| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US09225397B2 |
Efficient rank and precoding matrix feedback for MIMO systems
The present disclosure provides a receiver, a transmitter and methods of operating a receiver or a transmitter. In one embodiment, the receiver includes a receive unit configured to receive transmissions from multiple antennas. The receiver also includes a rank feedback unit configured to feed back a transmission rank selection, wherein the transmission rank selection corresponds to a transmission rank feedback reduction scheme. The receiver further includes a precoding feedback unit configured to feed back a precoding matrix selection, wherein the precoding matrix selection corresponds to a precoding matrix feedback reduction scheme. |
| US09225396B2 |
Apparatus, system and method of transmit power control for wireless communication
Some demonstrative embodiments include apparatuses, systems and/or methods of transmit power control for wireless communication. For example, an apparatus may include a controller to control a plurality of transmit powers of a plurality of directional beams formed by an antenna array to transmit a wireless communication. The controller may control the plurality of transmit powers based on at least first and second power limits, the first power limit including a power density limit corresponding to a power density of a directional beam of the plurality of directional beams, and the second power limit including a total transmit power limit corresponding to a total of the transmit powers. |
| US09225393B2 |
Systems and methods for determining whether a companion communication device is beyond a proximity of a primary communication device
Systems and methods for determining whether a companion communication device is beyond a proximity of a primary communication device are provided. In some aspects, a system includes an analysis module configured to determine whether a wireless transaction between the primary communication device and the companion communication device is at a conclusion. The system also includes a communications module configured to emit a sensing signal based on the determination of whether the transaction is at the conclusion. The sensing signal is insufficient to elicit a response from the companion communication device. The system also includes a detection module configured to detect a present parameter associated with the emitted sensing signal. The analysis module is configured to determine a parameter change between the present parameter and a reference parameter, and to determine whether the companion communication device is beyond the proximity of the primary communication device based on the parameter change. |
| US09225389B2 |
Electrical load monitoring apparatuses
An electrical load monitoring apparatus includes a first inductive coupling device, the first inductive coupling device is configured to receive electrical energy associated with an electrical conductor proximate thereto, and a processor in electrical communication with the first inductive coupling device, wherein the processor is configured to receive the electrical energy from the first inductive coupling device, configured to modulate a carrier wave signal in response to the received electrical energy, and configured to inject the modulated carrier wave signal into the electrical conductor. |
| US09225387B2 |
Analysis of captured signals to measure nonlinear distortion
A method to test a signal path with vacant bandwidth by sending a test signal twice and processing two resulting nonlinear distortion signals captured in the vacant bands to determine presence of nonlinear distortion. If the signals correlate, the energy in the vacant bands is nonlinear distortion. If the test signal is sent followed by an inverse (in time-domain) of itself, and a resulting correlation peak is negative, the nonlinear distortion is determined to have been created by odd-order nonlinear distortion. |
| US09225382B2 |
Tunable filter front end architecture for non-contiguous carrier aggregation
Front end circuitry for a mobile terminal includes separate receive paths and filtering elements for different portions of each operating band. Accordingly, the filtering elements for each receive path can be designed with a smaller pass-band, thereby reducing the complexity of filtering circuitry in the front end circuitry and improving the efficiency thereof. |
| US09225380B2 |
Semiconductor device and fabrication method
The present disclosure relates to impedance tuning of transmitting and receiving antennas. |
| US09225369B2 |
Filtering blocker components of a signal
An apparatus includes a main amplifier configured to receive an input signal. The main amplifier is also configured to generate an output signal. The apparatus also includes an auxiliary path configured to phase-shift the input signal to generate a cancellation signal to reduce or cancel a blocker component of the output signal. |
| US09225368B2 |
Periodic time segment sequence based signal generation
An output signal is developed. A periodic time segment sequence having a multiple ordered time segments is defined. The periodic time segment sequence is repeated. A plurality of sets of signal values are provided to an output, thereby generating the output signal. Each set of signal values is provided during a different ordered time segment than each other set. Each signal value of a set is provided during a different repetition of the periodic time segment sequence. Each set of signal values, in sequence, has statistical dependence with at least one other set of signal values, in sequence. |
| US09225367B2 |
Decision feedback equalizer and receiver
Embodiments of the present invention provide a decision feedback equalizer, which includes: a receive end, configured to receive a first differential signal, and input the first differential signal to the superimposer; a superimposer, configured to superimpose the first differential signal on a square-wave signal output by a adjusting unit to obtain a second differential signal; the adjusting unit, configured to perform phase and/or amplitude adjustment for a second square-wave signal; the first decision device is configured to compare a voltage amplitude of the second differential signal with a set value, and output a first square-wave signal; the second decision device is configured to compare the voltage amplitude of the second differential signal with a voltage amplitude of a signal adjusted by the adjusting unit, and input an obtained second square-wave signal to the adjusting unit. The embodiments of the present invention can reduce data edge jitter. |
| US09225366B2 |
Method of manufacturing a radio frequency receiver module
A method of manufacturing a radio frequency receiver module includes supporting a baseband processor on a base. A feature choice for the module is determined. The feature choice includes an antenna type, an RF type, or a stack type. An optional hardware component is selectively installed or omitted on the base dependent upon the determined feature choice. |
| US09225365B2 |
Sampling method, apparatus, probe, reception beamforming apparatus, and medical imaging system performing the sampling method
A sampling method for generating a diagnostic image of an object is provided. The sampling method may include receiving an echo signal reflected from an object; sampling the received echo signal by using a sampling frequency and storing the I component data and the Q component data extracted according to a result of the sampling. |
| US09225361B2 |
Frequency planning for digital power amplifier
Systems and techniques relating to wireless communication devices and digital power amplifiers include, according to an aspect, a device including: modulation circuitry of a radio frequency transmitter having a local oscillator frequency; a digital power amplifier coupled with the modulation circuitry; and a clock input coupled with the digital power amplifier; wherein the clock input provides a clock signal to the digital amplifier at a sampling clock frequency; and wherein the local oscillator frequency is an integer multiple of the sampling clock frequency. |
| US09225358B2 |
Low density parity check code for terrestrial cloud broadcast
Provided is an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code for terrestrial cloud broadcast. A method of encoding input information based on an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) includes receiving information and encoding the input information with an LDPC codeword using a parity check matrix, wherein the parity check matrix may have a structure obtained by combining a first parity check matrix for an LDPC code having a higher code rate than a reference value with a second parity check matrix for an LDPC code having a lower code rate than the reference value. |
| US09225355B2 |
Boosting decompression in the presence of reoccurring Huffman trees
For boosting decompression in the presence of reoccurring Huffman trees, a previous Huffman tree is used to decompress a new data block if a match is identified between a compacted description of the Huffman tree and a recently used Huffman tree compaction. |
| US09225353B2 |
Apparatuses and methods for linear to discrete quantization conversion with reduced sampling-variation errors
Provided is an apparatus for converting a continuous-time, continuously variable signal into a sampled and quantized signal, which includes an input line for accepting an input signal, multiple processing branches coupled to the input line, and an adder coupled to outputs of the plurality of processing branches. Each of the processing branches includes a sampling/quantization circuit and a digital bandpass interpolation filter having an input coupled to an output of the sampling/quantization circuit. The digital bandpass interpolation filters in different ones of the processing branches have frequency responses that are centered at different frequencies. The digital bandpass interpolation filter in at least one of the processing branches includes: (i) a quadrature downconverter, (ii) a first lowpass filter and a second lowpass filter, (iii) a first interpolator and a second interpolator, each having an input for inputting a variable interpolant value, and (iv) a quadrature upconverter. |
| US09225351B2 |
Current amplifier circuit, integrator, and ad converter
In one embodiment, a current amplifier circuit includes a first transistor, a first resistor, a second transistor, a second resistor, a first passive element, and a control circuit. The first transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The first resistor has one end connected to the first terminal of the first transistor. The second transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The second resistor has one end connected to the first terminal of the second transistor. The first passive element is connected between the first terminals of the first transistor and the second transistor. The control circuit controls at least one of voltage at the control terminals of the first transistor and the second transistor such that the voltage at the other end of the first resistor becomes equal to the voltage at the other end of the second resistor. |
| US09225345B2 |
Charge pump calibration for dual-path phase-locked loop
Embodiments of the invention are generally directed to charge pump calibration for a dual-path phase-locked loop circuit. An embodiment of an apparatus includes a phase frequency detector; an integral path including a first charge pump; a proportional path including a second charge pump; and a calibration mechanism for the first charge pump and the second charge pump, the calibration mechanism including a phase detector to detect whether a reference clock signal or a feedback clock signal is leading or lagging in phase and to generate a signal indicating which clock signal is leading or lagging, a first memory element and a second memory element to store the signal from the phase detector, a first control logic to adjust current for the first charge pump based on the value stored in the first memory element, and a second control logic to adjust current for the second charge pump based on the value stored in the second memory element. |
| US09225343B2 |
Electronics device capable of efficient communication between components with asyncronous clocks
An electronics device is disclosed that reduces latency resulting from communication between a first electronics component operating based on a fast clock and a second electronics component operating based on a slow clock reduces communication latency. When transferring the data from the first component to the second, the data is written into a buffer using the first clock, and then extracted by the second component using the second clock. Alternatively, when transferring the data from the second component to the first component, the first component reads the data from the second component and monitors whether the data was extracted during a relevant edge of the second clock signal, in which case the first component again extracts the data from the second component. |
| US09225341B2 |
Automatic amplitude control circuit
The present invention provides an automatic amplitude control circuit, including an oscillator, a collecting module, a first analog current generating module, a second analog current generating module, and a numerical control current generating module. According to this automatic amplitude control circuit, a low-noise numerical control bias current can be provided for the oscillator. |
| US09225338B2 |
System and method for removing far field limitations in microwave photonic arbitrary waveform generators
A photonic waveform generator and a method of generating an electrical waveform based on a photonic signal are disclosed. The generator includes an input port for receiving an optical signal, a pulse shaper coupled to the input port and configured to Fourier transform the optical signal and apply a pre-distort waveform onto optical spectrum of the optical signal, a dispersive pulse stretcher coupled to the pulse shaper, an optical-to-electrical converter coupled to the dispersive pulse stretcher, and an output port coupled to the optical-to-electrical converter, the pre-distortion removes distortion of the electrical signal that exists in the absence of the pre-distortion caused by violation of far field limitation between the optical signal and the electrical signal. |
| US09225334B2 |
Methods, integrated circuits, apparatuses and buffers with adjustable drive strength
Buffers, integrated circuits, apparatuses, and methods for adjusting drive strength of a buffer are disclosed. In an example apparatus, the buffer includes a driver. The driver includes a pull-up circuit coupled to a supply voltage node and an output node, and also includes a pull-down circuit coupled to a reference voltage node and the output node. A drive adjust circuit is coupled to at least one of the pull-up circuit and the pull-down circuit, with the drive adjust circuit configured to receive a feedback signal and, based at least in part on the feedback signal, adjust a current conducted through the at least one of the pull-up and pull-down circuits. |
| US09225333B2 |
Single supply level shifter with improved rise time and reduced leakage
A single supply level shifter converts an input logic level IN into level shifted OUT and OUT_X. An IN inverter generates level-shifted OUT at an OUT Node. IN is coupled at an INT Node to a VDD supply rail, through an INT_Node PFET that controls the INT Node based on OUT_X. An OUT_X network includes a separate IN_X inverter (generating inverted IN independent of level shifting), and an OUT_X circuit that controls pull-up/down of an OUT_X Node to generate level-shifted OUT_X, receiving control inputs from both IN and IN_X inverters. The OUT_X circuit is a three FET stack: a pull-up/down PFET/NFET pair receives IN_X, and an OUT_X Node control PFET, coupled between the pull-up PFET and the OUT_X Node, receives OUT. Based on OUT and IN_X, the OUT_X circuit generates OUT_X as an inverted OUT (including supplying OUT_X to the INT_Node PFET to control the INT Node (including OUT pull-up). |
| US09225321B2 |
Signal synchronizing systems and methods
Signal synchronizing systems and methods are disclosed. A signal synchronizing system includes a sequential logic circuit to receive an input signal and to generate a plurality of intermediate signals from the input signal based on a clock signal. A logic circuit combines the intermediate signals to generate an output signal. A signal receiver includes a microcontroller and a signal synchronizer coupled to the microcontroller. The signal synchronizer includes a sequential logic circuit to receive an input signal from a transmitter and to generate a plurality of intermediate signals from the received input signal based on a clock signal. A logic circuit combines the intermediate signals to generate an output signal. |
| US09225318B2 |
Sub-band processing complexity reduction
A sub-band processing system that reduces computational complexity and memory requirements includes a processor and a local or distributed memory. Logic stored in the memory partitions a frequency spectrum of bins into a smaller number of sub-bands. The logic enables a lossy compression by designating a magnitude and a designated or derived phase of each bin in the frequency spectrum as representative. The logic renders a lossless compression by decompressing the lossy compressed data and providing lost data based on original spectral relationships contained within the frequency spectrum. |
| US09225317B1 |
High-speed level shifter with voltage swing protection
A level shifter operates using first and second input signals. When the first and second input signals are in respective first and second states, a first switching element is activated and an output node is pulled toward a first voltage, first pull-down protection and first pull-down switching elements are deactivated, a first protection node is connected to a first bias voltage, second pull-down protection and second pull-down switching elements are activated, and a second protection node is pulled to a second voltage. When the first and second input signals are in respective second and first states, the first switching element is deactivated, the first pull-down protection and first pull-down switching elements are activated, the output node and the first protection node are pulled toward the second voltage, the second pull-down protection and second pull-down switching elements are deactivated, and the second protection node is connected to the first bias voltage. |
| US09225315B2 |
Digital filter having improved attenuation characteristics
A digital filter having improved attenuation characteristics is disclosed. The disclosed performs upsampling of model filter response by applying a sampling kernel scaled by a sampling constant. The disclosed filter has good attenuation characteristics with small number of taps and pass bands of the digital filter can be changed with simple parameter variation. |
| US09225312B2 |
Electromagnetic interference suppression
An inductive power transmitter for transmitting electrical power to a device by electromagnetic induction, the transmitter being configured to receive power conductively by way of a current via an electrical conduit from an external power source, the transmitter including a field generator configured to generate a fluctuating electromagnetic field having a fundamental frequency; and at least one impedance element connected along an electrical path of the transmitter configured to carry said current, the impedance element or a combination of the impedance elements having a high enough impedance at the fundamental frequency such that, in use, electromagnetic noise experienced at the power source is substantially suppressed, such noise arising from coupling between the electromagnetic field and a circuit having said path and linking the power source to the transmitter. |
| US09225310B1 |
Audio limiter system and method
A system and method for limiting amplitude of a signal, such as limiting the loudness of an audio signal. Embodiments of the present invention allow for the most aggressive limiting by using an advanced psychoacoustic model to intelligently determine the amount of limiting that can be done to the incoming signal before producing distortion that is detectable to the human ear. |
| US09225308B2 |
Apparatus and method for amplifying a transmit signal or for determining values of a delay control parameter
An apparatus for amplifying a transmit signal comprises a transmit path comprising a power amplifier module to be coupled to an antenna module. The power amplifier module is configured to amplify a transmit signal. Further, the apparatus comprises an envelope tracking path comprising a variable delay module and a power supply module. The variable delay module is configured to vary a signal delay within the envelope tracking path according to a delay control parameter. Further, the apparatus comprises a delay control module configured to provide the delay control parameter based on a current characteristic transmit frequency of the transmit signal. |
| US09225306B2 |
Gain control for an electro-acoustic device with a facial movement detector
Methods, systems and devices are provided for controlling a wearable device. Embodiments include receiving a facial movement indication from a facial movement detector measured contemporaneously with an input audio signal. Additionally, whether a first movement pattern associated with the wearer speaking is a movement match to the facial movement indication may be determined. In this way, a speaking gain profile may be applied to the input audio signal for generating an augmented audio segment in response to determining the first movement pattern is the movement match to the facial movement indication. Thus, the augmented audio segment may be output. |
| US09225305B2 |
System and methods for applying bass compensation
Systems and methods for providing bass compensation to correct for uneven bass response are disclosed. An example bass compensation system includes a low pass filter configured to receive an audio signal from an audio source and provide a filtered audio signal, the low pass filter having a roll off of at least 18 dB per octave. The bass compensation system further includes a summing amplifier coupled to the low pass filter and configured to sum the audio signal from said audio source and the filtered audio signal to provide a summed audio signal, wherein the summed audio signal provided by the summing amplifier provides a bass boost at a first frequency and mid bass cut at a second frequency greater than the first frequency. |
| US09225301B2 |
Amplifier apparatus with controlled negative output impedance
An audio amplifier apparatus includes an audio amplifier which receives a single audio signal and produces a plus phase audio signal and a minus phase audio signal, both dependent upon the single audio signal. The plus phase audio signal and minus phase audio signal are received by first and second inputs of a speaker, respectively. A current sensing circuit senses a level of current received by the first or second inputs of the speaker and outputs a current sensing signal dependent upon the sensed level of current. An amplifying circuit receives and amplifies the current sensing signal. A mixer circuit receives the amplified current sensing signal and an audio drive signal and produces the single audio signal dependent upon the amplified current sensing signal and the audio drive signal. The single audio signal is produced at a node in-between two resistors. |
| US09225298B2 |
System and method for power amplifier over-voltage protection
A system for power amplifier over-voltage protection includes a power amplifier configured to receive a system voltage, a bias circuit configured to provide a bias signal to the power amplifier, and a power amplifier over-voltage circuit configured to interrupt the bias signal when the system voltage exceeds a predetermined value, while the system voltage remains coupled to the power amplifier. |
| US09225296B2 |
Method and system for aligning signals widely spaced in frequency for wideband digital predistortion in wireless communication systems
A system for time aligning widely frequency spaced signals includes a digital predistortion (DPD) processor and a power amplifier coupled to the DPD processor and operable to provide a transmit signal at a power amplifier output. The system also includes a feedback loop coupled to the power amplifier output. The feedback loop comprises an adaptive fractional delay filter, a delay estimator coupled to the adaptive fractional delay filter, and a DPD coefficient estimator coupled to the delay estimator. |
| US09225289B2 |
Method and apparatus for partial envelope tracking in handheld and wireless computing devices
A partial envelope tracking (PET) circuit for improving the dynamic range and the efficiency of a power amplifier amplifying high bandwidth signals is provided. The PET circuit includes a main supply path having a main valve (MV) connecting the power amplifier to a first power source; a storage capacitor connecting a junction node and the power amplifier; a supplementary supply path including a DV and a TV, each of the DV and the tracking valve connecting, in parallel between a second power source and the junction node; a supplementary current path including a GV connecting the junction node and a ground; and a valves control unit (VCU) configured to monitor an envelope tracking parameter to determine an operation mode of the circuit and a state of each of the MV, the GV, the DV, and the TV during each respective mode of operation. |
| US09225286B1 |
Micro-inverter quick mount and trunk cable
A photovoltaic system is disclosed having individual micro-inverters associated with each solar panel. The individual micro-inverters are easily installed without the aid of tools by snap locking a micro-inverter into place upon heat barriers mounted to and separated from the solar panels. When a micro-inverter is snapped into place it automatically electrically engages contacts from the solar panels mounted on the heat barriers. AC trunk cables pass through uni-strut channels along the backs of the solar panels. Flat jumper output cables from the micro-inverters fit adjacent the AC trunk cables within the uni-strut channels where a snap fit electrical connection is made, in a protected environment. |
| US09225285B2 |
Photovoltaic installation with automatic disconnect device
A PV installation comprises a PV array, an electrical interface connecting a utility power source to an electrical load, and a DC to AC inverter. A first set of wiring electrically connects the PV array to the inverter through a disconnect device and a second set of wiring electrically connects the inverter to the electrical interface. A control mechanism connects the disconnect device to the electrical interface so that when power from the electrical interface is removed, the PV array is electrically disconnected from the inverter. The disconnect device may be a remote disconnect device located at a position at or near the PV array, such as in the space beneath a roof supporting the PV array. A method electrically disconnects a PV array from electrical wiring at a site. |
| US09225284B2 |
Controlling an electrically-driven actuator
In some aspects, an actuation system includes an electrical positioning driver and an electrically-driven actuator. A voltage boost converter in the electrical positioning driver receives an input voltage. The voltage boost converter passes the input voltage to a voltage bus in the electrical positioning driver. The voltage on the voltage bus is converted to an actuator power signal that controls the electrically-driven actuator. The voltage boost converter boosts the voltage on the voltage bus to control a mechanical output performance of the electrically-driven actuator. |
| US09225279B2 |
Control apparatus for AC rotating machine and electrically-assisted power steering apparatus provided with the control apparatus
A control apparatus for AC rotating machine includes: a voltage command calculation means for calculating voltage commands on two rotational axes; a first voltage application means for applying voltages to first windings of a multiple-winding AC rotating machine having at least the first windings and second windings based on the voltage commands on two rotational axes output by the voltage command calculation means; and a second voltage application means for applying voltages to the second windings based on the voltage commands on two rotational axes output by the voltage command calculation means, wherein the second voltage application means applies voltages to the second windings based on the deviations between the currents fed to the first windings and the currents fed to the second windings. |
| US09225276B2 |
Image forming apparatus, control method for the same, and motor state detector
An image forming apparatus, a control method for the same, and a motor state detector are provided. An aspect is to detect out-of-step of a motor using only an electric circuit configuration without additional mechanical devices, such as an encoder, a light-emitting device, and a light-receiving device, and to predict and prevent out-of-step of the motor. To this end, the image forming apparatus includes a motor state detector that acquires a current detection signal by detecting phase current of a motor and that generates an output signal in which a duty ratio in a current chopping section of the current detection signal is involved, and a controller that judges a normal state, out-of-step entry, and an out-of-step state of the motor based on the output signal of the motor state detector. |
| US09225272B2 |
Control circuit for speed and rotational direction of fan
The present invention provides a control circuit for speed and rotational direction of a fan, including a signal conversion unit, a processing unit, and a drive unit. The signal conversion unit converts the received input signal into a DC level signal. The processing unit determines to generate a plurality of control signals for the fan based on the received DC level signal and at least one preset voltage therein to drive the drive unit, further controlling the rotational speed or clockwise/counter-clockwise rotation of the fan, whereby to reduce the cost and increase the layout space. |
| US09225270B2 |
Current control device of synchronous motor
A current control device of a synchronous motor comprises a provisional d-phase current command calculation unit; a voltage amplitude calculation unit calculating a magnitude of a voltage command vector in a previous sampling period; a voltage ratio calculation unit determining a voltage ratio between the magnitude of the voltage command vector and a maximum output voltage of an amplifier; a target d-phase current calculation unit obtaining a d-phase current command in the previous sampling period, and calculating a target d-phase current command from the voltage ratio and the d-phase current command; a correction value calculation unit determining a correction value by passing a difference between the provisional d-phase current command and the target d-phase current command through a low-pass filter; and an adder adding the correction value to the d-phase current command in the present sampling period to calculate a new d-phase current command. |
| US09225258B2 |
Backflow preventing means, power converting device, and refrigerating and air-conditioning apparatus
For example, backflow preventing means is provided, which reduces a recovery electric current occurring in the event of backflow of an electric current so as to ensure high efficiency, high reliability, etc. The backflow preventing means includes a backflow preventing element, such as a rectifying element, which is connected between an alternating-current power supply and a load and prevents the electric current from flowing backward from the load toward the alternating-current power supply; and commutating means for performing a commutation operation for causing the electric current to flow toward a different path that is connected in parallel with the backflow preventing element, whereby a conduction loss and a loss caused by the electric current can be reduced. |
| US09225247B2 |
Comparator for synchronous rectification and method of operation
A boost converter includes a comparator having first and second gain stages that operate in compare and auto-zero modes. The comparator measures voltage drop across a P-channel transistor to determine when current through an inductor reaches zero. When the inductor current reaches zero, the P-channel transistor becomes inactive to prevent a reduction in efficiency caused by allowing negative inductor current to draw current from a load. The comparator is then placed in a low power state. When the comparator is not in a compare mode, the comparator can operate in an auto-zero mode to cancel offset when measuring the input of the comparator. |
| US09225243B2 |
Converter device
A converter, for feeding a load via an inductor with a current having a controlled intensity between a maximum and a minimum level, includes a switch to permit or prevent, respectively, current towards said inductor, a first current sensor sensitive to the current flowing through switch when the switch is on, a second current sensor sensitive to the current flowing through said inductor when the switch is off, drive circuitry to turn the switch off and on upon receiving a first and a second logic signal, respectively, and comparison circuitry coupled to the first and the second current sensors to generate first and the second logic signals when, respectively: the current intensity detected by the first current sensor is offset a given amount with respect to the maximum level, and the current intensity detected by the second current sensor is offset a given amount with respect to the minimum level. |
| US09225240B2 |
Charge pump utilizing external clock signal
A method of generating a pumping voltage in an integrated circuit includes receiving an external clock signal from outside of the integrated circuit. The frequency of the received external clock signal is changed according to one or more modulation ratios, resulting in one or more respective modulated external clock signal. The external clock signal or one of the modulated external clock signals is then selected for use as a pump clock signal. The pump clock signal is used for driving the pump capacitance of a pump circuit for generating the pumping voltage. |
| US09225236B2 |
Method for controlling an H-bridge inverter
The invention relates to a H-bridge inverter and a method for controlling a H-bridge converter. The H-bridge inverter (1) comprises first and second DC terminals (Tdc1, Tdc2), first and second AC terminals (Tac1, Tac2), a first switch (S1), a second switch (S2), a third switch (S3) and a fourth switch (S4). The inverter further comprises a control circuit for controlling the switching of the first, second, third and fourth switches (S11, S2, S3, S4). The control circuit is configured to control the switches (S1, S2, S3, S4) in continuous mode between the following states: a first state where the first switch (S1) is turned off, the second switch (S2) is performing PWM switching, the third switch (S3) is turned off and the fourth switch (S4) is turned on; a second state where the first switch (S1) is turned off, the second switch (S2) is performing PWM switching, the third switch (S3) is turned on and the fourth switch (S4) is turned off; a third state where the first switch (S1) is turned off, the second switch (S2) is turned on, the third switch (S3) is turned off and the fourth switch (54) is performing PWM switching; and a fourth state where the first switch (S1) is turned on, the second switch (S2) is turned off, the third switch (S3) is turned off and the fourth switch (S4) is performing PWM switching. |
| US09225233B2 |
Power conversion device control device
Aspects of the invention include a power conversion device control device, including multiple drive circuits having an alarm signal formation circuit that sets a pulse signal having as one cycle a period. The one cycle period includes a determination period, of which a different period is set for each of plural protection circuits that detect information for carrying out a protection operation of semiconductor elements configuring a power conversion device, and a constant period, in which a condition varies with respect to the determination period, takes a protection circuit for which it is first detected that a protection operation is necessary to be a first-come first-served protection circuit, and outputs the pulse signal corresponding to the first-come first-served protection circuit as an alarm signal, wherein the alarm signal formation circuit is such that a resetting condition of the alarm signal is a condition that a protection operation stopped condition. |
| US09225229B2 |
Semiconductor switch circuit
A semiconductor switch circuit includes a switch between an input node and an output node that connects nodes to each other according to a control signal and a level shifter outputting the control signal at a boosted level that is greater than a power supply voltage level. The semiconductor switch circuit also includes a booster circuit to output a boosted voltage at the boosted level higher than a power supply voltage level. A control circuit is configured to control the level shifter output of the control signal to the switch. A capacitance switching circuit is included to change the capacitance of a connection between the booster circuit and the level shifter. The capacitance switching circuit can vary capacitance according to the voltage level of the booster circuit output. |
| US09225225B2 |
Sensing PM electrical machine position
An electrical machine includes a stator having a stator winding and a secondary transformer coil. A rotor is operatively connected to rotate relative to the stator, wherein the rotor includes a plurality of embedded permanent magnets. A primary transformer coil is wound on the rotor and is operatively connected to form a rotating transformer with the secondary transformer coil. An inverter/active rectifier component is operatively connected to the stator winding and the secondary transformer coil to control the stator winding based on a sense in the secondary transformer coil received from the primary transformer coil. |
| US09225224B2 |
Dynamoelectric machine having air/liquid cooling
A dynamoelectric machine includes a stator having a laminated core and a winding system, which forms winding heads on end faces of the stator, and a rotor having a laminated core and connected to a shaft in a rotationally fixed manner. The stator and the rotor are arranged in a housing, and the shaft is supported by bearings arranged in bearing shields. The laminated core of the stator and/or rotor has axially extending cooling channels. The bearing shields form with the housing a closed interior having at least one closed inner cooling circuit. The housing has an outer jacket and an inner jacket facing the stator and arranged at a distance from the outer jacket in some sections. The outer jacket and the inner jacket combined form a cooling jacket defined by an axial extension which equals at least the axial extension of the laminated core of the stator. |
| US09225222B2 |
Magnetic bearing apparatus and method for varying shaft thrust load support in induction motors and other rotating machinery
A permanent magnet bearing supports part of thrust loads of a vertical shaft induction motor, or the thrust loads of other types of rotation machinery regardless of shaft rotational axis orientation, in parallel with a lubricated mechanical bearing. The permanent magnet has a stationary magnet portion coupled to a bearing bracket and a rotating portion adapted for coupling to a rotor shaft. The permanent magnet bearing exerts a directional magnetic force that generates a preload support force on the rotor shaft that is selectively varied by varying air gap between the stationary and rotating magnet portions. Air gap between the magnet portions is varied with an air gap adjustment mechanism. The gap adjustment mechanism may be coupled to a control system that in some embodiments causes the permanent magnet bearing to vary the air gap based on external load applied on the motor. |
| US09225220B2 |
Integrated gas turbine engine accessories
An permanent magnet alternator stator assembly for an integrated air turbine starter and permanent magnet alternator assembly has a permanent magnet alternator stator winding assembly attached to a mounting structure. A quick electrical connector electrically connects to the stator winding assembly and is attached to the mounting structure. The mounting structure includes an alignment aperture for removably attaching the permanent magnet alternator winding assembly to an air turbine starter. An integrated air turbine starter and permanent magnet alternator assembly and accessory gearbox assembly are also described. |
| US09225219B2 |
Dynamoelectric machine
An alternator according to the present invention includes: a shaft; a rotor that is fixed to the shaft; a stator that has a stator core that is disposed so as to surround an outer circumference of the rotor and in which a plurality of slots that extend axially are formed so as to be spaced apart circumferentially; and a front bracket and a rear bracket that hold circumferential edge portions of the stator core from two axial ends using a plurality of holding means and that envelope the stator core, a pair of first stays that are formed on the front bracket being fixed to a vehicle by bolts that penetrate through a pair of penetrating apertures that are respectively formed on the first stays, and the pair of penetrating apertures are formed at positions such that an approximate perpendicular bisector of a straight line that connects centers of the penetrating apertures intersects an axis of the shaft; and one of the holding means is disposed on the perpendicular bisector near the shaft. This configuration can prevent generation of magnetic noise without increasing weight in the brackets, in other words, without increasing overall weight. |
| US09225217B2 |
Electric power collection and distribution ring, electric motor and method of manufacturing electric motor
An electric power collection and distribution ring includes a plurality of annular bus rings for collecting and distributing power to windings of a stator, the windings being covered with an insulation cover and the stator being formed by winding the windings around a plurality of teeth arranged in a circular pattern. The bus ring is formed by annularly coupling a plurality of arc-shaped conductive members each including terminal portions at both circumferential end portions, the terminal portions being welded to each other together with an end portion of the winding. The terminal portion includes a first contact surface coming into contact with the end portion of the winding at the time of the welding and a second contact surface to be a contact point between the terminal portions. |
| US09225216B2 |
Electric motor and method of producing an electric motor that is commutated electronically
An electric motor, in particular a motor which can be commutated electronically, is disclosed. The motor comprises a stator with a plurality of field windings which are wound at least in places from a winding wire, and further comprises a contact grid for making contact with the field windings, which contact grid has a plurality of conductor tracks which are insulated from one another, with the conductor tracks having contacts to which the winding wire is fixed, wherein the winding wire is cut through between specific contacts such that this results in the field windings being connected in a manner which is suitable for generating a rotating field when being powered by a suitable motor controller. |
| US09225213B2 |
Electrical rotating machine
An electrical rotating machine includes: a rotating shaft; a rotor, equipped with permanent magnets, and formed to rotate with the rotating shaft, a stator disposed in opposition on an outside-diametral side and via a clearance with respect to the rotor; and anti-demagnetization conductors extending in the axial direction of the shaft, the conductors each being disposed inside the rotor, wherein: the anti-demagnetization conductors are provided in pairs of two for each of magnetic poles of the rotor; the two anti-demagnetization conductors forming a pair are electrically interconnected; and, inside the rotor, the two paired anti-demagnetization conductors are disposed at different-polarity sides of two corresponding permanent magnets in a circumferential direction of the rotor, the different-polarity sides each being more adjacent to the circumferential direction of the rotor than to an end portion of one of the two corresponding permanent magnets existing close to each other in one magnetic pole. |
| US09225212B2 |
Method of manufacturing bonded-magnet rotor
A method of manufacturing a bonded-magnet rotor according to the invention includes forming step and arranging step. The forming step is by forming a bonded-magnet formed body. The arranging step includes: integrating an inside-diameter holding jig, a rotor core, and a rotor-core presser jig; arranging the bonded-magnet formed bodies on the outside periphery of the inside-diameter holding jig; and arranging an outside-diameter-holding magnet-pressure-welding jig to support outside peripheral faces of the bonded-magnet formed bodies. The method further includes steps of: deforming the bonded-magnet formed bodies to fit with the outside peripheral dimension of the rotor core by pressing and transferring the bonded-magnet formed bodies to the rotor core with a forming jig; mutually joining end portions of adjacent ones of the bonded-magnet formed bodies; and integrating the bonded-magnet formed bodies with the rotor core by compressing the bonded-magnet formed bodies. This configuration allows the bonded-magnet rotor with high dimension accuracy. |
| US09225207B2 |
Rotating electric motor and internal combustion engine supercharger
Teeth-shaped portions 11b of a magnet 11 are formed in such a way that a part of the plane of projection of each of the teeth-shaped portions protrudes in a circumferential direction with respect to that of one of teeth 8b and 9b which is viewed from an axial direction of a first stator core 8 and a second stator core 9. |
| US09225205B2 |
Method of constructing core with tapered pole pieces and low-loss electrical rotating machine with said core
An electrical rotating machine having a stator or a rotor with a core that includes a plurality of tapered pole pieces is a low loss electrical machine that results in improvements such as higher output power, higher torque and higher efficiency than a machine that does not have tapered pole pieces. The stator or the rotor with tapered pole pieces may be applied to a power train in automobiles, power tools, and various appliances. The core is constructed by winding an iron-based amorphous magnetic alloy ribbon to form a cylinder-shaped core, then heating, impregnating with resin, and machining by cutting the cylinder-shaped core to form a plurality of tapered pole pieces being separated in an alternating manner by a plurality of slots. The cores having an outside diameter of 50 mm-1200 mm, a tapered angle of 10°-45°, and a slot depth of 10 mm-210 mm are advantageous. |
| US09225204B2 |
Coil unit, contactless power transfer apparatus, vehicle, and contactless power feeding system
A coil unit includes a second self-resonant coil electromagnetically resonating with a spaced, first self-resonant coil to perform at least one of transmitting power to the first self-resonant coil and receiving power from the first self-resonant coil, the second self-resonant coil including a first coil and a plurality of second coils provided inside the first coil, the direction of a magnetic field formed by the first coil is the same as those formed by the second coils. |
| US09225203B2 |
Method, system and computer-readable recording medium for transferring wireless power by using antennas with high orders of spherical modes
The present invention relates to a system for transferring wireless power or signal. The system includes a first antenna; and a second antenna which is located from the first antenna at an arbitrary distance and arranged in an arbitrary direction in comparison with the first antenna, wherein respective spherical modes of the first antenna and the second antenna are allowed to have orders which are same as or larger than a predetermined value to thereby transfer wireless power between the first antenna and the second antenna. |
| US09225202B1 |
AC power control for a power supply system during AC line disturbance
System for providing AC power control is disclosed. The system includes a primary power source (e.g., AC power source or backup generator power source), a backup power source (e.g., battery in power supply unit), and a control component. The control component powers the load with the primary power source when output voltage of the primary power source is above a predetermined threshold. The control component is configured to power the load concurrently with both the primary power and the backup power if the output voltage of the primary power source falls below a predetermined threshold. The control component is also configured to disable the primary power source and power the load with only the backup power source, upon detection of a fault condition at the primary power source. Upon resolution of the fault condition, the primary power is ramped up and the backup power is simultaneous ramped down. |
| US09225201B2 |
Control unit for operating a safety system for a vehicle and method for operating such a safety system for a vehicle
In a control device and a method for operating a safety system for a vehicle, a step-up converter is fashioned as a switching converter which converts an input voltage derived from a vehicle battery voltage into a higher charge voltage at its output. In addition, at least one energy reserve storage device is provided that is charged by the charge voltage for the operation of the safety system in an autarkic mode. Between the step-up converter and the at least one energy reserve storage device there is connected a charge current source that is programmable during operation and that defines a charge current for the at least one energy reserve storage device as a function of its programming. |
| US09225197B2 |
Charging efficiency using variable isolation
A method for charging an energy storage system (ESS) from an AC line voltage having differing input voltages (e.g., 120 Vac or 240 Vac), the method includes a) determining which of the AC line voltages is provided for charging the ESS as a charging AC voltage; b) boosting the charging AC voltage to an intermediate voltage responsive to the provided AC line voltage; c) scaling, responsive to the particular one of the AC line voltages, the intermediate voltage to a secondary voltage using a scaling factor; and d) converting the secondary voltage to a charging voltage applied to the ESS. |
| US09225194B2 |
Implantable medical device charging apparatus having both parallel and series resonators
An implantable medical device charging apparatus includes a charging circuit. The charging circuit includes a series resonator responsive to a signal applied to the charging circuit. During operation, the series resonator inductively couples to a secondary coil within an implantable medical device to transfer energy to the secondary coil. The charging circuit also includes a parallel resonator coupled to the series resonator. The parallel resonator filters a first component of the signal from propagating to the series resonator. |
| US09225193B2 |
Electronic device with automatic positioning function
The present invention provides an electronic device with automatic positioning function, which includes a device body and a magnetic unit. The device body contains therein a wireless transmission module. The wireless transmission module includes a transmission coil. The device body has one side in which a receiving section is formed. The transmission coil is received in the receiving section. The transmission coil has an outer circumference that is spaced from an inner circumference of the receiving section by a movement distance. The magnetic unit is set at the center of the transmission coil. |
| US09225192B2 |
Apparatus and method of charging rechargeable battery
The apparatus of charging a rechargeable battery includes a voltage detector which detects a voltage value between terminals of a rechargeable battery, a current generator which generates current for charging the rechargeable battery and outputs the generated current to the terminals of the rechargeable battery, and a controller which controls the current generator based on the voltage value detected by the voltage detector. The current generator outputs a first current for which a direction thereof between the terminals of the rechargeable battery is constant, in a charging period of the rechargeable battery, wherein the first current comprises direct current, and a second current for which a direction thereof between the terminals of the rechargeable battery is periodically reversed, in an intermittent period of the rechargeable battery. |
| US09225187B2 |
Multi-functional electrode devices for fast-charging of energy-storage devices and methods therein
The present invention discloses multi-functional electrode (MFE) devices for fast-charging of energy-storage devices. MFE devices include: a multi-functional electrode (MFE) device for fast-charging of energy-storage devices, the device including: a first MFE structure for forming a suitable electrochemical half-couple, the first MFE structure having a first fast-charging component (FCC) and a first MFE assembly; a counter-electrode structure for forming a complementary electrochemical half-couple to the first MFE structure; and an internal voltage controller (IVC) for applying a bias potential to the first MFE structure and/or the counter-electrode structure, whereby the bias potential is set in accordance with the chemical nature of the first MFE structure and the counter-electrode structure. Preferably, the IVC is configured to regulate an intra-electrode potential gradient between the first FCC and the first MFE assembly, thereby controlling a charge rate from the first FCC to the first MFE assembly. |
| US09225186B2 |
Method and device for controlling charge of battery
A method for controlling charge of a battery includes: when charging a battery, monitoring a temperature of the battery in real time, and acquiring a corresponding dynamic factor according to the temperature of the battery, wherein the dynamic factor is used for characterizing a dynamically regulating component of a charge current coefficient during the charge process; calculating a maximum allowed charge current according to the dynamic factor and preset static factors; and controlling the charge of the battery according to the maximum allowed charge current. This enables adaptive charge management according to application scenarios, which effectively avoids the situation where the charge current of the battery is too high or too low, improves the environmental adaptability of battery charging, and further extends the service life of the battery and saves costs. Also provided is a method for controlling charge of a battery. |
| US09225170B2 |
Use pairs of transformers to increase transmission line voltage
A smart link in a power delivery system includes an insulator, which electrically isolates a power line, and a switchable conductance placed in parallel with the insulator. The switchable conductance includes switchgear for sourcing, sinking, and/or dispatching real and/or reactive power on the power line to dynamically in response to dynamic loading, transient voltages and/or currents, and phase conditions or other conditions on the power line. |
| US09225167B2 |
Protection element, semiconductor device, and electronic system
A protection element includes a first wiring line configured to be supplied with a signal voltage when electric current is on; a second wiring line configured to be supplied with a criterion voltage; a detection circuit connected between the first wiring line and the second wiring line, and configured to detect the signal voltage inputted onto the first wiring line; an inverter circuit including a plurality of inverters connected between the first wiring line and the second wiring line, and configured to be supplied with a reference voltage having a same level as that of the signal voltage between an odd-numbered inverter and an even-numbered inverter when electric current is on; and a protection transistor connected between the first wiring line and the second wiring line, and having a gate configured to receive output of the inverter circuit. |
| US09225164B2 |
Decoupling arrangement
In various embodiments, apparatuses and methods are disclosed that may be able to implement a multi-layer, three dimensional routing between a decoupling component and an input port for a SoC or MCM. A three dimensional (3D) structure may provide a defined current return path from the decoupling component to the input port. The current return path may be constrained by design to provide an equal and opposite electromagnetic flux to the input port thereby reducing series inductance between the input port and the decoupling component. |
| US09225162B2 |
System and method for fault protection
A protection system includes a control module, a switch, and an inductive device. The control module is used to provide control signals and switching signals based at least in part on a detected signal measured by a detecting device. The control signals include a first control signal corresponding to a normal mode and a second control signal corresponding to a fault mode. The switch is switched on and off according to the switching signals. The inductive device is coupled with the switch. The inductive device is controlled to be operated with a first inductance in response to the first control signal provided from the control module and a second inductance in response to the second control signal provided from the control module. |
| US09225157B2 |
Vibration resistant cable
Vibration resistant cables containing a first conductor and a second conductor, each having a diameter d, are disclosed. The second conductor is twisted around the first conductor at a lay length between 3 feet and 6 feet to eliminate bagging of the vibration resistant cable during installation. |
| US09225156B2 |
Conduit spacer assembly
A conduit spacer assembly for supporting and conveying an inner conduit into an outer conduit. The conduit spacer assembly has one or more conveyance assemblies moveable along a track coupled to the outer conduit. One or more conduit spacers are suspended from the conveyance assemblies, and support the inner conduit. The conveyance assemblies may be coupled together by a strap member. A force applied to one conveyance assembly is transferred to the other conveyance assemblies via the strap member. An installation assembly having a frame structure and a track support assist with the installation of the conduit spacer assembly and the inner conduit. |
| US09225152B2 |
Multi-function wire stripping hand tool and kit and method for using same
A multi-function wire stripping hand tool generally for electricians that has a wire stripping system for a controlled cut and strip of the insulation from a wire. The tool includes an elongated body member having a longitudinal cavity and a transverse opening therein which communicates with the longitudinal cavity and one end of the body member. A stationary cutting blade is disposed in the inner end of the longitudinal cavity, and a movable cutting blade is movably mounted within an upper end of the longitudinal cavity. A spring is disposed between and engaged with a push button actuator so as to urge the movable blade to an open and retracted position. The wire stripping system is engaged with a handle region of the hand tool, and permits stripping in a direction that is perpendicular a longitudinal axis of the multi-function hand tool. The wire stripping system may be used from either side of the hand tool, and may be provided with a plurality of first and second operably engaged housings for securing a number of tool bit members. |
| US09225148B2 |
Laser source assembly with thermal control and mechanically stable mounting
A laser source (340) comprises a first frame (356), a laser (358), and a first mounting assembly (360). The laser (358) generates an output beam (354) that is directed along a beam axis (354A). The first mounting assembly (360) allows the laser (358) to expand and contract relative to the first frame (356) along a first axis and along a second axis that is orthogonal to the beam axis, while maintaining alignment of the output beam (354) so the beam axis (354A) is substantially coaxial with the first axis. The first mounting assembly (360) can include a first fastener assembly (366) that couples the laser (358) to the first frame (356), and a first alignment assembly (368) that maintains alignment of the laser (358) along a first alignment axis (370) that is substantially parallel to the first axis. |
| US09225144B2 |
Walk-off compensator with tilt function
Techniques and structure are disclosed for implementing a spatial walk-off compensation mechanism having an integral tilt function. In some embodiments, the mechanism may comprise a tilt-ball mount having an integrated walk-off compensation medium. In some embodiments, the mechanism may be configured to receive an output beam from a non-linear converter (e.g., optical parametric oscillator or OPO) implementing a non-linear medium comprising a bi-refringent material (e.g., zinc germanium phosphide, or ZnGeP2; cadmium silicon phosphide, or CdSiP2). In some embodiments, the walk-off compensation medium may comprise the same material and/or have the same cut as the non-linear medium. In some embodiments, the mechanism may be manually and/or mechanically adjusted/repositioned to reduce beam walk-off and/or to more precisely direct the beam. In some embodiments, the mechanism may be implemented in mid-infrared (MIR) applications. Numerous configurations and variations will be apparent in light of this disclosure. |
| US09225141B2 |
Multi-core amplification optical fiber and multi-core optical fiber amplifier
A multi-core amplification optical fiber includes a plurality of rare-earth-doped core portions and a cladding portion positioned at an outer periphery of the core portions and having refractive index lower than those of the core portions. When a doping concentration of the rare-earth of each of the core portions is 250 ppm to 2000 ppm, a relative refractive index difference of each of the core portions relative to the cladding portion is 0.5% to 2% at a wavelength of 1550 nm, and a core diameter of each of the core portions is 1 μm to 5 μm, a separation distance between each of the core portions and adjacent one of the core portions is set at equal to or larger than 30 μm and at equal to or smaller than 60 μm so that a light-crosstalk between the adjacent core portions is equal to or lower than −30 dB. |
| US09225140B2 |
Spatially distributed laser resonator
A distributed resonator laser system using retro-reflecting elements, in which spatially separated retroreflecting elements define respectively a power transmitting and a power receiving unit. The retroreflectors have no point of inversion, so that an incident beam is reflected back along a path essentially coincident with that of the incident beam. This enables the distributed laser to operate with the beams in a co-linear mode, instead of the ring mode described in the prior art. This feature allows the simple inclusion of elements having optical power within the distributed cavity, enabling such functions as focusing/defocusing, increasing the field of view of the system, and changing the Rayleigh length of the beam. The optical system can advantageously be constructed as a pupil imaging system, with the advantage that optical components, such as the gain medium or a photo-voltaic converter, can be positioned at such a pupil without physical limitations. |
| US09225139B2 |
Discharge-pumped gas laser device
A discharge-pumped gas laser device may include a laser chamber, a pair of discharge electrodes provided in the laser chamber, a fan with a magnetic bearing being provided in the laser chamber and configured to be capable of circulating a gas in the laser chamber, a housing configured to contain the laser chamber, and a magnetic bearing controller connected to the magnetic bearing electrically, being capable of controlling the magnetic bearing, and provided in the housing separately from the laser chamber. |
| US09225138B2 |
Laser light source
The present invention relates to a laser light source capable of suppressing variation in propagation state of randomly-polarized laser light. In the laser light source, an isolator including a Faraday rotation crystal having a positive thermooptic constant, and a nonlinear optical crystal having a negative thermooptic constant are arranged in order along a traveling direction of laser light. The nonlinear optical crystal is arranged in a state off normal incidence of incident light so that a propagation axis of light propagating in the crystal is parallel to an optic axis of the crystal. |
| US09225137B2 |
Apparatus and methods for controlling carrier envelope phase of low repetition rate pulses
The carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of a laser pulse has been shown to influence many physical processes such as pulse propagation through polar molecules, cross-phase modulation, ponderomotive surface-plasmon electron acceleration, photoemission from metallic surfaces, terahertz emission from the laser breakdown of air, above-threshold ionization, high harmonic generation, and attosecond pulse generation. Current technology does not allow for the CEP stabilization of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) systems operating at a repetition rate much lower than a kHz. The inventors disclose apparatus and methods that enable CEP control in CPA systems operating at arbitrarily-low repetition rates. |
| US09225136B2 |
Wire separating method and system
A method of separating wires from a wire bundle includes positioning a cable with a wire bundle at a wire separating area, positioning a gas nozzle at the wire separating area, and directing gas flow at the wire bundle to separate the wires from the wire bundle. A wire separating system is used to separate wires and including a cable holder having a fixture holding a cable with a wire bundle extending into a wire separating area. The system includes a gas nozzle at the wire separating area that directs gas flow into the wire separating area at the wire bundle. The gas flow separates individual wires from the wire bundle. A wire gripper is provided at the wire separating area. The wire gripper grasps the separated wire from the wire bundle. |
| US09225135B2 |
Contact impedance adjusting method, contact, and connector having the same
The invention provides a method of adjusting an impedance of a contact including a first portion and a second portion having a higher impedance than the first portion. In this method, the second portion of the contact is provided with an impedance adjusting portion having electrically conductivity to increase a dimension in a thickness direction of the second portion. |
| US09225130B2 |
Connector having stiffener coated with insulative layer
An electrical connector (100) includes an insulative housing (1), a plurality of terminals (2) retained in the insulative housing (1), and a stiffener (3) affixed to the insulative housing (1). The insulative housing (1) includes a base portion (11) and a tongue portion (12) extending forwardly from the base portion (11). The tongue portion (12) defines a plurality of terminal-receiving slots (1221) and includes an upper surface (121), a bottom surface (122), a pair of side surfaces (123) and a fore-end surface (124). The stiffener (3) has a top plate (31) covering the upper surface (121) of the tongue portion (12) and an insulative layer (30) plating therein. The stiffener (3) defines an insulative region (313) against which a plurality of molds resisted in insert-molding the stiffener (3) with the insulative housing (1), said insulative region (313) coated with an insulative layer (30). |
| US09225125B2 |
Connector and switch
A connector includes a terminal to be connected to a terminal of another connector, a fixed contact, a movable contact provided on one end of a movable plate, a card being in contact with the movable plate, a slide portion, a button that contacts with the card and is pushed down according to a movement of the slide portion, and a spring connected to the button and generates force in a direction of separating a contact between the fixed contact and the movable contact. One of the fixed contact and the movable contact is connected to the terminal. The button is pushed down and the card moves to move the movable plate to cause the movable contact to contact with the fixed contact when the slide portion moves in one direction, and the movable contact is separated from the fixed contact when the slide portion moves in another direction. |
| US09225119B2 |
Connector
A connector including a body of insulating material and a fourth, a fifth, and a plurality of sixth signal terminals provided in the body. The fifth and sixth signal terminals are arranged in a line along a first direction in the body, at a height position that is different from that of the fourth signal terminal. At least two of the sixth signal terminals are adjacent to each other in the first direction. The fourth signal terminal is located between the two sixth signal terminals in the first direction. The sixth signal terminals is a low-frequency signal terminal configured to transmit a signal of a frequency being about one tenth or lower of a frequency of a signal transmitted by the fourth signal terminal. |
| US09225117B2 |
Modular field device connection unit
An exemplary field device connection unit includes a base plate on which a plurality of connection elements for connection of connecting lines with field devices and a plurality of module slots for receiving in each case one plug-in unit of different plug-in unit types. To avoid erroneous configurations, an identical type coding is assigned to the plug-in units of the same plug-in unit type, which identical type coding is formed by a plurality of wedge-shaped code elements which are anchored rigidly in the plug-in unit, and a plurality of wedge-shaped code elements are assigned to each module slot, which wedge-shaped code elements are mounted moveably about a rotary spindle between two opposite stops and whose wedge tips are oriented, in an initial rest position, centrally between the stops. |
| US09225112B2 |
Portable user device with a clip having electrical terminals
Systems and methods are provided for docking a portable user device to a docking device or adapter via a clip mechanism. A portable user device may include two clip members which rotate relative to one another about an axis. A coupling pivot may be coupled to both clip members to facilitate relative rotation, and may provide a clamping force between the clip members. One or more terminals may be located on at least one of the clip members, allowing data transfer, charging, or other functions when the portable user device is docked using the clip mechanism. |
| US09225111B2 |
Joint connector and joint terminal
A joint connector includes a housing that includes terminal chambers. At least two neighboring joint terminals are housed in terminal chambers neighboring among the terminal chambers, respectively. Each of the neighboring joint terminals includes a wire-crimping portion, a terminal body housed in a terminal chamber among the plurality of terminal chambers, and a pair of first and second contact portions, respectively. The first contact portion of one of the neighboring joint terminals is electrically contacted with the second contact portion of another of the neighboring joint terminals. A pair of spring tabs is formed on both sidewalls of the terminal body and contacts with opposed inner surfaces of the terminal chamber, respectively, by an elastic restoration behavior. According to the joint connector, an increase of a contact resistance to be generated by vibrations and temperature variations can be sufficiently restricted. |
| US09225109B2 |
Connector
A connector mateable with a mating connector having a locked portion. The connector comprises a lock member, a position detection mechanism, a lock maintenance member and a state detection mechanism. The lock member has a lock portion. The lock member is selectively positionable at a lock position or an unlock position. When the lock member is positioned at the lock position, the lock portion locks the locked portion to lock the mating of the connector with the mating connector. When the lock member is positioned at the unlock position, the connector is removable from the mating connector. The position detection mechanism detects whether the lock member is positioned at the lock position or the unlock position. The lock maintenance member is selectively takable a maintenance state or a permission state. The state detection mechanism detects whether the lock maintenance member is under the maintenance state or the permission state. |
| US09225108B1 |
Handle assembly for an electrical connector plug assembly
A handle assembly that can be coupled to an electrical connector plug assembly. In an aspect of the disclosure, the disclosure is directed to a handle assembly for a connector plug. The plug comprises an arm member and a gripping assembly. The arm member defines a plug engagement structure toward the first end and a gripper engagement structure toward the second end. The plug engagement structure is structurally configured to couple to an electrical connector plug assembly. The gripping assembly includes an outer surface and defining an enclosure structurally configured to facilitate the passing of at least one conductor extending from a connector plug. The second end of the arm member extends into the enclosure of the gripping assembly. The gripper engagement structure engages an inner surface of the gripping assembly. The handle assembly can be used in combination with an electrical connector plug assembly. |
| US09225106B2 |
Environmentally sealed contact
An electrical contact includes a contact body having a mating portion and a barrel portion configured for receiving an electrical conductor. The barrel portion includes a wall defining a bore having a closed end and open end, and the bore includes a core receiver portion for receiving the core of an electrical conductor and a plug receiver portion adjacent the closed end of the bore. A hole is formed in the barrel portion proximate the closed end of the bore and extending into the plug receiver portion of the bore through the wall. A plug has a body portion configured to be inserted into the bore and to engage the plug receiver portion of the bore. The plug is disposed in the end of the plug receiver portion and is further configured to seal the plug receiving portion of the bore and the hole from the rest of the bore. |
| US09225100B2 |
Socket housing
A socket housing comprises an inner part and an outer part, the inner part being formed to receive at least one electrically conductive contact element, and a wall of the outer part defining a cavity. Therein, the inner part and the outer part are arranged adjoining one another. An external diameter of the inner part is equal to or less than an internal diameter of the outer part. The socket housing is formed in one piece, the inner part and the outer part being connected via a crosspiece formed as a predetermined breaking point. |
| US09225089B2 |
Electrical connector
An electrical connector includes a socket housing and socket terminals. Each socket terminal includes a front terminal and a rear terminal. The front terminal contacts a plug connector inserted into the socket housing. The front terminal includes front contact-point portion that contacts the plug connector and an elastic piece that supports the front contact-point portion so as to be elastically displaceable. The rear terminal includes a rear contact-point portion and an elastic piece that supports the rear contact-point portion so as to be elastically displaceable. The rear contact-point portion contacts the plug connector after the front contact-point portion has contacted the plug connector. The front contact-point portion and the elastic piece, and the rear contact-point portion and the elastic piece are each formed so as to maintain a plate surface of a flat metal plate. |
| US09225087B2 |
Computer component connector
A computer component mounting assembly includes a carrier to support a hard drive and a data connector. The carrier is configured to slidably receive the hard drive along a first axis. The data connector includes a first connector configured to mate to pins of the hard drive, a second connector configured to mate to a SATA data connector, and a flexible cable connecting the two. The first connector includes an alignment feature to engage a corresponding alignment feature on the hard drive. The first connector is coupled to the carrier and slidable in a plane perpendicular to the first axis, and the first connector is configured such that when carrier receives the hard drive and the alignment feature engages the corresponding alignment feature the first connector moves in the plane perpendicular to the first axis to provide alignment of the first connector to the pins of the hard drive. |
| US09225081B2 |
Clamping unit of an electrical connection terminal
A clamping unit of an electrical connection terminal includes a busbar, a clamping spring for clamping a conductor to the busbar, and a pin contact-making element for making contact with a pin contact. The pin contact-making element has a spring arm which is arranged substantially parallel to the busbar and which is connected to the bus bar with a connecting piece. |
| US09225079B2 |
Surface mount keyhole connectors
An SMT electrical keyhole connector includes a flat mounting portion for surface mounting on a PCB and two spaced contact portions each provided with an aperture in a shape of a keyhole that defines a longitudinal insertion axis and includes an upstream open region dimensioned to receive with clearance an insulated conductor having a metallic conductor generally having a diameter d1 surrounded by an outer insulation coating generally defining a diameter d2 and a downstream elongated slot formed by parallel opposing edges spaced from each other a distance h less than d1. Cutting edges cut or strip insulation off an insulated conductor. A retainer prevents a stripped conductor from moving upstream back into the open region to insure positive contact with the conductive wire or wires after the conductor is urged downstream into and is fully seated within the elongated slot. |
| US09225078B1 |
Electrical connectors
Electrical connectors including a cable clamp (e.g., having a first clamp portion, a second clamp portion, and a hinge coupled to the first and second clamp portions such that the first and second clamp portions are movable relative to each other between an open position and a closed position in which the first and second clamp portions define a cable passageway), and a piercing conductor configured to place a fixture wire into electrical communication with an electrical cable disposed within the cable passageway. In at least some of these electrical connectors, a longitudinal axis of the cable passageway is substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis of the cable clamp when the first and second clamp portions are in the closed position. In at least some of these electrical connectors, at least one of the clamp portions comprises a flexible sidewall that at least partially defines the cable passageway. |
| US09225076B2 |
Connection element for an electrical conductor
A connection element for an electrical conductor contains a first section to be connected to another component, and a second section having a front surface to be welded to an electrical conductor. The front surface has a three-dimensional form raised in a central region in relation to an edge region surrounding the central region. The connection element is hollow in the region of the front surface. |
| US09225074B2 |
Wide-band active antenna system for HF/VHF radio reception
An active antenna system for receiving electromagnetic radiation at frequencies below 100 MHz. The system includes a vertical support mast; a front end electronics unit including an active balun, the front end electronics unit affixed to the support mast; two crossed-dipole antennas affixed oriented at about 90 degrees to each other, each crossed-dipole antenna having two arms formed of electrically conductive material, each arm having an isoceles triangular frame with an apex of the frame electrically connected to a feedpoint of the front end electronics unit, each arm also having a longitudinal member extending from the apex to the center of the base of the triangular shape and a cross member extending between sides of the triangular frame. The system can operate independently or as part of a long wavelength array for astronomical radio telescope applications. |
| US09225073B2 |
Active electronically scanned array antenna for hemispherical scan coverage
An antenna architecture for hemispherically-scanning active electronically scanned arrays (AESA). The antenna architecture utilizes variable diameter disks of antenna elements configured in a conical implementation. The antenna elements are oriented such that the element boresight is normal to the surface of the conical structure. Beamforming takes place on each disk first, and them separately in combining the signals from each disk, thereby reducing complexity. The antenna optionally utilizes disks of antenna elements of the same diameter to form a cylindrical antenna, which when combined with a conical configuration create enhanced sectors while maintaining a hemispherical coverage capability. Further, use of two conical configurations can produce a fully spherical coverage capability. |
| US09225071B2 |
Antenna assembly for long-range high-speed wireless communications
Various embodiments of antenna assemblies are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the antenna assembly includes a reflector comprising a center opening, a feed-antenna subassembly situated in front of the reflector, a rear housing situated behind the reflector, and a pole-mounting bracket comprising a base plate situated between the reflector and the rear housing. The feed-antenna subassembly comprises a feed tube that houses at least one of: a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit. The rear housing is coupled to a front side of the reflector via the center opening. The rear housing comprises a center cavity, and a back end of the feed tube is inserted in and coupled to the center cavity. The base plate is coupled to the reflector and the rear housing in such a way that decoupling between the base plate and the reflector requires a prior decoupling between the feed-antenna subassembly and the rear housing and a prior decoupling between the rear housing and the reflector. |
| US09225069B2 |
Efficient active multi-drive radiator
An integrated Multi-Port Driven (MPD) antenna that can be driven at many points with different signals. An integrated MPD radiating source utilizing an 8-phase ring oscillator and eight power amplifiers to drive the MPD antenna at 161 GHz with a total radiated power of −2 dBm and a single element EIRP of 4.6 dBm has been demonstrated in silicon with single lobe well behaved radiation patterns closely matching simulation. |
| US09225064B2 |
Antenna device, wireless communication device, and method of manufacturing antenna device
In an antenna device, first linear portions of a coil conductor are located on a lower surface of a first resin sheet. Second linear portions of the coil conductor are located on an upper surface of a second resin sheet. Via conductors of the coil conductor are formed in the first and second resin sheets and intermediate resin sheets located between the first and second resin sheets. The via conductors connect a first end and a second end of the first linear portions and a first end and a second end of the second linear portions, respectively. The first and second linear portions and the via conductors define the coil conductor. Each of the intermediate resin sheets includes an aperture in the center portion thereof. The lamination of the apertures defines a cavity in which a magnetic substance core is embedded. The coil conductor is wound around a periphery of the cavity. |
| US09225058B2 |
Flex PCB folded antenna
Embodiments are directed to a flexible substrate, and an end-fire antenna array mounted on the flexible substrate, wherein the flexible substrate is configured to be oriented so that array gain is oriented in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the flexible substrate. Embodiments are directed to mounting an end-fire antenna array on a flexible substrate, and orienting the flexible substrate so that array gain is oriented in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the flexible substrate. |
| US09225051B2 |
Tuning bandwidth and center frequencies in a bandpass filter
A method for independently tuning bandwidth and center frequencies in a bandpass filter. The filter can be configured with a plurality of resonators, wherein the resonators are coupled over a certain coupling region. Additionally, the filter can be configured with a plurality of tuning elements. For each of the inter-resonator couplings, at least one of the resonators associated with the inter-resonator coupling can have a first tuning element placed at a first location on the resonator and a second tuning element placed at a second location on the resonator. Simultaneously tuning the first and second tuning elements can adjust the center frequency, and offset tuning the first and second tuning elements can adjust the bandwidth frequency. |
| US09225050B2 |
Wideband high frequency bandpass filter
A wideband high frequency bandpass filter is disclosed, which includes an open-circuit resonator structure and a short-circuit resonator structure. The open-circuit resonator has a signal transmission strip line and a T-shaped strip line. Both ends of the signal transmission strip line are bent toward to opposite ends of the T-shaped strip line respectively, so as to form gaps in the open-circuit resonator. The open-circuit resonator structure and the short-circuit resonator structure are coupled under the resonant mode, thereby achieving a bandpass filtering at 60 GHz. |
| US09225045B2 |
Battery system with heat exchanger
A battery module includes a plurality of electrochemical cells arranged in a first row and a second row offset from the first row. The battery module also includes a heat exchanger configured to allow a fluid to flow through the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is disposed between the first and second rows of cells and has a shape that is complementary to the cells in the first and second rows of cells so that an external surface of the heat exchanger contacts a portion of each of the plurality of electrochemical cells. The heat exchanger is configured to route the fluid between an inlet and an outlet such that a path of the fluid flow includes a plurality of adjacent fluid flow segments. |
| US09225044B2 |
Vehicle
A vehicle having a battery mounted thereon is provided. The battery includes a cell group having a plurality of cells, each of the cells including an electrolytic solution and a power-generating element within a case of cylindrical shape, and a holding member holding each of the cells in a diameter direction of the cell, wherein the cell group is placed in an area inside an edge of the holding member when viewed from a height direction of the vehicle. Each of the cells can be arranged to extend in the height direction of the vehicle. The holding member may be a heat dissipation plate allowing heat exchange between the cells. |
| US09225043B2 |
Rechargeable battery
Technologies are generally described for a battery, a method for implementing a battery and a rechargeable battery system. In some examples, the rechargeable battery system includes a battery. The battery may include a first electrode including a tantalum component, a vanadium component and a boron component. The battery may further include a second electrode and an electrical insulator between the first and the second electrode. The battery system may include a housing, where the housing includes the first electrode, and where the housing is effective to communicate light and oxygen to the first electrode. A sensor may be disposed so as to be effective to detect a reaction of tantalum and oxygen in the housing and generate a reaction signal in response. A processor may be in electrical communication with the sensor and effective to receive the reaction signal and generate an indication based on the reaction signal. |
| US09225042B2 |
Integral manifold
A method of forming passages of an integral manifold adjacent a cell stack of a flowing electrolyte battery provides enhanced sealing between the manifold and capillary tubes of the cell stack. The method includes forming a mould cavity adjacent the cell stack, with the mould cavity open to capillary openings of cells of the cell stack. A plurality of pins are then located in the mould cavity, with end regions of the pins being contiguous with the capillary openings. The mould cavity is then filled with material and the material is allowed to solidify into a moulded section. The pins are then removed from the moulded section, thereby forming passages in the moulded section which are in fluid communication with the capillary openings. |
| US09225040B2 |
Liquid electrolyte for lithium accumulator, containing a ternary mixture of non-aqueous organic solvents
Disclosed is a liquid electrolyte for a lithium accumulator and the use thereof in a lithium accumulator at low temperature. The liquid electrolyte includes at least one lithium salt dissolved in a mixture of non-aqueous organic solvents. The mixture of organic solvents is formed by propylene carbonate (PC), γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC). The mixture of organic solvents preferably contains between: 0.5% and 33% in volume of propylene carbonate, 0.5% and 33% in volume of γ-butyrolactone and, 0.5% and 99% in volume of ethyl methyl carbonate, the sum of the respective volume percentages of propylene carbonate, γ-butyrolactone, and ethyl methyl carbonate in the mixture being equal to 100%. |
| US09225036B2 |
Additive for electrochemical element to improve safety
Disclosed herein is an additive for improvement in safety of an electrochemical device, including an inner core and an outer coating layer, wherein the inner core is formed using a volume-expandable material fused at more than a predetermined temperature while the outer coating layer is formed using a conductive material with higher conductivity than that of the inner core and covers an outer face of the inner core. The disclosed additive rapidly increases resistance of the electrochemical device before ignition/explosion of the device caused by temperature rise, thereby effectively preventing ignition/explosion of the electrochemical device without deterioration in performance of the electrochemical device. |
| US09225034B2 |
Stepwise electrode assembly having variously-shaped corner and secondary battery, battery pack and device comprising the same
There is provided an electrode assembly having steps including: a first electrode stair including at least one first electrode unit; and a second electrode stair including at least one second electrode unit having an area different from that of the first electrode unit, wherein the first electrode stair and the second electrode stair are stacked to be adjacent, separated by at least one separator as a boundary therebetween and including one or more electrode laminates having steps formed by a difference between areas of the first electrode stair and the second electrode stair, and shapes of the corners of the first electrode stair and the second electrode stair having steps are different. There is also provided a secondary battery including the electrode assembly. Secondary batteries having various designs without restriction in shapes of corners of electrode units can be provided. |
| US09225008B2 |
Secondary battery
A porosity X of a positive electrode mixture layer 223 of a secondary battery 100 is 30(%)≦X. A mass ratio α of a positive electrode active material 610 in the positive electrode mixture layer 223 is 0.84≦α≦0.925 and a mass ratio β of a conductive material 620 in the positive electrode mixture layer 223 is 0.06≦β≦0.12. In the secondary battery 100, an index Y worked out from an expression below is 30 (mL/100 g)≦Y≦89 (mL/100 g). The index Y is given by the expression below, Y=A×α+B×β; where A is a DBP absorption number (mL/100 g) in the positive electrode active material 610; α is the mass ratio of the positive electrode active material 610 in the positive electrode mixture layer 223; B is a DBP absorption number (mL/100 g) of the conductive material 620; and β is the mass ratio of the conductive material 620 in the positive electrode mixture layer 223. |
| US09225007B2 |
Positive electrode active material
The present invention provides a positive electrode active material. The positive electrode active material is represented by the following formula (I) and has a BET specific surface area of larger than 5 m2/g and not larger than 15 m2/g: LixM1yM31-yO2 (I) wherein M1 is at least one transition metal element selected from Group 5 elements and Group 6 elements of the Periodic Table, M3 is at least one transition metal element other than M1 and selected from among transition metal elements excluding Fe, x is not less than 0.9 and not more than 1.3, and y is more than 0 and less than 1. |
| US09225004B2 |
Method for producing electrode plate
A coating device is arranged to a strip-shaped base sheet with coating material by holding the coating material on the surface of a coating rod and bringing the base sheet into contact with the coating material held on the coating rod, while conveying the base sheet in the longitudinal direction. The coating rod has a water-repellent section, in which the entire circumferential surface of a part of the rod in the axial direction is coated with a water-repellent material that repels the coating material, and a non-water-repellent section that is not coated with the water-repellent material and arranged adjacent to the water-repellent section. Consequently, even if the base sheet is brought into contact with the coating rod, the base sheet can be adequately provided with an uncoated portion in a part in the width direction since the coating material is repelled in the water-repellent section. |
| US09225002B2 |
Rechargeable battery having fuse unit
A rechargeable battery includes: an electrode assembly including first and second electrodes; a case containing the electrode assembly; a cap plate covering an opening of the case; a first terminal protruding outside of the case and electrically coupled to the first electrode; a second terminal protruding outside of the case and electrically coupled to the second electrode; a current collector including first and second fuse units, and electrically coupled to the first electrode, wherein the first fuse unit and the second fuse unit each have a cross-sectional area smaller than a cross-sectional area of an adjacent region and are spaced from each other; and a connector coupled to the current collector between the first fuse unit and the second fuse unit, and adapted to electrically couple the cap plate and the current collector, wherein a resistance of the connector is less than that of the first terminal. |
| US09224997B2 |
Battery pack and handheld power tool having a battery pack
The invention relates to a battery pack comprising at least one battery cell and a housing for accommodating the at least one battery cell. It is proposed that the housing is designed as at least double-walled having at least one inner sheath and one outer sheath. According to the invention, an intermediate volume is enclosed between the at least one inner sheath and the outer sheath. The intermediate volume is able to absorb a pressure wave from an internal volume containing the battery cells. |
| US09224995B2 |
Battery powered tool and battery pack for a battery powered tool
A battery pack for powering a battery powered tool may include a housing, a plurality of cells and an electrical connection assembly. The housing may include a sidewall assembly configured to correspond to respective sidewalls of a battery compartment defined at a portion of the battery powered tool to facilitate insertion of the battery pack into the battery compartment. The sidewall assembly may form an enclosure around the plurality of cells on all sides substantially parallel to the direction of insertion. The electrical connection assembly may be disposed at a portion of the sidewall assembly to communicate the combined output to a connector disposed at a corresponding sidewall of the battery compartment. The electrical connection assembly may be arranged to engage the connector responsive to movement of the battery pack in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of insertion of the battery pack into the battery compartment. |
| US09224994B2 |
Electric power tool powered by battery pack and adapter therefor
An adapter for an electric power tool couples battery packs with the electric power tool. The adapter is provided with a voltage regulator circuit interposed between the battery packs and the electric power tool. The voltage regulator circuit regulates a supply voltage from the battery packs to the electric power tool to a level corresponding to a rated voltage of the electric power tool. The voltage regulator is capable of raising the supply voltage higher than nominal voltages of the battery packs. |
| US09224990B2 |
Low magnetic interference battery
A low magnetic interference battery is provided, the battery insertable into a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device comprising a radio interconnected with a microphone and a receiver. The battery comprises a battery portion enabled to provide electrical power to the radio, the battery portion emitting a magnetic field when in operation. The battery further comprises a sealing portion for sealing the battery portion therein such that the battery portion is protected from moisture, the sealing portion comprising a magnetic shield portion arranged relative to the battery portion such that magnetic flux from the battery portion is routed away from the receiver when the battery is in operation in the mobile communication device. |
| US09224989B2 |
Rechargeable battery and module thereof
The rechargeable battery includes an electrode assembly; a case, the case retaining the electrode assembly; a cap plate coupled to an opening of the case; and an electrode terminal coupled to the cap plate and electrically connected to the electrode assembly, wherein the electrode terminal includes a terminal fixing portion coupled to an upper surface of the cap plate, the terminal fixing portion including a guide portion, a terminal portion coupled to the terminal fixing portion, and the guide portion is configured to facilitate slidable movement of the terminal portion in a single direction. |
| US09224988B2 |
Method for manufacturing display device
A method for manufacturing a display device includes: forming a deformed layer on a support substrate by a silane coupling agent; performing UV treatment on the deformed layer; forming a thin film substrate on the deformed layer; forming a pixel and an encapsulation member on the thin film substrate; and separating the support substrate from the thin film substrate. |
| US09224983B2 |
Substrate for surface light emitting device and method of manufacturing the substrate, surface light emitting device, lighting apparatus, and backlight including the same
A substrate for a surface light emitting device in which a transparent electrode, an organic thin film layer, and a cathode electrode are sequentially stacked, the substrate including: a transparent support substrate; and a highly refractive layer that is disposed between the support substrate and the transparent electrode and comprises at least one layer having a refractive index that is equal to or greater than a refractive index of the support substrate, wherein the highly refractive layer comprises a light diffusion unit that diffuses light incident from the transparent electrode and a planarized surface that contacts the transparent electrode. Accordingly, a Haze value of the highly refractive layer is set to be 5% or less, and a diameter of bubbles existing in the highly refractive layer is set to be 1/10th or less of a thickness of the highly refractive layer. |
| US09224981B2 |
Organic light emitting display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same
An organic light emitting display apparatus including a thin film encapsulation layer of an improved structure. The organic light emitting display apparatus includes: a display unit formed on a substrate; metal wires formed on an outer portion of the display unit on the substrate; and a thin film encapsulation layer formed by alternately stacking at least one organic layer and at least one inorganic layer on the display unit for sealing the display unit, wherein the at least one organic layer is separated from the metal wires so as not to contact the metal wires. According to the above structure, since the organic layer that is close to the display unit is separated completely from the metal wires formed on an outer portion of the display unit, moisture infiltration to the display unit via the metal wires may be prevented. |
| US09224980B2 |
Light-emitting device
Provided is a light-emitting device with a high aperture ratio. The light-emitting device includes a first substrate; a first insulating film over the first substrate; a first partition over the first insulating film; a second insulating film which covers the first insulating film and the first partition and which has a concave surface; a first electrode which is over the second insulating film and which has an edge portion at a position overlapping with the first partition; a second partition which is over the first partition and which overlaps with the edge portion of the first electrode; a layer containing a light-emitting organic compound over the first electrode and the second partition; a second electrode over the layer containing a light-emitting organic compound; and a second substrate which is over the second electrode and which overlaps with the first substrate. |
| US09224979B2 |
Display device and manufacturing method of the same
A display device, including: a substrate; a display panel formed on the substrate; a resin layer positioned on the display panel; a polarizer positioned on the resin layer; a window positioned on the polarizer; a first adhesive layer interposed between the window and the polarizer; a printing layer positioned either between the first adhesive layer and the polarizer or between the polarizer and the resin layer; and a supporter surrounding the display panel and the resin layer and supporting the window, in which the printing layer is positioned to correspond to an edge region of the window. |
| US09224971B2 |
Organic electroluminescence device and display unit
An organic electroluminescence device having high light emitting efficiency and improved reliability is provided. The organic electroluminescence device includes: an anode containing at least aluminum (Al); a cathode; and an organic layer between the anode and the cathode, the organic layer including a light emitting layer. The organic layer has a hole injection layer composed of a sulfonic acid derivative between the anode and the light emitting layer. |
| US09224969B2 |
Organic light-emitting diode and flat display device including the same
An organic light-emitting diode including a first electrode; a second electrode facing the first electrode; an emission layer interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode; a first hole transport layer including a first hole transporting compound; a second hole transport layer including a second hole transporting compound, the first and second hole transport layers being interposed between the first electrode and the emission layer; an electron transport layer interposed between the emission layer and the second electrode; a first mixing layer interposed between the first electrode and the first hole transport layer, contacting the first hole transport layer, and including the first hole transporting compound and a first cyano group-containing compound; and a second mixing layer interposed between the first electrode and the second hole transport layer, contacting the second hole transport layer, and including the second hole transporting compound and a second cyano group-containing compound. |
| US09224968B2 |
Light-emitting element, light-emitting device, and electronic appliance
An object of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting element with high luminous efficiency, and a light-emitting element of low-voltage driving. Another object is to provide a light-emitting device with low power consumption by using the light-emitting element. Another object is to provide an electronic appliance with low power consumption by using the light-emitting device in a display portion. A light-emitting element includes, between a pair of electrodes, a layer containing a composite material of a first organic compound and an inorganic compound and a layer containing a second organic compound being in contact with the layer containing the composite material, wherein the second organic compound does not have a peak of an absorption spectrum in a wavelength region of 450 to 800 nm if the second organic compound is compounded with the inorganic compound. |
| US09224957B1 |
Method for measuring offset of sub-pixel in OLED manufacturing process
The present disclosure provides a method for measuring an offset of a sub-pixel in an OLED manufacturing process, including: depositing OLED material onto a display unit in a substrate through a hollow portion of a mask, the display unit including an effective region and a peripheral measuring region at periphery of the effective region, the OLED material forming a plurality of effective sub-pixels within the effective region and forming a plurality of dummy sub-pixels within the peripheral measuring region; and using UV light to excite at least a portion of the dummy sub-pixels of the OLED material to emit light, and measuring the offset of the dummy sub-pixel with respect to a predetermined position of a corresponding light emitting unit located on the substrate. |
| US09224955B1 |
Purifying method for organic optoelectronic material
The present invention discloses a novel purifying method for the organic optoelectronic material. More specifically the present invention relates to a purifying method for organic electroluminescent (herein referred to as organic EL) material, organic photovoltaics (herein referred to as OPV) material and organic thin-film transistor (herein referred to as OTFT) material. The organic optoelectronic device use the organic optoelectronic material can lower driving voltage, prolong half-lifetime and improve performance. |
| US09224953B2 |
Method and apparatus for manufacturing organic el device
Provided are a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device, which makes it possible to manufacture organic EL devices capable of suppressing quality degradation. The method for manufacturing an organic EL device, in which constituent layers of an organic EL element are formed by deposition over a substrate in the form of a strip, while the substrate is being moved in the longitudinal direction, includes a constituent layer-forming step of performing deposition over one surface of the substrate, while the substrate is being moved in the longitudinal direction, sequentially in first and second deposition units arranged along the moving direction of the substrate by discharging a vaporized material from an evaporation source. The constituent layer-forming step includes a plurality of upward deposition steps and a direction changing step. |
| US09224951B1 |
Current-limiting electrodes
A resistive-switching memory (ReRAM cell) has a current-limiting electrode layer that combines the functions of an embedded resistor, an outer electrode, and an intermediate electrode, reducing the thickness of the ReRAM stack and simplifying the fabrication process. The materials include compound nitrides of a transition metal and one of aluminum, boron, or silicon. In experiments with tantalum silicon nitride, peak yield in the desired resistivity range corresponded to ˜24 at % silicon and ˜32 at % nitrogen, believed to optimize the trade-off between inhibiting TaSi2 formation and minimizing nitrogen diffusion. A binary metal nitride may be formed at one or more of the interfaces between the current-limiting electrode and neighboring layers such as metal-oxide switching layers. |
| US09224940B2 |
Magnetic tunnel junction for MRAM applications
A MTJ in an MRAM array is disclosed with a composite free layer having a lower crystalline layer contacting a tunnel barrier and an upper amorphous NiFeX layer for improved bit switching performance. The crystalline layer is Fe, Ni, or FeB with a thickness of at least 6 Angstroms which affords a high magnetoresistive ratio. The X element in the NiFeX layer is Mg, Hf, Zr, Nb, or Ta with a content of 5 to 30 atomic %. NiFeX thickness is preferably between 20 to 40 Angstroms to substantially reduce bit line switching current and number of shorted bits. In an alternative embodiment, the crystalline layer may be a Fe/NiFe bilayer. Optionally, the amorphous layer may have a NiFeM1/NiFeM2 configuration where M1 and M2 are Mg, Hf, Zr, Nb, or Ta, and M1 is unequal to M2. Annealing at 300° C. to 360° C. provides a high magnetoresistive ratio of about 150%. |
| US09224938B2 |
Piezoelectric element and method to remove extraneous vibration modes
A piezoelectric element and a manufacturing method to reduce extraneous radial vibration modes is disclosed, in an example embodiment, four slots, arranged at 90 degrees, are made in one surface such that the slots do not reach the opposite surface. |
| US09224935B2 |
Light emitting diode package
A light emitting diode (LED) package includes an LED chip, a first lead frame and a second lead frame electrically connected to the LED chip and separated by a space, and a housing disposed on the first lead frame and the second lead frame. The housing includes an external housing surrounding a cavity, the cavity exposing a first portion of the first lead frame and a first portion of the second lead frame, and an internal housing disposed in the space, the internal housing covering a top portion of the first lead frame and a top portion of the second lead frame. |
| US09224932B2 |
Wafer level photonic device die structure and method of making the same
A structure includes a carrier substrate with a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The carrier substrate has a first contact pad and a second contact pad disposed over the first side and a third contact pad and a fourth contact pad disposed over the second side. The carrier substrate further includes a substrate and an insulation film disposed between the substrate and the first, second, third, and fourth contact pads. The structure further includes a first epi-structure and a second epi-structure disposed over the carrier substrate. The structure further includes a first metal element and a second metal element. Moreover, the structure further includes a first through-via and a second through-via. The first through-via and the second through-via extend through the first and second epi-structures respectively. |
| US09224929B2 |
Optical semiconductor device and manufacturing method therefor
A manufacturing method for an optical semiconductor device, including disposing a semiconductor element that has a polarization dependent gain or polarization dependent loss between optical waveguide modes differing in the direction of polarization, positioning a lens at one end face side of the semiconductor element based on an optical coupling loss between the lens and the semiconductor element, and repositioning the lens based on the polarization dependent gain or the polarization dependent loss of the semiconductor element. |
| US09224928B2 |
Light emitting element, light emitting device and electronic apparatus
The light emitting element of the embodiment includes an anode; a cathode; a visible light emitting layer provided between the anode and the cathode and emitting visible light; and a carrier trapping layer containing a thiadiazole based compound represented by the following formula (1). [In formula (1), A indicates a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group which may have a substituent, an arylamino group, or a triaryl amine, and B indicates a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group which may have a substituent, an arylamino group, or a triaryl amine, or may form a ring.] |
| US09224927B2 |
White light emitting diode and backlight module
A white light emitting diode and a backlight module are provided. The light emitting diode comprises a blue chip and an encapsulating layer having yttrium aluminum garnet phosphor powder mixed therein, wherein the dominant wavelength in a frequency spectrum of blue light emitted from the blue chip is between 448 and 462.5 nm, the peak wavelength of yellow light emitted from the yttrium aluminum garnet phosphor powder is between 550 and 575 nm, and the doped concentration of the yttrium aluminum garnet phosphor powder is 0.01% to 0.1% by weight of the encapsulating layer. Due to the red shift of the peak wavelength of the blue light emitted from the blue chip, the brightness of the white LED is enhanced (>10%). |
| US09224926B2 |
Light-emitting device and lighting system
Disclosed is a light-emitting device including a support member, a reflective layer on the support member, a light-transmitting electrode layer on the reflective layer, a light-emitting structure on the light-transmitting electrode layer, the light-emitting structure being provided with a first conductive semiconductor layer, an active layer and a second conductive semiconductor layer, and a luminescence layer interposed between the reflective layer and the light-transmitting electrode layer. Accordingly, the luminescence layer is formed in the chip formation process to minimize non-uniform application of a phosphor composed of an epoxy resin and simplify fabrication of the light-emitting device. |
| US09224925B2 |
Semiconductor light-emitting device and manufacturing method
A semiconductor light-emitting device and a method for manufacturing the same can include a wavelength converting layer located on at least one semiconductor light-emitting chip in order to emit various colored lights including white light. The semiconductor light-emitting device can include a casing having a cavity and a mounting surface, the chip mounted on the mounting surface, a transparent plate mounted on the wavelength converting layer within a top surface of the chip and a reflective layer located in the cavity so as to surround the transparent plate, the wavelength converting layer and the chip. The semiconductor light-emitting device can be configured to improve light-colored variability and light-emitting efficiency of the chip by using the reflective layer as a reflector, and therefore can emit a wavelength-converted light having a substantially uniform color tone and a high light-emitting efficiency from a smaller light-emitting surface than the top surface of the chip. |
| US09224921B2 |
Method for forming a buried metal layer structure
The invention relates to a method for fabricating a structure including a semiconductor material comprising: a) implanting one or more ion species to form a weakened region delimiting at least one seed layer in a substrate of semiconductor material, b) forming, before or after step a), at least one metallic layer on the substrate in semiconductor material, c) assembling the at least one metallic layer with a transfer substrate, then fracturing the implanted substrate at the weakened region, and d) forming at least one layer in semiconductor material on the at least one seed layer, for example, by epitaxy. |
| US09224920B2 |
Quantum rod and method of fabricating the same
A quantum rod includes a core of ZnS semiconductor particle having a rod shape; and a transition metal with which the core is doped and which is biased at one side of a length direction of the core. |
| US09224919B2 |
Semiconductor light emitting device
According to one embodiment, the second insulating film is provided between the first interconnect portion and the second interconnect portion, and at an outer periphery of a side face of the semiconductor layer. The optical layer is provided on the first side and on the second insulating film at the outer periphery. The optical layer is transmissive with respect to light emitted from the light emitting layer. A plurality of protrusions and a plurality of recesses are provided at the first side. Peaks of the protrusions are positioned closer to the second side than an end on the second insulating film side of the optical layer at the outer periphery. |
| US09224916B2 |
Semiconductor light emitting device
According to an embodiment, a semiconductor light emitting device includes a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, a dielectric film and an electrode. The first semiconductor layer is capable of emitting light. The second semiconductor layer has a first major surface in contact with the first semiconductor layer and a second major surface opposite to the first major surface, the second major surface including a first region having convex structures and a second region not having the convex structures. The dielectric film is provided at least at a tip portion of the convex structures, and the electrode is provided above the second region. |
| US09224911B2 |
Method for separating light-emitting diode from a substrate
A method for separating a light-emitting diode (LED) from a substrate comprises the following steps. First, a substrate is provided which includes a junction surface and a bottom surface far away from the junction surface. Then a plurality holes are formed on the junction surface. An LED structure is further grown on the junction surface, and includes a junction portion bonded to the junction surface. The bottom surface is then polished to be shrunk to communicate with the holes. Finally, the junction portion is etched by an etching liquid via the holes to separate the LED structure from the substrate. Accordingly, by forming the holes, the LED structure and the substrate can be separated through polishing and etching processes, thereby providing a high yield rate as well as reduced production costs. |
| US09224906B2 |
Method for manufacturing a solar cell
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a solar cell from a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, the semiconductor substrate having a front side and a back side, the method comprising in this sequence: creating by diffusion of a dopant of a second conductivity type a second conductivity-type doped layer in the front side and the back side, during diffusion forming of a dopant containing glassy layer on the front and back side; removing the second conductivity-type doped layer and the dopant containing glassy layer from the back side by a single sided etching process, while maintaining the dopant-containing glassy layer in the front side; creating a Back Surface Field (BSF) layer of the first conductivity type on the back side by implantation of a dopant of the first conductivity type into the back side; removing the dopant containing glassy layer from the front side of said substrate by an etching process; surface oxidation by heating said substrate for a predetermined period of time and to a predetermined temperature in oxidizing atmosphere to form passivation layers on the front side and the back side. |
| US09224904B1 |
Composite substrates of silicon and ceramic
Composite substrates include a silicon layer disposed on a ceramic layer. Different thermal expansion coefficient for the composite substrates can be achieved by changing the thermal expansion coefficient of the ceramic layer. Composite substrates can include two layers of silicon sandwiching a layer of ceramic. |
| US09224903B2 |
Method for manufacturing photoelectric converter
A method for manufacturing a photoelectric converter, comprising: forming a first buffer layer comprising a metal sulfide on a light-absorbing layer comprising a Group I-III-VI compound or a Group I-II-IV-VI compound; and contacting a surface of the first buffer layer with a first solution comprising an alkali metal compound. |
| US09224898B2 |
Coaxial drive tracking system for use with photovoltaic systems
A solar energy collection system for converting solar energy to electricity that includes solar arrays mounted on a frame. Each array is set on a tracker head that is supported on a pedestal; each pedestal mounts onto a beam. Elevators pivot the arrays, where each elevator is made up of a shaft with a threaded end coupled to a drive nut. An upper end of each drive nut gimbal mounts to a portion of the tracker head; rotating a lower end of each shaft raises or lowers the drive nut, thereby pivoting each array. The vertical shafts are ganged together and driven by a single motor. Further included with each pedestal are azimuth orientation shafts that also mount to each tracker head. Rotating each orientation shaft adjusts an azimuth of an associated array. The orientation shafts are ganged together and are rotated by a single motor. |
| US09224897B2 |
Back sheet for solar cell, and solar cell module
A solar cell backsheet including: a support; and a first polymer layer which is formed on one side of the support and which includes: from 0.8 g/m2 to 15.0 g/m2 of a binder resin including at least one selected from the group consisting of a polyolefin ionomer having a polar group, a polyacryl, and polyvinyl alcohol; and from 1.5 g/m2 to 15.0 g/m2 of an inorganic pigment. |
| US09224893B2 |
Antireflection substrate structure and manufacturing method thereof
A manufacturing method of antireflection substrate structure includes: providing a silicon wafer having a first rough surface; forming an antireflection optical film on the silicon wafer, wherein the antireflection optical film conformally overlays the first rough surface; performing a surface treatment on the antireflection optical film so that the antireflection optical film has a hydrophilic surface, and the hydrophilic surface is relatively far away from the silicon wafer; dropping a colloidal solution on the hydrophilic surface of the antireflection optical film, wherein the colloidal solution includes a solution and multiple nano-balls and the nano-balls are adhered onto the hydrophilic surface; and performing an etching process on the hydrophilic surface of the antireflection optical film by taking the nano-balls as an etching mask so as to form a second rough surface, wherein the roughness of the second rough surface is different from the roughness of the first rough surface. |
| US09224887B2 |
Solar cell and solar cell module
The present invention provides a solar cell including a substrate, a first front bus, and a first rear bus. The substrate has a front surface and a rear surface. The first front bus is located on the front surface of the substrate along a first direction for collecting current generated by the substrate, and for providing a first front contact electrode. The first rear bus is located on the rear surface of the substrate along a second direction different from the first direction for collecting current generated by the substrate, and for providing a first rear contact electrode. |
| US09224877B2 |
Silicon carbide semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same
A first main surface of a silicon carbide substrate has a flat surface located in an element portion and a side wall surface located in a termination portion. The silicon carbide substrate has an impurity layer having a portion located at each of the flat surface of the first main surface and a second main surface. On the flat surface, a Schottky electrode is in contact with the impurity layer. On the second main surface, a counter electrode is in contact with the impurity layer. An insulating film covers the side wall surface. The side wall surface is inclined by not less than 50° and not more than 80° relative to a {000-1}plane. This suppresses the leakage current of a silicon carbide semiconductor device. |
| US09224876B2 |
Fast switching diodes and methods of manufacturing those diodes
Diodes and methods of manufacturing diodes are disclosed. The diodes may include a cathode assembly having a cathode electrode, a N+ substrate layer on the cathode electrode, a N buffer layer on the N+ substrate layer, and a N− bulk layer on the N buffer layer. The N buffer layer may include crystal damage configured to provide recombination centers for charge carriers. The method may include creating a N buffer layer on a N+ substrate wafer, creating a N− bulk layer on the N buffer layer, and inflicting, to the N buffer layer, crystal damage configured to provide recombination centers for charge carriers. The method may include creating a N buffer layer in a N− bulk wafer, creating a N+ substrate layer in the N− bulk wafer, and inflicting, to the N buffer layer, crystal damage configured to provide recombination centers for charge carriers. |
| US09224873B2 |
Method of fabricating a charge trap NAND flash memory device
Subject matter disclosed herein relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and more particularly to a method of fabricating a charge trap NAND flash memory device. |
| US09224871B2 |
Thin film transistor and method for manufacturing same
According to one embodiment, a thin film transistor includes a first insulating film, a gate electrode, a semiconductor layer, a gate insulator film, a second insulating film, a source electrode, a tunneling insulating portion, and a drain electrode. The semiconductor layer is provided between the gate electrode and the first insulating film, and includes an amorphous oxide. The gate insulator film is provided between the semiconductor layer and the gate electrode. The second insulating film is provided between the semiconductor layer and the first insulating film. The tunneling insulating portion is provided between the semiconductor layer and the source electrode, and between the semiconductor layer and the drain electrode, and between the first insulating film and the second insulating film. The tunneling insulating portion includes oxygen and at least one selected from aluminum and magnesium. A thickness of the tunneling insulating portion is 2 nanometers or less. |
| US09224870B2 |
Oxide semiconductor device
An object is to provide a semiconductor device having a structure with which parasitic capacitance between wirings can be sufficiently reduced. An oxide insulating layer serving as a channel protective layer is formed over part of an oxide semiconductor layer overlapping with a gate electrode layer. In the same step as formation of the oxide insulating layer, an oxide insulating layer covering a peripheral portion of the oxide semiconductor layer is formed. The oxide insulating layer which covers the peripheral portion of the oxide semiconductor layer is provided to increase the distance between the gate electrode layer and a wiring layer formed above or in the periphery of the gate electrode layer, whereby parasitic capacitance is reduced. |
| US09224869B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same
This semiconductor device (101) includes: a substrate (1); a thin-film transistor (10) which includes an oxide semiconductor layer (6) as its active layer; a protective layer (11) covering the thin-film transistor; a metal layer (9d, 9t) interposed between the protective layer (11) and the substrate (1); a transparent conductive layer (13, 13t) formed on the protective layer (11); and a connecting portion (20, 30) to electrically connect the metal layer (9d, 9t) and the transparent conductive layer (13, 13t) together. The connecting portion (20, 30) includes an oxide connecting layer (6a, 6t) which is formed out of a same oxide film as a oxide semiconductor layer (6) and which has a lower electrical resistance than the oxide semiconductor layer (6). The metal layer (9d, 9t) is electrically connected to the transparent conductive layer (13, 13t) via the oxide connecting layer (6a, 6t). |
| US09224867B2 |
Thin film transistor array panel and method of manufacturing the same
In a thin film transistor array panel and a method of manufacturing the same, a thin passivation layer is positioned between a first field generating electrode and a second field generating electrode. The thin passivation layer overlaps the first and second field generating electrodes. The thin passivation layer includes a transparent photosensitive organic material. When forming the first field generating electrode, the passivation layer is used as a photosensitive film. Accordingly, the passivation layer and the first field generating electrode may be formed using a same single photo-mask. Accordingly, the manufacturing cost of the thin film transistor array panel may be reduced. |
| US09224866B2 |
Suspended body field effect transistor
A semiconductor fin including a vertical stack, from bottom to top, of a second semiconductor material and a first semiconductor material is formed on a substrate. A disposable gate structure straddling the semiconductor fin is formed. A source region and a drain region are formed employing the disposable gate structure as an implantation mask, At least one semiconductor shell layer or a semiconductor cap layer can be formed as an etch stop structure. A planarization dielectric layer is subsequently formed. A gate cavity is formed by removing the disposable gate structure. A portion of the second semiconductor material is removed selective to the first semiconductor material within the gate cavity so that a middle portion of the semiconductor fin becomes suspended over the substrate. A gate dielectric layer and a gate electrode are sequentially formed. The gate electrode laterally surrounds a body region of a fin field effect transistor. |
| US09224863B2 |
Performance enhancement in transistors by providing an embedded strain-inducing semiconductor material on the basis of a seed layer
In sophisticated semiconductor devices, transistors may be formed on the basis of a high-k metal gate electrode structure provided in an early manufacturing phase, wherein an efficient strain-inducing mechanism may be implemented by using an embedded strain-inducing semiconductor alloy. In order to reduce the number of lattice defects and provide enhanced etch resistivity in a critical zone, i.e., in a zone in which a threshold voltage adjusting semiconductor alloy and the strain-inducing semiconductor material are positioned in close proximity, an efficient buffer material or seed material, such as a silicon material, is incorporated, which may be accomplished during the selective epitaxial growth process. |
| US09224855B2 |
Trench gated power device with multiple trench width and its fabrication process
Power devices, and related process, where both gate and field plate trenches have multiple stepped widths, using self-aligned process steps. |
| US09224853B2 |
Shielded gate trench FET with multiple channels
In one embodiment, an apparatus can include a trench extending into a semiconductor region of a first conductivity type, an electrode disposed in the trench, and a source region of the first conductivity type abutting a sidewall of the trench. The apparatus can include a first well region of a second conductivity type disposed in the semiconductor region below the source region and abutting the sidewall of the trench lateral to the electrode where the second conductivity type is opposite the first conductivity type. The apparatus can also include a second well region of the second conductivity type disposed in the semiconductor region and abutting the sidewall of the trench, and a third well region of the first conductivity type disposed between the first well region and the second well region. |
| US09224851B2 |
Planarized semiconductor particles positioned on a substrate
A device and method of fabricating a device in the form of an array of planarized particles of single crystal silicon or poly crystal silicon wherein the planar surfaces of the particles is used to fabricate an array of electronic devices. This is particularly useful in the manufacture of large displays where single crystal high speed devices are required. The planar surfaces of the array of devices are coplanar when the array is fabricated on a planar substrate. |
| US09224846B2 |
Nitride semiconductor device and fabricating method thereof
This specification relates to an enhancement-type semiconductor device having a passivation layer formed using a photoelectrochemical (PEC) method, and a fabricating method thereof.To this end, a semiconductor device according to one exemplary embodiment includes a GaN layer, an AlGaN layer formed on the GaN layer, a p-GaN layer formed on the AlGaN layer, a gate electrode formed on the p-GaN layer, a source electrode and a drain electrode formed on a partial region of the AlGaN layer, and a passivation layer formed on a partial region of the AlGaN layer, the passivation layer formed between the source electrode and the gate electrode or between the gate electrode and the drain electrode, wherein the passivation layer is formed in a manner of oxidizing a part of the p-GaN layer. |
| US09224844B2 |
Semiconductor device
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a first semiconductor layer, a first semiconductor region, a second semiconductor region, and an insulating layer. The first semiconductor layer is provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, and contacts the first electrode. The first semiconductor region is provided between the first semiconductor layer and the second electrode, and contacts the second electrode. The second semiconductor region is provided between the first semiconductor region and the second electrode, and contacts the second electrode. An impurity concentration of the second semiconductor region is higher than an impurity concentration of the first semiconductor region. An insulating layer has one end contacting the second electrode and the other end positioned in the first semiconductor layer. The insulating layer extends along the second electrode in a first direction from the first electrode towards the second electrode. |
| US09224841B2 |
Semiconductor fins on a trench isolation region in a bulk semiconductor substrate and a method of forming the semiconductor fins
Disclosed are semiconductor structures with monocrystalline semiconductor fins, which are above a trench isolation region in a semiconductor substrate and which can be incorporated into semiconductor device(s). Also disclosed are methods of forming such structures by forming sidewall spacers on opposing sides of mandrels on a dielectric cap layer. Between adjacent mandrels, an opening is formed that extends vertically through the dielectric cap layer and through multiple monocrystalline semiconductor layers into a semiconductor substrate. A portion of the opening within the substrate is expanded to form a trench. This trench undercuts the semiconductor layers and extends laterally below adjacent sidewall spacers on either side of the opening. The trench is then filled with an isolation layer, thereby forming a trench isolation region, and a sidewall image transfer process is performed using the sidewall spacers to form a pair of monocrystalline semiconductor fins above the trench isolation region. |
| US09224834B1 |
Method for manufacturing pillar-shaped semiconductor device
An N+ region 2a and a P+ region 3a are formed in a Si pillar 6. HfO2 layers 9a and 9c, TiN layers 10b and 10d, and SiO2 layers 11b and 11d are formed to surround the Si pillar 6. Then contact portions 21a and 21b are respectively formed in side surfaces of the N+ region 2a and the P+ region 3a and a side surface of the TiN layer 10d. Then Si and Ni atoms are injected in a direction perpendicular to an upper surface of an i-layer substrate 1 from above the Si pillar 6 to form a Si layer and a Ni layer. Subsequently, a heat treatment is performed to expand NiSi layers 18a and 22 in a horizontal direction by Ni-silicidation. As a result, the NiSi layers 18a and 22 connect to the N+ region 2a and the P+ region 3a or the TiN layer 10d. |
| US09224829B2 |
High electron mobility transistor and method of forming the same
A method of forming a semiconductor structure, the method includes epitaxially growing a second III-V compound layer on a first III-V compound layer. A carrier channel is located between the first III-V compound layer and the second III-V compound layer. The method further includes forming a source feature and a drain feature on the second III-V compound layer, forming a third III-V compound layer on the second III-V compound layer, depositing a gate dielectric layer on a portion of the second III-V compound layer and a top surface of the third III-V compound layer, treating the gate dielectric layer on the portion of the second III-V compound layer with fluorine and forming a gate electrode on the treated gate dielectric layer between the source feature and the drain feature. |
| US09224828B2 |
Method and system for floating guard rings in gallium nitride materials
A semiconductor structure includes a III-nitride substrate with a first side and a second side opposing the first side. The III-nitride substrate is characterized by a first conductivity type and a first dopant concentration. The semiconductor structure further includes a III-nitride epitaxial layer of the first conductivity type coupled to the first surface of the III-nitride substrate, a first metallic structure electrically coupled to the second surface of the III-nitride substrate, and a III-nitride epitaxial structure of a second conductivity type coupled to the III-nitride epitaxial layer. The III-nitride epitaxial structure comprises at least one edge termination structure. |
| US09224824B2 |
Display device substrate and display device equipped with same
This thin film transistor substrate is provided with: a drain electrode that is formed on an insulating film, and comprises copper; an interlayer insulating film formed on the drain electrode; and a pixel electrode that is formed in the contact hole, which is formed in the insulating film and the interlayer insulating film, and on the interlayer insulating film, and is electrically connected to the drain electrode via the contact hole. In a plan view of the contact hole, the drain electrode is formed inside part of the contact hole in such a manner that part of the drain electrode and part of the outer periphery of the contact hole are overlapping, and part of the pixel electrode and the drain electrode are electrically connected. |
| US09224822B2 |
High percentage silicon germanium alloy fin formation
A layer of a silicon germanium alloy containing 30 atomic percent or greater germanium and containing substitutional carbon is grown on a surface of a semiconductor layer. The presence of the substitutional carbon in the layer of silicon germanium alloy compensates the strain of the silicon germanium alloy, and suppresses defect formation. Placeholder semiconductor fins are then formed to a desired dimension within the layer of silicon germanium alloy and the semiconductor layer. The placeholder semiconductor fins will relax for the most part, while maintaining strain in a lengthwise direction. An anneal is then performed which may either remove the substitutional carbon from each placeholder semiconductor fin or move the substitutional carbon into interstitial sites within the lattice of the silicon germanium alloy. Free-standing permanent semiconductor fins containing 30 atomic percent or greater germanium, and strain in the lengthwise direction are provided. |
| US09224820B2 |
Oxide semiconductor sputtering target, method of manufacturing thin-film transistors using the same, and thin film transistor manufactured using the same
An oxide semiconductor sputtering target which is used for depositing a thin film having high electron mobility and high operational reliability, a method of manufacturing thin-film transistors (TFTs) using the same, and a TFT manufactured using the same. The oxide semiconductor sputtering target is used in a sputtering process for depositing an active layer on a TFT. The oxide semiconductor sputtering target is made of a material based on a composition including indium (In), tin (Sn), gallium (Ga) and oxygen (O). The method includes the step of depositing an active layer using the above-described oxide semiconductor sputtering target. The thin-film transistor may be used in a display device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light-emitting display (OLED). |
| US09224818B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same
A semiconductor device of an embodiment includes a semiconductor layer formed of a III-V group nitride semiconductor, a first silicon nitride film formed on the semiconductor layer, a gate electrode formed on the first silicon nitride film, a source electrode and a drain electrode formed on the semiconductor layer such that the gate electrode is interposed between the source electrode and the drain electrode, and a second silicon nitride film formed between the source electrode and the gate electrode and between the drain electrode and the gate electrode and having an oxygen atom density lower than that of the first silicon nitride film. |
| US09224816B2 |
Silicon carbide semiconductor device
A silicon carbide semiconductor device includes a silicon carbide layer, an element region including a semiconductor element portion formed in the silicon carbide layer, a JTE region (first electric field relaxing region), an insulating film disposed on a first main surface and covering the JTE region, and a pad electrode electrically connected to the JTE region. The pad electrode includes an extension portion extending from an end of the JTE region close to the element region in a peripheral direction from the element region toward the JTE region, the extension portion being disposed on the insulating film. The extension portion overlies at least a portion of the JTE region. |
| US09224813B2 |
Cylindrical-shaped nanotube field effect transistor
A cylindrical-shaped nanotube FET may be manufactured on silicon (Si) substrates as a ring etched into a gate stack and filled with semiconductor material. An inner gate electrode couples to a region of the gate stack inside the inner circumference of the ring. An outer gate electrode couples to a region of the gate stack outside the outer circumference of the ring. The multi-gate cylindrical-shaped nanotube FET operates in volume inversion for ring widths below 15 nanometers. The cylindrical-shaped nanotube FET demonstrates better short channel effect (SCE) mitigation and higher performance (Ion/Ioff) than conventional transistor devices. The cylindrical-shaped nanotube FET may also be manufactured with higher yields and cheaper costs than conventional transistors. |
| US09224811B2 |
Stacked semiconductor device
A stacked semiconductor device includes a first pair of vertically stacked self-aligned nanowires, a second pair of vertically stacked self-aligned nanowires, and a gate upon a semiconductor substrate, the gate surrounding portions of the first pair of vertically stacked self-aligned nanowires and the second pair of vertically stacked self-aligned nanowires. First epitaxy may merge the first pair of vertically stacked self-aligned nanowires and second epitaxy may merge second pair of vertically stacked self-aligned nanowires. The stacked semiconductor device may be fabricated by forming a lattice-fin upon the semiconductor substrate and the gate surrounding a portion of the lattice-fin. The vertically stacked self-aligned nanowires may be formed by selectively removing a plurality of layers from the lattice-fin. |
| US09224807B2 |
Arrays of silicon structures including metal silicide regions, and related semiconductor device structures
A method of forming a metal silicide region. The method comprises forming a metal material over and in contact with exposed surfaces of a dielectric material and silicon structures protruding from the dielectric material. A capping material is formed over and in contact with the metal material. The silicon structures are exposed to heat to effectuate a multidirectional diffusion of the metal material into the silicon structures to form a first metal silicide material. The capping material and unreacted portions of the metal material are removed. The silicon structures are exposed to heat to substantially convert the first metal silicide material into a second metal silicide material. A method of semiconductor device fabrication, an array of silicon structures, and a semiconductor device structure are also described. |
| US09224800B2 |
Planar interdigitated capacitor structures and methods of forming the same
A planar interdigitated capacitor structure, methods of forming, and devices including, the same. The device includes first and second planar electrode structures including respective first and second pluralities of planar continuous rectangular plate electrode elements formed above a semiconductor substrate and extending continuously in first and second orthogonal directions substantially parallel to a plane of the substrate, and first and second conductors interconnecting the respective first and second pluralities of planar electrode elements parallel to a third axis substantially normal to the plane of the substrate. The first and second planar electrode structures are arranged with respective continuous rectangular plate electrode elements of each planar electrode structure interleaved and substantially parallel with each other between the first and second conductors. The device also includes a dielectric material between the first planar electrode structure and the second planar electrode structure. |
| US09224799B2 |
Capacitors including inner and outer electrodes
Provided are capacitor stacks for use in integrated circuits and methods of fabricating these stacks. A capacitor stack includes a dielectric layer and one or two inner electrode layers, such as a positive inner electrode layer and a negative inner electrode layer. The inner electrode layers directly interface the dielectric layer. The stack may also include outer electrode layers. The inner electrode layers are either chemically stable or weakly chemically unstable, while in contact with the dielectric layer based on the respective phase diagrams. Furthermore, the electron affinity of the positive inner electrode layer may be less than the electron affinity of the dielectric layer. The sum of the electron affinity and bandgap of the negative inner electrode layer may be less than that of the dielectric layer. In some embodiments, inner electrode layers are formed from heavily doped semiconducting materials, such as gallium arsenide or gallium aluminum arsenide. |
| US09224798B2 |
Capacitor forming methods
A capacitor forming method includes forming an electrically conductive support material over a substrate, forming an opening through at least the support material to the substrate, and, after forming the opening, forming a capacitor structure contacting the substrate and the support material in the opening. The support material contains at least 25 at % carbon. Another capacitor forming method includes forming a support material over a substrate, forming an opening through at least the support material to the substrate, and, after forming the opening, forming a capacitor structure contacting the substrate and the support material in the opening. The support material contains at least 20 at % carbon. The support material has a thickness and the opening has an aspect ratio 20:1 or greater within the thickness of the support material. |
| US09224796B2 |
Process for producing a through-silicon via and a through-silicon capacitor in a substrate, and corresponding device
A device includes a substrate and an integrated-circuit interconnect on a first side. A capacitor passes through the substrate possessing a first electrode having a first contact face electrically coupled to a first electrically conductive zone placed on a second side of the substrate and a second electrode electrically coupled to the interconnect. A through-silicon via passes through the substrate having at one end a first contact face electrically coupled to a second electrically conductive zone placed on said second side of the substrate and at the other end a part electrically coupled to the interconnect part. The two first contact faces are located in the same plane. |
| US09224795B2 |
Semiconductor device with conductive pillar unit between shield and silicon substrate
A semiconductor device includes a silicon substrate, a shield which is disposed on the silicon substrate and includes a conductive material, a capacitor electrode disposed on the shield, and at least one pillar member which is provided between the shield and the silicon substrate and includes a conductive material. The pillar member may be disposed at a location other than a location of a through-hole. |
| US09224794B2 |
Embedded memory device having MIM capacitor formed in excavated structure
A method of patterning a metal (141, 341, 841) on a vertical sidewall (132, 332, 832) of an excavated feature (130, 330, 830) includes placing a material (350) in the excavated feature such that a portion (435) of the metal is exposed in the excavated feature above the material, etching the exposed portion of the metal away from the vertical sidewall using a first wet etch chemistry, and removing the material from the excavated feature by etching it away using a second wet etch chemistry. The described method may be used to produce a MIM capacitor (800) suitable for an eDRAM device. |
| US09224791B2 |
Organic light-emitting display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention discloses an organic light-emitting display apparatus including: a display substrate including pixel areas and a non-pixel area; a sealing substrate disposed facing the display substrate; a spacer disposed in the non-pixel area of the display substrate, between the display substrate and the sealing substrate, and configured to maintain an interval between the display substrate and the sealing substrate; and a metal layer disposed under the spacer. |
| US09224790B2 |
Illumination device
An illumination device including a light-emitting panel, a touch panel, and a control module is provided. The light-emitting panel includes a light-emitting layer configured to emit a light beam. The touch panel is overlaid on the light-emitting panel, and includes a first touch electrode. The control module is electrically connected to the light-emitting panel and the touch panel. The light-emitting layer further includes a light-emitting material, and the width of the light-emitting material is greater than half of the width of the first touch electrode. |
| US09224785B2 |
Electronic device and method for fabricating the same
An electronic device includes a semiconductor memory that includes: an inter-layer dielectric layer which is formed over a substrate; a contact plug which is coupled with the substrate by passing through the inter-layer dielectric layer and has a protruding portion over the inter-layer dielectric layer; a first variable resistance pattern which is formed over the contact plug; and a protective layer which covers the first variable resistance pattern and a portion of sidewalls of the contact plug in such a manner that the sidewalls of the contact plug are exposed. |
| US09224780B2 |
Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor including a junction field effect transistor
An image sensor includes a sensing node to sense photo charges output from a photodiode. The sensing node includes a first dopant region of a first conductivity type and a second dopant region of a second conductivity type. The second dopant region surrounds the first dopant region. A third dopant region of the first conductivity type is adjacent to the second dopant region and is disposed around the sensing node. The first, second, and third dopant regions operate as a source, a gate, and a drain of a junction field effect transistor, respectively. |
| US09224774B2 |
Solid-state image pickup apparatus, and image pickup system using solid-state image pickup apparatus
A solid-state image pickup apparatus includes a photoelectric conversion unit, a charge storage unit, and a floating diffusion unit, all disposed on a semiconductor substrate. The solid-state image pickup apparatus further includes a first gate electrode disposed on the semiconductor substrate and extending between the photoelectric conversion unit and charge storage unit, and a second gate electrode disposed on the semiconductor substrate and extending between the charge storage unit and the floating diffusion unit. The solid-state image pickup apparatus further includes a light shielding member including a first part and a second part, wherein the first part is disposed over the charge storage unit and at least over the first gate electrode or the second gate electrode, and the second part is disposed between the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode such that the second part extends from the first part toward a surface of the semiconductor substrate. |
| US09224770B2 |
Image sensor device and method
A system and method for reducing cross-talk between photosensitive diodes is provided. In an embodiment a first color filter is formed over a first photosensitive diode and a second color filter is formed over a second photosensitive diode, and a gap is formed between the first color filter and the second color filter. The gap will serve to reflect light that otherwise would have crossed from the first color filter to the second color filter, thereby reducing cross-talk between the first photosensitive diode and the second photosensitive diode. A reflective grid may also be formed between the first photosensitive diode and the second photosensitive diode in order to assist in the reflection and further reduce the amount of cross-talk. |
| US09224766B2 |
Image pickup apparatus capable of controlling exposure during motion with high shutter speed, including amplification of a signal obtained as a result of accumulating electric charge, control method therefor, and storage medium
An image pickup apparatus which is capable of suppressing changes in luminance during motion with high shutter speed while minimizing image degradation. An image pickup device accumulates electric charge corresponding to an amount of light incident thereon. An amplification unit amplifies a signal obtained as a result of accumulating electric charge in the image pickup apparatus. A control unit controls an electric charge accumulation time period in the image pickup device. An adjustment unit adjusts an amplification factor for the amplification unit. In a case where the control unit changes the electric charge accumulation time period while the image pickup device is repeatedly accumulating electric charge, the adjustment unit adjusts an amplification factor in accordance with the amount of change in the electric charge accumulation time period, and after adjustment, the adjustment unit brings the adjusted amplification factor close to an amplification factor before adjustment in steps. |
| US09224765B2 |
Fabricating method of array structure
An array structure, which includes a TFT, a passivation layer, a pixel electrode, a first connecting layer and a first spacer is provided. The TFT includes a gate, a source and a drain. The passivation layer overlays the TFT. The pixel electrode is located on the passivation layer. The first connecting layer is located on the pixel electrode and electrically connected to the pixel electrode and the drain. The first spacer is located on the first connecting layer. |
| US09224764B2 |
Display substrates, methods of manufacturing the same and display devices including the same
A display substrate includes a data pad on a base substrate, a first buffer layer which covers the data pad, a second buffer layer pattern which is disposed on the first buffer layer and separated from the data pad in a plan view, an active layer on the second buffer layer pattern, a gate insulation layer pattern on the active layer, both ends of the active layer exposed by the gate insulation layer pattern, and a gate electrode on the gate insulation layer pattern. |
| US09224761B2 |
Display device, electro-optical element driving method and electronic equipment
The present invention permits a capacitance value of an electro-optical element such as organic EL element to be arbitrarily set without changing the light extraction efficiency of a pixel. That is, the present invention permits a capacitance value Coled of an organic EL element (21) to be arbitrarily set by adjusting the light emission area of the organic EL element (21) without changing the light extraction efficiency of a pixel (20) in an organic EL display device. The organic EL display device has the pixels (20) arranged in a matrix form. A light extraction opening (56) is formed on the surface of the pixel with a light-shielding film (black matrix) (57). The light extraction opening (56) has an opening area smaller than the light emission area of the organic EL element (21). |
| US09224760B2 |
Array substrate and fabrication method thereof, and display device
Embodiments of the invention provide an array substrate, a fabrication method thereof, and a display device. The array substrate includes a first conductive pattern connecting with a low level potential, a second conductive pattern provided in a same layer as a STV signal line, and an insulating layer provided between the first conductive pattern and the second conductive pattern. The first conductive pattern, the insulating layer and the second conductive pattern have an overlapping region so as to form a storage capacitor. A conductive tip toward the second conductive pattern is formed at a position of the STV signal line that corresponds to the second conductive pattern. |
| US09224757B2 |
DC-DC converter and manufacturing method thereof
A DC-DC converter is driven by single high input voltage, and includes a voltage converter circuit and a control circuit. The increase of the occupied area of the DC-DC converter is suppressed. The DC-DC converter includes an input terminal to which input voltage is applied; a voltage converter circuit connected to the input terminal, and including a first transistor; a control circuit configured to control the voltage converter circuit, and including a second transistor including a silicon material in a channel formation region; and a third transistor provided between the input terminal and the control circuit, and configured to convert the input voltage into power supply voltage that is lower than the input voltage. The first transistor and the third transistor include an oxide semiconductor material in channel formation regions. The first transistor and the third transistor are stacked over the second transistor with an insulating film provided therebetween. |
| US09224756B2 |
Display device
According to one embodiment, a display device includes a semiconductor including a first channel region, a second channel region, a source region, a drain region, a first region located between the source region and the first channel region, a second region formed between the first channel region and the second channel region, and a third region located between the drain region and the second channel region, wherein the second region has a length of 5 μm or more, which is greater than a length of each of the first region and the third region. |
| US09224754B2 |
Stress in trigate devices using complimentary gate fill materials
Embodiments relate to an improved tri-gate device having gate metal fills, providing compressive or tensile stress upon at least a portion of the tri-gate transistor, thereby increasing the carrier mobility and operating frequency. Embodiments also contemplate method for use of the improved tri-gate device. |
| US09224753B2 |
Semiconductor memory device and method of fabricating the same
Provided are a semiconductor memory device and a fabricating method thereof. The device includes a stack including vertical channel structures that penetrate insulating patterns and gate electrodes that are alternately and repeatedly stacked on each other. Each of the gate electrodes includes first and second gate conductive layers. In a first region between an outer side of the stack and the vertical channel structures, the first gate conductive layer is adjacent to the vertical channel structures and includes a truncated end portion, the second gate conductive layer has a portion adjacent to the vertical channel structures and covered by a corresponding one of the first gate conductive layer and an opposite portion that is not covered with the first gate conductive layer. In a second region between the vertical channel structures, the first gate conductive layer may be extended to continuously cover surfaces of the second gate conductive layer. |
| US09224739B2 |
Method of making integrated circuit embedded with non-volatile programmable memory having variable coupling
A programmable non-volatile device is made with a floating gate that functions as a FET gate that overlaps a portion of a source/drain region and allows for variable coupling through geometry and/or biasing conditions. This allows a programming voltage for the device to be imparted to the floating gate through variable capacitive coupling, thus changing the state of the device. Multi-state embodiments are also possible. The invention can be used in environments such as data encryption, reference trimming, manufacturing ID, security ID, and many other applications. |
| US09224735B2 |
Self-aligned contact metallization for reduced contact resistance
Techniques are disclosed for forming low contact resistance transistor devices. A p-type germanium layer is provided between p-type source/drain regions and their respective contact metals, and an n-type III-V semiconductor material layer is provided between n-type source/drain regions and their respective contact metals. The n-type III-V semiconductor material layer may have a small bandgap (e.g., <0.5 eV) and/or otherwise be doped to provide desired conductivity, and the p-type germanium layer can be doped, for example, with boron. After deposition of the III-V material over both the n-type source/drain regions and the germanium covered p-type source/drain regions, an etch-back process can be performed to take advantage of the height differential between n and p type regions to self-align contact types and expose the p-type germanium over p-type regions and thin the n-type III-V material over the n-type regions. The techniques can be used on planar and non-planar transistor architectures. |
| US09224734B2 |
CMOS devices with reduced leakage and methods of forming the same
A device includes a first semiconductor layer, and a second semiconductor layer over the first semiconductor layer. The first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer comprise different materials. A semiconductor region is overlying and contacting the second semiconductor layer, wherein a bottom surface of the semiconductor region contacts a first top surface of the second semiconductor layer. The semiconductor region and the second semiconductor layer comprise different material. The bottom surface of the semiconductor region has a slanted portion contacting a (551) surface plane of the second semiconductor layer. |
| US09224729B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes: a first well provided in a semiconductor substrate; a second well provided in the semiconductor substrate, so as to be isolated from the first well; a Schottky barrier diode formed in the first well; and a PN junction diode formed in the second well, with an impurity concentration of the PN junction thereof set higher than an impurity concentration of the Schottky junction of the Schottky barrier diode, and being connected antiparallel with the Schottky barrier diode. |
| US09224728B2 |
Embedded protection against spurious electrical events
Various disclosed aspects provide for protecting components (e.g., integrated circuits) from spurious electrical overvoltage events, such as electrostatic discharge. Embedded components with voltage switchable dielectric materials may protect circuits against electrostatic discharge. |
| US09224726B2 |
Electrostatic discharge protection circuit, equipment and method
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit for protecting one or more devices in an electronic circuit from an ESD current which enters the electronic circuit through one or more input/output pins, the protection circuit comprising: a voltage clamp circuit connectable to the or each pin, for diverting the ESD current from the or each device; and a current sensor circuit connected between the input/output pins and the voltage clamp circuit and connected to the one or more devices, the current sensor circuit for sensing the ESD current and for switching off the or each device when the sensed current exceeds a threshold value, wherein when a current flows in the current mirror circuits above a threshold value the device is caused to switch off. |
| US09224724B2 |
Mutual ballasting multi-finger bidirectional ESD device
An integrated circuit includes a bidirectional ESD device which has a plurality of parallel switch legs. Each switch leg includes a first current switch and a second current switch in a back-to-back configuration. A first current supply node of each first current switch is coupled to a first terminal of the ESD device. A second current supply node of each second current switch is coupled to a second terminal of the ESD device. A first current collection node of each first current switch is coupled to a second current collection node of the corresponding second current switch. The first current collection nodes in each first current switch is not coupled to any other first current collection node, and similarly, the second current collection node in each instance second current switch is not coupled to any other second current collection node. |
| US09224722B2 |
Semiconductor apparatus capable of detecting whether pad and bump are stacked
A semiconductor apparatus may include a semiconductor chip, and the semiconductor chip may include a first pad, a second pad, and a bump. The first pad may be configured to receive a signal from an external device, and the second pad may include first and second metal layers electrically isolated from each other. The bump may be stacked over the second pad, and may be configured to receive a signal from a controller chip. |
| US09224721B2 |
Semiconductor power modules and devices
An electronic component is described which includes a first transistor encased in a first package, the first transistor being mounted over a first conductive portion of the first package, and a second transistor encased in a second package, the second transistor being mounted over a second conductive portion of the second package. The component further includes a substrate comprising an insulating layer between a first metal layer and a second metal layer. The first package is on one side of the substrate with the first conductive portion being electrically connected to the first metal layer, and the second package is on another side of the substrate with the second conductive portion being electrically connected to the second metal layer. The first package is opposite the second package, with at least 50% of a first area of the first conductive portion being opposite a second area of the second conductive portion. |
| US09224716B2 |
Method for non-planar chip assembly
Methods and apparatuses for assembly of a non-planar device based on curved chips are described. Slots may be created as longitudinal openings in the chips to reduce bending stresses to increase allowable degrees of deformation of the chips. The chips may be deformed to a desired deformation within the allowable degrees of deformation via the slots. Holding constraints may be provided on at least a portion of the chips to allow the chips to remain curved according the desired deformation. |
| US09224708B2 |
Method for manufacturing a conducting contact on a conducting element
The invention relates to a method for producing an interconnection pad on a conducting element comprising an upper face and a side wall; the method being executed from a substrate at least the upper face of which is insulating; the conducting element going through at least an insulating portion of the substrate, the method being characterized in that it comprises the sequence of the following steps: a step of embossing the conducting element, a step of forming, above the upper insulating face of the substrate, a stack of layers comprising at least one electrically conducting layer and one electrically resistive layer, a step of partially removing the electrically resistive layer, a step of electrolytic growth on the portion of the electrically conducting layer so as to form at least one interconnection pad on said conducting element. |
| US09224704B2 |
Process for realizing a connecting structure
The present invention relates to a process for realizing a connecting structure in a semiconductor substrate, and the semiconductor substrate realized accordingly. The semiconductor substrate has at least a first surface, and is foreseen for a 3D integration with a second substrate along the first surface, wherein the 3D integration is subject to a lateral misalignment in at least one dimension having a misalignment value. This process includes growing a diffusion barrier structure for preventing diffusion of elements out of a conductive layer into the rest of the semiconductor substrate, wherein a first end surface, being the most outward surface of the diffusion barrier structure and being substantially parallel to the first surface, along a direction perpendicular to the first surface and going from the substrate toward the first surface, of the diffusion barrier structure can have a length, in the direction of the lateral misalignment, the length being dependent on the misalignment value, wherein the length of the diffusion barrier structure is chosen such that in a 3D integrated structure a diffusion of elements out of a conductive layer of the second substrate is prevented in the integrated state. |
| US09224703B2 |
Electronic device including a diode and a process of forming the same
An electronic device can include a substrate, lower and upper semiconductor layers over the substrate, and a doped region at the interface between the lower and upper semiconductor layers. The doped region can have a conductivity type opposite that of a dopant within the lower semiconductor layer. Within the lower semiconductor layer, the dopant can have a dopant concentration profile that has a relatively steeper portion adjacent to the substrate, another relatively steeper portion adjacent to an interface between the first and second semiconductor layers, and a relatively flatter portion between the relative steeper portions. A diode lies at a pn junction where a second dopant concentration profile of the first doped region intersects the relatively flatter portion of the first dopant concentration profile. The electronic device can be formed using different processes described herein. |
| US09224698B1 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device 1 is provided with a semiconductor substrate 10, an electrode 30 formed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate 10, and an insulation film 20 formed on the electrode 30. The semiconductor device 1 includes a metal film 40 extending over a part of the surface of the electrode 30 not covered by the insulation film 20 and a surface of the insulation film 20. The semiconductor device 1 includes solder 80 formed on a surface of the metal film 40, a lead frame 50 joined to the metal film 40 by the solder 80, and sealing resin 60 sealing the insulation film 20, the metal film 40, and the solder 80. A convex 70 is formed on the surface of the insulation film 20. The metal film 40 covers the convex 70. The solder 80 covers the metal film 40 covering the convex 70. |
| US09224690B2 |
Semiconductor device having groove-shaped via-hole
The semiconductor device has insulating films 40, 42 formed over a substrate 10; an interconnection 58 buried in at least a surface side of the insulating films 40, 42; insulating films 60, 62 formed on the insulating film 42 and including a hole-shaped via-hole 60 and a groove-shaped via-hole 66a having a pattern bent at a right angle; and buried conductors 70, 72a buried in the hole-shaped via-hole 60 and the groove-shaped via-hole 66a. A groove-shaped via-hole 66a is formed to have a width which is smaller than a width of the hole-shaped via-hole 66. Defective filling of the buried conductor and the cracking of the inter-layer insulating film can be prevented. Steps on the conductor plug can be reduced. Accordingly, defective contact with the upper interconnection layer and the problems taking place in forming films can be prevented. |
| US09224683B2 |
Method of fabricating packaging substrate having a through-holed interposer
A through-holed interposer is provided, including a board body, a conductive gel formed in the board body, and a circuit redistribution structure disposed on the board body. The conductive gel has one end protruding from a surface of the board body, and an area of the protruded end of the conductive gel that is in contact with other structures (e.g., packaging substrates or circuit structures) is increased, thereby strengthening the bonding of the conductive gel and reliability of the interposer. |
| US09224679B2 |
Wafer level chip scale package with exposed thick bottom metal
A method for forming a wafer level chip scale (WLCS) package device with a thick bottom metal comprising the step of attaching a lead frame comprising a plurality of thick bottom metals onto a back metal layer of a semiconductor wafer including a plurality of semiconductor chips having a plurality of bonding pads formed on a front surface of each chip, each thick bottom metal is aligned to a central portion of each chip; a plurality of back side cutting grooves are formed along the scribe lines and filled with a package material, the package material are cut through thus forming a plurality of singulated WLCS package devices. |
| US09224676B1 |
Integrated circuit package and method of making the same
Packages for an integrated circuit die and methods and leadframes for making such packages are disclosed. The package includes a die, a die pad, peripheral metal contacts, bond wires, and an encapsulant. The die pad and contacts are located at a lower surface of the package. The die pad and the contacts have side surfaces which include reentrant portions and asperities to engage the encapsulant.A method of making a package includes providing a metal leadframe having a die pad in a rectangular frame. Tabs extend from the frame toward the die pad. The die pad and tabs have side surfaces with reentrant portions and asperities. A die is attached to the die pad. The die is electrically connected to the tabs. An encapsulant is applied to the upper and side surfaces of the leadframe. Finally, the leadframe is cut in situ so that the die pad and tabs are severed from the frame, the sides of the package are formed, and the package is severed from the leadframe. |
| US09224673B2 |
Packages for semiconductor devices, packaged semiconductor devices, and methods of cooling packaged semiconductor devices
Packages for semiconductor devices, packaged semiconductor devices, and methods of cooling packaged semiconductor devices are disclosed. In some embodiments, a package for a semiconductor device includes a substrate including a semiconductor device mounting region, a cover coupled to a perimeter of the substrate, and members disposed between the substrate and the cover. The package includes partitions, with each partition being disposed between two adjacent members. The package includes a fluid inlet port coupled to the cover, and a fluid outlet port coupled to one of the partitions. |
| US09224663B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor element in the form of a flat plate that has opposed first and second surfaces, an insulating layer that covers control wiring located on the first surface side of the semiconductor element, a metal block that is bonded to the first surface side of the semiconductor element via a solder layer, and a protective film that is formed between the metal block and the insulating layer, the protective film having a hardness equal to or greater than a hardness of the metal block. When viewed from the first surface side, the protective film is formed in an area at least including a position where an edge portion of the metal block and the control wiring cross each other. |
| US09224662B2 |
Semiconductor apparatus
A semiconductor apparatus is disclosed, which includes a semiconductor element provided on a plane; a sealing resin that seals the semiconductor element; a terminal that is electrically connected to the semiconductor element and includes a part that projects from a predetermined surface of the sealing resin; and a concave portion that is recessed toward a side of the semiconductor element from the predetermined surface, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the plane. A side of the concave portion on the side of the semiconductor element includes a rounded shape, when viewed in the direction perpendicular to the plane. |
| US09224661B2 |
Film thickness metrology
Methods for determining a target thickness of a conformal film with reduced uncertainty, and an integrated circuit (IC) chip having a conformal film of the target thickness are provided. In an embodiment, a first critical dimension of a structure disposed on a wafer is measured. Said structure has at least one vertical surface. A first conformal film is deposited over the structure covering each of a horizontal and the vertical surface of the structure. A second critical dimension of the covered structure is then measured. The target thickness of the conformal film is determined based on difference between the first CD measured on the structure and the second CD measured on the covered structure. |
| US09224657B2 |
Hard mask for source/drain epitaxy control
An integrated circuit is formed to include a first polarity MOS transistor and a second, opposite, polarity MOS transistor. A hard mask of silicon-doped boron nitride (SixBN) with 1 atomic percent to 30 atomic percent silicon is formed over the first polarity MOS transistor and the second polarity MOS transistor. The hard mask is removed from source/drain regions of the first polarity MOS transistor and left in place over the second polarity MOS transistor. Semiconductor material is epitaxially grown at the source/drain regions of the first polarity MOS transistor while the hard mask is in place. Subsequently, the hard mask is removed from the second polarity MOS transistor. |
| US09224650B2 |
Wafer dicing from wafer backside and front side
Approaches for backside laser scribe plus front side laser scribe and plasma etch dicing of a wafer or substrate are described. For example, a method of dicing a semiconductor wafer having a plurality of integrated circuits on a front side thereof and metallization on a backside thereof involves patterning the metallization on the backside with a first laser scribing process to provide a first plurality of laser scribe lines on the backside. The method also involves forming a mask on the front side. The method also involves patterning, from the front side, the mask with a second laser scribing process to provide a patterned mask with a second plurality of scribe lines exposing regions of the semiconductor wafer between the integrated circuits, wherein the second plurality of scribe lines is aligned with the first plurality of scribe lines. The method also involves plasma etching the semiconductor wafer through the second plurality of scribe lines to singulate the integrated circuits. |
| US09224648B2 |
Through-wafer interconnection
A through-wafer interconnect and a method for fabricating the same are disclosed. The method starts with a conductive wafer to form a patterned trench by removing material of the conductive wafer. The patterned trench extends in depth from the front side to the backside of the wafer, and has an annular opening generally dividing the conductive wafer into an inner portion and an outer portion whereby the inner portion of the conductive wafer is insulated from the outer portion and serves as a through-wafer conductor. A dielectric material is formed or added into the patterned trench mechanical to support and electrically insulate the through-wafer conductor. Multiple conductors can be formed in an array. |
| US09224643B2 |
Structure and method for tunable interconnect scheme
The present disclosure provides one embodiment of a method to form an interconnect structure. The method includes forming a first dielectric material layer on a substrate; patterning the first dielectric material layer to form a plurality of vias therein; forming a metal layer on the first dielectric layer and the substrate, wherein the metal layer fills in the plurality of vias; and etching the metal layer such that portions of the metal layer above the first dielectric material layer are patterned to form a plurality of metal lines, aligned with plurality of vias, respectively. |
| US09224642B2 |
Conductive via structures for routing porosity and low via resistance, and processes of making
An integrated circuit structure includes a first conductive layer (MET4) including a first forked conductive structure (310), an insulating layer (320, ILD45) substantially disposed over the first forked conductive structure (310), a plurality of conductive vias (331-334) through the insulating layer (ILD45) and electrically connecting with the first forked conductive structure (310), and a second conductive layer (MET5) including a second forked conductive structure (340) substantially disposed over at least a portion of the insulating layer (ILD45) and generally perpendicular to the first forked conductive structure (310), the plurality of conductive vias (331-334) electrically connecting with the second forked conductive structure (340). Other structures, devices, and processes are also disclosed. |
| US09224641B2 |
Processes and structures for IC fabrication
The present invention discloses methods and apparatuses for the separations of IC fabrication and assembling of separated IC components to form complete IC structures. In an embodiment, the present fabrication separation of an IC structure into multiple discrete components can take advantages of dedicated IC fabrication facilities and achieve more cost effective products. In another embodiment, the present chip assembling provides high density interconnect wires between bond pads, enabling cost-effective assembling of small chip components. In an aspect, the present process provides multiple interconnect wires in the form of a ribbon between the bond pads, and then subsequently separates the ribbon into multiple individual interconnect wires. |
| US09224638B2 |
Integrated circuits with metal-titanium oxide contacts and fabrication methods
Devices and methods for forming semiconductor devices with metal-titanium oxide contacts are provided. One intermediate semiconductor device includes, for instance: a substrate, at least one field-effect transistor disposed on the substrate, a first contact region positioned over at least a first portion of the at least one field-effect transistor between a spacer and an interlayer dielectric, and a second contact region positioned over at least a second portion of the at least one field-effect transistor between a spacer and an interlayer dielectric. One method includes, for instance: obtaining an intermediate semiconductor device and forming at least one contact on the intermediate semiconductor device. |
| US09224636B2 |
Methods of forming through silicon via openings
A method includes forming an opening in a substrate, and the opening completely extends through the substrate. A recast material is formed on sidewalls of the substrate exposed by the opening. A first chemical is applied in the opening to remove the recast material, wherein a residue of the first chemical remains on portions of the sidewalls after the applying of the first chemical. Moreover, A second chemical is applied in the opening to remove the residue of the first chemical, and the second chemical is different from the first chemical. |
| US09224632B2 |
Substrate holding apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device fabricating method
To provide a substrate holding apparatus that can rapidly recover liquid that has infiltrated the rear surface side of a substrate. A substrate holding apparatus comprises: a base; a first support part, which is formed on the base and supports a rear surface of a substrate to be processed; a first circumferential wall part, which is formed on the base and is provided so that it opposes the rear surface of the substrate to be processed and surrounds the first support part; and a first recovery port, which is provided on the outer side of the first circumferential wall part; wherein, the flow of a gas along the first circumferential wall part moves the liquid on the outer side of the first circumferential wall part to the first recovery port, where the liquid is recovered. |
| US09224630B2 |
Method for producing a wafer provided with chips
A method for producing a product wafer having chips thereon, comprising the steps of: processing the first side of the product wafer bonding the product wafer with its first side onto a first rigid carrier wafer with a first intermediate layer consisting of one first adhesion layer applied at least on the edge side, processing a second side of the product wafer, bonding of the product wafer with its second side on a second rigid carrier wafer with a second intermediate layer consisting of one second adhesion layer applied at least on the edge side, characterized in that the first intermediate layer and the second intermediate layer are made different such that the first carrier wafer can be separated selectively before the second carrier wafer. |
| US09224626B2 |
Composite substrate for layered heaters
A method of forming a heater assembly for use in semiconductor processing includes thermally securing a heater substrate to an application substrate; and applying a layered heater to the heater substrate after the heater substrate is secured to the application substrate. The application of the layered heater includes applying a first dielectric layer onto the heater substrate, applying a resistive heating layer onto the first dielectric layer, and applying a second dielectric layer onto the resistive heating layer. The heater substrate defines a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion that is matched to a coefficient of thermal expansion of at least one of the first dielectric layer and a coefficient of thermal expansion of the resistive heating layer. |
| US09224625B2 |
Laser and plasma etch wafer dicing using water-soluble die attach film
Methods of dicing semiconductor wafers, each wafer having a plurality of integrated circuits, are described. A method includes forming a mask above the semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer is disposed on a water-soluble die attach film. The mask covers and protects the integrated circuits. The mask is patterned with a laser scribing process to provide a patterned mask with gaps. The patterning exposes regions of the semiconductor wafer between the integrated circuits. The semiconductor wafer is then etched through the gaps in the patterned mask to form singulated integrated circuits. The water-soluble die attach film is then patterned with an aqueous solution. |
| US09224620B2 |
Method for packaging quad flat non-leaded package body, and package body
A method for packaging a quad flat non-leaded (QFN) package body. The method includes: etching an upper surface of a metal plate to process a groove to form a bond wire bench, a component bench, and a bump; processing the bump to a preset height, and assembling a component on the component bench; packaging the processed metal plate to form a package body, and exposing the surface of the processed bump on an upper surface of the package body to form a top lead; and etching a lower surface of the package body to process a bottom lead. In the present invention, large passive components can be stacked on the QFN package body with a top lead; the structure is simplified while the reliability of the welding joints is improved; a plurality of components can be stacked through the top lead to overcome the limitations of component stacking. |
| US09224619B2 |
Semiconductor device and fabricating method thereof
The semiconductor device includes a substrate, a trench formed in the substrate, a gate insulation layer conformally formed on the inner surface of the trench, buried gate electrodes formed on the gate insulation layer and filling a portion of the trench, and a capping layer formed on the buried gate electrodes and filling the trench. The buried gate electrode include a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode surrounding a bottom portion of the first gate electrode, and an air gap is provided between a top portion of the first gate electrode and the gate insulation layer. |
| US09224618B2 |
Method to increase mask selectivity in ultra-high aspect ratio etches
A method for etching features in an etch layer in a plasma processing chamber is provided. An etch gas is flowed into the plasma processing chamber. A top outer electrode is maintained at a temperature of at least 150° C. during the etching of the features. The etch gas is formed into a plasma, which etches the etch layer. |
| US09224617B2 |
Forming cross-coupled line segments
A method is provided for fabricating cross-coupled line segments for use, for instance, as a hard mask in fabricating cross-coupled gates of two or more transistors. Fabricating the structure includes: providing a sacrificial mandrel on the substrate, the sacrificial mandrel including a transverse gap through the mandrel separating the sacrificial mandrel into a first mandrel portion and a second mandrel portion; providing a sidewall spacer along sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel, where sidewall spacers along sidewalls of the first mandrel portion and the second mandrel portion merge within the transverse gap and form a crossbar; and removing the sacrificial mandrel and selectively cutting the sidewall spacers to define the cross-coupled line segments from the sidewall spacers and crossbar. The transverse gap may be provided by directly printing the first and second mandrel portions spaced apart, or by cutting the sacrificial mandrel to provide the gap. |
| US09224616B2 |
Etching method and plasma processing apparatus
A method of etching an etching target layer containing polycrystalline silicon includes preparing a target object including the etching target layer and a mask formed on the etching target layer; and etching the etching target layer with the mask. Further, the mask includes a first mask portion formed of polycrystalline silicon and a second mask portion interposed between the first mask portion and the etching target layer and formed of silicon oxide. Furthermore, in the etching of the etching target layer, a first gas for etching the etching target layer, a second gas for removing a deposit adhering to the mask, and a third gas for protecting the first mask portion are supplied into a processing vessel in which the target object is accommodated, and plasma of these gases is generated within the processing vessel. |
| US09224615B2 |
Noble gas bombardment to reduce scallops in bosch etching
A method of etching a trench in a substrate is provided. The method repeatedly alternates between using a fluorine-based plasma to etch a trench, which has trench sidewalls, into a selected region of the substrate; and using a fluorocarbon plasma to deposit a liner on the trench sidewalls. The liner, when formed and subsequently etched, has an exposed sidewall surface that includes scalloped recesses. The trench, which includes the scalloped recesses, is then bombarded with a molecular beam where the molecules are directed on an axis parallel to the trench sidewalls to reduce the scalloped recesses. |
| US09224614B2 |
CMP slurry/method for polishing ruthenium and other films
A method and associated composition for CMP processing of noble metal-containing substrates (such as ruthenium-containing substrates) afford both high removal rates of the noble metal and are tunable with respect to rate of noble metal removal in relation to removal of other films. Low levels of an oxidizing agent containing one or more peroxy-functional group(s) can be used along with a novel ligand to effectively polish noble metal substrates. |
| US09224612B2 |
Vapor deposition apparatus, method of forming thin film by using vapor deposition apparatus, and method of manufacturing organic light emitting display apparatus
A vapor deposition apparatus for depositing a thin film on a substrate includes a cover having an accommodation portion and a communicated portion, which communicated portion is connected to the accommodation portion and faces a direction of the substrate, and includes a body in the accommodation portion, which body includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is disposed at a first location of the body and connected to a first injection portion for injecting a first material onto the substrate, the second portion is disposed at a second location of the body and connected to a second injection portion for injecting a second material onto the substrate, and the body rotates in at least one direction so that the first portion and the second portion are alternately connected to each other with respect to the communicated portion. |
| US09224608B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: forming a first insulation film on a portion of a first region of a semiconductor substrate and forming a second insulation film between a second region and a third region of the semiconductor substrate; etching an upper portion of the first insulation film such that the thickness of the first insulation film is less than the thickness of the second insulation film; forming a third insulation film in the second region and forming a fourth insulation film in the third region; and forming a first gate electrode on the first insulation film whose upper portion was etched, forming a second gate electrode on the third insulation film, and forming a third gate electrode on the fourth insulation film. |
| US09224605B2 |
Forming alternative material fins with reduced defect density by performing an implantation/anneal defect generation process
One method disclosed includes removing at least a portion of a fin to thereby define a fin trench in a layer of insulating material, forming a substantially defect-free first layer of semiconductor material in the fin trench, forming a second layer of semiconductor material on an as-formed upper surface of the first layer of semiconductor material, forming an implant region at the interface between the first layer of semiconductor material and the substrate, performing an anneal process to induce defect formation in at least the first layer of semiconductor material, forming a third layer of semiconductor material on the second layer of semiconductor material, forming a layer of channel semiconductor material on the third layer of semiconductor material, and forming a gate structure around at least a portion of the channel semiconductor material. |
| US09224604B2 |
Device and method for forming sharp extension region with controllable junction depth and lateral overlap
A method for forming a semiconductor device includes forming a gate stack on a monocrystalline substrate. A surface of the substrate adjacent to the gate stack and below a portion of the gate stack is amorphorized. The surface is etched to selectively remove a thickness of amorphorized portions to form undercuts below the gate stack. A layer is epitaxially grown in the thickness and the undercuts to form an extension region for the semiconductor device. Devices are also provided. |
| US09224601B2 |
Method of producing epitaxial silicon wafer, epitaxial silicon wafer, and method of producing solid-state image sensing device
Provided is an epitaxial silicon wafer free of epitaxial defects caused by dislocation clusters and COPs with reduced metal contamination achieved by higher gettering capability and a method of producing the epitaxial wafer. A method of producing an epitaxial silicon wafer includes a first step of irradiating a silicon wafer free of dislocation clusters and COPs with cluster ions to form a modifying layer formed from a constituent element of the cluster ions in a surface portion of the silicon wafer; and a second step of forming an epitaxial layer on the modifying layer of the silicon wafer. |
| US09224594B2 |
Surface preparation with remote plasma
Methods and apparatus for processing using a plasma source for the treatment of semiconductor surfaces are disclosed. The apparatus includes an outer vacuum chamber enclosing a substrate support, a plasma source (either a direct plasma or a remote plasma), and an optional showerhead. Other gas distribution and gas dispersal hardware may also be used. The plasma source may be used to generate activated species operable to alter the surface of the semiconductor materials. Further, the plasma source may be used to generate activated species operable to enhance the nucleation of deposition precursors on the semiconductor surface. |
| US09224593B2 |
Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a porous, low-k dielectric layer
The inventive concept provides porous, low-k dielectric materials and methods of manufacturing and using the same. In some embodiments, porous, low-k dielectric materials are manufactured by forming a porogen-containing dielectric layer on a substrate and then removing at least a portion of said porogen from the layer. |
| US09224591B2 |
Method of depositing a thin film
A method of forming a thin film on a substrate includes arranging the substrate to face a thin film deposition apparatus; and discharging a deposition material via a deposition source of the thin film deposition apparatus onto the substrate; wherein a deposition source nozzle unit of the thin film deposition apparatus is disposed at a side of the deposition source and includes a plurality of deposition source nozzles arranged in a first direction; wherein a patterning slit sheet of the thin film deposition apparatus is disposed to be between the deposition source nozzle unit and the substrate, the patterning slit sheet including a plurality of patterning slits, and wherein each of the patterning slits includes a plurality of sub-slits. |
| US09224590B2 |
Finger biometric sensor including sliding motion and static positioning based biometric data generation and related methods
A finger biometric sensor may include an array of finger biometric sensing pixels, and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry may be capable of acquiring finger biometric data from the array of finger biometric sensing pixels and generating image data from the finger biometric data. The image data may be generated based upon at least a finger sliding motion when a finger is slid adjacent the array of finger biometric sensing pixels, and a finger static positioning when the finger is statically positioned adjacent the array of finger biometric sensing pixels. The processing circuitry may also be capable of determining a match between the image data and enrolled image data. |
| US09224580B2 |
Plasma generator
An arrangement for generating plasma, the arrangement comprising a primary plasma source (1) comprising a primary source chamber (15) and a first coil (4) for generating plasma in the primary source chamber, a secondary plasma source (25) comprising a secondary source chamber (16) and a second coil (26) for enhancing plasma generated by the primary plasma source and/or generating plasma in the secondary source chamber generating plasma in the primary source chamber, a hollow guiding body (11) arranged for guiding at least a portion of the plasma generated by the primary plasma source to the secondary plasma source, and an outlet (14) for emitting at least a portion of the plasma generated by the arrangement. |
| US09224576B2 |
Particle-optical systems and arrangements and particle-optical components for such systems and arrangements
A particle-optical arrangement comprises a charged-particle source for generating a beam of charged particles; a multi-aperture plate arranged in a beam path of the beam of charged particles, wherein the multi-aperture plate has a plurality of apertures formed therein in a predetermined first array pattern, wherein a plurality of charged-particle beamlets is formed from the beam of charged particles downstream of the multi-aperture plate, and wherein a plurality of beam spots is formed in an image plane of the apparatus by the plurality of beamlets, the plurality of beam spots being arranged in a second array pattern; and a particle-optical element for manipulating the beam of charged particles and/or the plurality of beamlets; wherein the first array pattern has a first pattern regularity in a first direction, and the second array pattern has a second pattern regularity in a second direction electron-optically corresponding to the first direction, and wherein the second regularity is higher than the first regularity. |
| US09224571B2 |
Photocathode high-frequency electron-gun cavity apparatus
A photocathode high-frequency electron-gun cavity apparatus of the present invention is provided with a high-frequency acceleration cavity (1), a photocathode (8, 15), a laser entering port (9), a high-frequency power input coupler port (10), and a high-frequency resonant tuner (16). Here, the apparatus adopts an ultra-small high-frequency accelerator cavity which contains a cavity cell formed only with a smooth and curved surface at an inner face thereof without having a sharp angle part for preventing discharging, obtaining higher strength of high-frequency electric field, and improving high-frequency resonance stability. Further, the photocathode is arranged at an end part of a half cell (5) of the high-frequency acceleration cavity for maximizing electric field strength at the photocathode face, perpendicular incidence of laser is ensured by arranging a laser entering port at a position facing to the photocathode behind an electron beam extraction port of the high-frequency acceleration cavity for maximizing quality of short-bunch photoelectrons, and a high-frequency power input coupler port is arranged at a side part of the cell of the high-frequency acceleration cavity for enhancing high-frequency electric field strength. According to the above, it is possible to provide a small photocathode high-frequency electron-gun cavity apparatus capable of generating a high-strength and high-quality electron beam. |
| US09224565B2 |
Manufacturing of an automobile fuse
A method of manufacturing an automobile comprising: mixing 96˜99 wt % of colored plastic powder with 1˜4 wt % of transparent irreversible thermochromic pigment powder thus preparing a material mixture for a fuse body; melting the material mixture using an injection molding machine so that the fuse body containing a thermochromic pigment component is molded at an injection temperature of 300˜310° C. and an injection pressure of 1200˜1600 kg f/cm2 using an injection mold; drying the fuse body containing the thermochromic pigment component at 100˜200° C. for 3˜5 hr; inserting a fuse element comprising a pair of terminal members and a fuse member fixed therebetween into a pair of terminal insertion recesses and a fuse charging recess of the fuse body containing the thermochromic pigment component. |
| US09224564B2 |
Fuse with counter-bore body
An improved fuse having one or more counter bores in an interior wall of a hollow tube used as the fuse housing. The fuse includes a fusible element disposed within a cavity defined by the interior wall. The fusible element is electrically connected to first and second end caps via solder. The first and second end caps are attached to respective ends of the hollow tube. The one or more counter bores provide more space for the solder to cover the fusible element resulting in a more reliable electrical connection. |
| US09224560B2 |
Circuit breaker position adjustment system
A system for adjusting the position of a circuit breaker is provided. The system allows for translation of the circuit breaker with respect to a support base and interfacing mechanisms, such as those that serve to switch the circuit breaker between its operative states. Adjustment is afforded by an adjustment plate fitted to the support base and that moves with the circuit breaker. Slots through the support base allow for movement of the plate and circuit breaker. A threaded member allows for continuous movement of the plate and circuit breaker for accurate positioning. |
| US09224559B2 |
Unidirectionally switching DC contactor
Disclosed is a unidirectionally switching direct-current contactor, having a double break having two contact points, which each have a fixed contact and a movable contact, wherein the movable contacts are arranged on a contact bridge and wherein a switch arc is formed at each of the contact points when the contact points open, and including an arc quenching device and having at least one blowing device for blowing at least one of the switch arcs from the corresponding contact point. The contactor includes a jumper plate arranged adjacently to the movable contact of the first contact point, wherein the contact bridge and the jumper plate are electrically insulated from each other and the jumper plate is connected potentially to the fixed contact of the second contact point. |
| US09224555B2 |
Light emitting diode illuminated keyboard
The present invention provides an LED illuminated keyboard, which controls LED components with specific color hues to illuminate by pressing a specific key. The LED illuminated keyboard according to the present invention merely uses a micro control unit (MCU) commonly used in a keyboard of a computer, and connects switch circuits capable of controlling the LED components with the specific color hues to an output terminal of a GPIO of the MCU, to make a plurality of keys of the keyboard illuminate with multiple color hues. Therefore, the LED illuminated keyboard according to the present invention brings in advantages of low cost and easy use. |
| US09224553B2 |
Keyswitch having a slidable translation mechanism
A keyswitch structure includes a keycap having a vertical connection member and a vertical-horizontal-translation mechanism, a baseplate having a vertical connection member, a slidable part having a vertical-horizontal-translation mechanism, and a restoring member. The vertical connection members are engaged for constraining the keycap to move relative to the baseplate substantially along a Z axis. The vertical-horizontal-translation mechanisms are engaged, so that the slidable part can perform a motion in response to a movement of the keycap toward the baseplate along the Z axis upon a pressing operation. The motion includes a displacement in a first direction. When the pressing operation is discontinued, a horizontal restoring force by the restoring member enables the slidable part to perform a motion that includes a displacement in a second direction to move the keycap away from the baseplate along the Z axis. The second direction is opposite to the first direction. |
| US09224552B2 |
Keyboard
An exemplary keyboard includes a keyboard shell; a supporting panel arranged to the keyboard shell and having a plurality of elastomer holes therein; a plurality of keycaps arranged on the lastomer holes; a plurality of keycap supports between the supporting panel and the corresponding keycaps; a plurality of elastomers being exposed out of the supporting panel; and an FPC sheet arranged under the supporting panel, and a key signal pads substrate arranged under the FPC sheet; the FPC sheet comprises a key signal pads layer with a plurality of upper key signal pads corresponding to the plurality of elastomers holes and a insulative layer with a plurality of connecting holes under the key signal pads layer; lower key signal pads corresponding to the upper key signal pads are arranged on the key signal pads substrate, the lower key signal pads opposite to the upper key signal pads. |
| US09224551B2 |
Trigger mechanism for hand held devices
A trigger mechanism includes soft stops and an associated method activates a switch in a device or apparatus. The trigger mechanism includes a trigger receptacle, a trigger disposed in the trigger receptacle and movable between an un-actuated and an actuated position by a user depressing the trigger, and a soft stop comprised of at least one projection positioned to engage a resilient elastomeric insert. Moving the trigger from the un-actuated to actuated position compresses the elastomeric insert with the projection and activates the switch to provide a tactile sensation of the switch activation to the user. The switch may be an electric switch disposed in a hand held device, such as a barcode scanner in some embodiments. |
| US09224549B2 |
Electric hand control, especially for electrically adjustable hospital and care beds
An electric hand control, especially for electrically adjustable hospital and care beds comprising a number of activation switches and a number of locking switches which can be activated by a locking element for cutting off the circuit for the activation switches so that the function belonging to it becomes inactive or locked. In an embodiment the locking switches are on-off switches, in another embodiment the locking switches are based on a read switch and a magnet, and in another embodiment the locking switches include a wave shaped disc mounted over two contact points. |
| US09224545B2 |
Electric contactor with flywheel drive and method of switching an electric contactor on and/or off
Disclosed is an electric contactor, in particular to be used in roadways, with the stator and an armature, the armature being connected with a contact region and being movable, during a switching-on operation and/or a switching-off operation of the contactor, from a first to a second position, the contact region being connected in at least one of these positions with a counter-contact region for closing an electric circuit, wherein a pushing device is connected with the armature which is rotational relative to the armature, wherein the pushing device at least temporarily pushes the armature supportively in the movement from the first to the second position of the switching-on and/or switching-off operation. |
| US09224542B2 |
Conductive layered structure, electrode and supercapacitor comprising the conductive layered structure, and method for preparing the conductive layered structure
Provided are a conductive layered structure including a DNA hydrogel and a composite layer disposed on the DNA hydrogel. The composite layer may include a polymer electrolyte and a conductive material. Also provided are an electrode and a supercapacitor, each including the conductive layered structure. Further provided is a method of manufacturing the conductive layered structure. Thus, a biocompatible, implantable electrode having a large specific surface area and a high conductivity may be manufactured through simple processes. |
| US09224540B2 |
Conductive polymer for solid electrolyte capacitor
[Problem] To provide a conductive polymer for solid electrolyte capacitor having outstanding solubility in solvents or dispersibility in solvents and which can produce a capacitor having outstanding capacitor characteristics in high-temperature environments.[Means Used to Resolve the Problem]A conductive polymer (A) for solid electrolyte capacitor containing substituted polythiophene (P) having thiophene repeating units (D) substituted by a least one type of group (s) selected from a group made up of a polyether group (a) indicated in general formula (1); an alkoxy group (b) having 1 to 15 carbon atoms; an alkoxy alkyl group (c) indicated in general formula (2); an alkyl group (d) having 1 to 15 carbon atoms; and a group (e) indicated in general formula (3); as well as thiophene repeating units (E) wherein the hydrogen atoms at position 3 and position 4 on the thiophene ring have been substituted by group (s) and sulfo group (—SO3H) (f). —(OR1)k—OR2 (1) —R3—OR4 (2) —R5—(OR6)m—OR7 (3) |
| US09224538B2 |
Solid electrolytic capacitor element, method for producing same, and tool for producing said solid electrolytic capacitor element
A method of manufacturing a solid electrolytic capacitor element including the steps of forming a semiconductor layer on a dielectric layer formed on surfaces of a plurality of anode bodies at one time. A step of forming a semiconductor layer includes repeating an electrolytic polymerization operation several times by applying a current from a power-feeding terminal that comes into contact with each anode body. Further, at least one of the electrolytic polymerization operations continuously applies a current while changing the amount of current between the range of 5 to 200 μA per power-feeding terminal. Also disclosed is a jig for electrolytic polymerization for forming the semiconductor layer including a plurality of power supply circuits (i) capable of continuously changing the amount of current between a lower limit and an upper limit; and a power-feeding terminals (ii). |
| US09224531B2 |
Power converter using orthogonal secondary windings
A power conversion device includes a magnetic core; and a plurality of windings surrounding portions of the magnetic core, including a first set of windings defining a first magnetic flux path, a second set of windings defining a second magnetic flux path magnetically orthogonal to the first magnetic flux path, and a third set of windings. Each winding of the third set of windings is configured to be excitable via both the first flux path and the second flux path. |
| US09224529B2 |
Multi-pole magnetization of a magnet
A method of magnetizing a multi-pole magnet includes the steps of obtaining a magnetization coil having a magnetization zone and a central axis, and positioning a magnet within the magnetization zone. The method also includes positioning at least one pair of shield bodies including a conductive material proximate the first and second surfaces of the magnet, with the shield bodies being aligned together to cover both sides of at least a first region of magnet and expose both sides of at least a second region of the magnet. The method further includes energizing the magnetization coil to generate an applied magnetic field within the magnetization zone that is sufficient to induce eddy currents in the at least one pair of shield bodies and to magnetize the exposed second region of the magnet. |
| US09224524B2 |
Cable termination device
A cable termination device includes a housing and an insertion opening for a cable in order to terminate the cable end so that it is safe to touch. The housing includes a sealing cap and a screw-on unit cooperating therewith. The insertion opening for receiving at least one cable end is provided on the screw-on unit, and the sealing cap has a rounded design toward the outer end. |
| US09224523B2 |
Inverter surge-resistant insulated wire
An inverter surge-resistant insulated wire, having at least one baked enamel layer around the outer periphery of a conductor, and an extrusion-coated resin layer at the outside of the baked enamel layer, wherein a total thickness of the baked enamel layer and the extrusion-coated resin layer is 50 μm or more, a thickness of the baked enamel layer is 60 μm or less, and a thickness of the extrusion-coated resin layer is 200 μm or less, wherein the minimum of tensile elastic modulus of the extrusion-coated resin layer at a range of 25 to 250° C. is 100 MPa or more, wherein a dielectric constant of an insulation layer having a combination of the baked enamel layer and the extrusion-coated resin layer is 3.5 or less at 25° C. and 5.0 or less at 250° C., and wherein a relation between dielectric constant (∈1′) of the baked enamel layer at 250° C. and dielectric constant (∈2′) of the extrusion-coated resin layer at 250° C. satisfies (∈2′/∈1′)>1. |
| US09224519B2 |
Holdout devices and cover assemblies and methods incorporating the same
A cover assembly for covering an elongate substrate includes a resilient, elastically expandable sleeve member and a holdout device. The sleeve member defines an axially extending inner sleeve passage. The holdout device includes a generally tubular core mounted in the inner sleeve passage. The core defines axially opposed end openings and a core passage extending therebetween to receive the elongate substrate. The core retains the sleeve member in a radially expanded state and can be withdrawn from the sleeve member to release the sleeve member to radially contract onto the elongate substrate. The holdout device is configured such that, after removal of the sleeve member from the core, the core can be laterally removed from the elongate substrate. |
| US09224518B2 |
Conductive composition, conductive member, conductive member production method, touch panel, and solar cell
The conductive composition contains at least (a) conductive metal fibers, and (b) at least one compound selected from a compound represented by the following Formula (1) and a compound represented by the following Formula (2). In Formula (1), each of R1 and R2 independently represents an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, or a halogen atom, and R3 represents an alkyl group or an aryl group. The compound represented by Formula (1) may include a structure that plural compounds represented by Formula (1) are linked to each other in a single molecule. In Formula (2), each of R4 and R5 independently represents an alkyl group. The compound represented by Formula (2) may include a structure that plural compounds represented by Formula (2) are linked to each other. |
| US09224506B2 |
Method of manufacturing nuclear fuel elements and a container for implementing such a method
A method of manufacturing nuclear fuel elements comprising the steps of placing nuclear fuel balls in the container made from ultra-porous material, applying a CVI to the container and removing the container. The container for manufacturing fuel elements comprising balls, and is produced from at least one ultra-porous material, for example carbon foam. |
| US09224505B2 |
Rotating high density fusion reactor for aneutronic and neutronic fusion
A fusion device produces fusion of neutral atoms and ions in an “aneutronic fusion” manner without neutrons as products utilizes strong ion-neutral coupling at high neutral densities. Ions and neutrals rotate together in a cylindrical chamber due to frequent collisions. High magnetic forces make the attainment of high rotation energy possible; the magnetic field in a medium can be set at very high values because of the absence of magnetic charges. The repeated acceleration by strong magnetic forces in the azimuthal direction makes possible very high ion velocity. Fusion takes place mainly between neutral particles. This approach can be applied to fusion with neutrons as well. Conventional fusion schemes and neutron sources can be realized using the principles described above in the generation of neutrals of high energies and densities. |
| US09224503B2 |
Memory test with in-line error correction code logic
Systems and methods are provided for reusing existing test structures and techniques used to test memory data to also test error correction code logic surrounding the memories. A method includes testing a memory of a computing system with an error code correction (ECC) logic block bypassed and a first data pattern applied. The method further includes testing the memory with the ECC logic block enabled and a second data pattern applied. The method also includes testing the memory with the ECC logic block enabled and the first data pattern applied. |
| US09224502B1 |
Techniques for detection and treating memory hole to local interconnect marginality defects
Techniques are presented for the determination and handling of defects in non-volatile arrays, particularly those having a 3D or BiCS type of arrangement where NAND strings run in a vertical direction relative to the substrate. In such an arrangement, the NAND strings are formed along memory holes and connected to global bit lines, and are separated into blocks or sub-blocks by vertical local interconnects, such as for source lines, and connected to a corresponding global line. To determine defects, an AC stress can be applied between the interconnects and the bit lines/NAND strings, after which a defect determination operation can be performed. This technique can also be implemented at the system level by having the controller instruct the memory to perform it as part of an adaptive defect determination operation. |
| US09224501B2 |
Method of operating memory device, memory device using the same, and memory system including the device
A memory device includes a control logic configured to control an overall operation of the memory device; a data storing unit configured to receive write data and write the write data according to control of the control logic and to output read data obtained by reading the write data; and a detector configured to repeatedly generate a comparison result based on the read data and a current determination result based on the comparison result and a previous determination result N times and to generate a final determination result according to a result of the repetition, where N is an integer of at least 2. The final determination result indicates whether an error has occurred and a type of the error. |
| US09224499B2 |
Pre-charge sample-and-hold circuit and method for pre-charging a sample-and-hold circuit
A precharge sample-and-hold circuit is provided that has an input terminal, a reference voltage terminal and an output terminal. The circuit has a sampling capacitance coupled between the input terminal and the reference voltage terminal. The sampling capacitance is configured to provide the sample voltage when the sample-and-hold circuit is in a holding mode. The circuit also has a cancellation capacitance. An analog/digital converter is provided that uses the precharge sample-and-hold circuit. A method to operate the precharge sample-and-hold circuit is also provided. |
| US09224498B2 |
Shift register unit, gate driving device for display and liquid crystal display
A shift register unit includes an input module for inputting a second clock signal or a third clock signal, and for inputting a frame starting signal, a first clock signal, a low voltage signal, a reset signal as well as a first signal and a second signal transmitted from a next neighboring shift register unit; a processing module for generating a gate driving signal and allowing a level of at least one of first junctions formed by at least two TFTs to be maintained at low level in a frame interval during which the second clock signal or the third clock signal inputted from the input module is maintained at low level; and an output module for transmitting the gate driving signal generated by the processing module. |
| US09224495B2 |
Nonvolatile memory device and method detecting defective word line
The inventive concept relates to a nonvolatile memory device and a method of detecting a defective word line. The method includes executing a defective word line detection operation using a program/erase voltage applied to a selected word line, wherein the defective word line detection operation determines whether or not the selected word line is defective in relation to respective word line voltage responses for the first and second segments during execution of the program/erase operation. |
| US09224494B2 |
Erase speed adjustment for endurance of non-volatile storage
Techniques are disclosed herein for erasing non-volatile storage. The erase has two or more phases. The first phase includes erasing a group of non-volatile storage elements at a first speed until the group of non-volatile storage elements pass a first verify level. The second phase is performed after the group of non-volatile storage elements pass the first verify level. The second phase includes erasing the group of non-volatile storage elements at a second speed that is less than the first speed until the group of non-volatile storage elements pass a second verify level that is lower than the first verify level. Erasing at the first speed results in a fast erase without significant risk of over-erasing the storage elements. Erasing at the second speed during the second phase prevents or reduces over-erasure which could damage the storage elements. |
| US09224493B2 |
Nonvolatile memory device and read method thereof
A nonvolatile memory device has improved reliability by compensating a threshold voltage of a flash memory cell. A nonvolatile memory device includes a memory cell array and a voltage generator for supplying a select read voltage to a select word line and an unselect read voltage to unselected word lines when a read operation is performed, and supplying a verify voltage to a select word line and the unselect read voltage to unselected word lines when a program operation is performed. The voltage generator supplies a first unselect read voltage to at least one between an upper word line and a lower word line adjacent to the select word line when the program operation is performed, and supplies a second unselected read voltage to at least one between the upper word line and the lower word line adjacent to the select word line when the read operation is performed. |
| US09224492B1 |
Memory management method, memory storage device and memory controlling circuit unit
An memory management method, a memory storage device and a memory controlling circuit unit are provided. The method comprises: obtaining a threshold voltage distribution of memory cells, wherein the threshold voltage distribution comprises a plurality of states, and each of the states represents a storage status; determining whether a width of a gap window between two neighboring states among the states is less than a threshold value; and if the width of the gap window is less than the threshold value, eliminating one of the two neighboring states. |
| US09224484B2 |
Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device
A first non-selected word line including a word line adjacent to a selected word line is applied with a first write pass voltage. Furthermore, a second non-selected word line which is a non-selected word line excluding the first non-selected word line is applied with a second write pass voltage smaller than a program voltage. A control circuit, in the write operation, raises the first write pass voltage toward a first target value by executing a voltage raising operation having a first voltage rise width, X times, and raises the second write pass voltage toward a second target value by executing a voltage raising operation having a second voltage rise width, Y times. The first voltage rise width is larger than the second voltage rise width, and X times is fewer than Y times. |
| US09224483B2 |
Nonvolatile memory device, system and programming method with dynamic verification mode selection
Nonvolatile memory devices, memory systems and related methods of operating nonvolatile memory devices are presented. During a programming operation, the nonvolatile memory device is capable of using bit line forcing, and is also capable of selecting a verification mode for use during a verification operation from a group of verification modes on the basis of an evaluated programming condition. |
| US09224482B2 |
Hot-carrier injection programmable memory and method of programming such a memory
The present disclosure relates to a memory comprising at least one word line comprising a row of split gate memory cells each comprising a selection transistor section comprising a selection gate and a floating-gate transistor section comprising a floating gate and a control gate. According to the present disclosure, the memory comprises a source plane common to the memory cells of the word line, to collect programming currents passing through memory cells during their programming, and the selection transistor sections of the memory cells are connected to the source plane. A programming current control circuit is configured to control the programming current passing through the memory cells by acting on a selection voltage applied to a selection line. |
| US09224481B2 |
Semiconductor storage device
A semiconductor storage device restraining the variation in threshold voltage of a memory unit is provided. The steps of the programming method for a flash memory include: setting a bit line to a program voltage or a program-protection voltage; applying a program pulse to the selected page; and verifying the programming of the selected page. Also, the steps further include: when the verification result indicates that there is a failed-shift memory cell which was passed previously but is failed presently, setting the voltage of the bit line of the failed shift memory to a mitigation voltage for mitigating the voltage of the next program pulse. |
| US09224480B2 |
Dual-function read/write cache for programmable non-volatile memory
A non-volatile memory, such as a one-time programmable memory, with a dual purpose read/write cache. The read/write cache is used as a write cache during programming, and stores the data to be written for a full row of the memory array. The programming operation simultaneously programs all cells in the selected row based on the contents of the write cache. In subsequent read operations, the read/write cache is used as a read cache. A full row of the array is simultaneously read in a read access, and the contents of that row are stored in the read cache. Subsequent access to that same row causes the data to be read from the read cache rather than requiring access of the array. |
| US09224477B2 |
Apparatuses and methods for coupling load current to a common source
Apparatuses and methods are disclosed, including an apparatus with a string of charge storage devices coupled to a common source, a first switch coupled between the string of charge storage devices and a load current source, and a second switch coupled between the load current source and the common source. Additional apparatuses and methods are described. |
| US09224476B2 |
Semiconductor memory device including a NAND string
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a first NAND string and a second NAND string are connected to a bit line. One of the first and second NAND strings is selected by first to fourth select memory cells. At the write time, data is written in a first memory cell of the first NAND string selected by of the first to fourth select memory cells, then data is written in a second memory cell of the second NAND string selected at the same time as the first memory cell, data is written in a third memory cell adjacent to the first memory cell of the first NAND string and finally data is written in a fourth memory cell of the second NAND string selected at the same time as the third memory cell. |
| US09224471B2 |
Stabilization of resistive memory
The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods including stabilization of resistive memory. A number of embodiments include applying a programming signal to a resistive memory cell, wherein the programming signal includes a first portion having a first polarity and a second portion having a second polarity, wherein the second polarity is opposite the first polarity. |
| US09224467B2 |
Resistance-based memory having two-diode access device
A resistance-based memory includes a two-diode access device. In a particular embodiment, a method includes biasing a bit line with a first voltage. The method further includes biasing the sense line with a second voltage. Biasing the bit line and biasing the sense line generates a current through a resistance-based memory element and through one of a first diode and a second diode. A cathode of the first diode is coupled to the bit line and an anode of the second diode is coupled to the sense line. |
| US09224461B2 |
Low voltage embedded memory having cationic-based conductive oxide element
Low voltage embedded memory having cationic-based conductive oxide elements is described. For example, a material layer stack for a memory element includes a first conductive electrode. A cationic-based conductive oxide layer is disposed on the first conductive electrode. The cationic-based conductive oxide layer has a plurality of cation vacancies therein. A second electrode is disposed on the cationic-based conductive oxide layer. |
| US09224460B2 |
Solid memory
Recording and erasing of data in PRAM have hitherto been performed based on a change in physical characteristics caused by primary phase-transformation of a crystalline state and an amorphous state of a chalcogen compound including Te which serves as a recording material. Since, however, a recording thin film is formed of a polycrystal but not a single crystal, a variation in resistance values occurs and a change in volume caused upon phase-transition has placed a limit on the number of times of readout of the record. In one embodiment, the above problem is solved by preparing a solid memory having a superlattice structure with a thin film containing Sb and a thin film containing Te. The solid memory can realize the number of times of repeated recording and erasing of 1015. |
| US09224458B2 |
Bipolar switching memory cell with built-in “on” state rectifying current-voltage characteristics
A memory array is disclosed having bipolar current-voltage (IV) resistive random access memory cells with built-in “on” state rectifying IV characteristics. In one embodiment, a bipolar switching resistive random access memory cell may have a metal/solid electrolyte/semiconductor stack that forms a Schottky diode when switched to the “on” state. In another embodiment, a bipolar switching resistive random access memory cell may have a metal/solid electrolyte/tunnel barrier/electrode stack that forms a metal-insulator-metal device when switched to the “on” state. Methods of operating the memory array are also disclosed. |
| US09224454B2 |
Multi-channel physical interfaces and methods for static random access memory devices
An integrated circuit (IC) device can include a static random access memory (SRAM) section comprising a plurality of memory banks; and an interface comprising physical connections for more than eight memory channels, the connections for each memory channel including an address section including connections for SRAM control inputs and a complete address to access the memory banks, and a data section including data inputs and outputs (data IOs) to transfer data for one memory bank. |
| US09224451B2 |
Information processing system including semiconductor device having self-refresh mode
A method for operating a dynamic random access memory device includes providing a clock signal to a clock terminal of the dynamic random access memory device, selecting one of a first operating mode and a second operating mode of the dynamic random access memory device, the first operating mode, when selected, corresponding to the DRAM periodically refreshing a first number of word lines, and the second operating mode, when selected, corresponding to the DRAM periodically refreshing a second number of word lines different from the first number, and providing a self-refresh command to a command terminal of the dynamic random access memory device. |
| US09224448B2 |
Nano-electro-mechanical based memory
A non-volatile memory arrangement comprising a plurality of cells is disclosed. In one aspect, each cell comprises a memory element and a read selector in series. Further, the memory element is a nano-electro-mechanical switch comprising an anchor, a beam fixed to the anchor, a first and second control gate, for controlling the position of the beam, a first output node against which the beam can be positioned. The cell also comprises a read selector comprising a first selector terminal, a second selector terminal, the first selector terminal connected to the first output node. The first respectively second control gates of switches of a same word are connected together by a first respectively second write word line serving as control gate. |
| US09224447B2 |
General structure for computational random access memory (CRAM)
A cell array includes a logic connection line, a plurality of bit selection lines, and a plurality of cells. Each cell includes a memory element connected to a respective bit selection line and a logic switching element that selectively connects the memory element to the logic connection line. When logic switching elements of multiple separate cells connect their respective memory elements to the logic connection line, the memory elements connected to the logic connection line operate as a logic device with an output of the logic device stored in one of the memory elements. |
| US09224445B2 |
Semiconductor memory apparatus with main memory blocks and redundant memory blocks sharing a common global data line
A semiconductor memory apparatus includes: a memory area including a plurality of memory banks having main memory areas configured to transmit and receive data to and from the outside through a plurality of global data lines, respectively, and one or more redundancy memory areas configured to use any one of the global data lines as a common global data line; and a controller configured to control data to be transmitted and received through the common global data line, as a redundancy program mode, a redundancy read mode, or a redundancy erase mode is enabled. |
| US09224442B2 |
System and method to dynamically determine a timing parameter of a memory device
A particular method includes receiving, from a processor, a first memory access request at a memory device. The method also includes processing the first memory access request based on a timing parameter of the memory device. The method further includes receiving, from the processor, a second memory access request at the memory device. The method also includes modifying a timing parameter of the memory device based on addresses identified by the first memory access request and the second memory access request to produce a modified timing parameter. The method further includes processing the second memory access request based on the modified timing parameter. |
| US09224441B2 |
Nonvolatile memory device using variable resistive element and memory system having the same
A nonvolatile memory device, which has an improved read reliability through a refresh operation, and a memory system, are provided. The nonvolatile memory device includes a resistive memory cell, a reference resistor corresponding to the resistive memory cell, a reference sense amplifier electrically connected to the reference resistor and configured to change a transition time of an output value of the reference resistor, and a refresh request signal generator configured to output the refresh request signal for the resistive memory cell when the transition time of an output value of the reference resistor is in a preset refresh requiring period. |
| US09224440B2 |
Non-volatile memory, system, and method
A non volatile memory device includes a first buffer register configured to receive and store the data to be stored into the memory device provided via a memory bus. A command window is activatable for interposing itself for access to a memory matrix between the first buffer element and the memory matrix. The command window includes a second buffer element that stores data stored in or to be stored into a group of memory elements. A first data transfer means executes a first transfer of the data stored in the second buffer register into the first buffer register during a first phase of a data write operation started by the reception of a first command. A second data transfer means receives the data provided by the memory bus and modifies, based on the received data, the data stored in the first buffer register during a second phase of the data write operation started by the reception of a second command. The first transfer means execute a second transfer of the modified data stored in the first buffer register into the second buffer register during a third phase of the data write operation. The second transfer is executed in response to the reception of a signal received by the memory bus together with the second command. |
| US09224431B2 |
Stub minimization using duplicate sets of signal terminals
A microelectronic structure has active elements defining a storage array, and address inputs for receipt of address information specifying locations within the storage array. The structure has a first surface and can have terminals exposed at the first surface. The terminals may include first terminals and the structure may be configured to transfer address information received at the first terminals to the address inputs. Each first terminal can have a signal assignment which includes one or more of the address inputs. The first terminals are disposed on first and second opposite sides of a theoretical plane normal to the first surface, wherein the signal assignments of the first terminals disposed on the first side are a mirror image of the signal assignments of the first terminals disposed on the second side of the theoretical plane. |
| US09224427B2 |
Rating media item recommendations using recommendation paths and/or media item usage
A media item recommendation rating system and method are provided. A recommendation rating for media items is established and dynamically updated in response to media items being recommended to other users. A recommendation server or other device receives a report of a media item recommendation and updates a recommendation rating in response. The recommendation rating may also be updated based on how often a recommended media item is used or played. Thus, a media item's recommendation rating is affected by events relating to its recommendation, as opposed simple play-based ratings that are updated on any play action regardless of whether related to a recommendation or not. Simple play-based ratings do not distinguish between ordinary usages or plays and those resulting from recommendations. |
| US09224422B2 |
Control method and system
A control method of controlling a disk storage unit, includes: obtaining, by a computer, for a plurality of sectors allocated on a disk included in the disk storage unit, track identifying information that identifies a track to which sectors belong, in a first order starting from a first start sector; and storing, if first track identifying information obtained in a first sector of the plurality of sectors does not match second track identifying information obtained in a second sector of the plurality of sectors immediately before the first sector, a data length from the first start sector to the second sector in a storage unit. |
| US09224420B1 |
Syncmark detection failure recovery system
An apparatus for finding a syncmark in a data sector includes a syncmark detection circuit, decoder, fragment information table and syncmark recovery circuit. The syncmark detection circuit is operable to detect a syncmark in each of a number of fragments of the data sector and to compute a syncmark quality for each of the syncmarks. The decoder is operable to apply a data decoding algorithm to encoded data for the data sector. The encoded data has start points identified by the syncmark in each of the fragments. The fragment information table stores the syncmark quality for each of the syncmarks. The syncmark recovery sweeps the start points over search ranges for selected fragments for which the syncmark detection circuit failed to detect the syncmark and which have a lower syncmark quality than others of the fragments. |
| US09224419B1 |
Data detector for detecting data in presence of control signals
Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with a detector that processes signals read from a storage device are described. According to one embodiment, the detector includes a signal estimator configured to generate an estimate of a control signal by determining characteristics of the control signal from a read signal. The read signal includes the data signal and the control signal embedded together. The signal estimator is configured to generate the estimate of the control signal as a function of the characteristics. The detector includes a cancellation unit configured to produce the data signal by cancelling the estimate of the control signal from the read signal. |
| US09224414B2 |
Method for manufacture of magnetic recording medium and magnetic recording and reproduction device
A method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium includes the steps of depositing a magnetic layer on at least one of surfaces of a nonmagnetic substrate and injecting atoms partially in the magnetic layer, thereby demagnetizing parts having admitted the injected atoms or imparting amorphousness thereto, to form a magnetically separated magnetic recording pattern. The step of injecting includes the steps of applying resist to the at least one surface subsequent to the step of depositing, partially decreasing a thickness of the resist and irradiating a surface of the resist with atoms, thereby inducing partial injection of the atoms to the magnetic layer through portions of the resist decreased in thickness. |
| US09224413B2 |
Magnetic recording medium and method of manufacturing the same
According to one embodiment, a magnetic recording medium including a substrate and a magnetic recording layer formed on the substrate and including a plurality of projections is obtained. The array of the plurality of projections includes a plurality of domains in which the projections are regularly arranged, and a boundary region between the domains, in which the projections are irregularly arranged. The boundary region is formed along a perpendicular bisector of a line connecting the barycenters of adjacent projections. |
| US09224410B1 |
Suspension having microactuator grounded to opposite side of metal support layer
In a dual stage actuated suspension, the conductive adhesive that forms the ground connection bridge from the ground electrode of the PZT microactuator to the grounded stainless steel layer of the flexure, extends from the ground electrode of the PZT around an edge of the stainless steel layer and to a side of the stainless steel layer that is opposite the side of the stainless steel layer to which the PZT is mounted. An aperture in the load beam allows a stream of hot air during the epoxy cure step to be directed directly onto the conductive epoxy ground connection bridge, thus allowing that conductive epoxy ground connection to be reliably and completely cured. |
| US09224408B1 |
Suspension with spring bias acting on conductive adhesive bond for improved reliability
In an electrical connection to an electrical component in a disk drive suspension, an electrical lead is adhered to a component using conductive adhesive and is also mechanically pressed up against the component using a bias mechanism. The bias mechanism may be a spring finger that is welded to the suspension, or it may be a stainless steel finger that is formed integrally with the trace gimbal assembly. The resulting bias force that presses the contact against the component surface reduces the small failure rate that can occur when the conductive adhesive separates from the component's surface as a result of stress such as induced by thermal cycling. |
| US09224405B2 |
Voice activity detection/silence suppression system
A Voice Activity Detection/Silence Suppression (VAD/SS) system is connected to a channel of a transmission pipe. The channel provides a pathway for the transmission of energy. A method for operating a VAD/SS system includes detecting the energy on the channel, and activating or suppressing activation of the VAD/SS system depending upon the nature of the energy detected on the channel. |
| US09224404B2 |
Dynamic audio processing parameters with automatic speech recognition
A communication system includes a front-end audio gateway or bridge and a hands-free device. An automatic speech recognition platform accessible to the hands-free device provides or makes available one or more preprocessing schemes and/or acoustic models to the front-end audio gateway or bridge. The preprocessing schemes or acoustic models can be identified by or provided before a connection is established between the front-end audio gateway and the automatic speech recognition platform, when a connection occurs between the front-end audio gateway and the automatic speech recognition platform, and/or during a speech recognition session. |
| US09224403B2 |
Selective bass post filter
In one aspect, the invention provides an audio encoding method characterized by a decision being made as to whether the device which will decode the resulting bit stream should apply post filtering including attenuation of interharmonic noise. Hence, the decision whether to use the post filter, which is encoded in the bit stream, is taken separately from the decision as to the most suitable coding mode. In another aspect, there is provided an audio decoding method with a decoding step followed by a post-filtering step, including interharmonic noise attenuation, and being characterized in a step of disabling the post filter in accordance with post filtering information encoded in the bit stream signal. Such a method is well suited for mixed-origin audio signals by virtue of its capability to deactivate the post filter in dependence of the post filtering information only, hence independently of factors such as the current coding mode. |
| US09224402B2 |
Wideband speech parameterization for high quality synthesis, transformation and quantization
A method for speech parameterization and coding of a continuous speech signal. The method comprises dividing said speech signal into a plurality of speech frames, and for each one of the plurality of speech frames, modeling said speech frame by a first harmonic modeling to produce a plurality of harmonic model parameters, reconstructing an estimated frame signal from the plurality of harmonic model parameters, subtracting the estimated frame signal from the speech frame to produce a harmonic model residual, performing at least one second harmonic modeling analysis on the first harmonic model residual to determine at least one set of second harmonic model components, removing the at least one set of second harmonic model components from the first harmonic model residual to produce a harmonically-filtered residual signal, and processing the harmonically-filtered residual signal with analysis by synthesis techniques to produce vectors of codebook indices and corresponding gains. |
| US09224396B2 |
Enhanced context awareness for speech recognition
A method comprising establishing a call connection (200) between at least a first and a second terminal; monitoring (202), by at least the first terminal, a conversation during the call in order to detect (204) at least one predetermined context-related keyword repeated in at least the first and the second terminal; and in response to detecting (210) at least one repeated predetermined context-related keyword, providing an indication (212, 214, 216) about the detected context-related keyword to a user of at least the first terminal, said indication enabling opening an application linked to said context-related keyword. |
| US09224395B2 |
Voice detection for automatic volume controls and voice sensors
A voice detection system and method for automatic volume controls and voice sensors is disclosed. More specifically, the invention addresses a situation where the user's own voice undesirably affects the functionality of an automatic volume control for a two-way communication device, such as a cellular telephone. In addition, the invention proposes solutions wherein one (voice) microphone is employed and also, when two (voice and noise) microphones are employed. Further, an algorithm is disclosed that addresses the issue concerning the user's own voice in an AVC pertaining to the two microphone solution. Yet further, a method herein is disclosed that detects the presence of voice in a single non-selective (noise) microphone. |
| US09224383B2 |
Unsupervised language model adaptation for automated speech scoring
Systems and methods are provided for generating a transcript of a speech sample response to a test question. The speech sample response to the test question is provided to a language model, where the language model is configured to perform an automated speech recognition function. The language model is adapted to the test question to improve the automated speech recognition function by providing to the language model automated speech recognition data related to the test question, Internet data related to the test question, or human-generated transcript data related to the test question. The transcript of the speech sample is generated using the adapted language model. |
| US09224382B2 |
Noise cancellation
A noise cancellation signal is generated by generating an ambient noise signal, representing ambient noise, and generating a noise cancellation signal, by applying the ambient noise signal to an feedforward filter, where the feedforward filter comprises a high-pass filter having an adjustable cut-off frequency, and by applying a controllable gain. The noise cancellation signal is then applied to a loudspeaker, to generate a sound to at least partially cancel the ambient noise. An error signal is generated, representing unwanted sound in the region of the loudspeaker. The phase of the ambient noise signal is compared to a phase of the error signal, and the gain is controlled on the basis of a result of the comparison, taking account of a phase shift introduced by the high-pass filter when performing the comparison. |
| US09224378B2 |
Systems and methods thereof for determining a virtual momentum based on user input
A computer-implemented method including generating a user interface implemented on a touch-sensitive display configured to generate a virtual dual flywheel system for modulating a lifecycle of a musical note or chord. The dual flywheel system (DFS) includes a first VFS and a second VFS, where the first virtual flywheel system series connected to the second virtual flywheel system such that an output of the first virtual flywheel system is coupled to an input of the second virtual flywheel system. Upon receiving a user input on the user interface, the dual flywheel system determines a virtual momentum for the first virtual flywheel based on the user input and a predetermined mass coefficient of the first virtual flywheel system, and determines a virtual momentum for the second virtual flywheel based on the virtual momentum of the first virtual flywheel system and a predetermined mass coefficient of the second virtual flywheel. |
| US09224375B1 |
Musical modification effects
Systems, including methods and apparatus, for applying audio effects to a non-ambient signal, based at least in part on information received in an ambient audio signal. Exemplary effects that can be applied using the present teachings include generation of harmony notes, pitch-correction of melody notes, and tempo-based effects that rely on beat detection. |
| US09224374B2 |
Methods and devices for audio processing
An audio processing method for use in a server, includes: receiving an audio file uploaded from a terminal that has downloaded a first accompaniment music file of a song from the server, the audio file being generated by the terminal by encoding collected audio information relating to singing a portion of the song and the first accompaniment music file; and marking an unmarked, audio mixing portion in the received audio file as a portion that has been sung, to generate a second accompaniment music file of the song. |
| US09224372B1 |
Cymbal mounting assembly
A cymbal mounting assembly that has housing with a constant diameter through hole. A mounting rod of a music stand is to be conducted through the through hole with therebeing a loose fit between the mounting rod and the housing. A cymbal is loosely mounted on the housing so it can freely pivot or rock. The assembly includes a tightening nut with a friction feature included to adjust the amount of clamping force being applied to the cymbal. This friction feature prevents unauthorized adjusting of the rocking or pivoting motion (action) of the cymbal and this preselected amount of action by the drummer is maintained between playing locations and is only changed when the drummer decides to do so. |
| US09224363B2 |
Method and apparatus for image data transformation
Image data is transformed for display on a target display. A sigmoidal transfer function provides a free parameter controlling min-tone contrast. The transfer function may be dynamically adjusted to accommodate changing ambient lighting conditions. The transformation may be selected so as to automatically adapt image data for display on a target display in a way that substantially preserves creative intent embodied in the image data. The image data may be video data. |
| US09224357B2 |
Apparatus and method for compensating image of display device
An apparatus and method for compensating an image of a display device are disclosed. The image compensation apparatus of a display device comprises a scatterometer configured to analyze luminance of a display image according to a test initialization voltage and a test data voltage applied to a plurality of pixels and to measure a deviation of a threshold voltage of a driving transistor of the plurality of pixels; a voltage controller configured to divide the display panel into a predetermined area according to a deviation of a threshold voltage of the driving transistor and to calculate different initialization voltages that initialize driving of pixels included in the area on a predetermined area basis; and an initialization voltage supplier configured to apply a corresponding initialization voltage calculated in the voltage controller to the plurality of pixels included in the predetermined area. |
| US09224345B2 |
Liquid crystal display and driving method thereof
A liquid crystal display comprises: a liquid crystal panel; a panel driver for driving the liquid crystal panel; a backlight unit providing light to the liquid crystal panel, and comprising light emitting sources having light emitting diodes connected in series and driving transistors driving the light emitting sources; and a backlight unit driver comprising a transistor driver that controls the driving transistors, a DC power source that supplies DC power to the light emitting sources, and a power controller that drives the DC power source, and enables or disables an output of the DC power source with reference to signals supplied to the driving transistors. |
| US09224342B2 |
Approach to adjust driving waveforms for a display device
The present invention is directed to methods for adjusting or selecting driving waveforms in order to achieve a consistent optical performance of a display device. When a method of the present invention is applied, even if there are changes in the display medium due to temperature variation, photo-exposure or aging, the optical performance can be maintained at a desired level. |
| US09224341B2 |
Color display based on spatial clustering
A color display has a monochrome modulator. An active area of the modulator is illuminated by an array of light sources. The light sources include light sources of three or more colors. The intensities of the light sources may be adjusted to project desired luminance patterns on an active area of the modulator. In a fast field sequential method different colors are projected sequentially. The modulator is set to modulate the projected luminance patterns to display a desired image. In a slow field sequential method, colors are projected simultaneously and the modulator is set to modulate most important colors in the image. |
| US09224339B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
A liquid crystal display device comprising a backlight and a pixel portion including first to 2n-th scan lines, wherein, in a first case of expressing a color image, first pixels controlled by the first to n-th scan lines are configured to express a first image using at least one of first to third hues supplied in a first rotating order, and second pixels controlled by the (n+1)-th to 2n-th scan lines are configured to express a second image using at least one of the first to third hues supplied in a second rotating order, wherein, in a second case of expressing a monochrome image, the first and second pixels controlled by the first to 2n-th scan lines are configured to express the monochrome image by external light reflected by the reflective pixel electrode, and wherein the first rotating order is different from the second rotating order. |
| US09224338B2 |
Driving methods for electrophoretic displays
The driving system and methods of the present invention enable interruption of updating images. The system and methods have the advantage that they not only can speed up the updating process when more than one command is received consecutively in a short period of time, but also can provide a more smooth transition visually during the updating process. |
| US09224337B2 |
Compensation of threshold voltage in driving transistor of organic light emitting diode display device
The organic light emitting diode display device comprising a display panel a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix form, each of the pixels comprising: a driving TFT including a gate electrode coupled to a first node, a source electrode coupled to a second node, and a drain electrode coupled to a high-potential voltage line; an organic light emitting diode including an anode coupled to the second node and a cathode coupled to a low-potential voltage line; a first TFT supplying a data voltage to the first node in response to a scan signal; a initialization control circuit initializing the first node to a first reference voltage and the second node or the third node to a second reference voltage in response to a initialization signal and an emission signal; and capacitors. |
| US09224329B2 |
Organic light emitting diode display device and method for driving the same
An OLED display device is provided. The OLED display device includes a first transistor connected to a data line and a first node; a second transistor connected to the first node and a second node; a third transistor connected to a reference voltage terminal and a third node; a fourth transistor connected to an initialization voltage terminal and the second node; a fifth transistor connected to the reference voltage terminal and the second node; a driving transistor; and an OLED connected to a low-level power supply voltage terminal and the second node. The driving transistor has a source connected to the second node, a gate connected to the third node, and a drain connected to a high-level power supply voltage terminal. |
| US09224328B2 |
Organic electro luminescence display device and driving method thereof
A method for controlling an organic electro luminescence display device, the device including a display panel including a plurality of data lines that cross a plurality of scan lines, and including electro luminescence elements arranged at intersections of the plurality of data lines and the plurality of scan lines; a pre-charge driver configured to select one of a plurality of pre-charge current levels in accordance with a gray level of incoming data, and supply a pre-charge current, corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of pre-charge current levels, to the electro luminescence elements via the plurality of data lines prior to supplying a data current, corresponding to the incoming data, to the electro luminescence elements, so as to pre-charge the electro luminescence elements; and a data driver configured to subsequently supply the data current to the pre-charged electro luminescence elements via the plurality of data lines. |
| US09224325B1 |
Method of driving active matrix displays
Method of writing a pixel data into a pixel element having at least one switching transistor, at least one nonlinear element, and at least one capacitive element. The method includes (1) setting both the semiconductor channel of the at least one switching transistor and the at least one nonlinear element into conducting states, and causing a voltage applied across the at least one capacitive element while the semiconductor channel of the at least one switching transistor maintains at conducting state and the at least one nonlinear element maintains at conducting state; and (2) after said causing, driving the at least one nonlinear element into non-conducting state from conducting state, and driving the semiconductor channel of the at least one switching transistor into non-conducting state from conducting state for settling the semiconductor channel into non-conducting state after the at least one nonlinear element is settled into non-conducting state. |
| US09224323B2 |
Systems and methods for increasing spatial or temporal resolution for dual modulated display systems
Dual modulation display systems comprising a first modulation layer and a second modulation layer are disclosed, such that the first modulation layer and the second modulation layer are offset by a desired distance. In one embodiment, the offset distance may be an actual spatial offset distance in one, two or a preferred direction. In another embodiment, the offset distance may be a rotational offset between the two layers. In yet another embodiment, the offset may be a temporal offset between the images appearing on the first modulation layer and the second modulation layer. In yet another embodiment, the offset may be a combination of spatial, rotational and/or temporal offsets. The display system may comprise a controller capable of mapping input image data onto the first and second modulation layers via intermediate signals and the intermediate signals may be some function of the offset. |
| US09224322B2 |
Visually passing data through video
A method and a system involve the insertion of digital data into a number of video frames of a video stream, such that the video frames contain both video content and the inserted digital data. The video, including the inserted digital data is then visually conveyed to and received by an augmented reality device without the use of a network connection. In the augmented reality device, the digital data is detected, processed and used to provide computer-generated data and/or information. The computer-generated data and/or information is then presented on a display associated with the augmented reality device or otherwise reproduced through the augmented reality device, where the computer-generated data and/or information supplements the video content so as to enhance the viewing experience of the augmented reality device user. |
| US09224321B2 |
Projector for performing trapezoidal distortion correction and method of controlling projector
A projector includes a deformation ratio calculating unit that calculates a first deformation ratio on a reference point set in a first image when performing a correction process with respect to a first image data, a deformation ratio determination unit that determines a second deformation ratio of the first image based on the first deformation ratio calculated by the deformation ratio calculation unit, a synthesis image generation unit that generates synthesis image data indicating a synthesis image which is generated by synthesizing a second image indicated by second image data and the first image with a size changed based on the second deformation ratio, a correction unit that performs a correction process with respect to the synthesis image data, and a projection unit that projects the synthesis image based on the synthesis image data which is subjected to the correction process. |
| US09224318B2 |
Light source module
A light source module including an optical film, a bottom reflector, a top reflector, a light converging element, and a light emitting element is provided. The bottom reflector is located under the optical film. The top reflector and the light converging element are located at opposite sides of the optical film. The optical film, the bottom reflector, the top reflector, and the light converging element enclose a space. The light converging element has a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion. The light emitting element is disposed in the space and has an optical axis direction, where the third portion has a first surface facing the first portion, a first angle having a range of 5-10 degrees is included between the optical axis direction and a connection line between the light emitting element and one end of the first surface away from the light emitting element. |
| US09224317B2 |
Signalling apparatus and sensor apparatus
A signaling device may include a first signaling illuminant; a second signaling illuminant; and a control device having at least one information input for coupling to an information source, wherein the control device is configured to drive the first signaling illuminant and the second signaling illuminant in a manner dependent on the signal at the information input in order to set one of four states, wherein only the first signaling illuminant is switched on in the first state, only the second signaling illuminant is switched on in the second state, the first signaling illuminant and the second signaling illuminant are switched on in the third state, wherein the first signaling illuminant and the second signaling illuminant are switched off in the fourth state, wherein the control device is configured to operate the first signaling illuminant and the second signaling illuminant in a series circuit in the third state. |
| US09224313B2 |
Marking device for switchgear cabinets and other electrical equipment
An identification device for switch cabinets and other electrical devices includes at least one identification plate and a carrier profile configured to receive the identification plate. The carrier profile further includes a rear wall, a first and second lateral holding wall, and at least one support web. The first and second lateral holding walls extend forwards from the rear wall. The support web extends traversely to at least one holding wall and is configured to support the identification plate. At least one misplacement guard is provided and is configured to prevent the identification plate from being placed below the support web when mounted. |
| US09224311B2 |
Combining data sources to provide accurate effort monitoring
By combining data from different sensors (on fitness device, mobile smartphone, smart clothing, other devices or people in same location), an intelligent system provides a better indicator of an individual's physical effort, using rich data sources to enhance quantified metrics such as distance/pace/altitude gain, to provide a clearer picture of an individual's exercise and activity. |
| US09224310B2 |
Self-exploration therapeutic assembly and method
A self-exploration assembly includes a base and a plurality of layers each shaped so that when the plurality of layers are coupled to the base in a first orientation, the plurality of layers together resemble a bulbous shape, and, when the plurality of layers are coupled to the base in a second orientation, the plurality of petals resemble a flower shape. |
| US09224309B2 |
Teaching system for improving information retention based on brain-state monitoring
A computer-based education system monitors brain activity of the student to produce an “engagement” signal that may be compared against a dynamic threshold to identify a plurality of points demarcating periods of declining attention. These points are used to trigger modifications to the presentation of the educational program to promote student retention of the present information. |
| US09224308B2 |
Foldable flight simulator
The subject invention provides a flight simulator, having a folded state and an unfolded state, having a chassis, an inner display and support that may be stowed or deployed, and an outer display and support that may be stowed or deployed. |
| US09224307B2 |
Methods and systems for managing a training arena for training an operator of a host vehicle
A method for managing a training arena for training an operator of a host vehicle includes the procedures of generating a training arena model, updating the training arena model according to gathered real time training arena data, and managing the selected virtual entity for simulating a real entity. The training arena model is updated according to the selected virtual entity data, deriving from the training arena model an operator arena model, producing a representation of the operator arena model. The representation of the operator arena model is presented to the operator and the selected virtual entity is managed according to the training arena model as would have been detected and as could have been perceived by the selected virtual entity were the virtual entities real. |
| US09224302B1 |
Four dimensional flight management with time control system and related method
A four dimensional time controlled flight management system (4DFMS) and related method generate an initial descent profile for an aircraft in flight. The initial descent profile is planned in compliance with a 1) a published arrival procedure at an airport, 2) a fuel-efficient optimized profile descent (OPD), and a required time of arrival (RTA) constraint at a metering waypoint on the published arrival. The 4DFMS maintains awareness of the changing wind conditions during cruise mode and descent mode of operation and triggers a replan of the descent profile should compliance fall outside of a 95% confidence level at a six second compliance requirement in the descent mode. The system continuously generates a total time error at the metering waypoint by projecting estimated time of arrivals at active waypoints to determine accurate altitude, airspeed, and time compliance at the metering waypoint. |
| US09224300B2 |
Apparatus and method for controlling autonomous vehicle platooning
An apparatus and method for controlling autonomous vehicle platooning are disclosed. The apparatus for controlling autonomous vehicle platooning includes a frame format configuration unit, a synchronization unit, and a contention window assignment unit. The frame format configuration unit configures the format of a frame included in a communication channel applicable to the control of autonomous vehicle platooning. The synchronization unit synchronizes a plurality of vehicles with one another using the frame so that the vehicles can perform the autonomous vehicle platooning. The contention window assignment unit assigns the different contention window values of a slot for management of the frame to the respective synchronized vehicles. The control is performed using the assigned contention window values so that the vehicles can participate in the autonomous vehicle platooning. |
| US09224299B2 |
Cruise control plan evaluation device and method
A cruise control plan evaluation device (10) that evaluates safety of a cruise control plan for an automatically-operated vehicle includes: a behavior prediction unit (16a) that predicts a behavior that may be exhibited by a nearby vehicle, which is present near the automatically-operated vehicle, at a given time point; a position prediction unit (16b) that predicts a position of the nearby vehicle after the given time point based on a position of the nearby vehicle at the given time point and the behavior predicted by the behavior prediction unit (16a); and an evaluation unit (20) that evaluates the safety of the cruise control plan based on the position of the nearby vehicle predicted by the position prediction unit (16b) and a position that is reached by the automatically-operated vehicle according to the cruise control plan. |
| US09224298B2 |
System and method for communicating an object attached to a vehicle
An exemplary system for a vehicle having an object attached to it may include a user interface device, a controller, and a communication system. The user interface device may be configured to receive and transmit information relating to the object. The controller may be in communication with the user interface device, and may be configured to receive the information from the user interface device. The communication system may be in communication with the controller, and may be configured to transmit at least a subset of the information to at least one other vehicle. |
| US09224292B2 |
Method for controlling a computing device over existing broadcast media acoustic channels
The present invention provides a method for broadcasting a control message across an existing broadcast transport medium such as TV, Radio, Webcasts, Smart Phones/Tablets, Audio Buttons/Toys and PA/audio systems via a common acoustic channel with normal traditional broadcasts over those mediums to control computing devices, especially smart mobile devices such as smart phones or tablets. The present invention also involves a method for encoding the control message onto an acoustic wave composed of active sinusoidal frequency components selected out of monitored possible frequencies according to the concept of mathematical combinations. This encoding method is aimed at using a minimum amount of transmitted energy to get a maximum amount of data with as little reflective noise as possible. |
| US09224291B2 |
Athletic performance user interface
Athletic data may be recorded and displayed using a computing device such as a mobile communication device during performance of physical activity. In some examples, the device may provide options for defining and recording athletic activity performed by the user. Such options may include various content item selection and rendering controls. Additionally or alternatively, route selection and controls may be provided through the device. Recorded activity data may further be transmitted to a remote site through a network. |
| US09224287B2 |
Door ajar detection and recovery for a wireless door sensor
A refrigerated container system is described that includes a wireless personal area network (WPAN) including a plurality of wireless sensor nodes and a coordinator node through which the sensors provide sensor data to a controller for the refrigerated container system. The wireless sensors and the coordinator incorporate a variety of features that ensure efficient utilization of battery life by preventing unintended pairing of sensors with other WPANs and excessive sensor signal processing arising from door chatter. Finally, pairing is performed without pressing a button on the wireless door sensor. Instead, the sensor's magnetic reed switch is enlisted to detect swiping of a magnet by a user to enter a pairing mode. |
| US09224286B2 |
Security system health monitoring
An apparatus and method for determining at least one operational condition of a premises based system including at least one premises device. The apparatus includes a processor configured to perform a diagnostic procedure. The diagnostic procedure includes determining operational data of the premises based system, the operational data indicating at least one of a premises device and the apparatus is operating outside a failure range and performing predictive analysis based at least in part on the received operational data. The predictive analysis indicates whether the at least one of premises device and apparatus is likely to operate within the failure range within a predefined period of time. The diagnostic procedure includes causing a notification alert to be transmitted to at least one of a user interface device and remote monitoring center based on the predictive analysis. |
| US09224284B2 |
Detecting presence using a presence sensor network
Concepts and technologies are disclosed herein for detecting presence using a presence sensor network. In some embodiments, a computer executing a presence service generates a user interface for display at a user device. The user interface can include a control that, when selected, generates room data defining a monitored location. The computer can obtain sensor identifier data that identifies a presence sensor located at the monitored location and a location of the presence sensor at the monitored location. The computer can provide the user interface to the user device to obtain the room data and obtain the room data. The computer also can store the room data and the sensor identifier data. |
| US09224282B2 |
Safety service system and method thereof
Disclosed are a safety service system and a method thereof. The safety service system comprises: a collection unit for collecting position information and image information related to a protected person who is registered by a protector; and a service providing unit for providing the position information and the image information to one or both of the protector and a security company upon detection of a signal that the protected person is in danger. |
| US09224278B2 |
Automated method and system for detecting the presence of a lit cigarette
An automated method and system for detecting the presence of a smoking product utilizing a near infrared video-processing unit in real time. One or more near infrared (NIR) video capturing units can be configured to capture a video feed. The video feed can be processed by the video-processing unit in order to detect a smoking product (e.g., a lit cigarette) within a field of view of the video capturing unit. A near infrared video sequence can be read and analyzed for the presence of a “hot spot” of a predetermined size based on pixel color information. In some cases, the motion of the hot spot can be tracked in response to the detection of the hot spot. An alarm signal can also be triggered in some cases, if the pattern of motion is consistent with that of a cigarette being smoked. |
| US09224277B1 |
Detector devices for presenting notifications and supporting context inferences
Techniques can relate to a multi-purpose a detector surface on a network device. A stimulus variable can be identified at a detector device based on an environmental stimulus detected by a sensor. The detector device can include the sensor. The detector device can transmit an initial communication to a device. The first communication can include the stimulus variable. A new communication that includes data corresponding to another device can be received at the detector device. The detector device can determine, based on the stimulus detected by the sensor and is further based on the new communication, that a visual stimulus is to be presented. The visual stimulus can be presented. |
| US09224272B2 |
Method of secure data communication
In an exchange of data between a client terminal (1) and a secure database server (2) the data is encoded using positional information generated by a combination generator (7) in a separate security server (3). The positional information is used to produce an image specific to a communication event which is accessed by the client terminal (1) and is the basis for the entry of sensitive data at the client terminal (1). The three-way communication link between the client terminal, database server and security server greatly increases the difficulty of successfully intercepting and decoding the data entered at the client terminal. This method of secure data communication is particularly suited to the communication of password data for example in the banking industry. |
| US09224269B2 |
Computer-implemented methods and computer systems for enabling personalized game betting and lottery playing
In some embodiments, the instant invention provides for a computer-implemented method, performed by a specifically programmed computer system, that that includes: displaying choices to be selected to define a personalized betting game; receiving selected choices, identifying: i) an event, ii) a plurality of markets, and iii) a plurality of potential outcomes; establishing a personalized data structure representative of data relationships among the selected choices, hereby resulting in a personalized betting game of a user; automatically updating the at least one first personalized data structure based, at least in part, on real-time changes; receiving an entry payment from the user to play the at least one first personalized betting game; determining an actual outcome of the personalized betting game; and determining a reward to be distributed to the user. |
| US09224267B2 |
Presenting and controlling wagering game play
Some examples described include a system to perform operations that include detecting, via use of a gaming plug-in, that first content is presented in a main display area of a web browser. The operations can further include, after detecting that the first content is presented, detecting that second content was previously presented via the main display area of the web browser. In some examples, the second content is associated with gaming content. The operations can further include providing, in a graphical-user-interface object of the web browser separate from the main display area of the web browser, information related to the gaming content in response to the detecting that second content was previously presented via the main display area of the browser. |
| US09224266B2 |
Gaming system having multiple gaming machines which provide bonus awards
A gaming system including a central server linked to a plurality of gaming machines and a plurality of bonus awards. The central server monitors wagers on the gaming machines. Based at least in part on the wagers the central server determines when bonus events will occur and which gaming machine(s) will provide the bonus awards. In one embodiment, the central server determines which gaming machine will provide a primary bonus award and any secondary bonus awards. In one embodiment, the number of secondary bonus awards is determined based on the number of active gaming machines. The selected gaming machine then determines a component of or the amount of the bonus award to be provided to the gaming machine selected by the central server. |
| US09224263B2 |
Transferring awards via optical machine readable data representation images
Club cards and tickets can be eliminated by providing an application that allows a player's mobile phone to process an image of an optical machine-readable representation of data. At the end of a wagering session on a WGM, the WGM can display a barcode representing a player's winnings, an achievement, game status, etc. The player takes a picture of the barcode with his or her mobile phone. The application on the phone processes the barcode image and automatically updates an account of the player in accordance with the data represented or carried by the barcode. For instance, the mobile phone sends a request to a wagering account server to electronically deposit the winnings, as represented by the barcode, in a wagering account associated with the player's club profile. |
| US09224262B2 |
System and method of selecting interactive media used to reveal outcomes of real world wagers
The invention relates to systems and methods of selecting and placing real-world wagers responsive to one or more wager triggers, obtaining outcomes of the real-world wagers, and revealing the outcomes of the real-world wagers through select interactive media to give an appearance that the outcomes of the real-world wagers resulted from user interactions with the interactive media even though the outcomes resulted from the real-world wagers and were determined before the user interactions. The system may select a given interactive media application (or interactive media) to reveal a value (e.g., a payout) based on various factors to customize which application or media is used to provide a given reveal. |
| US09224254B2 |
Display apparatus
An apparatus comprises a display, a communication device, and a controller. The communication device performs communication with a remote control system. The system comprises a control head, a shift actuator, and a throttle actuator. The head designates a shift position and a throttle opening. The shift actuator drives a shift mechanism in accordance with the shift position. The throttle actuator drives the throttle mechanism in accordance with the throttle opening. The communication device receives at least one of the shift position, the throttle opening and ID data of malfunction in the system. The controller causes the display to display the shift position, the throttle opening, or the type or cause of the malfunction. |
| US09224250B2 |
Vehicle telematics unit lockout recovery
A method of removing a vehicle telematics unit from an invalid state includes sensing that the vehicle telematics unit wirelessly received an invalid state code that deactivates the communication function of the vehicle telematics unit from a base station of a wireless carrier system; determining at the vehicle telematics unit that a reset trigger applicable to invalid state codes has been activated; and commanding the vehicle telematics unit to reset the invalid state code when the reset trigger has been activated thereby permitting the vehicle telematics unit to resume its communication function. |
| US09224248B2 |
Method of virtual makeup achieved by facial tracking
Method of applying virtual makeup and producing makeover effects to 3D face model driven by facial tracking in real-time includes the steps: capturing static or live facial images of a user; performing facial tracking of facial image, and obtaining tracking points on captured facial image; and producing makeover effects according to tracking points in real time. Virtual makeup can be applied using virtual makeup input tool such as a user's finger sliding over touch panel screen, mouse cursor or an object passing through makeup-allowed area. Makeup-allowed area for producing makeover effects is defined by extracting feature points from facial tracking points and dividing makeup-allowed area into segments and layers; and defining and storing parameters of makeup-allowed area. Virtual visual effects including color series, alpha blending, and/or superposition are capable of being applied. Makeover effect takes into account of lighting condition, facial posture rotation, face size scaling, and face translation, respectively. |
| US09224245B2 |
Mesh animation
In one aspect, in general, parallel image and depth maps are acquired of a subject using a three-dimensional camera on a common and dense set of pixel locations. A two-dimensional mesh animation is determined based on motion tracking in the acquired images. The two-dimensional mesh animation is then combined with the depth maps for form three-dimensional mesh animation suitable for rendering. |
| US09224243B2 |
Image enhancement using a multi-dimensional model
A method and apparatus for enhancing an image capture of a geographic area is presented. The enhancement involves determining an estimated pose within a model that is related to an image using orientation and location data associated with the image. An alternate pose within the three dimensional model may be selected based on the estimated pose. A virtual image of the three dimensional model may be generated as a function of the alternate pose. The image and the virtual image may be combined to create a stereoscopic image. |
| US09224241B2 |
System for producing digital holographic content
Disclosed is a system for producing a digital holographic (DH) content, which includes: a 3D image information acquiring unit configured to acquire 3D information on real and virtual objects; a computer-generated hologram (CGH) processing unit configured to generate the digital holographic content by mathematical modeling from the 3D information acquired from the 3D image information acquiring unit; a DH content editing unit configured to edit the generated digital holographic content; a DH image restoring unit configured to visualize the generated digital holographic content in a 3D image; and a digital holographic content process managing unit configured to manage a parameter and a processing time of each functioning unit so as to process each processing process of each of the 3D image information acquiring unit, the computer-generated hologram processing unit, the digital holographic content editing unit, and the digital hologram image restoring unit. |
| US09224235B2 |
System, method, and computer program product for compression of a bounding volume hierarchy
A system, method, and computer program product for compressing a bounding volume hierarchy is disclosed. The method includes the steps of receiving a bounding volume hierarchy and encoding the bounding volume hierarchy to generate an encoded bounding volume hierarchy, wherein each node in the encoded bounding volume hierarchy indicates whether the node inherits zero or more values from a parent node. The bounding volume hierarchy includes a plurality of nodes, each node in the plurality of nodes is associated with a bounding volume. |
| US09224234B2 |
System and method for generating product visualizations
This disclosure includes a method for electronically generating a single image for product visualization. The method comprises receiving a selection of a first variation of a first consumer product layer with a first depth attribute from a plurality of variations of the first consumer product layer, each variation comprising at least one surface. The method further includes receiving a selection of a second variation of a second consumer product layer with a second depth attribute from a plurality of variations of the second consumer product layer, each variation comprising at least one surface. The method also includes layering the first variation of the first consumer product layer in the single image based at least on the first depth attribute; and layering the second variation of the second consumer product layer in the single image based at least on the second depth attribute. Related systems and apparatuses are also disclosed. |
| US09224233B2 |
Blending 3D model textures by image projection
An example method and system for blending textures of a composite image formed by a plurality of source images mapped onto a three dimensional model are presented. The composite image is projected to obtain an unblended projected image having textures. The textures are blended to obtain a blended projected image. Both the unblended and the blended projected images are backprojected onto the three dimensional model. A difference is determined between a pixel of the backprojected, blended image and a corresponding pixel of the backprojected, unblended image. The determined difference is then applied to a further corresponding pixel of the composite image to obtain a modified composite image representing a blending of the plurality of source images in the composite image. |
| US09224227B2 |
Tile shader for screen space, a method of rendering and a graphics processing unit employing the tile shader
A tile shader for screen space of a graphics pipeline, a method of rendering graphics and a graphics processing unit are disclosed. In one embodiment, the tile shader includes: (1) an input interface configured to receive a tile of pixels for processing and (2) a tile processor configured to perform tile-level processing of the pixels. |
| US09224226B2 |
Image display device for direct drawing apparatus, and recording medium
An image display device for direct drawing apparatus for performing direct drawing comprising: an acquisition part for acquiring design data in a vector format describing the pattern; a specified parameter setting part for setting a specified parameter to be used for RIP development of the design data; a processing area setting part for setting a processing area of the design data to be subjected to RIP development; a display RIP development part for performing RIP development of a portion of the design data, which corresponds to the processing area, by using the specified parameter, to thereby obtain a specified image; and a display part for visibly displaying the specified image, wherein the RIP development performed by the display RIP development part is a display RIP development in which the amount of processed data is smaller than that in drawing RIP development for the direct drawing. |
| US09224225B2 |
Mass spectrometry data processing device
A data processing device in which, on a screen where an MS spectrum for a retention time designated by the analyst is displayed in the upper area and an MS2 spectrum for a precursor ion selected automatically based on the MS spectrum is displayed in the lower area, when an “On” button in a precursor parameter display selection frame in the top part is clicked, excluded ion and priority ion information for that retention time is collected and the m/z ranges and are displayed in a specified display color on the MS spectrum. As a result, it becomes possible to see at a glance whether the precursor ion indicated by upward arrow corresponds to an excluded ion or priority ion. |
| US09224218B2 |
System and method for loading and rendering curved features in a map
Embodiments of a system and method for loading and rendering curved features in a map are described. Embodiments may include a map tool of a mapping or navigation application configured to generate a display for a map that includes one or more curved features (e.g., curved roads or curved polygons). The map tool may be executed in a client/server environment in which a server portion receives digitized map data in the form of polylines, detects a curved feature in the map data by fitting it to a parametric curve, and transmits data representing the parametric curve to a client device for subsequent rendering. The client device may render the curved feature using the received parametric curve data or, dependent on characteristics of the client device, extract data corresponding to points on the parametric curve to generate a triangle mesh for rendering the curved feature at a suitable resolution. |
| US09224216B2 |
High density forward projector for spatial resolution improvement for medical imaging systems including computed tomography
A medical imaging apparatus, processing device or specialized circuit can include an input interface to input scan data of a medical image scan of a target object, a processor to generate an output image from the input scan data, and an output interface to output the output image to, e.g., a display. The processor can execute a first reconstruction of the scan data to obtain an intermediate image of the target object, a high-density forward projection of the intermediate object to obtain generated data, a sinogram updating using both of the generated data and the scan data to obtain a high-resolution sinogram, and a second reconstruction based on the high-resolution sinogram to obtain an output image. |
| US09224212B2 |
Image processing apparatus and image processing method
An image processing apparatus configured to detect a position deviation between a first image and a second image includes a first memory configured to store motion vectors between the first image and the second image as a first motion vector group, a second memory configured to store, as a second motion vector group, motion vectors extracted from the first motion vector group determined to have a higher reliability than a predetermined threshold, an acceptable motion vector selection unit configured to calculate a temporary position deviation parameter from the second motion vector group, and select the motion vectors representing the position deviation as an acceptable motion vector group from the first motion vector group, using the temporary position deviation parameter, and a parameter estimation unit configured to estimate the position deviation parameter representing the position deviation from the acceptable motion vector group. |
| US09224210B2 |
Systems and methods for accelerated dynamic magnetic resonance imaging
Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for accelerated dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In an example embodiment, a method includes acquiring undersampled MRI data corresponding to a set of images associated with an area of interest of a subject, and separating an image of the set of images into image regions. The method also includes performing motion tracking for each of the image regions, grouping the motion-tracked image regions into clusters, and applying a sparsity transform to the clusters, to form sparsity-exploited, transformed image regions. The method further includes forming a set of merged images from the plurality of sparsity-exploited, transformed image regions, and updating the set of merged images based on data fidelity, to form an updated set of estimated images. |
| US09224209B2 |
Image processing device and method, recording medium and program
There is provided an image processing device including a motion vector detection portion that performs comparison of a substantially spherical photographic subject such that, among a plurality of captured images including the photographic subject, an image as a processing target and another image as a comparison target are compared using each of the plurality of captured images as the processing target, and which detects a motion vector of a whole three-dimensional spherical model with respect to the processing target, a motion compensation portion that performs motion compensation on the processing target, based on the motion vector of each of the plurality of captured images that is detected by the motion vector detection portion, and a synthesis portion that synthesizes each of the captured images that are obtained as a result of the motion compensation performed by the motion compensation portion. |
| US09224207B2 |
Segmentation co-clustering
An approach to segmentation or clustering of a set of elements combines separate procedures and uses training data for those procedures on labeled data. This approach is applied to elements being components of an image of text (e.g., printed or handwritten). In some examples, the elements are connected sets of pixels. In images of text, the clusters can correspond to individual lines. The approach provides improved clustering performance as compared to any one of the procedures taken alone. |
| US09224205B2 |
Accelerated geometric shape detection and accurate pose tracking
A reference in an unknown environment is generated on the fly for positioning and tracking. The reference is produced in a top down process by capturing an image of a planar object with a predefined geometric shape, detecting edge pixels of the planar object, then detecting a plurality of line segments from the edge pixels. The plurality of line segments may then be used to detect the planar object in the image based on the predefined geometric shape. An initial pose of the camera with respect to the planar object is determined and tracked using the edges of the planar object. |
| US09224204B2 |
Method and apparatus for registration of multimodal imaging data using constraints
First and second images obtained from first and second imaging modalities, respectively, are set as a target image and an object image, respectively. The object image is segmented into one or more anatomic segments. Each segment is associated with a respective anatomic class. At least one attribute is assigned to at least one of the anatomic segments based on the anatomic class corresponding to said at least one anatomic segment. A registration is performed with the object image and the target image, wherein the registration is constrained by the assigned attribute(s). |
| US09224203B2 |
Medical image information system and medical image processing server
A medical image information system of an embodiment includes: a terminal device and a medical image processing server connected via a network, wherein the medical image processing server includes a medical image storage unit in which a medical image is stored, and an image processing unit that generates, from the medical image, a display screen and display screen information based on a request from the terminal device to transmit to the terminal device, and the image processing unit includes a speed-lowering determination unit that determines, based on either related information of a medical image or connection status of the terminal device or both, a setting item pertaining to a wait process for lowering a transmission timing of a result of image processing, and a speed-lowering processing unit that carries out a wait process for lowering a transmission timing of the display image based on the setting item. |
| US09224196B2 |
System and method for authentication
Described are methods and systems for determining authenticity. For example, the method may include providing an object of authentication, capturing characteristic data from the object of authentication, deriving authentication data from the characteristic data of the object of authentication, and comparing the authentication data with an electronic database comprising reference authentication data to provide an authenticity score for the object of authentication. The reference authentication data may correspond to one or more reference objects of authentication other than the object of authentication. |
| US09224195B2 |
Reticle defect inspection with systematic defect filter
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for inspecting a photolithographic reticle. A stream of defect data is received from a reticle inspection system, wherein the defect data identifies a plurality of defects that were detected for a plurality of different portions of the reticle. Before reviewing the defect data to determine whether the reticle passes inspection and as the stream of defect data continues to be received, some of the defects are automatically grouped with other most recently one or more received defects so as form groups of substantially matching defects. Before reviewing the defect data to determine whether the reticle passes inspection and after all of the defect data for the reticle is received, one or more of the groups of defects that have a number above a predetermined threshold are automatically filtered from the defect data so as to form filtered defect data. The filtered defect data may then be provided to a review station for determining whether the reticle passes. |
| US09224186B2 |
Memory latency tolerance in block processing pipelines
Memory latency tolerance methods and apparatus for maintaining an overall level of performance in block processing pipelines that prefetch reference data into a search window. In a general memory latency tolerance method, search window processing in the pipeline may be monitored. If status of search window processing changes in a way that affects pipeline throughput, then pipeline processing may be modified. The modification may be performed according to no stall methods, stall recovery methods, and/or stall prevention methods. In no stall methods, a block may be processed using the data present in the search window without waiting for the missing reference data. In stall recovery methods, the pipeline is allowed to stall, and processing is modified for subsequent blocks to speed up the pipeline and catch up in throughput. In stall prevention methods, processing is adjusted in advance of the pipeline encountering a stall condition. |
| US09224183B2 |
Projection of a plurality of structured light patterns
Systems and methods may provide for projection of a plurality of structured light patterns. In one example, the method may include generating a low-resolution pattern image utilizing a returned image, wherein the low-resolution pattern image is an approximation of an image that would have been generated utilizing a low-resolution pattern and generating a high-resolution pattern image utilizing a preprocessed returned image and a preprocessed low-resolution pattern image, wherein high-resolution pattern image is an approximation of an image that would have been generated utilizing a high-resolution pattern. |
| US09224182B2 |
Medical and personal data retrieval system
A system for confidentially retrieving data from a person, such as by authorized personnel. One embodiment provides a data carrier item such as jewelry, having encrypted data imparted upon the item in manner that is only intelligible after being unencrypted. Such data can be encrypted and/or invisibly disposed such that the data is not identifiable by the public, but can be quickly and accurately retrieved by authorized personnel. |
| US09224181B2 |
Systems and methods for visualizing patient and telepresence device statistics in a healthcare network
Disclosed herein are various embodiments of systems and methods for visualizing, analyzing, and managing telepresence devices operating in a telepresence network of healthcare facilities. A user may selectively view a global view of all telepresence devices, telepresence devices within a particular region, the details of a particular telepresence device, and/or the details of a particular healthcare facility. At one viewing level, a user may view a plan view map of a healthcare facility and visualize the navigational history of a telepresence device. At another viewing level, a user may view a plan view map of a healthcare facility and visualize telemetry data of a patient associated with a selected room. At another viewing level, a user may selectively view various graphical representations of telepresence device statistics and usage information with respect to health ratings for each of a plurality of patients. |
| US09224179B2 |
Method and system for report generation including extensible data
A method of extending a user interface to include additional data fields is provided. A first response is received at a first application. The first response indicates a selection of an add button associated with addition of a data field to a first window associated with a user interface of a second application. A second window is presented to a user of the first application. A second response is received at the first application. The second response includes a name for the data field entered by the user using the presented second window and a data type of the data field. A position of the data field is identified on the first window. The received name, the received data type, and the identified position for the data field are stored. The data field is presented in the first window at the stored position using the stored name when a second user executes the second application. |
| US09224178B2 |
Dynamic negotiation and authorization system to record rights-managed content
A content recording system comprises a digital media recording device to record content. A rights-management module is in electrical communication with the digital media recording device to detect a desired recording performed by the digital media recording device. The rights-management module further communicates digital rights information of a rights-managed content to the digital recording device. The recording of the rights-managed content is performed according to the digital rights information. |
| US09224171B2 |
Insurance processing systems and methods using mobile devices for medical monitoring
Pursuant to some embodiments, systems, methods and devices are provided for insurance processing including installing a medical monitoring application associated with a user of a mobile device, the medical monitoring application including configuration data associated with at least a first medical monitoring rule, displaying, under control of the medical monitoring application, a series of instructions to cause the mobile device to be configured to communicate with at least a first biometric sensor, collecting, based on the at least first medical monitoring rule, a set of biometric data from the at least first biometric sensor, and transmitting the set of biometric data from the mobile device to a remote processing system for processing a request for insurance. |
| US09224170B2 |
Sales channel management infrastructure
A sales system supports sales between a plurality of buyers and a plurality of sellers in a communication network. A sales server has a seller interface used by both a first seller and a second seller respectively via a first seller's computer and a second seller's computer to register availability for sale of a first product and a second product. The sales server, based upon received buyer input from an identified buyer via a buyer computer that includes buyer orders for the first product and the second product dispenses a first sales order to the first seller's computer for the first product and a second sales order to the second seller's computer for the second product. The sales server provides instructions to the first seller's computer for fulfillment of the first sales order and to the second sales computer for the fulfillment of the second sales order. |
| US09224169B2 |
Interfacing between a dynamic spectrum policy controller and a dynamic spectrum controller
A dynamic spectrum arbitrage (DSA) system may include a dynamic spectrum policy controller (DPC) and a dynamic spectrum controller (DSC) that together dynamically manage the allocation and use of resources (e.g., spectrum resources) across different networks. A dynamic spectrum arbitrage application part (DSAAP) protocol/component/module may allow, facilitate, support, or augment communications between the DSC and DPC so as to improve the efficiency and speed of the DSA system. The DSAAP may allow the DPC and/or DSC components to better pool resources across the different networks, better monitor traffic and resource usage in the various networks, to more efficiently communicate bids and bidding information, to quickly and efficiently register and deregister components, and better perform backoff operations. The DSAAP may improve the DSA resource auctioning operations by improving the performance and efficiency of the procedures for bidding, generating invoices, advertising resources, requesting resources, purchasing resources, validating bid credentials, etc. |
| US09224168B2 |
Tuning product policy using observed evidence of customer behavior
A computer adapted for pay-as-you go or other metered use has a policy for determined what measurements to take to detect fraud as well as steps to take when fraud is found. To optimize between good performance and sufficient tests to reduce the risk of fraud, a policy is developed based on observation of the users behavior, using data taken at the computer, data from a payment processor or both. After analysis, an updated policy is securely loaded at the computer to determine what, and how often to measure for suspected fraud. |
| US09224164B2 |
Data processing system and method for providing a hyperlink to a lowest priced offering of a current item
A data processing system comprises a client device connectable to the internet, the client device having a web browser for accessing information via the internet; the web browser being operable to access a list providing groups of internet addresses of online retailer internet pages, each group having two or more internet addresses each relating to different respective retailers' offerings of an item for purchase, so that a current internet address being accessed by the web browser is compared with internet addresses in the list and, if the current internet address is found within one of the groups, the other internet addresses in the group are returned as alternative internet addresses relating to a current item being viewed; the web browser being operable to detect a retail price of the current item from each of the internet addresses in the group containing the current internet address; and the web browser being operable to compare the retail prices and indicate the lowest such retail price for the current item while displaying the internet page relating to the current internet address. |
| US09224162B2 |
Billing gateway charge method and system
The billing gateway charge method and system are disclosed. A charge is processed by receiving a charge API call from a merchant server, detecting a select carrier server from a plurality of servers, transmitting a charge request to the select carrier server, and returning a charge result callback notification to the merchant server. If the charge request fails, the merchant server can submit a new request and an indication of acceptance and failure of the charge request is returned to the merchant server based on the new requests provided that the new request has a new request-id. A continue method allows for managing consumer opt-in in order to complete a transaction. Once the transaction is completed, a refund request from the merchant server can be processed by transmission to the carrier server. |
| US09224158B2 |
Mobile device cluster advertisement delivery
Systems and computer program products provide advertisement delivery to a cluster of mobile devices with computer readable program code, when read by a processor, configured for identification based at least in part on a relative displacement of the two or more mobile devices during a period of time being less than a maximum relative displacement. The code is further configured for displaying an advertising message on each mobile device in the cluster. |
| US09224152B2 |
System and method for intent mining
A method for intent mining is provided. The method includes performing a preliminary search of a constrained source using one or more seed phrases to generate multiple preliminary search results representing different ways of expressing a desired intent. The method also includes identifying each of the plurality of preliminary search results that have expressed the desired intent to generate a plurality of intent results. The method also includes producing multiple action search strings around one or more action verbs in each of the multiple intent results. The method further includes applying each of the multiple action search strings on one or more non-constrained sources to generate multiple action search results. |
| US09224150B2 |
Identifying highly valued recommendations of users in a media recommendation network
A system and method are provided for discovering new friends using recommendation paths in a media recommendation network. In general, media items are recommended among users in a media recommendation network. Use of media items by the users is monitored. If the use of a media item by a user exceeds a threshold, a determination is made as to whether the media item was recommended to the user. If so, that recommendation is identified as a highly valued recommendation for that user. Thereafter, when the user desires to identify new friends from which to receive recommendations and to which to send recommendations, a recommendation path for the highly valued recommendation is identified. Users in the recommendation path that are not already friends of the user are identified as potential new friends for the user. |
| US09224147B2 |
Customer service management system
The customer is given the option to access customer service through the Internet. A web site provides several convenient alternatives for scheduling a voice session with a customer service agent instead of waiting on the phone. Users are encouraged to search a Selection-Oriented-Knowledge-Base (SOKB) that helps the user's thinking process by displaying a sequence of intuitively recognizable multimedia menu selections that eventually lead to what the user has in mind and provide appropriate answers. The SOKB is based upon a Selection-On-Vertex network that provides the infrastructure to expand the level of knowledge of the SOKB by automatically capturing knowledge gained through experience. Customer service agents are seamlessly integrated into the SOKB by a NEED HELP request button that the user can click if difficulties are encountered during the search. A Help Requests Predictor enables customer service agents to respond within seconds to NEED HELP requests initiated by users. |
| US09224139B2 |
Payment terminal messaging
A payment terminal and a host computer system are configured to provide human-readable messaging capability with a person at an external location outside of a financial infrastructure. A payment terminal at a point of sale may be used to cause human-readable message content to be forwarded to the person by the host computer system, either automatically or at the instigation of an operator of the payment terminal. Message content from the person may be delivered to the payment terminal for display to the operator. The person at the external location may be able to retrieve information stored in the payment terminal via standard communication channels. The system also provides a mechanism for exchanging messages between payment terminals. |
| US09224132B1 |
Case management system
A content management system is disclosed for documents and other content for a system operating in legal environment referred to herein as a case management system. The case management system allows attorneys in a legal environment to efficiently store and manage content for their client and case matters. Furthermore, the system encourages attorneys to collaborate with fellow co-workers, clients, and third parties (e.g. expert witnesses) in a secure and confidential environment. The case management system enables attorneys to maintain case files and associated documents more efficiently and thus allow law firms to more productively function as a business that relies heavily upon comprehensive document files. |
| US09224130B2 |
Talent profile infographic
A system and method for example method for displaying enterprise data via a user interface display. An example method includes providing a first user option to select enterprise data to be displayed, yielding selected data in response thereto; employing a capsule to present a visualization or infographic characterizing at least a portion of the selected data; and providing a second user option to flip or rotate the capsule, thereby displaying additional enterprise data that is related to or representative of the selected data or portion thereof. In a specific embodiment, the first user option includes a slider bar that enables a user to specify a time frame to filter the enterprise data. |
| US09224129B2 |
System and methodology for multiple users concurrently working and viewing on a common project
A system and methodology, for use by a plurality of users working on a common project that has an associated display. The system is comprised of a plurality of display computing appliances, each associated with a respective one of at least two users of a plurality of users. Layer storage and control logic is comprised of memory structured as at least two separate respective data layers of data storage for associative storage of user (image) data mapped to the respective user providing the respective input. Each said separate respective data layer of data storage is comprised of respective user data associated with a respective user of the plurality of users. Each of the display apparatus is responsive to the layer storage and control logic, for providing a respective said display presentation for viewing by the respective one of the at least two users. The respective said display presentation provides at least a common portion of the display presentation for concurrently viewing by the at least two users, at the respective said display computing appliances. Input logic provides for input of respective user data representative of respective edit (annotations) input, by each respective one of the at least two users, provided responsive to a respective user input by the respective one of the at least two users while the respective one of the at least two users is concurrently viewing the respective said display presentation. |
| US09224127B2 |
Adaptable user interface for business software
An adaptable user interface is formed based on a role assumed by a user and the identification of tasks in a process that need to be performed. For each role assumed by the user, a set of tasks assigned to the role is identified. Each task is evaluated to determine if it is an active task that needs to be performed in one or more processes. For each active task, an element is added to the user interface. |
| US09224125B2 |
Radio frequency identification system for tracking and managing materials in a manufacturing process
A process management system uses a radio frequency identification (RFID) detection system in the form of, for example, a phased array antenna based RFID detection system to track and manage material storage and flow in a manufacturing process or plant. The process management system operates in conjunction with the various machines that implement manufacturing stages or steps of the manufacturing process to assure that the correct materials and processing procedures are used at or on the various production machines of the process to produce a particular product as defined by a job number or job order. The process management system is thereby able to increase the efficiencies of the plant and to increase the quality of the plant production by reducing or eliminating waste, manufacturing errors and shipping errors in the production facility. |
| US09224124B2 |
Item storage and tracking cabinet and arrangement
An item storage and tracking unit for holding a plurality of discrete items may include a housing including a plurality of receptacles positioned therein and defining a plurality of associated inner areas. A signal emitting device is associated with at least one item and configured to emit a signal. At least one movement sensor and/or at least one weight sensor may be associated with each receptacle of the plurality of receptacles. At least one signal receiving arrangement is associated with each receptacle and configured to scan at least a portion of the inner area of the associated receptacle for the signal emitted from the signal emitting device associated with the at least one item. The scan is initiated at least partly in response to a determination by the at least one movement sensor, the at least one weight sensor, and/or an antenna associated with the associated receptacle. |
| US09224118B2 |
Dynamic display of content consumption by geographic location
This disclosure relates to dynamic display of content consumption by geographic location. A recognition component recognizes content being consumed by a set of users, and identifies geographic locations of the consumption and a set of characteristics associated with the consumption. An aggregation component ranks the consumed content based on a subset of the characteristics associated with the consumption, and a display component generates a map displaying subsets of the consumed content as a function of respective rankings and geographic location. |
| US09224117B2 |
Software service to facilitate organizational testing of employees to determine their potential susceptibility to phishing scams
A software system and service for facilitating organizational testing of employees in order to determine their potential susceptibility to phishing scams is disclosed to evaluate their susceptibility to e-mail and Internet cybercrimes such as phishing. The e-mail addresses of a client organization's employees are provided to the system, a phishing e-mail is created and customized, and a phishing e-mail campaign in which the phishing e-mail message is sent and the responses to the phishing e-mail is monitored, and the results of the e-mail campaign are provided for evaluation. The phishing e-mail may optionally contain attachments and various types of probes and “call home” mechanisms. |
| US09224116B2 |
Task identification based on semantics and temporal relationships
The present description refers to a computer implemented method, computer program product, and computer system to receive a list of computer events, each of the events including a user interacting with a computer, determine one or more desktop operations, with each desktop operation including one or more computer events that are performed to accomplish the desktop operation, determine one or more knowledge actions, where each knowledge action includes a group of one or more desktop operations performed using a same application on a same information object, determine one or more tasks, with each task including a group of knowledge actions that include information objects that are semantically related, and combine two or more tasks that are temporally related. |
| US09224114B2 |
Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for generating a report indicating job availability
Methods, systems, and computer-readable media provide for generating a report indicating job availability. According to embodiments, a method for generating a report indicating job availability is provided. According to the method, a selected assignment group is displayed. A number of status messages received by a technician in the selected assignment group is displayed. The status messages indicate that no jobs are available for the technician. An amount of lost time associated with the technician in the selected assignment group is determined. The lost time includes a difference between a time at which the technician received one of the status messages and a time at which the technician is dispatched to a next job. The amount of lost time associated with the technician in the selected assignment group is displayed. |
| US09224112B2 |
Leveraging enterprise content
A method and system for leveraging content is provided. The method includes receiving, data associated with a subscriber and registering the subscriber with an ECM computing system. Devices belonging to the subscriber are connected to the ECM computing system and metadata associated with content retrieved from the devices is generated. The content in the devices are classified into formal content and informal content. Multiple searches for additional content are monitored and multifaceted search results associated with the formal content and the informal content are generated and presented to the subscriber. The subscriber has an option to request informal content on additional end user devices from respective end users based on metadata presented by search results. |
| US09224108B2 |
Method and apparatus for evaluating component costs in a communication network
A method and apparatus for calculating a cost index in a communication network. In one embodiment, a plurality of first cost factors associated with a first set of network elements is obtained. Subsequently, a plurality of second cost factors associated with a second set of network elements is obtained. A first cost index is then determined based on the plurality of first cost factors associated with the first set of network elements. Similarly, a second cost index is determined based on the plurality of second cost factors associated with the second set of network elements. Afterwards, the first cost index is compared to the second cost index to determine a point in time when a service provider should minimize new investment in the first set of network elements. |
| US09224107B2 |
Managing customizing settings in a business structured interface
Among other disclosed subject matter, a computer-implemented method of managing customizing settings in a business structured interface is to be initiated. The method includes presenting a plurality of business process types to a user. Each of the business process types includes a plurality of business document types. First user input selecting a set of business process types is received. The first user input triggers for each selected business process type activation of features in an application program. In response to the first selection, the plurality of business document types associated with the selected business process type are presented. Second user input selecting a set of business document types is received. The second user input triggers activation of features in the application program. The application program is launched, wherein the features are activated and available during the operation of the application program. |
| US09224105B2 |
Method and system of automatically downloading media content in a preferred network
In one exemplary aspect, a sorted list of scored media content episodes is received with a computing device of a user. Each respective media content episode is scored by an iterative autotuning prediction algorithm, and wherein each element of the sorted list of scored media content episodes comprises a value that represents a likelihood of a user listening to the respective media content episode and a reference to a location of the respective media content episode. A number of bytes of a download iteration for each media content episode is determined based on value that represents a likelihood of the user listening to the respective media content episode and an index of the respective media content episode in the sorted list. It is detected that a mobile device is in the preferred network. The download iteration is implemented for each media content episode when it is detected that the mobile device is in the preferred network. |
| US09224104B2 |
Generating data from imbalanced training data sets
Injecting generated data samples into a minority data class of an imbalanced training data set is provided. In response to receiving an input to balance the imbalanced training data set that includes a majority data class and the minority data class, a set of data samples is generated for the minority data class. A distance is calculated from each data sample in the set of generated data samples to a center of a kernel that includes a set of data samples of the majority data class. Each data sample in the set of generated data samples is stored within a corresponding distance score bucket based on the calculated distance of a data sample. Generated data samples are selected from a number of highest ranking distance score buckets. The generated data samples selected from the number of highest ranking distance score buckets are injected into the minority data class. |
| US09224103B1 |
Automatic annotation for training and evaluation of semantic analysis engines
Implementations include systems and methods generate data for training or evaluating semantic analysis engines. For example, a method may include receiving documents from a corpus that includes an authoritative set of documents from an authoritative source. Each document in the authoritative set may be associated with an entity. A second set of documents from the corpus that do not overlap with the first set may include at least one link to a document in the authoritative set, the at least one link being associated with anchor text. For each document in the second set, the method may include identifying entity mentions in the document based on the anchor text. The method may include associating the entity mention with the entity in a graph-structured knowledge base or associating entity types with the entity mention. The method may also include training a semantic analysis engine using the identified entity mentions and associations. |
| US09224101B1 |
Incremental model training for advertisement targeting using real-time streaming data and model redistribution
Incremental model training for advertisement targeting is performed using streaming data. A model for targeting advertisements of an advertising campaign is initialized. A data stream including data corresponding to converters and data corresponding to non-converters is received. The model is then applied to the data corresponding to the converter and data corresponding to the non-converter (or other ratio of converter to non-converters) to obtain a predicted score for each. The predicted score is compared to the observed score (e.g., an observed score of 1 for a converter, and 0 for a non-converter). The difference between the predicted and observed scores is computed, and the model is incrementally updated based on this difference. Models can optionally be built separately on multiple modeling servers that are geographically dispersed in order to support bidding on advertising opportunities in a real-time bidding environment. |
| US09224100B1 |
Method and apparatus using accelerometer data to serve better ads
A mobile device, including an accelerometer and a processing unit receiving signals from the accelerometer and determining motion information of the mobile device based on the received signals is disclosed. A content selector selects a media format for content based on the physical state of the mobile device as indicated by the signals from the accelerometer. A display device displays the content in the selected media format. When the motion is a predetermined type of motion, the received content is withheld from being displayed by the display device. A machine learning apparatus is provided as the content selector. |
| US09224099B2 |
Quantum computer
Values of quantum bits used for a quantum computer is stabilized and the number of quantum bits per element is set to be 100 or more while ensuring quantum state stability during calculation of the quantum bits, quantum state controllability, and capability of achieving large-scale integration of quantum bits. Quantum calculation is performed as generating a spin vortex 6 centered on each hole 4 formed at a copper oxide superconductor thin film 3 by applying a magnetic field to a quantum bit substrate 1 having the copper oxide superconductor thin film 3 at which a plurality of the holes 4 are doped and irradiating an electromagnetic wave 19 containing quantum calculation data to the quantum bit substrate 1 in a state that a clockwise loop current 5 or a counterclockwise loop current 5 is generated in accordance with a position of each hole 4 and each spin vortex 6. |
| US09224097B2 |
Nonlinear classification of data
The present invention relates to a method for nonlinear classification of high dimensional data by means of boosting, whereby a target class with significant intra-class variation is classified against a large background class, where the boosting algorithm produces a strong classifier, the strong classifier being a linear combination of weak classifiers. The present invention specifically teaches that weak classifiers classifiers h1, h2, that individually more often than not generate a positive on instances within the target class and a negative on instances outside of the target class, but that never generate a positive simultaneously on one and the same target instance, are categorized as a group of anti-correlated classifiers, and that the occurrence of anti-correlated classifiers from the same group will generate a negative. |
| US09224096B2 |
System and method for item self-assessment as being extant or displaced
A portable item reporting device (200) is configured to be attached to and in substantial collocation with a portable item (100), or to be integrated into a portable item (100). The device (200) includes environmental sensors (210) to monitor item location, movement, ambient light, sounds, temperature, etc. The device (200) is configured to store usage expectation data (600) indicative of historical and/or expected item usage and environments when the item (100) is in normal use/storage associated with an authorized user (AU). The device (200) monitors current environmental conditions (104) surrounding and pertaining to the item. If the current environment (104) is inconsistent with expected conditions (600), the device (200) assesses that the item (100) is displaced (503.0), meaning either that the item (100) is in abnormal use or abnormal storage, or is under the control of an unauthorized user (UU) who is other than the authorized user (AU). Based on the assessment the device initiates a signal (372) or message (374) to an authorized user (AU) of the item (100), indicating that the item (100) usage/storage is displaced (503.0) or otherwise anomalous (503.2). |
| US09224095B2 |
System and methods for generating optimal post times for social networking sites
A system and methods are disclosed for determining the ideal times for a person, software client, or other entity to post a message to a social networking site. An ideal time is a time when the post will have a maximum impact, where impact is some measure of success as defined by the posting entity. To determine the ideal times, the posting patterns of individual users are aggregated in a weighted fashion, taking into consideration both the entity's desired impact and the likelihood that the user will be online and able to view the post within a specified time frame. |
| US09224094B2 |
Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture to measure online audiences
Methods and apparatus to monitor media content at a content display site are described. An example method includes obtaining panelist data corresponding to a plurality of panelists accessing web pages at measured locations, classifying the panelist data according to demographic information of the panelists, generating a virtual panel based on an estimate of web page access at unmeasured locations, and classifying page view data associated with the unmeasured locations based on data corresponding to the virtual panel. |
| US09224093B2 |
Method of evaluating value for referenced information and apparatus thereof
A method of evaluating a value of reference information and an apparatus for evaluating a value of reference information are disclosed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method includes calculating similarity values of reference relationships between the subject document and each of neighbor documents, respectively, and summing the calculated similarity values to calculate a first sum, multiplying each of the similarity values of reference relationships between the subject document and each of the neighbor documents by a corresponding value of reference information of the first reference document for each of the neighbor documents, and summing the multiplied values to calculate a second sum, and evaluating a value of reference information using a ratio of the first and second sums. |
| US09224092B2 |
Detecting disallowed combinations of data within a processing element
Techniques are described for detecting disallowed combinations of data within a processing element. Embodiments of the invention may generally receive data to be processed using the processing element and determine whether the received data and a current working state violate one or more rules describing disallowed combinations of data. If a disallowed combination is detected, embodiments of the invention may handle the processing of the received data in an alternate way that prevents disallowed combinations of data within the processing element. |
| US09224088B2 |
Methods, systems, and computer program products for simulating a scenario by updating events over a time window including the past, present, and future
A scenario is simulated by providing an agent that is an object in the scenario, providing a time window for the scenario that spans the farthest reachable past time and the farthest reachable future time with respect to a present time for the agent and/or at least one player that interacts with the simulated scenario, providing at least one event that represents a change in at least one attribute of the agent, and updating a state of the scenario by applying the at least one event to the agent within the time window. |
| US09224080B2 |
Spectral characteristic acquisition device, image evaluation device, and image formation apparatus
A spectral characteristic acquisition device includes a light irradiation part configured to irradiate an object with light, a diffraction part configured to diffract light reflected from the object to provide diffracted light, a light-receiving part configured to receive the diffracted light and output a signal based on an amount of the diffracted light, a calibration color index configured to include a color with a known spectral characteristic, and an operation part configured to calculate a spectral characteristic of the object from a signal output from the light-receiving part by using a predetermined transformation matrix and calibrate the transformation matrix by using the calibration color index. |
| US09224076B2 |
Image forming apparatus, image formation system, and method for controlling image forming apparatus
An image forming apparatus includes: a communication unit for receiving unmodified data and modified data obtained when the unmodified data is modified; an image-reading unit for reading a confirmation document over which commentary has been written, and generating scan data; a storage unit for storing the unmodified data, the modified data, and the scan data; a comparison processing unit for comparing the unmodified data, the modified data, and the scan data, and recognizing confirmation places of the modified data, which are modified places that correspond to the commentary and have been modified from the unmodified data; and a printing unit for printing only those pages of the modified data that comprise the confirmation places recognized by the comparison processing unit. |
| US09224075B2 |
Image forming apparatus
In an image forming apparatus, an operation control section controls a sheet conveyance section to eject, onto an exit tray, sheets on which images of an even number page group have been formed on respective first sides thereof. A reception section receives input from a user indicating whether the sheets ejected onto the exit tray after the images have been formed on the first sides thereof are new sheets having unused second sides or reused sheets having used second sides. When the ejected sheets are the new sheets, the operation control section controls an image forming section to form images of an odd number page group on the second sides of the new sheets after the new sheets have been loaded onto a manual feed tray. |
| US09224071B2 |
Unsupervised object class discovery via bottom up multiple class learning
Techniques for unsupervised object class discovery via bottom-up multiple class learning are described. These techniques may include receiving multiple images containing one or more object classes. The multiple images may be analyzed to extract top saliency instances and least saliency instances. These saliency instances may be clustered to generate and/or update statistical models. The statistical models may be used to discover the one or more object classes. In some instances, the statistical models may be used to discover object classes of novel images. |
| US09224070B1 |
System for three-dimensional object recognition and foreground extraction
The present invention describes a system for recognizing objects from color images by detecting features of interest, classifying them according to previous objects' features that the system has been trained on, and finally drawing a boundary around them to separate each object from others in the image. Furthermore, local feature detection algorithms are applied to color images, outliers are removed, and resulting feature descriptors are clustered to achieve effective object recognition. Additionally, the present invention describes a system for extracting foreground objects and the correct rejection of the background from an image of a scene. Importantly, the present invention allows for changes to the camera viewpoint or lighting between training and test time. The system uses a supervised-learning algorithm and produces blobs of foreground objects that a recognition algorithm can then use for object detection/recognition. |
| US09224068B1 |
Identifying objects in images
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for identifying objects in images. One of the methods includes receiving an input image; down-sampling the input image to generate a second image; generating a respective first score for each of the plurality of object categories; selecting an initial patch of the input image; generating a respective second score for each of the plurality of object categories; and generating a respective third score for each of the plurality of object categories from the first scores and the second scores, wherein the respective third score for each of the plurality of object categories represents a likelihood that the input image contains an image of an object belonging to the object category. |
| US09224066B2 |
Object detection via validation with visual search
One exemplary embodiment involves receiving, at a computing device comprising a processor, a test image having a candidate object and a set of object images detected to depict a similar object as the test image. The embodiment involves localizing the object depicted in each one of the object images based on the candidate object in the test image to determine a location of the object in each respective object image and then generating a validation score for the candidate object in the test image based at least in part on the determined location of the object in the respective object image and known location of the object in the same respective object image. The embodiment also involves computing a final detection score for the candidate object based on the validation score that indicates a confidence level that the object in the test image is located as indicated by the candidate object. |
| US09224065B2 |
Character-recognition method and character-recognition device and program using said method
A character-recognition device and method for imaging a character string, generating a grayscale image that corresponds to the character string, cutting out, from the grayscale image, individual characters in the character string, obtaining a coincidence of a character image that is being focused on for each of model images of a plurality of kinds of characters by sequentially focusing on cut-out character images to match the cut-out character images against the model images, and recognizing characters corresponding to the cut-out character images based on each coincidence. |
| US09224063B2 |
Apparatus and method for digital microscopy imaging
A microscopy imaging system and method for rendering a mosaic representation of an object from a series of image frames of the object are disclosed. A current image frame is processed to determine its relative location or position within the mosaic representation based on relative displacement of the current image from one or more keyframes. Once the current image frame's position has been determined, it is rendered along with its neighboring keyframes to provide the mosaic representation of the object. |
| US09224062B2 |
Hybrid method and system of video and vision based access control for parking stall occupancy determination
Hybrid methods, systems and processor-readable media for video and vision based access control for parking occupancy determination. One or more image frames of a parking area of interest can be acquired from among two or more regions of interest defined with respect to the parking area of interest. The regions of interest can be analyzed for motion detection or image content change detection. An image content classification operation can be performed with respect to a first region of interest among the regions of interest based on the result of the image content change detection. An object tracking operation can then be performed with respect to a second region of interest among the regions of interest if the result of the image content classification operation indicates a presence of one or more objects of interest within the parking area of interest. |
| US09224060B1 |
Object tracking using depth information
Systems and approaches are provided for tracking an object of interest using depth or disparity information, such as obtained by calculating stereo disparity between a pair of images. The depth or disparity information can be used as an additional signature for a template of the object of interest for tracking the object. A template that includes depth, distance, or disparity information for an object of interest may be invariant to the effects of lighting, such as shadows and changes in illumination conditions. Depth, distance, or disparity information can also provide information regarding shape and size that can be used to differentiate foreground objects. Depth, distance, or disparity information can also better handle occlusion. Depth, distance, or disparity information can also provide an additional disambiguating dimension for tracking an object. |
| US09224059B2 |
Automatic examination of value labels
The invention relates to a method for the automatic verification of the authenticity of a postage indicium that has a value indication and that has a luminescent area, whereby the postage indicium has been applied onto the surface of a mailpiece, and whereby the surface of the mailpiece is illuminated with light having wavelengths from a spectral region, then a first image of the surface of the mailpiece is taken with a camera system and this first image is evaluated regarding the place of the postage indicia applied onto the surface of the mailpiece, subsequently the postage indicium is irradiated with light having wavelengths from a second spectral region, whereby this light is capable of exciting the luminescence of the luminescent printing ink. |
| US09224058B2 |
Data augmentation method and system for improved automatic license plate recognition
Methods, systems, and processor-readable media for data augmentation utilized in an automatic license plate recognition engine. A machine-readable code can be associated with an automatic license plate recognition engine. The machine-readable code can be configured to define parameters that drive processing within the automatic license plate recognition engine to produce recognition results thereof and enhance a machine readability of a license plate recognized and analyzed via the automatic license plate recognition engine. |
| US09224056B2 |
System for logging biometric data
A system for gathering and storing biometric data relating to a portable biometric device that is configured to scan and save the footprint image of an infant, while also automatically compartmentalizing the footprint image into a designated file that also includes an employee identification information of the footprint taker, biometric data of the parent, and both infant and mother wristband identification information. The data and images are collected at the same time, and then time and date stamped, to ensure that no mistakes are made. |
| US09224050B2 |
Vehicle localization in open-pit mining using GPS and monocular camera
Described herein is a method and system for vehicle localization in an open pit mining environment having intermittent or incomplete GPS coverage. The system comprises GPS receivers associated with the vehicles and providing GPS measurements when available, as well as one or more cameras 50,55 overlooking the mine region 10. The cameras 50,55 are at a known location and are used for generating a sequence of images in a field of view with predetermined calibration in a fixed coordinate system. The system further comprises a vehicle recognition processor 120 for analyzing individual images from the camera to identify and locate within an image a vehicle in the mine region, as well as a vehicle tracking processor 130 for analyzing a sequence of images from the camera to track the identified vehicle location in the sequence of images. A data fusion processor 160 is coupled to receive GPS measurements, when available, from the vehicle GPS receivers, to fuse the received GPS measurement and corresponding vehicle image location, and to output a vehicle localization output 125. |
| US09224047B2 |
Specifying search criteria for searching video data
A method and apparatus is described for specifying regions of interest within a two-dimensional view of visual information that comprises a series of frames. Visual changes that occur in the view are stored. A user enters search criteria that specify at least one first region of interest within the view and a visual change. A visual change may include a change in pixel values or a detection of motion of one or more objects within the view. The first search criteria are compared against the stored visual changes to identify a sequence of frames in which the specified visual change occurred within the first region of interest. The search criteria may specify multiple regions of interest, each with one or more types of visual changes. If a motion is specified, then a direction, speed, and behavior of a moving object may also be specified. |
| US09224042B2 |
Cross-sensor iris matching
Methods, devices, and systems for cross-sensor iris matching are described herein. One method includes capturing a first image of an iris using a first sensor, capturing a second image of an iris using a second sensor, and determining whether the iris in the first image matches the iris in the second image based on characteristics of the first sensor and the second sensor and image quality of the first image and the second image. |
| US09224039B2 |
Contextualization of machine indeterminable information based on machine determinable information
A system for contextualizing machine indeterminable information based on machine determinable information may include a memory, an interface, and a processor. The memory may store an electronic document image which may include information determinable by a machine and information indeterminable by a machine. The processor may be operative to receive, via the interface, the electronic document image. The processor may determine the machine determinable information of the electronic document image and may identify the machine indeterminable information of the electronic document image. The processor may contextualize the machine indeterminable information based on the machine determinable information. The processor may present the contextualized machine indeterminable information to the user to facilitate interpretation thereof. In response thereto, the processor may receive, via the interface, data representative of a user determination associated with the machine indeterminable information. |
| US09224033B2 |
Feeling-expressing-word processing device, feeling-expressing-word processing method, and feeling-expressing-word processing program
The present approach enables an impression of the atmosphere of a scene or an object present in the scene at the time of photography to be pictured in a person's mind as though the person were actually at the photographed scene. A feeling-expressing-word processing device has: a feeling information calculating unit 11 for analyzing a photographed image, and calculating feeling information which indicates a situation of a scene portrayed in the photographed image or a condition of an object present in the scene; and a feeling-expressing-word extracting unit 12 for extracting, from among feeling-expressing words which express feelings and are stored in a feeling-expressing-word database 21 in association with the feeling information, a feeling-expressing word which corresponds to the feeling information calculated by the feeling information calculating unit 11. |
| US09224028B2 |
Pattern for coding a numerical information item on a surface and marking and reading methods
A pattern for coding numerical a information item on a surface, including a specific arrangement of a plurality of symbols belonging to a set of symbols (ENS1), and each symbol in the arrangement being intended for the coding of a portion of said numerical information item, wherein each symbol includes at least one differential pair of elements (E1, E2) positioned in a specific way, each element being characterized by a parameter, the parameter of the first element of each differential pair having a first value and the parameter of the second element of each differential pair having a second value different from the first value. |
| US09224027B2 |
Hand-mounted indicia-reading device with finger motion triggering
A wearable indicia reader is worn on the back of a user's hand such that the act of pointing the user's index finger is sufficient to align the indicia reader and trigger the indicia-reading process. Triggering is achieved by sensing the user's finger in an image or by breaking a light path in a photogate. |
| US09224026B2 |
Automatic system and method for tracking and decoding barcode by portable devices
A system and method for automatic tracking and decoding barcode image on the standard EAN-13 through portable, or mobile, devices makes it possible to track the barcode in any position and orientation it is in and decode it automatically in real time. To make the tracking and decoding of barcodes, methods are applied on the captured image, seeking the guidance and location of the barcode. |
| US09224012B2 |
Debug functionality in a secure computing environment
A computer system includes a security processor, a first scan chain coupled to the security processor, a non-secure element, and a second scan chain coupled to the non-secure element. The computer system also includes one or more test access port controllers to control operation of the first and second scan chains, and further includes debug control logic, coupled to the one or more test access port controllers, to enable the one or more test access port controllers to activate debug functionality on the second scan chain but not the first scan chain in response to a predefined condition being satisfied. |
| US09224004B2 |
Variable user interface based on document access privileges
Users may be presented with different viewing interfaces for a document based on a combination of factors relating to display rights possessed for the document and user specific information. In one implementation, the user's location is used to determine portions of the document that can be displayed to the user. More particularly, access privileges to a document for a user are determined based on geographical location information of the user and based on access rights possessed for the document. Portions of the document may then be formatted for display to the user based on the determined access privileges. |
| US09224003B2 |
Method for secure storing and sharing of a data file via a computer communication network and open cloud services
A computer implemented method, server computer and computer program for securely storing a data file via a computer communication network and open cloud services. The method includes: providing a user's computer with code for providing a unique user name; asking the user for a password; generating an asymmetric key pair having one public key and one private key; encrypting the private key via a hash of the password; generating a file-specific symmetric key specific for the data file; encrypting the data file via the file-specific symmetric key; encrypting the file-specific symmetric key via the public key; where the code is executed by a web browser on the computer; storing the encrypted file-specific symmetric key as a header part of the encrypted data file, and interacting with the file exchange interface of a cloud service which receives the encrypted data file, and storing the encrypted data file and header part. |
| US09223994B2 |
Secure transaction method from a non-secure terminal
The invention relates to a transaction method, the method including the steps of: providing a terminal including a main processor, a graphic processor controlling a display, and a control member, the graphic processor including a memory bank which cannot be accessed from the outside; creating a link between the graphic processor and a secure processor, the link being secured by means of an encryption key shared only by the graphic processor and the secure processor; presenting first data to the user; collecting second data from commands entered by the user by means of the control member, in connection with the first data; transmitting the second data to the secure processor; and, if the user has been authenticated from the second data, carrying out the transaction, the secure link being used to transmit the first and/or second data, and/or to carry out the transaction. |
| US09223990B2 |
Method and apparatus for application management in user device
The method and apparatus support signature-based application management that examines credibility of an application to be installed or executed and controls installation and execution accordingly. The application management method for a user device includes: receiving user input for installing an application; comparing signature information of the application with an authentication list stored in a signature information storage; preventing, when the signature information is present in a blacklist of the authentication list, installation of the application; initiating, when the signature information is present in a whitelist of the authentication list, installation of the application; and selectively performing, when the signature information is not present in either the blacklist or the whitelist, installation of the application according to user consent. |
| US09223989B2 |
Approval of content updates
A method, computer program product, and system is described. An indication of a problem regarding a content item is received, the content item being subject to a workflow including an approval protocol. A request for an emergency exception to the workflow with respect to an update to the content item is received, the update being associated with the problem. Permission for circumvention of one or more aspects of the approval protocol with respect to the update is provided, in response to receiving the request for the emergency exception. |
| US09223988B1 |
Extending browser functionality with dynamic on-the-fly downloading of untrusted browser components
Subject innovations enable a client device to dynamically download Digital Rights Management components, and/or other plug-ins, to extend a browser functionality, where the downloading places the downloaded component(s) within a super sandbox that, inter alia, disables selected operating system calls by the downloaded component, performs one or more heuristic analysis on code execution of the component to detect possible malicious code, and restricts output through the super sandbox to those responses that are in response to a request to the component, rather than output that the component might have initiated ‘on its own.’ In some embodiments, a webpage is configured to include instructions to automatically download and install the component, thereby minimizing user actions to directly request and/or install the component. |
| US09223985B2 |
Risk assessment of changing computer system within a landscape
Embodiments assess risk posed by changing a computer system present within a landscape of other computer systems. Agents provide a central assessment engine with data relevant to considerations such as system criticality, correlation between related systems, and dependence between different systems. The criticality parameter reflects an importance of a system and a corresponding change risk impact. System correlation is measured to allow comparison between systems, and a risk of failure of a change to the systems. Dependencies between systems are measured to define a set of systems to be changed in a coordinated manner. Change statistics collected in a database, may allow correlating systems across various customers, improving accuracy of risk prediction. Embodiments may facilitate iterative planning, where a different dependency permits the definition of smaller sets of systems offering lower risk of failure upon change implementation. Embodiments may allow correlation measurement between systems and a copy created for testing. |
| US09223979B2 |
Detection of return oriented programming attacks
In one embodiment, a processor includes at least one execution unit and Return Oriented Programming (ROP) detection logic. The ROP detection logic may determine a ROP metric based on a plurality of control transfer events. The ROP detection logic may also determine whether the ROP metric exceeds a threshold. The ROP detection logic may also, in response to a determination that the ROP metric exceeds the threshold, provide a ROP attack notification. |
| US09223978B2 |
Security policy deployment and enforcement system for the detection and control of polymorphic and targeted malware
The present system and method pertain to the detection of malicious software and processes such as malware. A cloud security policy system receives hashes and behavioral information about applications and/or process executing on user devices. The cloud security policy system records this information and then evaluates the trustworthiness of the hashes based on the information received from the user devices to provide a security policy for the applications and/or processes. The security policy is sent from the cloud security policy system to user devices to be applied by the user devices. |
| US09223976B2 |
Content inspection
Content inspection techniques are described. In one or more implementations, it is detected that an application executing on a computing device is calling a particular code element of a group of code elements to be used to process content. For example, the group of code elements can include a pre-specified group of code elements (e.g., functions and/or properties) that may enable access to particular functionalities of a computing device and thus are associated with a known security risk. It is then ascertained that the content is untrusted and, in response to ascertaining that the content is untrusted, the content is inspected to determine if the content is safe to be passed to the code element. |
| US09223973B2 |
System and method for attack and malware prevention
A system and method for preventing malware attacks on mobile devices is presented. A server receives data from a mobile communications device and applies, by a known good component, logic on the data to determine if the data is safe. When the data is determined as being safe, the data is allowed to be processed by the mobile communications device. When the data is determined as not safe, a known bad component applies logic on the data to determine if the data is malicious. The data is rejected from being processed by the mobile communications device when the data is determined as being malicious. When the data is not malicious, a decision component performs an analysis on the data. If decision component determines the data to be safe, the data is allowed to be processed by the mobile communications device. Otherwise, the data is rejected from being processed. |
| US09223971B1 |
User reporting and automatic threat processing of suspicious email
A computer device displays email messages received in connection with a user account and a user selectable icon to report suspicious email. The computer device receives user selections of the icon and an associated suspicious email message among the received email messages. Responsive to the selection, the computer device automatically collects information from the host, the user account, and the email message, determines an initial threat priority for the email message based on the collected information, generates threat indicators based at least on each file attachment of the email message, if any, determines malware, if any, in the email message based on the threat indicators, and creates an event ticket for the suspicious email message having fields populated based on the collected information, the initial threat priority, the threat indicators, and the determined malware. |
| US09223970B2 |
Evaluating application integrity
Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for evaluating application integrity are presented. In one or more embodiments, an application store, which may be provided by one or more computing devices, may analyze one or more aspects of an application. Subsequently, the application store may determine, based on the one or more analyzed aspects of the application, an integrity score for the application. Based on the integrity score, the application store may determine whether to publish the application in the application store. In response to determining to publish the application in the application store, the application store then may publish the application in the application store. Alternatively, in response to determining not to publish the application in the application store, the application store may generate a notification indicating that the application has an insufficient integrity score. |
| US09223965B2 |
Secure generation and management of a virtual card on a mobile device
A method, system, and/or computer program product securely generates and/or manages a virtual card on a mobile device. The mobile device receives a protected application, which initially cannot be accessed by an operating system for execution by a processor. The mobile device also receives a security object, which is used to convert the received protected application into an executable application that can be utilized by the operating system for execution by the processor. The executable application is then executed by the processor to act as a virtual card, which provides a functionality of a predefined physical electronic or magnetic-stripe card. |
| US09223964B2 |
Detecting JAVA sandbox escaping attacks based on JAVA bytecode instrumentation and JAVA method hooking
By injecting bytecode into a predetermined method of a sandbox environment, an application that uses an exploit to attempt to escape from the sandbox environment may be detected without knowledge of the application or the exploit used to attempt to escape from the sandbox environment. Upon indicating that the application has escaped the sandbox, the application may be terminated or the escape may be reported, allowing further monitoring of the application. |
| US09223962B1 |
Micro-virtual machine forensics and detection
The execution of a process within a VM may be monitored, and when a trigger event occurs, additional monitoring is initiated, including storing behavior data describing the real-time events taking place inside the VM. This behavior data may then be compared to information about the expected behavior of that type of process in order to determine whether malware has compromised the VM. |
| US09223957B2 |
Image forming apparatus, image processing apparatus and image delivery system
An image forming apparatus connected to plural authentication servers includes an acquiring unit configured to acquire user identifying information identifying a user and a password; a selecting unit configured to select server identifying information identifying two or more of the plural authentication servers; an authentication process unit configured to transmit the user identifying information and the password to the two or more authentication servers identified by the selected server identifying information, and acquire an authentication result from the two or more authentication servers. The authentication process unit determines that authentication is successful upon reception of the authentication result indicating successful authentication by at least one of the two or more authentication servers. The image forming apparatus further includes a process unit configured to process image data upon determination of successful authentication by the authentication process unit. |
| US09223954B2 |
User detecting apparatus, user detecting method and computer-readable recording medium storing a user detecting program
A user detecting apparatus includes: a memory that stores a program including a procedure; and a processor that executed the program, the procedure including: obtaining an image captured by a camera, switching between a first mode in which a first user-associated area, which is associated with a user, is detected from the image according to a similarity between a color histogram of the image and a reference color histogram and a second mode in which a second user-associated area, which is associated with the user, is detected from the image according to a feature point extracted from the image, according to luminance of the image, and detecting, from the image, the first user-associated area in the first mode or the second user-associated area in the second mode. |
| US09223952B2 |
Allowing varied device access based on different levels of unlocking mechanisms
Systems and methods may provide for receiving runtime input from one or more unlock interfaces of a device and selecting a level of access with regard to the device from a plurality of levels of access based on the runtime input. The selected level of access may have an associated security policy, wherein an authentication of the runtime input may be conducted based on the associated security policy. In one example, one or more cryptographic keys are used to place the device in an unlocked state with regard to the selected level of access if the authentication is successful. If the authentication is unsuccessful, on the other hand, the device may be maintained in a locked state with regard to the selected level of access. |
| US09223951B2 |
User authentication based on other applications
The present invention includes a system for authenticating a second action based on a first action, wherein the system is configured to: receive a first request to execute a first action associated with a first application; determine that execution of the first action requires user authentication; request one or more authentication credentials from the user; receive a first authentication credential associated with the first action; validate the first authentication credential, thereby resulting in a successful validation of the received first authentication credential; in response to the successful validation, execute the first action; receive a second request to execute a second action associated with a second application; determine that execution of the second action requires user authentication; use the successful validation of the first authentication credential to validate a second authentication credential so that the second action may be executed. |
| US09223947B2 |
Authentication apparatus and computer-readable medium storing authentication program code
An authentication apparatus may include a storage unit, an analysis unit, and an authentication unit. The storage unit may be configured to store pieces of authentication information and an authentication order of the pieces of authentication information. The analysis unit may be configured to compare pieces of input information with the pieces of authentication information and to compare an input order of the pieces of input information with the authentication order. The authentication unit may be configured to authorize the pieces of input information if the comparison shows that the pieces of input information match the pieces of authentication information as necessary to authenticate and the input order of the pieces of input information matches the authentication order. |
| US09223946B1 |
Specification and configuration of management intent
A method, and a corresponding system, provide for configuring nodes in a computer system according to a user's intent. The computer system includes one or more nodes. The method includes receiving a configuration command from a user, including an identification of one or more of the nodes to be configured; determining available programs for configuring the one or more nodes; determining requirements for applying the available programs to the one or more nodes and displaying the requirements to the user for selection; receiving user selections from the displayed requirements; and executing the requirements to configure the one or more nodes. |
| US09223942B2 |
Automatically presenting rights protected content on previously unauthorized device
A first consumer electronics device includes a computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by a processor, and a processor configured for accessing the computer readable storage medium to execute the instructions to configure the processor for receiving a signal indicative of close proximity of the first CE device to a second CE device. The instructions also configure the processor for providing a private key to the second CE device in response to receiving the signal. The private key is associated with a digital rights management (DRM) account for which the first CE device has been configured to access, and is configured for a single use by the second CE device to access a first audio video (AV) content without the second CE device communicating any other authentication information associated with the DRM account to access the first AV content to a content provider associated with the first AV content. |
| US09223939B2 |
Key generation method
A computer-implemented method to generate a key to provide access to a software product, where the product key is embedded with product information, such as product title, distribution channel, geographic region of sale or other product data. |
| US09223938B2 |
Location bound secure domains
A method, apparatus, and electronic device with secure operation based on geography are disclosed. A positioning mechanism 404 may determine a geographic location of the apparatus or electronic device. A processor 104 may identify a secure domain for a virtual machine application. The processor 104 may determine an availability of an application programming interface for the virtual machine application based on the geographic location. |
| US09223937B2 |
Method and apparatus for extending an authentication timeout period
A method and apparatus for extending an authentication timeout period for an electronic device includes a primary processor of the electronic device initiating an authentication timeout period at a timeout initiation time and putting the primary processor into a sleep mode. The method also includes awakening the primary processor from the sleep mode at an expiration time, upon expiration of the authentication timeout period, and determining whether an authentication timeout extending input was detected by an adjunct processor of the electronic device at an input detection time that occurred during the authentication timeout period. The method further includes extending the authentication timeout period to expire at an extended expiration time, which is based on the input detection time, when the authentication timeout extending input was detected by the adjunct processor or locking the electronic device when the authentication timeout extending input was not detected by the adjunct processor. |
| US09223936B2 |
Fatigue indices and uses thereof
Example embodiments may relate to a system, method, apparatus, and computer readable media configured for monitoring a user performing an athletic movement and/or exercise and generating a fatigue value. Fatigue values may be determined for different groups. In one embodiment, a first value is determined for a muscle fatigue value and a second value is determined for a respiratory value. In another embodiment, a first value may pertain to a first muscle group and a second value may pertain to a second muscle group. A fatigue index may be created from values obtained during an athletic movement and/or a workout session. In further embodiments, a cumulative fatigue index may be determined. A cumulative fatigue index may consider values obtained during several workout sessions. Further, data obtained outside of workout sessions may be considered in determinations relating to fatigue values and/or indices. |
| US09223935B2 |
Contactless and minimal-contact monitoring of quality of life parameters for assessment and intervention
An apparatus, system, and method for the measurement, aggregation and analysis of data collected using non-contact or minimally-contacting sensors provides quality of life parameters for individual subjects, particularly in the context of a controlled trial of interventions on human subjects (e.g., a clinical trial of a drug, or an evaluation of a consumer item such as a fragrance). In particular, non-contact or minimal-contact measurement of quality-of-life parameters such as sleep, stress, relaxation, drowsiness, temperature and emotional state of humans may be evaluated, together with automated sampling, storage, and transmission to a remote data analysis center. One component of the system is that the objective data is measured with as little disruption as possible to the normal behavior of the subject. The system can also support behavioral and pharmaceutical interventions aimed at improving quality of life. |
| US09223927B2 |
Modeling system, method of modeling semiconductor device, computer-readable recording medium comprising program for performing the method
A modeling system includes a processor. The processor includes a capacitor model generator configured to generate a capacitor model based on a received circuit configuration. The capacitor model generator includes an extract module configured to extract parasitic capacitors from the received circuit configuration and a generate module configured to generate the capacitor model. The generate module generates the capacitor model by classifying the parasitic capacitors into a group of coupled capacitors and a group of grounded capacitors; classifying the coupled capacitors into first coupled capacitors and second coupled capacitors according to a corresponding influence on a performance of the circuit; setting the first coupled capacitors to a maintenance state; and converting at least one of the second coupled capacitors into a grounded capacitor, the at least one of the second coupled capacitors being a second coupled capacitor having a capacitance that is below a desired reference value. |
| US09223920B2 |
Method and apparatus for timing closure
Aspects of the disclosure provide a circuit, such as an integrated circuit. The circuit includes a first circuit and a second circuit. The second circuit includes a delay circuit configured to cause the second circuit to have substantially matched delay characteristics of the first circuit in response to at least one parameter change of manufacturing, environmental and operational parameters, such as process variation, temperature variation, and supply voltage variation. |
| US09223918B2 |
Reducing repeater power
A method, system and computer-readable medium for reducing repeater power and crosstalk are provided. The method includes generating a model of a circuit including a plurality of original repeaters connected between at least one source and at least one sink, performing a power optimization analysis on the plurality of original repeaters to change the plurality of original repeaters to low-power repeaters based on predetermined optimization parameters, performing a crosstalk analysis on the model of the circuit including the low-power repeaters to determine whether a crosstalk timing violation exists, and changing at least one of the low-power repeaters to a higher-power repeater when it is determined that a crosstalk violation exists, and leaving the low-power repeaters in the model of the circuit when it is determined that a crosstalk violation does not exist. |
| US09223915B1 |
Method, system, and computer program product for checking, verifying, or testing a multi-fabric electronic design spanning across multiple design fabrics
Disclosed are various techniques that check, verify, or test multi-fabric designs by receiving a request for checking correctness of a multi-fabric design across at least a first design fabric and a second design fabric. A request for action is transmitted from a first EDA tool session to a second EDA tool session. Connectivity information of second design data in the second design fabric is identified by the second EDA tool session in response to the request for action from the first EDA tool session. These various techniques then check the correctness of the multi-fabric design in the first design fabric by using at least the connectivity information of the second design data. A symbolic representation may be used to represent design data in an EDA tool session to which the design data are not native. |
| US09223914B2 |
Automated method to determine composite material constituent properties
According to an aspect, a method includes: receiving, at a machine comprising a processor and a memory, composite material properties for a composite material to be simulated; receiving, at the machine, a composite microstructure for the composite material to be simulated; and obtaining, using the processor and the memory, a set of adjusted material properties for one or more constituents of the composite material, for use in simulating the composite material, by processing the composite material properties and the composite microstructure using fixed constituent property constraints. |
| US09223910B1 |
Performance and memory efficient modeling of HDL ports for simulation
A method for compiling an HDL specification for simulation of a circuit design is disclosed. The circuit design is elaborated from the HDL specification and memory locations are allocated for formals and actuals of the elaborated circuit design. For each port having a formal and an actual that are compatible, the allocating of memory locations sets a reference pointer for the formal and a reference pointer for the actual to reference a same one of the memory locations. For each port having a formal and an actual that are incompatible, the allocating of memory locations sets the reference pointer for the formal and the reference pointer for the actual to reference different respective ones of the memory locations. Simulation code modeling the elaborated circuit design is generated that updates a formal and actual of a port that are compatible using a single write operation to the referenced memory location. |
| US09223907B2 |
Systems, methods and user interface for graphical configuration for roof mounts
Systems, methods and user interfaces for graphical configuration for ballasted roof mounts of non-rectangular solar arrays. A graphical interface may be provided to allow a user to view a roof grid, and place solar modules within the roof grid where desired, to account for various obstacles on a roof, to create a non-rectangular solar array. Using the layout of the array and various site parameters (building height, wind speed, etc.) and solar module parameters (wide, length, thickness, etc.), the system may calculate a complete bill of materials, customer pricing, ballasting requirements and overall roof loads for a complete solar project. |
| US09223905B2 |
Systems and methods for predicting fluid dynamics in a data center
A system and method for predicting airflow within a data center using a potential flow technique is provided. In one aspect, a method includes automatically generating an unstructured grid, the unstructured grid comprising a plurality of unstructured grid cells, each unstructured grid cell having a size, dividing a representation of the data center into the plurality of unstructured grid cells, determining airflow velocity values for each of the plurality of unstructured grid cells using airflow velocity potentials, determining a temperature value for each one of the plurality of the unstructured grid cells using the airflow velocity values, determining a concentration value for each of the plurality of the unstructured grid cells using the airflow velocity values, and calculating a comparison result indicating whether the concentration values, the airflow velocity values and the temperature values for the plurality of the unstructured grid cells satisfy convergence criteria. |
| US09223900B2 |
Machine optimization devices, methods, and systems
A method, system, computer program product and computer readable media for matching using degree distribution information are disclosed. An embodiment of the method can include performing b-matching on a graph data structure expanded using degree distribution information in order to identify neighbors of a selected input node. The b-matching can be performed using belief propagation. The belief propagation method is adapted to use a compressed message update rule and to be suitable for use with distributed processing systems. An embodiment can also include enhancing a matching result by applying degree distribution information to a first matching result to generate a second matching result. Embodiments for online advertisement/search term matching, product recommendation, dating service and social network matching, auction buyer/seller matching and resource allocation, among other, are disclosed. |
| US09223897B1 |
Adjusting ranking of search results based on utility
A method includes obtaining a rank position map, the rank position map specifying, for a plurality of rank positions, an expected utility rate for a document presented at particular rank positions as a search result; determining an expected utility rate, for a particular document, based on the obtained rank position map, and based on a quantity of times that the particular document was presented as a search result at particular rank positions; determining an actual utility rate for the particular document based on an actual quantity of selections of the particular document, and based on a total quantity of times that the particular document was presented as a search result; calculating a correction factor, for the particular document, based on the determined expected utility rate and the determined actual utility rate; and adjusting a score of the particular document based on the correction factor. |
| US09223896B2 |
Screen generation method, and screen generation apparatus
An apparatus, method and screen recording medium are provided. The apparatus includes a determining unit which determines, in response to a request to perform processing including a screen transition and the request is transmitted from a client device via a network, whether a screen definition data, as a transition destination, associated with a client identifier relating to the client device is stored in a screen definition data storage unit, and a generating unit which generates, when the screen definition data is stored, a data of the screen functioning as the transition destination by using the screen definition data and generates, when the screen definition data is not stored, a data of the screen functioning as the transition destination by using a common screen definition data. |
| US09223892B2 |
Device abstraction for page generation
Device Abstraction for Page Generation. A request is received for information to be provided as a page of content, the page provided by a server device to a remote requesting device. The page of content is dynamically constructed in response to the request based on metadata stored on the server device and context information corresponding to the request. The dynamically constructed page of content is transmitted to the requesting device. |