding has a radius in a range of 25.5-34.5 μm, and an RRID Δ2% in a range of −0.02%-0.02%. The intermediate cladding is a pure quartz glass layer, and has a radius in a range of 30.5-49.5 μm, and an RRID Δ3% in a range of −0.01%-0.01%. The outer cladding has a radius in a range of 61.5-63.5 μm, and an RRID Δ4% is in a range of −0.20%-0.30%.
US09170366B2	Distributed optical chemical sensor The invention relates to a sensor system comprising a waveguide, which waveguide comprises a grating in at least a part of the waveguide, which waveguide further comprises a coating, the coating comprising a polymer, which polymer comprises a chain, in which chain are present an aromatic group and a chemical group selected from the group of sulfonyl groups, carbonyl groups, carbonate groups, fluorocarbon groups, siloxane groups, pyridine groups and amide groups.
US09170361B2	Backlight module and display device According to the present disclosure, there are provided a backlight module and a display device. With the backlight module, a heat dissipating device can be saved, and a light guide plate is prevented from being warped and deformed due to heat generation of a light source. The backlight module comprises a light source, a light guide plate and a side-glowing optical fiber. The side-glowing optical fiber includes: a light emitting section which is fixed to at least one side of the light guide plate; and a light guide section, which extends from the light emitting section to the outside of the light guide plate, and a terminal of which is connected to the light source.
US09170358B2	Metallic structure and opto-electronic apparatus A metallic structure and an opto-electronic apparatus are provided. The metallic structure is used for filtering or polarizing an electromagnetic wave, and includes a light-permissible medium, a first metallic block and a second metallic block. The first and second metallic blocks are parallel to and spaced from each other at a predetermined distance (d), and are disposed inside or over the light-permissible medium. After passing through the metallic structure, the electromagnetic wave has a distribution curve of transmittance versus wavelength, wherein the distribution curve has at least one transmittance peak value corresponding to at least one wavelength in a one-to-one manner. The aforementioned predetermined distance (d) and an averaged width of the first metallic block satisfy the following relationships: d<λ; 0.01λ
US09170355B2	Reflective polarizer having a dispersed polymer A reflective polarizer of the invention has excellent optical properties even though a very small number of polymer components per unit area is disposed inside a matrix thereof compared to reflective polarizers of the related art, which include birefringent polymer, since the polymer inside the matrix has a plate-like shape. This is advantageous for covering the entire range of visible light, since a plate-like polymer having a variety of optical thicknesses can be used. The additional processing of bonding the skin layer is not performed, since the skin layer is formed on at least one surface of the core layer in the state in which it is molten. This can greatly reduce manufacturing costs, and is advantageous in that it maximizes optical properties in a limited thickness.
US09170348B2	Lens-like beam-forming networks for circular arrays and their circuit implementation A beamforming apparatus comprising a number of beam ports NB arranged in a circular array, the circular array having a radius a, an annular shaped lens encircling the number of beam ports NB, the annular shaped lens having an inner radius a, an outer radius b, and an inhomogeneous refractive index n(r), and a number of array ports NA coupled to the outer rim of the annular shaped lens.
US09170346B2	Method and system for marine seismic survey A buoy is configured to record seismic signals while underwater. The buoy includes a body; a buoyancy system configured to control a buoyancy of the body to descend multiple times to a predetermined depth (H) and then resurface with a controlled speed; and a seismic sensor located in the body and configured to record the seismic signals. The seismic sensor is instructed to record the seismic signals as the buoy travels up and down between the water surface and the predetermined depth.
US09170341B2	Flame-proof radiation detector with wireless communication means A radiation detector module includes a radiation detector, power source and wireless communication elements all housed within a flame-proof enclosure. The enclosure has a portion through which wireless transmissions can pass. The radiation detector module may be suitable for use in a hazardous area containing a potentially explosive gas mixture.
US09170340B1	Compact ion chamber based neutron detector A directional neutron detector has an ion chamber formed in a dielectric material; a signal electrode and a ground electrode formed in the ion chamber; a neutron absorbing material filling the ion chamber; readout circuitry which is electrically coupled to the signal and ground electrodes; and a signal processor electrically coupled to the readout circuitry. The ion chamber has a pair of substantially planar electrode surfaces. The chamber pressure of the neutron absorbing material is selected such that the reaction particle ion trail length for neutrons absorbed by the neutron absorbing material is equal to or less than the distance between the electrode surfaces. The signal processor is adapted to determine a path angle for each absorbed neutron based on the rise time of the corresponding pulse in a time-varying detector signal.
US09170339B2	Radiation measurement apparatus A radiation measurement apparatus 10 includes a visible image acquisition unit 11 that takes a visible image, a radiation intensity acquisition unit 12 that measures intensity distribution of radiation incoming from a direction being substantially equal to an image picking up direction of the visible image acquisition unit, and an intensity display unit 15A that displays an image acquired by overlaying the intensity distribution of radiation, which is represented by using a plurality of colors being allocated to the intensity distribution of radiation on the visible image.
US09170335B2	GNSS signal processing with ionosphere model for synthetic reference data Some embodiments of the present invention derive an ionospheric phase bias and an ionospheric differential code bias (DCB) using an absolute ionosphere model, which can be estimated from data obtained from a network of reference stations or obtained from an external source such as WAAS, GAIM, IONEX or other. Fully synthetic reference station data is generated using the ionospheric phase bias and/or the differential code bias together with the phase leveled clock and ionospheric-free code bias and/or MW bias.
US09170333B2	Dynamic range three-dimensional image system Disclosed is a system of a dynamic range three-dimensional image, including: an optical detector including a gain control terminal capable of controlling an optical amplification gain; a pixel detecting module for detecting a pixel signal for configuring an image by receiving an output of the optical detector; a high dynamic range (HDR) generating module for acquiring a dynamic range image by generating a signal indicating a saturation degree of the pixel signal and combining the pixel signal based on the pixel signal detected by the pixel detecting module; and a gain control signal generating module generating an output signal for supplying required voltage to the gain control terminal of the optical detector based on the magnitude of the signal indicating the saturation degree of the pixel signal.
US09170332B2	Risk calculation apparatus A moving object risk calculation unit calculates the total value at all points of intersection of a mesh M for the risk due to moving objects at each point of intersection on the basis of the risk due to objects at each point of intersection in the plurality of meshes set in the vicinity of a host vehicle. In this manner, it is possible to acquire the risk due to moving objects, such as another vehicle that is traveling or is stationary or a pedestrian who is walking or is stationary. In addition, a moving object risk calculation unit calculates the total value of the risk due to moving objects at all points of intersection of the mesh by subtracting the total value of the risk due to immovable objects, which is fixed at each point of intersection, at all points of intersection of the mesh from the total value of the risk due to objects. Therefore, since it is not necessary to distinguish between movable objects and immovable objects at each point of intersection of the mesh, the moving object risk calculation unit can calculate the total value of the risk due to moving objects with less computational load.
US09170330B2	Velocity estimation for vector flow imaging (VFI) in ultrasound An ultrasound imaging system includes a transducer array, with an array of transducer elements that transmits an ultrasound signal and receives a set of echoes generated in response to the ultrasound signal traversing a flowing structure. The ultrasound imaging system further includes a beamformer that beamforms the set of echoes, generating a beamformed signal. The ultrasound imaging system further includes a pre-processor that performs basebanding, averaging and decimation of the beamformed signal and determines an autocorrelation of the basebanded, averaged and decimated beamformed signal. The ultrasound imaging system further includes a velocity processor that generates an axial velocity component signal and a lateral velocity component signal based on the autocorrelation. The axial and lateral velocity components indicate a direction and a speed of the flowing structure in the field of view.
US09170325B2	Distance measurements between computing devices Some implementations provide techniques and arrangements for distance measurements between computing devices. Some examples determine a distance between devices based at least in part on a propagation time of audio tones between the devices. Further, some examples determine the arrival time of the audio tones by performing autocorrelation on streaming data corresponding to recorded sound to determine a timing of an autocorrelation peak indicative of a detection of an audio tone in the streaming data. In some cases, cross correlation may be performed on the streaming data in a search window to determine a timing of a cross correlation peak indicative of the detection of the audio tone in the streaming data. The location of the search window in time may be determined based at least in part on the timing of the detected autocorrelation peak.
US09170322B1	Method and apparatus for automating noise reduction tuning in real time An embodiment of a method for detecting noise for a capacitance sensing panel may comprise generating an input signal based on a noise signal, performing a series of measurements for measuring capacitances from a capacitive sensor sensitive to the noise signal, and controlling timing for at least one of the subconversions based on the input signal.
US09170321B2	Method and radar system for repetition jammer and clutter supression A method for suppressing repetition jammer signals and/or clutter signals by using a radar system wherein said radar system comprises, at least one wideband arbitrary waveform generator, for creating arbitrary waveforms, and at least one antenna operating with wide instantaneous bandwidth, enabling direction dependent waveform radiation, wherein said method comprises the steps of transmitting different waveforms in different directions; adapting transmitted waveforms in different directions depending on received waveforms such that a normalised signal to noise-jammer ratio, NSNJR, is maximized; and thereby providing received signals from repetition jammers and/or clutter that are substantially orthogonal to a received signal from a target; thereby achieving suppression of the repetition jammers and/or clutter.
US09170318B1	Inter-device location determinations Electronic devices can identify other nearby devices, and determine the relative positions of those devices, using a combination of techniques. Various devices are able to project one or more instances of a unique identifier, such as a barcode, which can be imaged by other devices. The devices also can communicate position and/or orientation information over a wireless sideband channel. By combining the information relating to the projected identifier with information collected over the sideband channel, devices can automatically determine the location of various devices and associate a user or device identity with those devices. A user of a device then can view relative locations of those devices on a display element, including information about the user of the device. Further, the relative position determinations can enable a user to perform certain functions with respect to another device based at least in part upon the position and/or identity of that device.
US09170315B2	Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and method Disclosed are a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus and method. The MRI apparatus includes a data acquirer, which performs under-sampling of MR signals, respectively received from a plurality of channel coils included in a radio frequency (RF) multi-coil, at non-uniform intervals to acquire a plurality of pieces of line data, and an image processor that restores a plurality of pieces of K-space data respectively corresponding to the plurality of channel coils by using a relationship between the acquired plurality of pieces of line data, thereby restoring an MR image with reduced aliasing artifacts.
US09170314B2	Method and magnetic resonance apparatus to acquire MR data in a predetermined three-dimensional volume segment of a subject Acquisition of magnetic resonance (MR) data in a predetermined three-dimensional volume segment of an examination subject with an MR apparatus proceeds by the volume segment being excited with an RF excitation pulse, and repeated, temporally sequential implementation of the following in order to respectively read out an echo train: Switch a refocusing pulse. Switch a first phase coding gradient in a first direction and a second phase coding gradient in a second direction. Switch an additional magnetic field gradient for spatial coding in a third direction which is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, wherein the MR data of a k-space line are read out while the additional magnetic field gradient is switched. Every k-space line corresponds to a line of k-space that corresponds to the volume segment. At least one k-space line is read out repeatedly in a middle segment of k-space.

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