| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US09254326B2 |
Pharmaceutical composition comprising 11-deoxy-prostaglandin compound and method for stabilizing the compound
Provided is a pharmaceutical composition including an 11-deoxy-prostaglandin compound represented by formula (I): and a fatty acid ester. By mixing the compound of formula (I) and a fatty acid ester, the compound of formula (I) will be stabilized. |
| US09254322B2 |
Compositions comprising E-selectin antagonists and uses therefor
This invention discloses the use of an E-selectin antagonist and a mobilizer of hematopoietic stem cells or progenitor cells in methods and compositions for treating or preventing immunocompromised conditions resulting from medical treatment. The present invention is particular relevant for prophylaxis and/or treatment of hematopoeitic disorders including neutropenia, agranulocytosis, anemia and thrombocytopenia in individuals receiving or proposed to receive treatments that target rapidly dividing cells or that disrupt the cell cycle or cell division. |
| US09254321B2 |
Compositions and methods for stabilizing protein-containing formulations
The present invention relates to use of certain alkylglycoside compositions for the prevention of aggregation and oxidation of antibodies and other proteins in therapeutically useful formulations thereof. |
| US09254318B2 |
High titer recombinant influenza viruses for vaccines
The invention provides a composition useful to prepare high titer influenza viruses, e.g., in the absence of helper virus, which includes at least five internal genes from an influenza virus isolate that replicates to high titers in embryonated chicken eggs or MDCK cells. |
| US09254313B2 |
Variant, recombinant beta-glucocerebrosidase proteins with increased stability and increased retained catalytic activity
Described herein are variant, recombinant β-glucocerebrosidase proteins characterized as having increased stability relative to recombinant wild-type β-glucocerebrosidase. Also provided herein are variant, recombinant β-glucocerebrosidase proteins characterized as retaining more catalytic activity relative to recombinant wild-type β-glucocerebrosidase. Further described herein are variant, recombinant β-glucocerebrosidase proteins that can have amino acid variations at one or more of the following positions: 316, 317, 321 and 145. Methods of making the variant, recombinant β-glucocerebrosidase proteins are also described as well as methods of treating patients having lysosomal storage diseases. |
| US09254310B2 |
Therapeutic and cosmetic uses and applications of calreticulin
The invention relates to therapeutic and cosmetic uses of calreticulin including reducing or eliminating wrinkles and/or fine lines, tissue repair and reconstruction, repairing damaged bone and/or cartilage, stimulating regeneration of an epidermal appendage, enhancing phagocytosis of bacteria by phagocytes within a wound, treating a wound in a patient suffering from delayed wound healing, treating a corneal wound, and treating or preventing a surgical adhesion. |
| US09254309B2 |
Use of multivalent synthetic ligands of surface nucleolin for treating cancer or inflammation
A method for treating disorders involving deregulation of cell proliferation and/or angiogenesis comprising the administration of an effective amount of a multivalent synthetic compound comprising a support on which at least 3 pseudopeptide units are grafted, said compound being of formula (I). |
| US09254307B2 |
Polymeric delivery formulations of leuprolide with improved efficacy
The present invention is directed to a flowable composition that is suitable for use as a controlled release implant. The flowable composition includes a biodegradable thermoplastic polyester that is at least substantially insoluble in aqueous medium or body fluid. The flowable composition also includes a biocompatible polar aprotic solvent. The biocompatible polar aprotic solvent is miscible to dispersible in aqueous medium or body fluid. The flowable composition also includes leuprolide acetate. |
| US09254303B2 |
Synbiotic mixture
This invention relates to a preparation comprising N-acetyl-lactosamine and/or an oligosaccharide containing N-acetyl-lactosamine and a probiotic Lactobacillus sp. The invention extends to nutritional compositions comprising said preparation and to the use of the preparation in the prevention and treatment of pathogenic infections of the gastro-intestinal and upper respiratory tracts. |
| US09254299B2 |
Administration of hypoxia activated prodrugs in combination with Chk1 inhibitors for treating cancer
Cancer can be treated by administration of TH-302 in combination with a Chk1 inhibitor. |
| US09254298B2 |
Synthesis and formulations of salts of isophosphoramide mustard and analogs thereof
Disclosed herein are formulations and methods of manufacture of compounds of formula (E): wherein X and Y independently represent leaving groups; and A+ is an ammonium cation. |
| US09254296B2 |
Pharmaceutical composition comprising vitamin D analogue and cosolvent-surfactant mixture
A topical pharmaceutical composition which is an oil-in-water-oil emulsion comprising a vitamin D derivative or analogue dissolved in a mixture of a non-ionic surfactant and a lower alkanol. The topical pharmaceutical composition may be used in the treatment of dermal conditions, such as psoriasis. |
| US09254295B2 |
Tomatidine, analogs thereof, compositions comprising same, and uses for same
In one aspect, the invention relates to methods for promoting muscle hypertrophy or decreasing adiposity by providing to an animal in need thereof an effective amount of a compound. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. |
| US09254294B2 |
Transmucosal hormone delivery system
The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition for sublingual or buccal administration of actives with low to poor aqueous solubility, e.g. the hormone estradiol, which contains a solution of the active in a pharmaceutically acceptable solvent adsorbed or absorbed onto particles of a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and methods of preparing and using the pharmaceutical composition. |
| US09254290B2 |
Method for screening diabetes treating agent
The present invention provides a method for screening a diabetes treating agent comprising the following steps: (a) preparing cells inside a culture medium; (b) treating the culture medium with a test substance; (c) treating the result of step (b) with a glucose derivative which is not metabolized; and (d) measuring the glucose derivative which has flowed into the cells, wherein the test substance is determined to be a diabetes treating agent if the test substance accelerates uptake of the glucose derivative in the cells. Therefore, the described pharmaceutical composition, including a triazin-based compound as an active ingredient, can be useful for application in preventing or treating diabetes. |
| US09254283B2 |
Therapeutic agent for migraine
Provided are therapeutic and/or preventive agents for migraine which comprise, as an active ingredient, a compound having a selective adenosine A2A receptor antagonistic activity or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof; therapeutic and/or preventive agents for migraine which comprise, as an active ingredient, a compound having a selective adenosine A2A receptor antagonistic activity, which has an affinity for the adenosine A2A receptor 10 times or higher than that for the adenosine A1 receptor, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof; and the like. |
| US09254278B2 |
Methods of therapeutic monitoring of nitrogen scavenging drugs
The present disclosure provides methods for evaluating daily ammonia exposure based on a single fasting ammonia blood level measurement, as well as methods that utilize this technique to adjust the dosage of a nitrogen scavenging drug, determine whether to administer a nitrogen scavenging drug, and treat nitrogen retention disorders. |
| US09254277B2 |
Pet food compositions and methods for treating arthritis and inflammation associated with arthritis
The present invention provides food compositions that are effective in treating arthritis or inflammation associated with arthritis in a companion animal, preferably a canine or feline. |
| US09254275B2 |
Branched chain fatty acids for prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal disorders
The present invention is directed to a method of preventing or treating a gastrointestinal condition in a subject, that includes administering one or more branched chain fatty acid to the subject under conditions effective to prevent or treat the gastrointestinal condition in the subject. In general, branched chain fatty acids, in accordance with the present invention, may be non-esterified fatty acids or covalently linked to a lipid, including wax esters, sterol esters, triacylglycerols, or any other lipid-related molecular species, natural or artificial. The branched chain fatty acid can be a C11 to C26 branched chain fatty acid and mixtures thereof. |
| US09254272B2 |
Resorcinol derivatives
The disclosure relates to cannabinoid derivative compounds, pharmaceutical compositions made thereof, and methods for treating various diseases and disorders including cancer. |
| US09254271B2 |
Arthroscopic irrigation solution and method for peripheral vasoconstriction and inhibition of pain and inflammation
A method and solution for perioperatively inhibiting a variety of pain and inflammation processes during arthroscopic procedures. The solution preferably includes a vasoconstrictor that demonstrates substantial agonist activity at alpha adrenergic receptors and that is selected for peripheral (local) vasoconstriction and one or more additional pain and inflammation inhibitory agents at dilute concentration in a physiologic carrier, such as saline or lactated Ringer's solution. The solution is applied by continuous irrigation of a wound during a surgical procedure for peripheral vasoconstriction and inhibition of pain and/or inflammation while avoiding undesirable side effects associated with systemic application of larger doses of the agents. |
| US09254269B2 |
Method of managing hypercortisolemia, headache disorders, neuropathic pain and related disorders
The present disclosure relates to treatment and management of Cushing's syndrome, Headache disorders and Neuropathic using a composition comprising asiaticoside and madecasosside optionally along with at least one excipient. The treatment can be extended to Myalgia and other related disease conditions. |
| US09254268B2 |
Compositions comprising lipophilic active compounds and method for their preparation
Compositions are provided comprising a lipophilic active compound, e.g., a human or veterinary drug or a nutraceutical, interwoven with a polymeric matrix formed by two or more polymers, wherein one of the polymers is an amphiphilic polymer and the other polymer is either an amphiphilic polymer with a different hydrophobic-hydrophilic balance or a hydrophilic polymer, and the active lipophilic compound has modified physicochemical properties. The composition forms colloidal nanodispersion upon contact with aqueous media. |
| US09254267B2 |
Composite hydrogel drug delivery systems
Compositions and methods are provided to control the release of relatively low molecular weight therapeutic species through hydrogels by first dispersing or dissolving such therapeutic species within relatively hydrophobic rate modifying agents to form a mixture. The mixture is formed into microparticles that are dispersed within bioabsorbable hydrogels, so as to release the water soluble therapeutic agents in a controlled fashion. Methods of using the compositions of the present invention in therapeutic systems are also provided. |
| US09254266B2 |
Inhibiting surface enhanced crystallization of amorphous pharmaceuticals with ultrathin coatings
The present invention provides surface-stabilized amorphous pharmaceuticals comprising an amorphous pharmaceutical substrate coated with a biocompatible immobilizing material. Amorphous pharmaceutical substrates that are prone to surface enhanced crystallization benefit from the present coatings. The coated amorphous pharmaceuticals of the present invention maintain their amorphous state and, therefore, their solubility over extended periods of time, relative to uncoated pharmaceuticals. |
| US09254259B2 |
Methods of intravenous administration of glyburide
The present disclosure is drawn to a method of administering glyburide intravenously to a subject over a period of time as a first bolus administration of glyburide; a second bolus administration of glyburide, after the first bolus; and a first continuous infusion administration of glyburide, wherein the first continuous infusion is administered at a first rate of administration for a first period of time, after the second bolus administration of glyburide. |
| US09254255B2 |
Dental care product with two-part formulations and utility thereof
A dental care product comprises an orally acceptable carrier or excipient, and a bacterial resistance copolymer, which comprises a zwitterionic block and a charged anchoring block, wherein the anchoring block binds to tooth surfaces by electrostatic attraction, and the zwitterionic block extends outwardly to reduce the attachment of bacteria to tooth surfaces. |
| US09254251B2 |
Benzoic acid amide compound
The present invention relates to a novel benzoic acid amide derivative compound, isomers thereof, pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, prodrugs thereof, hydrates thereof, or solvates thereof. The novel compound has excellent skin whitening effects. |
| US09254250B1 |
Molecules to perfect HbA1c levels
This invention is of particular use to patients with Diabetes Mellitus. It uses alkyl analogs of the methyl pyruvate (MP) family to provide energy and improve insulin and glucose homeostasis via accelerated intracellular delivery of protons and ATP from each MP. The energy upregulates cellular cross talk and networking resulting in a surge of ATP enabling NADH (via glycolysis) that enables pancreatic islet cells to obtain increased ATP allowing excess insulin manufacture. This process improves cellular respiration and expedites protein, lipid and hormone manufacture. The increased energy also enables telomeres and delays Hayflick limit. Instead of cellular repair, silence, or apoptosis, energy is allocated for cell/organ function. This invention curbs inflammation and ROS by idealizing cellular respiration and diminishing hyperglycemia. In turn a reduction of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), lessened target RNA and nucleic acid toxins, i.e., diminished HbA1c occurs. By decreased drain of cellular energy, genomic function improves. |
| US09254248B2 |
Inhibitor of odor caused by sotolone
It is intended to provide a substance inhibiting an odor caused by sotolone. The present invention provides an inhibitor of an odor caused by sotolone, comprising an antagonist of an olfactory receptor OR8D1 as an active ingredient. |
| US09254242B2 |
Connector device
A connector device for connecting two containers with first and second members slidably displaceable in regard to each other along an axis between a first and a second position is presented. The first member comprises a needle parallel to the axis so that the first container's septum is penetrated by one end of the needle when the first container is introduced into the first member. The second member comprises a coupling to the second container. The other needle end penetrates the second container's septum when the members are in the second position establishing a connection between the two containers. The first member comprises a coupling to the second container coupled to the second member. The first member can couple to the second container when the two members are in the second position and cannot couple to the second container when the two members are in the first position. |
| US09254234B2 |
Robotic strong arm
A robotic strong arm (RSA) for assisting in the transfer of a person from a first surface to a second surface, comprising: first and second members, wherein in each member comprises a prismatic joint having first and second ends and comprising inner and outer shells and a motor for powered linear movement of the outer shell with respect to the inner shell; a first powered joint interconnecting the second end of the first member with the first end of the second member, wherein the first powered joint provides movement of the second member with respect to the first member; wherein the first end of the first member is attached to a rotatable base and wherein the rotatable base is movably attached for powered movement along a component associated with, and extending around at least a portion of a periphery about, the first surface; and a computer controller for controlling movements of the outer shells, first powered joint, rotation of the rotatable base and movement of the rotatable base and RSA along the component. |
| US09254233B2 |
Apparatus for lifting persons
An apparatus to lift persons includes: a base; wheels attached to the base; a vertical assembly including a fixed subassembly and a traveling subassembly; a mechanism such as an actuator that powers vertical movement of the traveling subassembly; a fork system attached to the traveling subassembly and comprises a pair of forks; and a substantially flat seat plate that is removably attached to the fork system and includes a pair of channels along opposite sides of the seat plate. The seat plate is removed from the fork system, placed onto the floor, and is then mounted by a person. The seat plate is reattached to the fork system by inserting the forks into the channels, and the actuator is activated to lift the person from the floor. The base and fork system may be pivotally attached to the fixed subassembly and traveling subassembly, respectively, so that the apparatus is collapsible. |
| US09254231B2 |
Multi-layered support system
In various embodiments, a support system includes a cover sheet with a number of layers. In certain embodiments, a top layer and a bottom layer are bonded to a middle spacer layer. |
| US09254229B2 |
Packaging unit and a dispenser for disposable articles
A packaging unit for holding a plurality of articles, preferably disposable articles, such, as plasters, tissues, gauze, etc. The packaging unit comprises a holding member (2) comprising a first part (5) with at most fifteen spaced apart flaps (6), and a second part (7), the first and second parts being arranged oppositely each other. A plurality of articles are arranged and retained between the first and second parts in such a manner that an individual article can be removed from the packaging unit. The packaging unit is insertable in a dispenser (13) and may serve as a refill package. Furthermore, a dispenser for delivering disposable articles, the dispenser comprising a retaining part (14) for retaining a packaging unit and an opening (15) allowing a packaging unit to be inserted and allowing an individual article to be delivered. The opening is arranged in such a manner that an individual article may be delivered from the dispenser by pulling it in a substantially downwards direction. The dispenser improves the hygienic standard as compared to prior art dispensers because the position of the opening prevents dirt, blood, or various items from entering the dispenser due to the force of gravity, thereby contaminating the articles positioned in the dispenser. |
| US09254228B2 |
Array of disposable absorbent articles having a sequence of graphics corresponding to a wearer's stages of development
An array of disposable absorbent articles comprising a sequence of graphic designs corresponding to a wearer's stage of development. For a disposable diaper, the array of disposable absorbent article graphic designs may comprise a first absorbent article graphic design for newborns and infants, a second absorbent article graphic design for toddlers, and a third absorbent article graphic design for older wearers, and other absorbent article graphic designs, and a wetness indicator. |
| US09254225B2 |
Punctal plug inserter and method
A surgical tool for inserting a spile or plug into the punctal opening of a meatus such as a lacrimo-nasal canaliculus comprises an oblong, hollowed member shaped and dimensioned to be conveniently manipulated with one hand and having at one of its end a punctal opening and meatus-dilating shaft and, at the opposite end, a plug inserter. The dilating shaft has a cross-diameter substantially equal to the cross-diameter of the plug and is terminated by a conical spike. The inserter comprises a tip extending axially from the member and having, at its distal end, a cup whose internal geometry is commensurate with a cap at the proximal end of the plug. A penetration-resisting bearing surface is provided by the cup rim. The plug can be allowed to retract within the cup under the force of insertion. A steel wire running through the inserter has its distal end inserted into the cap of the plug. The wire can be axially withdrawn by unidirectionally pressing a button in order to release the plug after insertion into the meatus. |
| US09254220B1 |
Method and system for assessing severity and stage of peripheral arterial disease and lower extremity wounds using angiosome mapping
The present invention provides a system for assessing the severity and stage of PAD including at least one sensor that measures skin perfusion pressure; a knowledge base that provides data on lower extremity angiosomes; and a processing device in operable communication with the sensor and the knowledge base, the processing device that outputs a visual representation of at least one of the lower extremity angiosomes that guides the sensor in the mapping of a testing site relative to a target vessel where the skin perfusion pressure measurement will be taken. |
| US09254219B2 |
Snoring and obstructive sleep apnea prevention and treatment device
The present invention is a safe, inexpensive, easy to use and effective anti-snoring and anti-sleep apnea treatment device. The device has a vertical and horizontal bar. The horizontal bar is placed inside the mouth, behind or between the molar teeth with palatine and tongue shelves to prevent snoring and movement of the tongue backwards. The device is tethered to the hard palate by vacuum cups to prevent the movement of the tongue backwards during sleep to prevent sleep apnea. The proximal end of the vertical bar is anchored to string at the distal end with hook and loop fabric closure adhesive attachment and to the lips outside the mouth to prevent the accidental swallowing and aspiration of the device; and at the same time holds the tongue and device firmly in the mouth. The device is provided with canula with three way stopcocks to deliver supplemental oxygen and therapeutic agents. |
| US09254218B2 |
External urinary catheter system
A male external urinary catheter system includes an external collector having a proximal portion configured to receive a user's penis and a distal portion, a retaining structure configured to urge the proximal end of the external collector against the user's body adjacent the base of the penis, and a drainage container coupled to the distal portion of the external collector. |
| US09254217B2 |
Device for restraint of patients on a table
The present invention is a device for the restraint of patients on a treatment table. More specifically, the invention is designed to provide lateral side pressure on a patient in the abdomen, thorax, and hip areas during a radiation treatment. The main components of the device are paddle(s) and at least one crossbar assembly. The paddles are coupled to a crossbar assembly, which is positioned on a treatment table under the body cushion in which the patient is positioned. The paddles can be moved laterally along the crossbar such that they put lateral pressure on the cushion and the patient. |
| US09254210B2 |
Multi-stent and multi-balloon apparatus for treating bifurcations and methods of use
A system for treating a bifurcated vessel that includes a first delivery catheter and a second delivery catheter. The first delivery catheter carries a proximal first stent and a distal second stent. The first delivery catheter also has a first elongate shaft, a proximal first expandable member with the proximal first stent disposed thereover, and a distal second expandable member with the distal second stent disposed thereover. The proximal first expandable member and distal second expandable member are independently expandable of one another. The second delivery catheter carries a third stent. The second delivery catheter also has a second elongate shaft, and a third expandable member with the third stent disposed thereover. The third expandable member is independently expandable of the proximal first expandable member and the distal second expandable member. |
| US09254209B2 |
Stent fixation with reduced plastic deformation
An endovascular stent system (10) includes first and second generally tubular stents members (20, 22), which are shaped so as to define first and second interface sections (40, 42), respectively, which are securely coupleable to each other. The first interface section (40) is shaped so as to define an opening (44). The second interface section (42) is shaped so as to define a neck portion (50). When the first and second stent members (20, 22) are coupled together, the neck portion (50) is at least in part defined by: (a) first ones (72) of structural elements (70), positioned at respective first circumferential locations, which are configured to apply, to the opening (44), distally- and radially-outwardly-directed forces, without applying any proximally-directed forces, and (b) separate from the first structural elements (72), second ones (74) of the structural elements (70), positioned at respective second circumferential locations different from the first circumferential locations, which are configured to apply, to the opening (44), a proximally- and radially-outwardly-directed forces, without applying any distally-directed forces. |
| US09254207B2 |
Annular mesh
An annular mesh expandable radially from a compact diameter to a radially-expanded deployed disposition in which the mesh is capable of sustaining a radially outwardly directed resistive force even when flexing its longitudinal axis out of a straight line, the mesh being composed of stenting struts, the stenting struts being arranged in a plurality of zig-zag strings around the circumference of the lumen, with occasional connector struts joining adjacent strings to create a closed circumference unit cell between two such connector struts and two adjacent connected strings there being a plurality of such unit cells arranged in sequence around the circumference between said two adjacent strings; and characterized in that there is a non-constant increment of strut length, serving to displace along the longitudinal axis each unit cell relative to the circumferentially next adjacent unit cell. |
| US09254204B2 |
Stents having barbs protected during delivery
The present embodiments provide a stent comprising a plurality of interconnected strut segments that enable expansion of the stent from a delivery state to a deployed state. A first strut segment and a second strut segment, of the plurality of strut segments, each comprise frontal surfaces facing radially inward in the deployed state and rear surfaces facing radially outward in the deployed state. The frontal surface of the first strut segment is at least partially stacked behind the rear surface of the second strut segment in the delivery state. A first barb coupled to at least a portion of the first strut segment. A sharpened tip of the first barb is aligned at least partially circumferentially behind at least one strut segment in the delivery state such that the sharpened tip is not radially exposed. |
| US09254203B2 |
Delivery device
A medical device includes an elongate member and a delivery member. The elongate member has a retention portion and defining a lumen. The retention portion has a first configuration and a second configuration different than the first configuration. The retention portion is biased to the first configuration. The delivery member has a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration. The delivery member is configured to be disposed within the lumen of the elongate member to move the retention portion of the elongate member from the first configuration to the second configuration. |
| US09254199B2 |
Multi-walled placeholder
A placeholder for vertebrae or vertebral discs includes a tubular body, which along its jacket surface has a plurality of breakthroughs or openings for over-growth with adjacent tissue. The placeholder includes at least a second tubular body provided with a plurality of breakthroughs and openings at least partially inside the first tubular body. The first and second tubular bodies can have different cross-sectional shapes, can be are arranged inside one another by press fit or force fit or can be connected to each other via connecting pins and arranged side by side to one another in the first body. |
| US09254191B2 |
Balloon expandable platform with retaining features for a collapsible valve
Retainer structures (150) maintain stented valves (800) on the balloon (130) of a balloon catheter during delivery of the valve to an implantation node and subsequent expansion of the valve. The retainer structures define a raised edge relative to the outer surface of the balloon and limit movement of the valve longitudinally relative to the balloon. Deflation of the balloon following expansion of the valve stent releases the valve. |
| US09254189B2 |
Aberration-correcting vision prosthesis
A vision prosthesis includes an optical element having a characteristic function associated with refraction therethrough. The characteristic function is selected to reduce aberration in an eye when the optical element is implanted at a location therein. |
| US09254181B2 |
Automatic surgical lighting device and its lighting method
The present invention provides an automatic surgical lighting device and its lighting method. The surgical lighting device is located to face a target area and includes a supporting element that is connected to at least a moving element that is above the target area. A lighting capture module set on the moving element is used to illuminate the target area and capture the image of the target area in order to send feedback signal. Both the lighting capture module and moving element are electronically connected to at least one control unit. The control unit, base on the feedback signal received, moves the lighting capture module via the moving element till the whole image of the target area is obtained. By this method, the surgery quality is improved, the surgery time is shortened and the risk of cross infection and the consequent litigation is lowered. |
| US09254179B2 |
Surgical support system
A surgical support attaches to a surgical table by means of mounting plates and base plates that may communicate through a surgical drape without puncturing the surgical drape. The base plates may be attached to the surgical table by means of a pegboard or by direct clamping of the base plates to a side of the surgical table underneath the surgical drape. |
| US09254178B2 |
Curved cannula surgical system
A robotic surgical system is configured with rigid, curved cannulas that extend through the same opening into a patient's body. Surgical instruments with passively flexible shafts extend through the curved cannulas. The cannulas are oriented to direct the instruments towards a surgical site. Various port features that support the curved cannulas within the single opening are disclosed. Cannula support fixtures that support the cannulas during insertion into the single opening and mounting to robotic manipulators are disclosed. A teleoperation control system that moves the curved cannulas and their associated instruments in a manner that allows a surgeon to experience intuitive control is disclosed. |
| US09254166B2 |
Systems and methods for turbinate reduction
The present disclosure includes an electrosurgical apparatus for treating tissue at a target site. The apparatus has a shaft with a proximal end and a distal portion, the distal portion comprising a return electrode and electrode support. There is also at least one active electrode on the shaft distal portion, which has a proximal portion and a distal portion and a plurality of aspiration apertures disposed therebetween. These apertures are fluidly connected to a fluid aspiration cavity that is located within the electrode support, and the cavity is connected with a fluid aspiration element that is located along the shaft. The plurality of apertures vary in size and are generally arranged so that the larger sized apertures are disposed towards the electrode proximal portion and the smaller sized apertures are generally located towards the electrode distal portion. |
| US09254163B2 |
Assessment of electrode coupling for tissue ablation
An electrode catheter and a method for assessing electrode-tissue contact and coupling are disclosed. An exemplary electrode catheter comprises an electrode adapted to apply electrical energy. A measurement circuit is adapted to measure impedance between the electrode and ground as the electrode approaches a target tissue. A processor determines a contact and coupling condition for the target tissue based at least in part on reactance of the impedance measured by the measurement circuit. In another exemplary embodiment, the electrode catheter determines the contact and coupling condition based at least in part on a phase angle of the impedance. |
| US09254160B2 |
Driver assembly with guidewire control mechanism
An implant driver assembly includes an assembly for advancing a threaded implant over a wire. The assembly may include a driver tool with a proximal end, a distal end and a first engagement surface that has a first thread. The driver tool may also include a first wire passage. The assembly may further include a wire locking mechanism with a second engagement surface having a second thread. The second thread is engaged with the first thread to rotatably couple the wire locking mechanism with the driver tool. The wire locking mechanism may further include a second wire passage. The second wire passage may be substantially coaxially aligned with the first wire passage. |
| US09254153B2 |
Hip fracture device with static locking mechanism allowing compression
In one embodiment, the present invention is a method of fusing fractures of a femoral neck using a bone plate including the steps of: placing a bone plate on the femur; inserting an assembly of a bone screw and a locking ring in an opening in the plate; simultaneously threading the locking ring and the bone screw in the femur; threading the bone screw in the femur to compress the fracture; creating a space between the locking ring and the bone screw; and allowing the bone screw to move towards the locking ring when the femur is loaded. In another embodiment, the present invention is a bone plating system including a bone plate having a plurality of openings; at least one bone screw capable of being received through the opening and into a bone; at least one end cap fixedly insertable in the opening; and a layer of polymeric material interposed between the end cap and the top of the head. |
| US09254149B2 |
Spinal fixation method and apparatus
A spinal stabilization system having a pedicle screw which includes (i) a shaft with external threads and a head segment on one end of the shaft; (ii) a first drive socket positioned in the head segment; (iii) a second drive socket on a shaft end opposite the first drive socket; and (iv) wherein the shaft end opposite the first drive socket has a lesser diameter than the shaft end at the head segment. The system further includes an intervertebral stabilization structure having an elongated body with rotating ring segments attached to each end of the elongated body. |
| US09254146B2 |
Echogenic nerve block apparatus and system
An apparatus for performing a nerve block procedure, the apparatus being composed of an echogenic needle or an echogenic soft tissue tunneling device and an echogenic catheter configured for controlled delivery of a medication. The apparatus may further include a sheath such that at least one of the needle or tunneling device and sheath is echogenic. The present invention also encompasses a system for performing a nerve block procedure, the system includes introducing an echogenic needle in the general area of a nerve bundle, positioning the echogenic needle adjacent the nerve bundle utilizing sonic imaging techniques, introducing an echogenic catheter configured for controlled delivery of a fluid through the echogenic needle, withdrawing the echogenic needle, positioning the echogenic catheter adjacent the nerve bundle utilizing sonic imaging techniques, and delivering fluid to the nerve bundle through the echogenic catheter. |
| US09254145B2 |
Atherectomy device
A device for modifying a body lumen of a mammal in need thereof is provided, comprising a helically-cut tube comprising cutting teeth, said helically-cut tube substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis of said device, a ramp wire that is displaced from the longitudinal axis of said device over at least a portion of said ramp wire and is enclosed by said helically-cut tube over at least a part of the length of said ramp wire, a drive rod wherein the broach may be moved proximally, distally, and/or radially via proximal, distal, and radial motions, respectively, of the drive rod. Also provided are methods for using the device. |
| US09254141B2 |
Apparatus and method for heart valve repair
A device for transcatheter gathering of tissue of a heart valve leaflet may include an elongated tube extending in a longitudinal direction and a capture tool moveable in the elongated tube between a retracted position and an extended position. The elongated tube may have at least one slot extending generally in the longitudinal direction from a distal end of the elongated tube. The at least one slot may have an open end at the distal end of the elongated tube and a closed end remote therefrom. The capture tool may be operable to gather tissue of the heart valve leaflet into the at least one slot. The gathered tissue may have a pleated configuration. |
| US09254139B2 |
Drilling/milling guide and keel cut preparation system
An instrument system, associated milling or drilling guide and method include use of a trial implant of a size corresponding to an actual implant for the intervertebral space, with a milling guide mounted on the trial implant. The system also includes a cutting tool which is used to form a cutout in an adjacent vertebra. |
| US09254137B2 |
Facet implant
Prostheses and methods for treating spinal pathologies and more specifically, for treating articulating surfaces of facet joints. The system includes a superior implant that is configured for placement on a superior articulating facet surface and an inferior implant that is configured for placement on an inferior articulating facet surface. The method includes creating a space between a superior and an inferior articular facet, such as by using a rasp, and fixing superior and inferior implants to the superior and inferior articular facets. |
| US09254132B2 |
Endoscopic plication device and method
In a method of stapling layers of tissue within a body cavity, an engaging instrument is passed between a stapler cartridge and anvil and used to engage a region of tissue. The engaging instrument is retracted to move the engaged tissue into the stapling position, and driving staples from the cartridge through at least two layers of the engaged tissue. The method and associated system may be used to form plications in body tissue, such as stomach wall tissue. Staples simultaneously driven through tissue may simultaneously capture a reinforcing elements positioned adjacent the cartridge and/or anvil prior to stapling. |
| US09254130B2 |
Blade anchor systems for bone fusion
Fusion devices include blade anchors. The blade anchors may slidingly penetrate a bone or bone fragment, and may induce compression of one bone to another or one fragment to another. The fusion devices may also include a body to which the blade anchors connect. |
| US09254129B2 |
Surgery automatic suturing and knot tying apparatus
A surgery automatic suturing and knot tying apparatus is to suture and tie knots on a surgical suture having a needle end and a tail end. The surgery automatic suturing and knot tying apparatus comprises a positioning board, a threading module located on the positioning board, and two thread drawing modules and two needle threading arms located on the positioning board. The two needle threading arms wind the surgical suture around the threading module, and collaborate with the two thread drawing modules to draw the surgical suture to make the surgical suture finally be separated from the threading module, thereby can tie knots automatically on the surgical suture to meet use requirements and alleviate the burden of doctors during surgical operation. |
| US09254128B2 |
Re-shapeable medical device
A medical device enables a user to bend it into a shape to suit a specific patient need or to orient efficiently the medical device for use. The medical device includes an elongate member, a mechanism, and an actuator. The mechanism is disposed at the distal portion of the elongate member. The actuator is at least partially disposed within the elongate member and coupled to the mechanism for actuating the mechanism relative to the elongate member. The elongate member is capable of being bent into a shape by the user and of retaining the shape during use. The shape may include multiple bends, in multiple directions, as needed for an application. Thereafter, the elongate member is capable of being bent into a second shape by the user and of maintaining the second shape during use. |
| US09254126B2 |
Non-rigid surgical retractor
The present invention provides a non-rigid retractor for providing access to a surgical site, such as a patient's spine, during a surgical process. When used in spinal surgery, the non-rigid retractor allows a surgeon to operate on one or more spinal levels. The non-rigid retractor includes at least one flexible strap anchored at a first end to the spine or other internal body part at the surgical site. The body of the at least one flexible strap extends from a skin incision and is anchored at a second location external to the body to retract skin and muscle from the surgical site, allowing adequate visualization of the surgical site and providing access for implants and surgical instruments to pass through the retractor and into the surgical site. |
| US09254125B2 |
Bladeless obturator
A surgical obturator adapted to penetrate a body wall includes an elongate shaft having an axis which extends between a proximal end and a distal end. A bladeless tip, disposed at the distal end of the shaft has an outer surface which extends to a blunt point. The outer surface has a pair of side sections separated by an intermediate section. The side sections extend from the blunt point radially outwardly with progressive positions proximally along the axis. These side sections include a distal portion in proximity to the blunt point, and a proximal portion in proximity to the shaft. The distal portion of the side section is twisted radially with respect to the proximal portion of the side section. The outer surface in radial cross section has the general configuration of a geometric shape which rotates in a first direction about the axis with progressive proximal radial cross sections along the axis. |
| US09254122B2 |
Reusable handpiece for disposable probes
A handpiece for removably attaching one of a plurality of probes including a housing, an actuation assembly arranged on the housing, a linkage assembly arranged on the housing and adapted to couple motion of the actuation assembly to actuation of the probe and an alignment feature arranged on the housing and adapted to control the orientation of a connected probe. Several probes are also disclosed in addition to method of performing a procedure. |
| US09254118B2 |
Floating transducer drive, system employing the same and method of operating
A floating transducer drive configured to isolate relatively low voltage system electronics from a relatively high voltage transmit circuit in an ultrasound imaging system. A receive circuit is electrically connected to an isolated local ground. An isolation circuit is electrically connected between the receive circuit and a relatively low-voltage processing circuit. The isolation circuit is configured such that during a transmit event during which the relatively high voltage transmit circuit sends a relatively high voltage signal to a transducer, the isolated local ground is electrically connected to the transmit circuit, but when the transmit event is not occurring, the isolated local ground is electrically connected to a system ground. |
| US09254116B2 |
Methods, systems and apparatuses for Van-Cittert Zernike imaging
A method of creating an ultrasound image includes receiving a return signal from a time delayed signal emitted from a plurality of transducer elements at a target the return signal comprising a measurement at each of the plurality of transducer elements formed from a plurality of reflections off of a plurality of volume elements forming a two dimensional slice of a target, computing a Van-Cittert Zernike (VCZ) curve for each of the plurality of volume elements based upon the measured return signals and creating an short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) image comprising a plurality of pixels each associated with one of the plurality of volume elements wherein each of the plurality of pixels comprises a value computed from a metric of the VCZ curve computed for each of the associated plurality of volume elements. |
| US09254112B2 |
Respiratory interval-based correlation and processing of dynamic imaging data
A method of dynamic imaging and resolving respiratory motion includes acquiring volume data for a volume over a plurality of respiratory cycles, acquiring respiratory data representative of respiration over the plurality of respiratory cycles, dividing each respiratory cycle of the plurality of respiratory cycles into a set of respiratory intervals based on the respiratory data, and displaying a respective composite three-dimensional image of the volume for each respiratory interval based on the volume data acquired during the respiratory interval from each respiratory cycle of the plurality of respiratory cycles. |
| US09254111B2 |
PET acquisition scheduling based on MR scout images
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to scheduling positron emission tomography (PET) scans for a combined PET-MRI scanner based on an acquisition of MR scout images of a subject. An anatomy and orientation of the subject can be determined based on the MR scout images and the schedule for acquiring PET scans of the subject can be determined from the anatomy of the subject. The schedule generated using exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can specify a sequence of bed positions, scan durations at each bed position, and whether respiratory gating will be used at one or more of the bed positions. |
| US09254110B2 |
Automatically obtaining optimized output data
A method and a system are disclosed for obtaining image data from inside an examination object from images of a computed tomograph. In an embodiment, the method includes accepting first measurement data of the examination object, acquired based on x-ray radiation of a first energy, and second measurement data of the examination object, acquired based on x-ray radiation of a second energy differing from the first energy; setting an optimized output of target image points on the basis of the first and second measurement data at the respective target image points, each as a function of local optimization parameter values of the target image points determined locally from the first and second measurement data in the area of the target image points, while deriving image point reproduction parameter values representing the optimized output; and determining the output data based on optimized output of the target image points. |
| US09254109B2 |
Selection of a radiation shaping filter
A method for selecting a radiation shaping filter is disclosed, which modifies the spatial distribution of the intensity and/or the spectrum of x-rays of an x-ray source of an imaging system. In an embodiment, anatomical measurement data of an object under examination is recorded, from which with the aid of the imaging system image data is created. The radiation shaping filter is selected automatically on the basis of the recorded anatomical measurement data of the object under examination. An imaging system, in which a radiation shaping filter is selected, is further disclosed. |
| US09254108B2 |
Gantry with bore safety mechanism
A tomography system may be used to scan a subject and provide reconstructed images of the subject. A gantry of the tomography system has a rotary member that is rotatable around an axis. While the rotary member rotates, a skid layer provides safety features between the rotary member and a subject-facing scan window. |
| US09254104B2 |
Systems and methods for remote patient monitoring
A system includes a local patient monitor and a plurality of remote patient monitors. The local patient monitor may display a plurality of physiological parameters for a local patient. The local patient monitor may further display a remote monitoring interface with the local patient's physiological parameters. The remote monitoring interface may include a plurality of status icons respectively representing the plurality of remote patient monitors. In one embodiment, the local patient monitor receives alarm information from a first remote patient monitor indicating that one or more physiological parameters for a remote patient are outside of a determined range. The alarm information may include, for example, location information for the remote patient and an alarm condition indicated by the one or more physiological parameters. The local patient monitor may display the alarm information within the remote monitoring interface. |
| US09254102B2 |
Method and apparatus for imaging of vessel segments
An apparatus, method and software arrangement for imaging a surface of a structure that is in contact with an opaque fluid is provided. The apparatus includes an article of manufacture (e.g., a housing), a fluid delivery arrangement and an imaging arrangement. The housing includes an aperture formed in the article of manufacture. The fluid delivery arrangement is configured to deliver a volume of substantially transparent fluid to the aperture formed in the housing. The imaging arrangement is configured to image the surface of the structure using an imaging modality after the volume of the transparent fluid is delivered to the aperture, wherein the imaging arrangement and/or the article of manufacture is translated along the surface of the structure while imaging the surface of the structure. |
| US09254101B2 |
Method and system to improve visceral adipose tissue estimate by measuring and correcting for subcutaneous adipose tissue composition
A method and system for estimating the visceral adipose tissue (VAT) of a subject comprising performing a dual-energy X-ray scan of the subject; generating at least one image of the subject from the dual-energy X-ray scan; identifying a region of interest; dividing the region of interest into a plurality of sections; generating a soft tissue composition profile for each of the plurality of sections, wherein the soft tissue composition profile identifies an edge of the subject, an outer edge of an abdominal wall of the subject, a subcutaneous region and a subcutaneous thickness for each of the plurality of sections; determining a subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) composition for each of the plurality of sections, wherein a subcutaneous fat fraction is used to calculate the subcutaneous fat and lean masses and/or volumes; and determining a VAT based on the determined SAT composition for each of the plurality of sections. |
| US09254100B2 |
Logging daily average metabolic activity using a motion sensor
An implantable activity detector can detect metabolic stress levels, which can be normalized, such as to identify times of activities such as walking and running or to identify trends such as a decrease in metabolic activity. The data can be derived from different sources such as an accelerometer and pedometer. This data can be compared to independently specifiable thresholds, such as to trigger an alert or responsive therapy, or to display one or more trends. The information can also be combined with other congestive heart failure (CHF) indications. The alert can notify the patient or a caregiver, such as via remote monitoring. Metabolic activity data from one or more of the activity detectors can be used to establish a model of metabolic stress, to which further activity data can be compared for identifying periods of increased or decreased metabolic stress. |
| US09254099B2 |
Smart watch and food-imaging member for monitoring food consumption
This invention is a device and system for monitoring a person's food consumption comprising: a wearable sensor that automatically collects data to detect probable eating events; an imaging member that is used by the person to take pictures of food wherein the person is prompted to take pictures of food when an eating event is detected by the wearable sensor; and a data analysis component that analyzes these food pictures to estimate the types and amounts of foods, ingredients, nutrients, and/or calories that are consumed by the person. In an example, the wearable sensor can be part of a smart watch or smart bracelet. In an example, the imaging member can be part of a smart phone. The integrated operation of the wearable sensor and the imaging member disclosed in this invention offers accurate measurement of food consumption with low intrusion into the person's privacy. |
| US09254089B2 |
Apparatus and methods for facilitating at least partial overlap of dispersed ration on at least one sample
Exemplary embodiments of apparatus and method according to the present disclosure are provided. For example, an apparatus for providing electromagnetic radiation to a structure can be provided. The exemplary apparatus can include a first arrangement having at least two wave-guides which can be configured to provide there through at least two respective electromagnetic radiations with at least partially different wavelengths from one another. The exemplary apparatus can also include a dispersive second arrangement structured to receive the electro-magnetic radiations and forward at least two dispersed radiations associated with the respective electro-magnetic radiations to at least one section of the structure. The wave-guide(s) can be structured and/or spatially arranged with respect to the dispersive arrangement to facilitate at least partially overlap of the dispersed radiations on the structure. In addition, another arrangement can be provided which can include at least two further wave-guides which can be configured to receive the electro-magnetic radiations from the dispersive arrangement. Each of the further wave-guides can be structured and/or spatially arranged with respect to the dispersive arrangement to facilitate a receipt of a different one of the such electro-magnetic radiations as a function of wavelengths thereof. |
| US09254088B2 |
Headset device and method measuring a biosignal
A headset device includes a headset body, a connection unit to move relative to the headset body, and a sensor unit having a light emitting element and a light receiving element to sense a biosignal, the sensor unit mounted to the connection unit to make contact with a human body. The sensor unit may measure a biosignal of a user, and the headset body and the sensor unit are indirectly connected by the connection unit. Accordingly, the sensor unit may be isolated from movement or vibration received through the headset body. |
| US09254086B2 |
Wireless diagnostic sensor link
A wireless diagnostic sensor link for providing wireless communication between a signal source and a monitoring device. The wireless diagnostic sensor link includes a signal input device operable for receiving a signal from the signal source in a first communication protocol in the form of an analog signal, converting the analog signal to a digital signal, and transmitting the digital signal in the form of a wireless communication protocol. The wireless diagnostic sensor link also includes a signal output device, which receives the digital signal. The signal output device is in electrical communication with the monitoring device, and is also operable for communicating with the signal input device. The signal output device converts the digital signal back to an analog signal, and sends the signal to the monitoring device in the form of a second communications protocol. |
| US09254084B2 |
Fundus photographing apparatus
A fundus photographing apparatus includes: an illumination optical system for illuminating a fundus of a examinee's eye; and a photographing optical system for photographing the fundus illuminated by the illumination optical system. The photographing optical system includes: a first aperture diaphragm for forming an image of the aperture diaphragm in a position between a pupil and a posterior surface of a crystalline lens of the eye; and a second aperture diaphragm for forming an image of the aperture diaphragm not acting as a field diaphragm, in a position between the fundus of the eye and the image of the first aperture diaphragm. |
| US09254083B2 |
Light source modulation for a scanning microscope
Systems, method, and non-transitory computer readable medium for imaging an object. The system includes a scanner. The scanner positions a spot of light from a light source on the object along a scanning path. The scanning path includes a plurality of scan lines. The spot moves along the scanning path at a scanning velocity. The scanning velocity is not constant. The intensity of the spot of light is modulated as a function of the scanning velocity. The system includes a detector that is arranged to output data associated with positions along the scanning path. The system includes one or more processors that perform calculations. Pixels are calculated based on the output data. The image is constructed of the object based on the pixels. |
| US09254082B2 |
Method of measuring the elasticity of crystalline lens, a method of determining whether crystalline lens is presbyopic, an apparatus for measuring the elasticity of crystalline lens and an apparatus for determining whether crystalline lens is presbyopic
The present invention provides a method of measuring the elasticity of crystalline lens and an apparatus for measuring the elasticity of the crystalline lens for measuring stiffness of the crystalline lens 1, wherein the crystalline lens 1 is irradiated with pulse laser light to generate photoelastic waves from the crystalline lens 1, and the photoelastic waves from the crystalline lens 1 are measured. |
| US09254078B2 |
Image capture unit in a surgical instrument
In a minimally invasive surgical system, an image capture unit includes a prism assembly and sensor assembly. The prism assembly includes a beam splitter, while the sensor assembly includes coplanar image capture sensors. Each of the coplanar image capture sensors has a common front end optical structure, e.g., the optical structure distal to the image capture unit is the same for each of the sensors. A controller enhances images acquired by the coplanar image capture sensors. The enhanced images may include (a) visible images with enhanced feature definition, in which a particular feature in the scene is emphasized to the operator of minimally invasive surgical system; (b) images having increased image apparent resolution; (c) images having increased dynamic range; (d) images displayed in a way based on a pixel color component vector having three or more color components; and (e) images having extended depth of field. |
| US09254068B2 |
Sequenced adjustable volume pumps, refill units and dispensers
Embodiments of sequenced foam pumps, refill units and dispensers are disclosed herein. One exemplary refill unit includes a container for holding a foamable liquid and a sequenced pump. The sequenced pump has a housing with a chamber located within the housing. There is an air inlet and a liquid inlet into the chamber. A hollow valve stem is movable within the chamber. A sealing member forms a seal between the valve stem and the chamber. When the valve stem is in a first position liquid flows into the chamber and air in the chamber flows into the container; and when the valve stem is in a second position, the sealing member seals off the liquid inlet, and air travels through the air inlet and mixes with the liquid in the chamber. The air and liquid mixture travels through the center of the valve stem and out of an outlet. |
| US09254065B2 |
Wonder spatula
A cooking utensil for turning grilled, fried or otherwise cooked items without risk of dropping or breaking the foodstuff. The utensil has two pivotally connected handles, joined by a spring-loaded hinge at one terminus. Each handle is equipped with a large, fan-shaped wire spatula for grasping food. The fan-shaped spatulas are large enough to grasp food items without risk of portions breaking or falling off. Further, the utensil is equipped with a hook and eye closure mechanism to secure the spatulas together when not in use. The device may also have metal prongs extending from the outer edges of the spatulas to better grasp foodstuffs. |
| US09254063B2 |
Double walled insulated container with rechargeable vacuum
An insulated container is disclosed. The container has an outer plastic member, an inner plastic member and an insulating, e.g., vacuum space, located therebetween. A vent assembly is located in the outer member in communication with the vacuum space. The vent assembly may be arranged to prevent liquid from entering into the insulating space and may be arranged to equalize the internal pressure within the insulating space and the ambient atmospheric pressures surrounding the outer member, while allowing higher internal pressure within the insulating space to vent to the ambient atmosphere when the container is heated, and to close off to seal the insulating space to maintain the vacuum therein when the container is cooled. |
| US09254061B2 |
Microwavable bag or sheet material
A microwavable material having a structure that may be used to enhance the browning and crisping, and thus improve the taste and appearance, of a food item cooked therein. The material may be in the form of a sheet material or formed as a container such as a bag, pouch, or other suitable structure. The material may have one or more features that help bring the material into close contact with the food item and help conform the bag around the food item. Furthermore, the material may have a structure that avoids substantial contact with liquid released by a food item, may have a venting system suitable for the exiting of moisture, may have a coating, a transparent surface, and when formed as a container, may have a gusseted surface. |
| US09254060B2 |
Multi-beverage vending machine
An instant drink vending machine is described. The instant drink vending machine has a water supply system for obtaining mixed warm water with a temperature selected among a set of pre-determined temperatures comprised between an upper and a lower value corresponding to temperatures of hot water and cold water to be mixed, said system including thermostatic shape memory alloy devices. |
| US09254057B1 |
Can cooker
A can cooker includes a main body that is generally cylindrical in shape having a bottom portion, wall portion, neck portion, and lid ring. The bottom portion, wall portion, and neck portion may be integrally formed and connected to one another. A lid is sized and shaped to fit within a part of the neck portion. The lid includes an outer lip that engaged with lid ring on the main body in such a way that a seal is formed between the lid ring and the outer lip. The lid is secured to the main body through a plurality of latches. Handles may be placed on the exterior surface of the lid and main body to ease use and transportation of the can cooker. |
| US09254055B2 |
Stand for supporting a pole within a base
A stand for a Christmas tree or the like is adapted to cooperate with a base portion of a pole such as a tree trunk to provide a stable support for the pole with its base spaced above a support surface such as a floor. The stand comprises a plurality of support members each having a proximal end spaced above the support surface. The proximal ends of the support members cooperate to form a clamp for receiving the base portion of the pole. The clamp is arranged such that, when the base portion of the pole is received in the clamp, one or more of the support members pivots at its proximal end about the clamp to thereby cause the clamp to close and grip the base portion of the pole. The weight of the pole may be sufficient to cause the clamp of the stand to automatically grip the pole. |
| US09254051B2 |
Display system
A display system is provided and includes a base, a collapsible support structure, a spinner connector, and a modular panel. The collapsible support structure connects with the base, and the spinner connector receives the collapsible support structure. The spinner connector independently moves around the collapsible support structure. The modular panel is removably connected to the spinner connector such that the modular panel can also move independent of the collapsible support structure. |
| US09254050B1 |
Detachable hanging assembly for cookware and utensils
An improved method of storing and retrieving cookware and utensils utilizing an assembly that can be attached to a shelf of a kitchen cabinet without the use of tools. The assembly incorporates Cookware hanger assemblies and Cookware guard whose positions are adjustable along the length of the assembly. Cookware can be stored onto the assembly in a hanging position. The Teflon coating of the cookware is protected from damage with the use of Cookware guard assemblies. |
| US09254048B2 |
Unlocked-state retention device and seat assembly having the same
An unlocked-state retention device is adapted for use in a seat assembly. The seat assembly includes a base frame and a seat body, which is mounted removably on the base frame through a locking unit to lock or unlock the seat body relative to the base frame such that the seat body is placed in a locked state or an unlocked state. The unlocked-state retention device includes a pusher adapted to be disposed movably in one of the base frame and the seat body, and includes a push member to retract ably project from the one of the base frame and the seat body and to push the other one of the base frame and the seat body when the seat body is unlocked relative to the base frame. |
| US09254047B1 |
Reinforced vinyl air mattress
A structural design and weld fabrication method for reinforced vinyl by eliminating butt seams, leaving 100% lap seams, as well as low cost, high strength internal beams for use in high quality air bed mattresses and all inflatable items. |
| US09254044B2 |
Foldable table for chair
A removable tray device is disclosed that offers a simple and easy way to eat or drink when sitting outside. The removable tray device comprises a tray component secured to a folding chair via a pinned hinge that allows the tray component to rotate vertically and a swivel component that allows the tray component to swivel horizontally. The tray component further comprises a catch or lock bracket on a leg of the chair which corresponds with a mating lock pin secured to a back edge of the tray component. Specifically, the lock pin of the tray component mates to and is secured within the catch or lock bracket to further secure the tray component to the folding chair when the tray component is in front of the folding chair or is to the side of the folding chair. |
| US09254039B1 |
Home audio mounting system having thematic designed support housing
A portable, motorcycle mountable audio entertainment system is provided having a motorcycle-theme housing formed of a faring supporting stereo electronics, speakers and an power supply. A vertical support structure is further provided having a pair of tubular, angled uprights and handle bars for attachment of the fairing. A vertical support pillar and a support plate provide a structured to allow for free standing use. |
| US09254037B2 |
Versatile student desk
A seat and desk assembly has a seat integrated with a desk by a interconnecting base and floor. One or both of the seat or desk can be disconnected from the assembly and used independently. Removable panels for the desk can be used to display information and hold replaceable placards for various purposes. The height of the seat and desk can be adjusted on the assembly, and the bottom rest of the seat can be pivoted up against the back to allow a user to stand on the floor as a standing platform with a lumbar support curve positioned for leaning support of the low-back while standing. The depth of the seat can also be adjusted relative to the desk to provide additional room for standing. Additionally, the tabletop of the desk may be able to slide fore-aft relative to the seated user. |
| US09254035B2 |
Control apparatus and method for sharing information in a collaborative workspace
A cable assembly for use in an opening formed in a table top, the cable assembly comprising a substantially horizontal deck member, the deck member forming a plurality of cable passing openings, each cable passing opening dimensioned to freely pass the intermediate portion of a cable, a separate cable passing through each of the cable passing openings, each cable having a distal end located at a height below the deck member and a proximal end located at a height above the deck member, the proximal end for linking to a video source device. |
| US09254029B2 |
Swivel base for a training aid
A swivel base for use with a training aid having a top member and a bottom member, the top member for receiving a training aid and the bottom member for receiving a holder or stand. The top member is coupled to a ball bearing and a mounting member fixedly coupled to the bottom member is rotatably coupled to the ball bearing to allow the top member to rotate relative to the bottom member. A locking mechanism which has a locking pin coupled to the bottom member secures the top member in one or more stationary positions. |
| US09254023B2 |
Protective cover for portable eletronic device
A protective cover for a portable electronic device includes a main body and a plurality of cushioning structures. The main body is configured to receive the portable electronic device. Each cushioning structure includes an elastic body protruding from the main body and a clearance defined between the main body and the elastic body. The elastic body is deformed toward the clearance when the elastic body is impacted. |
| US09254017B2 |
Expandable footwear for children
An expandable bootie is disclosed. The bootie includes a main body composed of fabric, wherein the main body is shaped in the form of a foot having a longitudinal axis, and a zipper that commences at a toe portion of the main body, and extends in a spiral path around the main body such that the spiral path twists at least three hundred and sixty degrees around the main body. The bootie further includes a portion of fabric disposed between mating tape members of the zipper, wherein when the zipper is closed the portion of fabric is contracted and wherein when the zipper is open the portion of fabric is extended and the main body has a longer longitudinal length, and a strap comprising a strip extending substantially horizontally and connected to an ankle portion of the main body. |
| US09254015B2 |
Non-gaiter bootleg cover
A universal, readily interchangeable, and non-gaiter cover for wrapping around and decorating only the shaft of an any sized and mundane boot. The universal, readily interchangeable, and non-gaiter cover includes a decorative substrate, and apparatus for universally and readily interchangeably maintaining the decorative substrate around only the shaft of the any sized and mundane boot. The decorative substrate is for universally and readily interchangeably wrapping around only the shaft of the any sized and mundane boot and not the foot of the any sized and mundane boot so as to at least eliminate potential damage to the universal, readily interchangeable, and non-gaiter cover caused by normal flexure of the foot of the any sized and mundane boot, and in so doing, decorates only the shaft of the any sized and mundane boot. |
| US09254014B2 |
Boot with stretchable opening
In the preferred embodiment, a partial length slit is introduced in the inwardly facing wall of a boot in both the exterior and corresponding interior portions of the boot. Included in the midst of the slit, between the exterior and corresponding interior portions, is a piece of elastomeric fabric which preferably is stitched in. |
| US09254010B2 |
Pocketed athletic garment
A pocketed athletic garment. The garment includes an outer layer, an inner layer, and a waistband coupled to the outer layer and the inner layer, the waistband including a plurality of pockets. |
| US09254006B2 |
Portable cigar ashtray
A portable cigar ashtray includes a cup-shaped base portion having a closed bottom, a side wall extending upwardly from the closed bottom, and an open top. A resting platform is disposed inside the cup-shaped base portion and spaced from the closed bottom. A retaining assembly is disposed near an upper end of the cup-shaped base portion and includes a retaining ring and a nub holder. |
| US09254004B2 |
Method for making hinged-lid packets
A blank for hinged-lid packets for smoking articles comprises four panels extending side by side in pairs along a direction perpendicular to a direction of longitudinal extension of the packets obtainable from the blank; the blank is foldable along folding lines made between the pairs of panels and parallel to said direction of longitudinal extension, and an upper portion of one of the four panels is integral, on the outside of the selfsame four panels, with a portion forming the hinged lid of the respective packet. Also described is a method for making hinged-lid packets for smoking articles. |
| US09253986B2 |
Wash product comprising a disinfectant mixture of silver ions and non-disinfectant hydantoin
A wash product and method for both washing and disinfecting articles during a washing cycle where the washing can be done in a conventional washing machine using the combination of a conventional detergent for removing residue from the articles and a source of silver ions and a hydantoin for increasing the level of available silver ions to a level that is greater than the level of available silver ions normally available if the source of silver ions were used without the hydantoin. |
| US09253985B2 |
Herbicidal composition for tolerant or resistant cereal crops
The invention provides herbicide combinations and the use of herbicide combinations for controlling harmful plants in cereal crops wherein the herbicide combination in question comprises (A) a herbicide from the group of glufosinate derivatives of the formula (A1) in which Z represents hydroxyl, —NHCH(CH3)CONHCH(CH3)COOH or —NHCH(CH3)CONHCH[CH2CH(CH3)2]COOH, or an ester or salt thereof, and (B) a herbicide from the group of carboxylic acid derivatives of the formula (B1) in which X represents N or CH and R represents CO2H or a herbicidally active derivative thereof, and the cereal crops are tolerant, if appropriate in the presence of safeners, to the herbicides (A) and (B) present in the combination. |
| US09253982B2 |
Fungicide active substance combinations
The novel active compound combinations comprising 2-[2-(1-chlorocyclopropyl)-3-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-hydroxypropyl]-2,4-dihydro-[1,2,4]-triazole-3-thione of the formula and the active compound of groups (1) to (24) listed in the description have very good fungicidal properties. |
| US09253981B2 |
Stable suspension concentrate formulation for water-soluble compounds
The present invention is directed to an insecticidal water based suspension concentrate formulation comprising a water-soluble insecticide selected from the group consisting of N-cyanomethyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)nicotinamide and (EZ)-1-(6-chloro-3-pyridylmethyl)-N-nitroimidazolidin-2-ylidineamine and at least one water-soluble salt selected from the group consisting of magnesium sulfate (hydrated and anhydrous forms) and sodium sulfate, wherein the water-soluble insecticide is present in an insecticidally effective amount and methods of use. |
| US09253980B2 |
Use of substituted dithiine-tetracarboximides for combating phytopathogenic fungi
The present invention relates to the use of dithiine-tetracarboximide compounds of formula I as defined in the description, and the N-oxides, and salts thereof for combating harmful fungi and seed coated with at least one such compound. The invention also relates to novel dithiine-tetracarboximides, processes and intermediates for preparing these compounds and also to compositions comprising at least one such compound. |
| US09253979B2 |
Methods of controlling insects
Methods of controlling insects include applying at least one spinosyn compound to a locus of a neonicotinoid-resistant insect, such as a strain of Drosophila melanogaster resistant to a neonicotinoid compound. The spinosyn compound may be a mixture of spinosyn A and spinosyn D. The spinosyn compound may cause up to approximately ten times increased mortality in the neonicotinoid-resistant insect compared to an insect susceptible to a neonicotinoid compound. |
| US09253978B2 |
Sulfoperoxycarboxylic acids, their preparation and methods of use as bleaching and antimicrobial agents
The present invention relates to novel sulfoperoxycarboxylic acid compounds, and methods for making and using them. The sulfoperoxycarboxylic compounds of the invention are storage stable, water soluble and have low to no odor. Further, the compounds of the present invention can be formed from non-petroleum based renewable materials. The compounds of the present invention can be used as antimicrobials, and bleaching agents. The compounds of the present invention are also suitable for use as coupling agents. |
| US09253975B2 |
Tool for transferring membranous tissue, kit and method for transferring membranous tissue
Disclosed herein is a tool, a kit, and associated method for transferring a membranous tissue composed of cells derived from a living body. The tool can include a first sheet-like supporting member disposed on one side of the membranous tissue in a wet state, and a second sheet-like supporting member disposed on the other side of the membranous tissue in a wet state. The first supporting member and the second supporting member can be configured to entirely hold the membranous tissue, such that a frictional force between the first supporting member and the membranous tissue is larger than a frictional force between the second supporting member and the membranous tissue. |
| US09253970B2 |
Multi-functional portable fishing accessory
A portable, multi-functional fishing accessory formed of a rigid plate member having a flat work surface and a side wall formed around a periphery of the work surface, and wherein the work surface is slanted relative to the side wall. The fishing accessory has one or more magnets positioned opposite from the work surface of the plate member and secured thereto. A stanchion mount is adapted to rotatably mount on a cylindrical stanchion for maintaining the plate member in a substantially upright position. |
| US09253967B2 |
Snag-resistant fishing lure and methods of making and using
The snag-resistant fishing lure is designed to minimize the chances of the lure becoming ensnared. The lure has a jig and a blade attached to the blade in a configuration that limits the side-to-side movement of the blade, thereby preventing the jig from rolling to a hook-downward position prone to snagging. A centrally aligned hole is positioned close to the front edge of the blade member. An eyelet extending from the jig body is attached through an aperture in the blade. The blade is limited in its side-to-side movement by contact between the blade edge and either the jig body or the eyelet. The limited side-to-side movement of the blade creates a quick, controlled, oscillating blade action that imparts a natural swimming motion to the lure, emulating prey species movements. |
| US09253965B2 |
Animal models and therapeutic molecules
The invention discloses methods for the generation of chimaeric human-nonhuman antibodies and chimaeric antibody chains, antibodies and antibody chains so produced, and derivatives thereof including fully humanised antibodies; compositions comprising the disclosed antibodies, antibody chains and derivatives, as well as cells, non-human mammals and vectors, suitable for use in the disclosed methods. |
| US09253955B1 |
Maize inbred PH1VY6
A novel maize variety designated PH1VY6 and seed, plants and plant parts thereof. Methods for producing a maize plant that comprise crossing maize variety PH1VY6 with another maize plant. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH1VY6 through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby. Hybrid maize seed, plant or plant part produced by crossing the variety PH1VY6 or a locus conversion of PH1VY6 with another maize variety. |
| US09253952B2 |
Agrobacterium rhizogenes transformation and expression of rol genes in Kalanchoë
The present disclosure embraces Kalanchoë interspecific hybrid plants, and considers rol transformation in Kalanchoë species and hybrids. Disclosed herein are methodology and the like for producing rol-transformed Kalanchoë interspecific hybrid plants, as well as resultant rol-transformed Kalanchoë interspecific hybrid plants with novel phenotypes. |
| US09253948B2 |
Continuous round baler with adjustable screed
A continuous round baler system has a baler and an accumulating system. The accumulating system includes a conveyor configured to convey crop material extending from a pickup mechanism to a bale formation chamber in the baler. A screed is positioned adjacent the end of the conveyor and is configured to be movable by a lifting mechanism between a raised position and a lowered position relative to the first conveyor. In the raised position, a gap is formed between the screed and the first conveyor so that crop material passes into the bale formation chamber. In the lowered position, the gap is closed thereby preventing the crop material from passing to the baler causing the crop material to remain on the conveyor. |
| US09253943B2 |
Method for operating a self-propelled harvesting machine, and self-propelled harvesting machine
A method for operating a self-propelled harvesting machine with a plurality of working assemblies for processing picked-up crop, includes controlling the working assemblies using a control device assigned to the harvesting machine. At least one working assembly of the working assemblies is controlled by an input mechanism operatively connected to the control device and having a specific first function (F1) in the harvesting mode. A second function (F2), which deviates from the first function (F1) is assigned to the input mechanism by the control device depending on an operating state change. The second function (F2) is specific for the working assembly in an operating state that deviates from the harvesting mode. |
| US09253941B2 |
Specific location dry yield measurement for forage
Dry yield for baled forage crop materials may be obtained for specific cut locations in the field by allocating the overall average baled dry yield for the entire field to the specific cut locations in accordance with the cut yield at such locations. Information obtained from a position sensor and one or more crop volume sensors on the windrower or mower is later combined with information obtained from a weight sensor on the baler to arrive at a specific location dry yield report for the baled product. |
| US09253937B2 |
Towed agricultural machine with packer unit and method for operating such a machine
A towed agricultural machine for tillage purposes and/or for sowing seeds is disclosed. The machine comprises a running gear, tillage tools, and a packer unit, the latter being coupled to the running gear and forming a constructional and/or functional unit therewith. In a first operating position, the running gear is in an active position for road traffic and the packer tools are brought outside the engagement range with the ground. In a second operating position, the running gear, or at least parts thereof, are in an inactive position out of contact range with the ground, while the packer tools are in an active mode in engagement with the ground. |
| US09258929B2 |
Server and heat dissipating assembly thereof
A server and a heat dissipating assembly thereof includes an airflow generating device, a central processing unit, several memory slots, a first cooling fin set, a second cooling fin set and a heat conductive member. The airflow generating device generates an airflow flowing along an airflow direction and is located at a front side of the central processing unit. The several memory slots are used to plug of memories, and they are located at a lateral side of a central processing unit. The first cooling fin set is correspondingly located over the central processing unit and at a lateral side of the memory slots. The second cooling fin set is located at a front side of the memory slots and between the airflow generating device and the memory slots. The first cooling fin set is thermally connected with the second cooling fin set via the heat conductive member. |
| US09258928B2 |
Assemblies and methods for dissipating heat from handheld electronic devices
According to various aspects of the present disclosure, exemplary embodiments include assemblies and methods for dissipating heat from an electronic device by a thermally-conducting heat path to the external casing. In an exemplary embodiment, a thermally-conductive structure which comprises graphite may be disposed about or define a battery area such that heat may be transferred to the external casing by a thermally-conductive heat path around the battery area through or along the thermally-conductive structure which comprises graphite. |
| US09258923B2 |
Adjustable bracket assembly and slide assembly
An adjustable bracket for a slide assembly includes a bracket, a support member and an engaging member. The bracket has an aperture and a contact portion. The support member is slidably connected to the bracket and has an opening and a stop portion. The engaging member has a resilient arm and an engaging portion which is connected to the resilient arm and located corresponding to the aperture of the bracket. When the support member slides to a predetermined position, the stop portion is against the contact portion so that the support member is stopped. When the support member slides to an extended position, the opening overlaps the aperture and the engaging portion is inserted into the opening so that the support member is positioned. |
| US09258917B2 |
Gas insulated electrical equipment
According to an embodiment, a gas insulated electrical equipment includes: a high-voltage conductor to be electrically charged; a hermetically sealed tank to be filled with insulating gas, one or more insulating spacers for dividing the hermetically sealed tank into gas compartments and supporting the high-voltage conductor; and a pressure release device equipped with a mouth of flow channel adapted to allow the inside and the outside of the hermetically sealed tank to communicate with each other so as to release the pressure in the hermetically sealed tank, which maintains the hermetically sealed state in an ordinary condition where the pressure in a gas compartment does not exceed the working pressure but releases the pressure in the hermetically sealed tank in an abnormal condition where the pressure in the gas compartment exceeds the working pressure. |
| US09258915B2 |
Hidden handle module
A hidden handle module is adapted to a tray accommodated in a chassis. The hidden handle module includes a shaft, a handle, and first and second elastic components. The shaft is pivoted on the tray and interfered with the chassis to stop the tray moving out of the chassis. The handle is pivoted on the shaft and stopped in the tray by a stopping portion of the tray to limit the position of the shaft. The first elastic component is disposed in the tray and stops the handle moving away from the stopping portion. The second elastic portion is connected between the shaft and the tray. When the handle resists elastic force of the first elastic component and moves away from the stopping portion, the handle protrudes out of the tray by elastic force of the second elastic component, and the shaft rotates to be released by the chassis. |
| US09258914B2 |
Hinge assembly
In one embodiment chassis for an electronic device comprises a first section and a second section and an assembly to connect a first section of the chassis to a second section of the chassis, comprising a hinge assembly to be coupled between the first section of the chassis and the second section of the chassis to allow rotation of the second section of the chassis with respect to the first section of the chassis, and a translation assembly to be coupled to the hinge assembly of the chassis for the electronic device to allow translation of the second section of the chassis with respect to the first section of the chassis, wherein rotation of the hinge assembly activates the translation assembly. Other embodiments may be described. |
| US09258913B2 |
Multi-stage information handling resource release latch for use in a modular information handling system chassis
In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a multi-stage latch assembly for facilitating removal of a structural element from a chassis may include a lock and a latch. The lock may be configured to toggle between a locked state and an unlocked state. The latch may be configured to translate between a first position and a second position such that the latch is in the first position when the lock is in the locked state and the latch is in the second position when the lock is in the unlocked state. |
| US09258909B2 |
Box used for packaging display panel components
A box used for packaging a display panel component includes a first receiving cavity receiving a panel cell of the display panel component and a second receiving cavity receiving a printed circuit board (PCB) of the display panel component. The second receiving cavity is arranged at one side of the first receiving cavity. A bottom of the second receiving cavity is lower in height than a bottom of the first receiving cavity. |
| US09258908B2 |
Substrate structure having component-disposing area and manufacturing process thereof
A substrate structure having a component-disposing area and a process thereof are provided. The substrate structure having a component-disposing area includes a core layer, a first dielectric-layer, a laser-resistant metallic-pattern and a second dielectric-layer. The core layer includes a first surface, a component-disposing area and a patterned metallic-layer disposed on the first surface and including multiple pads, and the pads are located within the component-disposing area. The first dielectric-layer is disposed on the core layer and includes multiple openings to respectively expose the pads. The laser-resistant metallic-pattern is disposed on the first dielectric-layer and surrounds a projection area of the first dielectric-layer which the component-disposing area is orthogonally projected on. The second dielectric-layer is disposed on the first dielectric-layer and covers the laser-resistant metallic-pattern, the second dielectric-layer includes a component-disposing cavity corresponding to the projection area, penetrating through the second dielectric-layer and communicated with the openings to expose the pads. |
| US09258905B2 |
Lead-free solder and electronic component built-in module
A first solder is lead-free solder that contains no lead (Pb). The first solder includes a first metal that contains at least Sn; and a second metal that contains at least a Ni—Fe alloy. An electronic component built-in module may include an electronic component and a substrate on which the electronic component is installed, where a terminal of the electronic component and a terminal of the substrate are joined together by using the lead-free solder. |
| US09258903B2 |
Wiring circuit board and manufacturing method thereof
It is an object to form a conductive intermediate layer having a function of maximally preventing a solder leaching phenomenon with a low environment load and with good productivity.There are provided an insulative base material 2, a wiring circuit pattern 3 formed on at least one surface of the insulative base material 2, an electronic part mounting land 31 which is formed as part of the wiring circuit pattern 3 and on which an electronic part 7 is to be mounted, and a conductive intermediate layer 5 made of a sintered conductive ink film on the electronic part mounting land 31. |
| US09258897B2 |
Wiring board and method for manufacturing the same
A wiring board has a laminated structure having a recessed portion on a first-surface side of the laminated structure and a solder resist layer on a second-surface side of the laminated structure on the opposite side of the first-surface side. The laminated structure has a first-surface side pad formed in the bottom of the recessed portion and a second-surface side pad formed on the second-surface side of the laminated structure, the solder resist layer has a first opening portion and a second opening portion formed in the solder resist layer, the first opening portion is exposing the second-surface side pad, the second opening portion is formed on a back face of the recessed portion, and the back face of the recessed portion does not include the second-surface side pad. |
| US09258894B2 |
Bolometer and preparation method thereof
A bolometer and a preparation method thereof. The bolometer includes: an infrared detection element (1) and a readout circuit (2), wherein the infrared detection element (1) is formed on one side of a first substrate (100), and an edge of the infrared detection element (1) is provided with an electrode hole (9), and the readout circuit (2) is formed on one side of a second substrate (200) and the readout circuit (2) has an electrode, the first substrate (100) is formed thereon with a silicon via (8) passing through the first substrate (100) and filed with a conductive material, the electrode hole (9) of the infrared detection element (1) is electrically connected to the electrode of the readout circuit (2) via the conductive material filled in the silicon via (8). The following defects are overcome: bolometers in the prior art need to flatten the silicon wafer surface with a suitable chemical-mechanical polishing process after a readout circuit thereof has been manufactured, the circuit is large in area, and the requirements of the system integration process are high. |
| US09258893B2 |
Multilayer ceramic electronic part and board having the same mounted thereon
There is provided a multilayer ceramic electronic part including: a ceramic body including dielectric layers; an active layer including a plurality of first and second internal electrodes formed to be alternately exposed to both end surfaces of the ceramic body; upper and lower cover layers formed on upper and lower portions of the active layer; and first and second external electrodes formed on both end portions of the ceramic body, wherein the first external electrode includes a first base electrode, a first conductive layer formed on the first base electrode at a corner portion of the ceramic body, and the second external electrode includes a second base electrode, a second conductive layer formed on the second base electrode at a corner portion of the ceramic body, the first and second conductive layers being positioned outside the active layer in a thickness direction of the ceramic body. |
| US09258891B2 |
Prepreg comprising polyphenylene ether particles
Provided is a prepreg suffering little resin particle fall-off and little resin peeling during prepreg production and during handling in order to have excellent dielectric properties for PPE and favorable adhesiveness. A PPE-containing prepreg constituted of a base material and a curable resin composition including PPE particles, wherein the prepreg is characterized in that (1) PPE extracted from the prepreg using a mixed solvent of toluene and methanol in a mass ratio of 95:5 includes PPE particles (A) insoluble in the mixed solvent, (2) the amount of PPE contained in the PPE particles (A) is 70 mass % or higher, and (3) the number-average molecular weight of the PPE contained in the PPE particles (A) is 8,000-40,000. |
| US09258889B2 |
Conductive structure, touch panel, and method for manufacturing same
Provided are a conductive structure including a) a base, b) a conductive pattern provided on at least one side of the base, and c) a darkening layer provided on the upper surface and lower surface of the conductive pattern, provided on at least a part of the side of the conductive pattern, and provided in an area corresponding to the conductive pattern area, and a touch panel including the same and a manufacturing method thereof. |
| US09258888B2 |
Printed circuit board package structure and manufacturing method thereof
A printed circuit board package structure includes a substrate having a first surface and a second surface, a ring-shaped magnetic element, an adhesive layer, conductive portions and conductive channels. The first and second surfaces respectively have first and second metal portions. A ring-shaped concave portion is formed on a position not covered by the first metal portions of the first surface. The ring-shaped magnetic element is placed in the ring-shaped concave portion. The adhesive layer covers the first metal portions and the ring-shaped magnetic element. The conductive portions are formed on the adhesive layer. The conductive channels penetrate the conductive portions, the adhesive layer, and the substrate, and are respectively located in an inner wall and outside an outer wall of the ring-shaped concave portion. Each of the conductive channels includes a conductive film electrically connects to the aligned conductive portion and second metal portion. |
| US09258887B2 |
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board is designed to meet the following requirements. A front-back copper foil residual rate difference a−b falls within a range of −10% to 10%, where the insulative board is divided into a plurality of divisions, in which front and back surface copper foil residual rates of each division are a % and b %, respectively. A difference (a−b)−(c−d) between front-back copper foil residual rate differences of adjacent divisions falls within a range of −10% to 10%, where the front and back surface copper foil residual rates of a division adjacent to the each division are c % and d %, respectively. There are not three or more consecutive divisions for which the difference between the front-back copper foil residual rate differences goes beyond a range of −5% to 5%. |
| US09258880B2 |
Package substrate and die spacer layers having a ceramic backbone
A layer or layers for use in package substrates and die spacers are described. The layer or layers include a plurality of ceramic wells lying within a plane and separated by metallic vias. Recesses within the ceramic wells are occupied by a dielectric filler material. |
| US09258877B2 |
Patterned transparent conductive film based on random grid
The present invention discloses a patterned transparent conductive film based on the random grid, wherein the surface of the conductive film can be divided into a conductive region and an insulating region, with the conductive region having the grid made of metal. The grid of the conductive region, composed of the grid line of the conductive region, is a random grid having an irregular shape, and can avoid periodic shielding generated by the opaque metal grid lines and the periodic pixel unit of LCD. The patterned transparent conductive film provided by the present invention is composed of the irregular random grid, and therefore will not generate the Moire stripe. Besides, finally by naked eyes observation, the conductive region and the insulating region have exactly the same or close transmittance, and therefore will not generate the grayscale contrast. |
| US09258876B2 |
Traveling wave linear accelerator based x-ray source using pulse width to modulate pulse-to-pulse dosage
Provided herein are systems and methods for operating a traveling wave linear accelerator to generate stable electron beams at two or more different intensities by varying the number of electrons injected into the accelerator structure during each pulse by varying the width of the beam pulse, i.e., pulse width. |
| US09258874B2 |
X-ray generator device
An x-ray generator device includes a housing at least partially holding a specific fluid pressure, with an arm positioned to be able to strike a strike plate within the housing. The housing contains an x-ray window. The arm is magnetically actuated in at least one direction by a magnetic field generator outside of the housing. A striking portion of the lever arm and/or the strike plate may be a polymeric material with embedded metal or metal alloys. |
| US09258872B2 |
Streetlamp fault detection apparatus and streetlamp fault detection method thereof
A streetlamp fault detection apparatus and a streetlamp fault detection method thereof are provided. The streetlamp fault detection apparatus is coupled to a streetlamp loop, and stores an impedance condition table defining a reference impedance range and a non-reference impedance range. The streetlamp fault detection apparatus measures a total impedance value of the streetlamp loop in a measurement period, determines that the streetlamp loop is in a normal operating state if the total impedance value stably falls within the reference impedance range in the measurement period, and determines that the streetlamp loop is in a fault state if the total impedance value falls into the non-reference impedance range in the measurement period. |
| US09258870B2 |
Method for operating a drum lighting device in a laundry treatment machine and laundry treatment machine implementing the method
Method for operating a laundry treatment machine comprising an outer casing (2) provided with a door (8), a drum (3) mounted inside the outer casing, a drum lighting device (9) arranged inside the outer casing and operable to light the drum, and a control unit (11) adapted to control the lighting device; the method comprises: —switching-on drum lighting device if the control unit detects a preset action performed by a user on the laundry treatment machine and/or a preset state of the laundry treatment machine and/or of the drum lighting device; —switching-off drum lighting device if the control unit detects a preset action performed by a user on the laundry treatment machine and/or a preset state of the laundry treatment machine and/or of the drum lighting device. There is a delay between the detection by the control unit of the preset action performed by a user on the laundry treatment machine and/or a preset state of the laundry treatment machine and/or of the drum lighting device, and the switching-off of the drum lighting device. |
| US09258868B2 |
Driver device and driving method for driving a load, in particular an LED assembly
Driver device (1) and a corresponding driving method for driving a load (100), in particular an LED assembly comprising two or more LEDs. The proposed driver device comprises supply terminals (10) for receiving a supply voltage (Vs), load terminals (20) for coupling a load to said driver device and for providing electrical energy to said load for driving said load, a storage unit (40) for storing electrical energy received at said supply terminals, a coupling unit (50) coupled between said supply terminals and said storage unit for controllably providing electrical energy from said supply terminals to said storage unit, a first switching unit (60) coupled between said supply terminals and said load for switchably providing electrical energy from said supply terminals to one or more of said load terminals, a second switching unit (70) coupled between said storage unit and said load for switchably providing electrical energy stored in said storage unit to one or more of said load terminals, and a control unit (80) for controlling said coupling unit and said first and second switching units. |
| US09258867B2 |
Light emitting apparatus and method of operating thereof
A light emitting apparatus disclosed herein comprises a first control apparatus, a first light emitting device, a sense apparatus, a second control apparatus, a power source and a second light emitting device, wherein the second light emitting device is electrically connected to the power source which is not connected to the first light emitting device. The sense apparatus senses both temperature and current of the first light emitting device to generate a second driving signal. The second driving signal is then provided to control the second light emitting device to emit a light for compensating the CCT shift of the light emitted by the first light emitting device. |
| US09258866B2 |
Light-emitting device, electronic equipment, and method for producing light-emitting device
A light-emitting apparatus includes a first light-emitting device, a second light-emitting device, and a device driving portion having drive transistors. The first light-emitting device includes a first electrode, first light-emitting unit, second electrode, second light-emitting unit, and third electrode. The second light-emitting device includes a third light-emitting unit, fourth electrode, fourth light-emitting unit, and fifth electrode. The light-emitting units are formed in the same step and each have a light-emitting layer that emits a first color light. The second electrode and the fourth electrode are formed in the same step. The light-emitting units are formed in the same step and each have a light-emitting layer that emits a second color light. A first drive transistor is electrically connected to the first electrode while a second drive transistor is electrically connected to the fourth electrode. |
| US09258860B2 |
Load driving apparatus relating to light-emitting-diodes
A load driving apparatus relating to light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) is provided. In the invention, a compensation voltage on a compensation pin (CMP) of a control chip does not change in response to (or with) the variation (i.e. enabling and disabling) of a pulse-width-modulation (PWM) signal for dimming. In other words, regardless of whether the PWM signal for dimming is enabled or disabled, the compensation voltage on the compensation pin of the control chip maintains unchanged. Therefore, an LED string at the current switching transient does not have the generation of over-shoot current. Furthermore, by detecting the compensation voltage on the compensation pin of the control chip, the control chip would enter into a shutdown status in response to the detected compensation voltage being greater than a predetermined threshold voltage for a predetermined counting time in case that the LED string is failure. |
| US09258859B2 |
Semiconductor device and power supply device
A power supply topology is used in which a transistor is provided on the side of an output node of a rectifying circuit. An inductor is provided on the side of a reference node, a resistor is inserted between the transistor and the inductor, and one end of the resistor is coupled to a ground power supply voltage of a PFC circuit. The PFC circuit includes a square circuit which squares a result of multiplication of an input voltage detection signal and feedback information (output voltage of an error amplifier circuit). The PFC circuit drives on the transistor when a detection voltage developed at the resistor reaches zero, and drives off the transistor when the detection signal reaches an output signal of the square circuit. |
| US09258857B2 |
Light emitting system and voltage conversion device thereof
A light emitting system includes a series connection of a light emitting unit and a variable current source, and a voltage conversion device that includes a rectifier circuit and an output circuit. The rectifier circuit rectifies an AC voltage to generate a rectified voltage across a first rectifier output coupled to one end of the series connection of the light emitting unit and the variable current source, and a second rectifier output. The output circuit is coupled between the second rectifier output and another end of the series connection of the light emitting unit and the variable current source, and is configured to generate a direct-current (DC) output voltage. |
| US09258852B2 |
Microwave furnace
A system for melting a substance may be provided. The system may include a crucible insulated with fused silica, a microwave generator configured to supply microwaves, and at least one burner probe extending into the crucible. The at least one burner probe may include a wave guide. The wave guide may be configured to receive microwaves from the microwave generator and transmit the microwaves. The at least one burner probe may further include an absorber. The absorber may have a geometry configured to cause a minimal amount of microwave energy to be reflected back into the wave guide. In addition, the absorber may include a one piece cast of silicon carbide configured to dissipate heat along an exterior of the absorber. The absorber may be further configured to receive the microwaves from the wave guide and convert energy from the microwaves into the heat. |
| US09258851B2 |
Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program
An information processing apparatus includes: a supplied electric power value accepting unit accepting a supplied electric power value, which is a difference between an electric power value of microwaves incident on a microwave irradiation apparatus and an electric power value of microwaves reflected by the microwave irradiation apparatus; a temperature accepting unit; an electric energy calculating unit calculating an electric energy corresponding to a microwave irradiation time, using the supplied electric power value; a temperature change calculating unit calculating a temperature change corresponding to the microwave irradiation time, using the accepted temperature; a judging unit, using the electric energy, the temperature change, and a relational expression for associating the electric energy and the temperature change, judging whether the relational expression is satisfied within a tolerable range; and an output unit outputting occurrence of an abnormality, when it is judged that the relational expression is not satisfied within the tolerable range. |
| US09258849B2 |
Fabric material
A fabric material includes a conductive wire material that generates heat when supplied with current. Part of the conductive wire material in a longitudinal direction of the conductive wire material is externally exposed from the fabric material. A first planar element and a second planar element, of which at least one has electrical conductivity, are electrically connected to an externally exposed portion of the conductive wire material in such a manner that the first and second planar elements sandwich the exposed portion and are bonded so as to be in planar contact with each other. |
| US09258847B2 |
Method for transmitting coordinated multipoint transmission/reception coordinated group messages and an evolved NodeB thereof
A method for transmitting Coordinated Multipoint transmission/reception (CoMP) coordinated group information and an Evolved NodeB (eNB) thereof are provided in the present invention. The method includes: the eNB sends the CoMP coordinated group information of the CoMP coordinated group to which the local service cell belongs, and/or the CoMP coordinated group information of the CoMP coordinated group to which the neighboring cell of the local service cell belongs to other eNBs via the X2 interface message. The eNB is configured with an X2 interface unit and a storage unit. The present invention can improve the CoMP transmission handover success rate of the network and improve the network performance. |
| US09258846B2 |
Automatic quality of service based resource allocation
A system can provide quality-of-service based network resource allocation and utilization in a dynamic network environment. A system may determine a current quality level of current media data presented to a user by a remote system in communication with the first system. The system may determine if it can provide subsequent media data to the remote system at a higher quality level than the current quality level. As one example, the system may identify a network connection with the remote system that supports providing the subsequent media data at the higher quality level to the remote system. The system may then obtain the subsequent media data at the higher quality level and send the subsequent media data at the higher quality level to the remote system. |
| US09258843B2 |
Wireless mesh network configuration
A wireless mesh network employs an integrated interface between a plurality of access points for mitigating throughput degradation of multiple consecutive “daisy chain,” or mesh, links. The mesh network employs a plurality of access points, each linked back to a root access point by a series of “hops” through other access points. The wireless mesh network, therefore, employs a plurality of access points operable for wireless links to subscriber, or user, devices, including cellular phones, smart phones, tablet and laptop computing devices, or any suitable portable or handheld computing device. Access points establish an integrated interface with an adjacent access point for direct coupling of the access points for message traffic. The resulting integrated access point establishes a wireless link to a root access point connected to a backhaul network from which media services emanate. |
| US09258838B2 |
Communication apparatus and a timing method thereof
A timing method and communication apparatus therefor. The timing method, performed by a mobile communication device, includes: activating a first communication module; receiving updated information when the first communication module is active; determining and setting an expiry time for an adaptive timer based on the updated information; activating the adaptive timer to count to the determined expiry time; and activating a second communication module when the adaptive timer expires. |
| US09258835B2 |
Direct mode communication system and communication attaching method thereof
A direct-mode communication system comprises a first client direct-mode communication apparatus and a backhaul network. The first client direct-mode communication apparatus transmits a register signal to the backhaul network to register with the backhaul network. After the first client direct-mode communication apparatus is registered, the backhaul network determines a location relationship between the first client direct-mode communication apparatus and a second client direct-mode communication apparatus, and transmits a wi-fi connection signal to the first client direct-mode communication apparatus according to the location relationship. The first client direct-mode communication apparatus creates a wi-fi direct-mode communication connection with the second client direct-mode communication apparatus according to the wi-fi connection signal. |
| US09258829B1 |
System and method for collision rate reduction in MIMO narrowband power line communications
A PLC network system and method operative with OFDM for generating MIMO frames with suitable preamble portions configured to provide backward compatibility with legacy PLC devices and facilitate different receiver tasks such as frame detection and symbol timing, channel estimation and automatic gain control (AGC), including robust preamble detection in the presence of impulsive noise and frequency-selective channels of the PLC network. To reduce collisions in a network, a MIMO PLC transmitter device may selectively perturb legacy FCH data so as to ensure a maximum back-off time by a legacy PLC receiver. |
| US09258823B2 |
Interference suppression method and apparatus in multi-point coordinated transmission system
The present invention provides an apparatus for suppressing interference in a coordinated multi-point CoMP transmission system, comprising: frame configuration conflicting detection unit configured to detect conflicting frame configurations; frame configuration conflicting notification unit configured to give a notification of conflicting frame configurations; and interference suppression unit configured to suppress interference between a first CoMP cluster and a second CoMP cluster that are adjacent in the CoMP transmission system when detecting conflicting frame configurations. The present invention further provides a method of suppressing interference in a coordinated multi-point CoMP transmission system. The present invention provides a novel solution that may suppress inter-cell UL/DL ICI by adopting coordinated beamforming (CBF) and coordinated scheduling (CS) in a TDD CoMP system, while maintaining sound implementation of CoMP and flexibility of frame configuration in the TDD system. |
| US09258820B2 |
Method and system for requesting a service utilizing a sequence of codes
A method, at a signaling entity, for sending a signal to a signaled entity, the method determining, at the signaling entity, at least a first code of a sequence of codes comprising the signal; receiving, at the signaling entity, an assignation of resources from the signaled entity for transmission of at least the first code of the sequence of codes; transmitting, utilizing at least the first code of the sequence of codes and the assignation, the signal, wherein at least the first code of the sequence of codes is shared among a plurality of signaling entities; and sending, utilizing subsequent codes of the sequence of codes, the signal, wherein the sequence of codes is unique to the signal. |
| US09258819B2 |
Femtocell and method of adjusting frequency
A femtocell includes a frequency offset detecting module and a frequency correction module. The frequency offset detecting module calculates frequency offset and detects whether the frequency offset exceeds a default frequency offset. The frequency detecting offset module counts the time of the frequency offset exceeding the default frequency offset, and detects whether the counted number of times exceed a first default number. The frequency detecting module re-calculates frequency offset after an internal when the counted number of times does not exceed the first default number. The frequency correction module uses a last calculated frequency offsets to adjust the frequency of the femtocell, when the counted number of times exceed the first default number. A method of adjusting frequency of the femtocell is also provided. |
| US09258818B2 |
Carrier allocation in wireless network
This document presents a communication scheme for use in a wireless network utilizing a fragmented frequency spectrum and supporting dynamic radio carrier allocation. At least two radio carriers on non-contiguous frequency channels are allocated for use in communication with a network element of the wireless network, and one of the allocated radio carriers is commonly used by all client stations communicating with the network element. |
| US09258817B2 |
Direct link setup method and channel allocation method in multi-channel wireless communication network
Provided are a direct link setup procedure and a channel allocation mechanism in a multi-channel wireless communication network. The method includes transmitting a direct link setup request message comprising request information for specifying one or more channels, each of which desires to set up a direct link, among multiple channels, and receiving a direct link setup response message comprising response information for setting up the direct link to one or more channels in response to the direct link setup request message. |
| US09258815B2 |
Wireless communication control channel apparatus and method
An apparatus and method for control channel transmission in a wireless network are disclosed. A disclosure is provided with at least one resource block (RB) including a first control channel element associated with a first antenna port (AP) and a second control channel element associated with a second AP. The first and second control channel elements might be used for transmission of a single control channel, and a first reference signal sequence associated with one of the first AP and the second AP is selected for transmission of the single control channel based on a control channel element index value, such that a resource element of the at least one RB can be detected to decode the first control channel element and the second control channel element. |
| US09258810B2 |
Low complexity unified control channel processing
Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate unified, low-complexity processing (e.g., user separation and noise estimation) of a control channel. One or more UEs can respectively transmit one or more control signals, which are multiplexed on a control channel and a base station can receive a control channel signal that includes the one or more control signals. The base station, in a single pass, can separate the control signals by matching the control channel signal with a base sequence and translating the matched signal to a time-domain representation. In the time-domain representation, each control signal resides at a different tap. Further, the base station can identify taps of the time-domain representation corresponding to an unused cyclic shift or orthogonal cover sequence. Such taps can be employed to generate a noise and/or interference estimate. |
| US09258806B2 |
Power control for simultaneous transmission of ACK/NACK and channel-state information in carrier aggregation systems
Channel-state information and hybrid-ARQ ACK/NACK information for multiple carriers are simultaneously transmitted using a PUCCH Format 3 structure, where the hybrid-ARQ ACK/NACK bits and CSI bits are separately encoded and interleaved. In an example method, a power control offset parameter is calculated as a linear combination of at least a number N, representing a number of channel-state information bits and a number M, representing a number of hybrid-ARQ ACK/NACK bits. The method continues with the calculating of a power level for a transmission on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), using the power control offset parameter. In some embodiments, encoded channel-state information and hybrid-ARQ ACK/NACK bits are then transmitted according to the calculated power level. In some embodiments, the linear combination is of the form aN+bM+c, where a, b, and c are non-zero constants. |
| US09258804B2 |
Mobile station apparatus including flashing and releasing circuitry and wireless communication system using same
In a mobile station that performs communication with a base station device via a plurality of cells, the plurality of cells are grouped into a first group constituted by cells having an uplink transmission timing that is the same as that of one primary cell and a second group constituted by one or more cells having an uplink transmission timing that is different from that of the primary cell. The uplink transmission timings are each managed using a corresponding transmission timing timer for each of the groups. In a case where a transmission timing timer for the first group has expired, the mobile station stops all uplink transmissions in the plurality of cells. In a case where a transmission timing timer for the second group has expired, the mobile station stops uplink transmissions in the cells constituting the second group for which the transmission timing timer has expired. |
| US09258801B2 |
Aggregation of resources in enhanced control channels
Time-frequency resources in a single PRB pair are used for both frequency-localized transmissions as well as distributed transmissions. A first control message is transmitted (2710) to a first user equipment (UE) using a first PRB pair, using first subsets of resource elements that are aggregated in a frequency-localized manner and that are transmitted using a single antenna port. A second control message to a second UE is simultaneously transmitted (2710), also using the first PRB pair, using second subsets of resources that are aggregated in a frequency-distributed manner across the first PRB pair and one or more additional PRB pairs and that are transmitted using at least two antenna ports, including the single antenna port used to transmit the symbols in the first non-overlapping subsets of resource elements. |
| US09258795B2 |
AIS ship's transceiver
The invention relates to an Automatic Identification System (AIS) ship's transceiver for sending and receiving AIS radio signals, wherein the position can be taken as a basis and/or adjacent ships can be taken as a basis for activating or deactivating the emission of AIS radio signals of a second AIS radio signal type for satellite-assisted monitoring. |
| US09258791B2 |
Method and device of performing multi-radio access bearer power scaling
The present disclosure relates to a method and user equipment, UE, in a wireless communication network of performing power scaling on uplink transmission to a receiving radio access node, RAN. In particular, the disclosure relates to a method and user equipment for power scaling on a multi-radio access bearer, multi-RAB, wherein a Dedicated Physical Data Channel, DPDCH, and an enhanced Dedicated Physical Data Channel, E-DPDCH are configured for uplink transmission from the UE to the receiving RAN. The method comprises determining (S31) a total UE transmit power exceeding a predetermined maximum power limit value. The total UE transmit power is reduced (S32) to the predetermined maximum power limit value by reducing one or more E-DPDCH gain factors by an equal scaling factor. A DPDCH transmission status is determined (S33), whereupon a power scaling procedure is selected (S34) based on the determined DPDCH transmission status. The selected power scaling procedure is applied (S35) on the uplink transmission. |
| US09258789B2 |
Method for the reduction of pilot power transmission in mobile communication systems
The innovation relates to a system and/or methodology for the reduction of pilot power transmission in mobile communication systems. More specifically, the innovation relates to varying the transmit power of a pilot signal to increase the power available to other services, such as customer voice and data communication. In addition, reducing the transmit power of the pilot signal can reduce or militate against interference with the pilot signals of neighboring or nearby cells. |
| US09258787B2 |
Token based radio resource management
The disclosure relates to a method of globally balancing the transmit power in a cellular radio system with tight reuse of frequencies, to a central controller node, and to an access point that in combination with conventional power control schemes balances the downlink transmission power on re-used frequencies in order to balance co-channel interference in a multi-cell environment. The power balancing scheme takes the instantaneous channel variation and co-channel interference into account and satisfies the throughput requirements of the different cells when allocating downlink power to the user equipments. Global power balancing dynamically assigns a token to or takes a token away from an individual reused radio channel based on quality of, or based on transmission power in the channel. The balancing of transmission power, along with the conventional power scheme, prevents a global increase or global decrease of interference in the multi-cellular system. |
| US09258786B2 |
Methods and apparatus for using a geometry indicator in hetnet deployments
In a heterogeneous network deployment that includes a macro base station and a low power node, a geometry indicator is transmitted by the low power node to facilitate the calculation of a path loss difference value at a user equipment using power estimates of the received synchronization signal from the macro base station and received geometry indicator signal from the low power node. Using the estimated path loss difference value, the user equipment adjusts the power level of an initial preamble signal transmission to the macro base station. |
| US09258783B2 |
Access and power management for centralized networks
A system and method for managing power in a subnet having a hub in communication with one or more nodes is disclosed. The hub and nodes communicate using one or more non-contention access methods, such as scheduled, polled or posted access. The node may enter a sleep or hibernation state while no scheduled, polled or posted allocation interval is pending. The hibernation state allows the node to hibernate through one or more entire beacon periods. In the sleep state, the node may be asleep between any scheduled, polled and posted allocation intervals for the node or during another node's scheduled allocation interval in a current beacon period. By selecting which access scheme is in use, the node and hub can increase the node's chances to be in hibernation or sleep state and minimize power consumption. |
| US09258780B2 |
Device, system and method of power management in a wireless area network
Device, system, and method of power management. In some demonstrative embodiments, a device may include a wireless communication unit to transmit to a control point of a wireless area network an information request frame identifying at least one other wireless communication device in the wireless area network, wherein the wireless communication unit is to receive from the control point a response including wakeup information defining a wakeup schedule including at least one wakeup period of the other wireless communication device, and wherein, based on the wakeup information, the wireless communication unit is to transmit a wireless transmission directly to the other wireless communication device during the wakeup period. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US09258778B2 |
Radio base station and power control method
A radio base station including: each of communication processing components being coupled to each of antennas forming each of sectors for a radio communication respectively, each of the communication processing components including communication processors being configured to perform each of functions for the radio communication and control each of radio resources for each of the functions respectively, and a control processor configured to select a first communication processing component and a second communication processing component respectively, select a first communication processor from the communication processors in the first communication processing component, transfer a radio resource of the radio resources that is controlled by the first communication processor to a second communication processor that is in the second communication processing component and performing a same function as the first communication processor, and upon transferring the radio resource of the radio resources, reduce a power of the first communication processor. |
| US09258776B2 |
Method and apparatus for controlling a small cell on or off procedure for capacity enhancement
The present invention provides methods and apparatuses for supporting or controlling a small cell on or off procedure. One of the embodiment of the present application, the method comprises steps of receiving, by the MSC from a Source Small Cell (SSC), a cell indication message including a cell state change indication parameter indicating whether the SSC is to be off and a cell off timer parameter indicating a time duration for a cell off process; transmitting, by the MSC to the SSC, a cell off request message in order to accommodate an user equipment (UE) serviced from the SSC based on the cell state change indication parameter; and receiving, by the MSC from the SSC, an aggregated UE context transfer message requesting to perform a radio resource control (RRC) connection switching from the SSC to the MSC during a time duration indicated by the cell off timer parameter. |
| US09258773B2 |
Mobile device integration with WLAN functionality
A graphical user interface for a mobile device presents a primary GUI indicating functions and operations of the mobile device. A WLAN GUI is also presented on the display, indicating connectivity aspects of the mobile device regarding WLANs. The WLAN GUI is immediately accessible directly from the primary GUI as the next presented display in response to user interaction with the primary GUI. An additional WLAN GUI may be presented indicating the WLAN access point which is connected to the mobile device and indicating which WLAN access point is downloading or uploading data to the mobile device. |
| US09258772B2 |
Apparatus for performing a cell selection in a wireless communication system and method thereof
The present invention relates to a method of performing a cell selection by a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system. The present invention includes receiving a plurality of priority information, wherein each of the plurality of priority information includes an identifier, determining priority information having an identifier matched with an identifier stored in the UE, and performing the cell selection based on the determined priority information. |
| US09258771B2 |
Radio communication devices and methods for controlling a radio communication device
A radio communication device may be provided. The radio communication device may include: a measurement circuit configured to measure a reception quality of a signal from a second radio communication device; a memory configured to store signal information indicating the reception quality of the signal measured by the measurement circuit; a configuration information receiver configured to receive configuration information for the radio communication device based on the measured reception quality; a quality indication determination circuit configured to determine a quality indication of a communication with the second radio communication device based on the stored signal information and the received configuration information; and a connection establishing determination circuit configured to determine whether to establish a connection for communication with the second radio communication device based on the determined quality indication. |
| US09258766B2 |
Apparatus for point-to-multi point communication in communication system and method thereof
An apparatus and a method for performing a point-to-multi point communication in a communication system are provided. The apparatus includes a base station configured to receive and transmit at least one of data on a mobile station, control information of the mobile station, schedule information on the mobile station, and control information on a communication link with at least one base station with respect to at least one base station in which a communication link is not set up through a core network. The base station services at least one mobile station at the same time together with a base station in which a communication link is set up through a core network. |
| US09258761B2 |
Obtaining, by a terminal, of information relating to access to a service
A method is provided with which a terminal can obtain information relating to a radio environment. The method includes the following steps: a discovery device receives a request from the terminal to discover a radio environment; the discovery device determines a list comprising a plurality of access points that belong respectively to an access network and are provided to supply radio coverage at a current location of the terminal; a piece of information is obtained relating to an access to a service by using the access points on the list; the list is enriched with the information obtained in association with the access point; the enriched list is scheduled according to at least one criterion relating to the service; and the ordered list is sent to the terminal by the discovery device. |
| US09258759B2 |
Mobile internet service system for long distance trains
Embodiments described herein generally relate to providing communication services to client devices in a transport system. In some examples, methods of providing communication services to client devices in a transport system are described. The methods can include exchanging, among a multiple number of routers provided in a transport system, status information of each of the multiple number of routers. The methods can also include receiving, at a given router included in the multiple number of routers, a communication addressed to a remote server accessible through a first network. The communication may be received from a client device connected to the given router through a second network different than the first network. The methods can also include, based on the status information, routing the communication to the remote server through at least the given router and the first network. |
| US09258756B2 |
System and method for mitigating congestion handling during HS cell change
According to some embodiments, a radio network controller (RNC) facilitates a communication session for a wireless device in soft handover with an active set of cells. The active set of cells includes a serving cell (which provides an HS-DSCH connection) and a plurality of non-serving cells. The RNC attempts to admit the HS-DSCH connection in a first non-serving cell that satisfies each of one or more HS-DSCH cell change requirements and provides the best signal strength to the wireless device. If a failure occurs, the RNC attempts to admit the HS-DSCH connection in a second non-serving cell that satisfies each of the HS-DSCH cell change requirements and provides the second best signal strength to the wireless device. If successful, the RNC facilitates moving the HS-DSCH connection from the serving cell to the second non-serving cell. |
| US09258755B1 |
Use of packet data duplication to manage access network connections
As a communication device receives packet data via a first access network, the communication detects that packet data arriving via a second access network is duplicative of the packet data that the communication device is receiving via the first access network. In response to detecting such duplication, the communication device discontinues being served by the first access network and continues with communication via the second access network. |
| US09258752B2 |
Methods for determining whether to perform cell measurement on a predetermined neighbor cell and for ping-pong avoidance during cell reselection and communication apparatus utilizing the same
A communications apparatus includes a radio frequency signal processing device, a baseband signal processing device, a memory device and a processor. The RF signal processing device processes RF signals to generate baseband signals. The baseband signal processing device processes the baseband signals. The processor determines whether a first predetermined threshold value related to cell reselection is greater than a second predetermined threshold value related to cell measurement, and performs cell measurement on a predetermined neighbor cell when the first predetermined threshold value is greater than the second predetermined threshold value. |
| US09258750B2 |
Methods and apparatus for inter-eNB carrier aggregation
A method and apparatus for connecting to a secondary enhanced NodeB. A transceiver configured to receive a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message from a Master enhanced NodeB (MeNB). The RRC message comprises a dedicated random access resources configuration for the UE to perform random access to a cell associated with a Secondary enhanced NodeB (SeNB) for a purpose of an addition of the SeNB, and an identification of the cell to which the random access is to be performed. Responsive to receiving the RRC message, command the Media Access Control (MAC) to trigger the random access for the addition of the SeNB to the cell with the identification indicated in the RRC message with the random access resources indicated in the RRC message. The MeNB is an eNB which the UE connects to initially and which acts as mobility anchor. |
| US09258749B1 |
Systems and methods for recovery after radio link failure
Embodiments of the present invention include devices, systems and methods for recovery after radio link failure (RLF). For example, a method for wireless communication is described. The method includes performing a base station identity code (BSIC) reconfirmation for a number of top ranked cells in a received neighbor cell list when a radio link timeout (RLT) counter is less than a counter threshold before radio link failure (RLF). A signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the top ranked cells is determined during the BSIC reconfirmation. The method also includes scheduling a system information (SI) decode upon RLF for the top ranked cells that have an SNR greater than an SNR threshold. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also claimed and described. |
| US09258746B2 |
Method for reporting system information in wireless communication system and apparatus for supporting same
A method for a terminal reporting system information in a wireless communication system is disclosed. The method comprises: receiving a system information report request of a neighboring cell from a serving cell; and transmitting a system information report to the serving cell as a response to the system information report request. If the terminal has system information that is obtained in advance of the neighboring cell that is obtained before receiving the system information report request, the system information report comprises the system information that is obtained in advance and validity information on the system information that is obtained in advance. |
| US09258745B2 |
Method and system for mobile relay enablement
A method and network element for managing a relay node that is moving relative to a source network node, the method sending a handover request from a source network node to a target network node to prepare the handover at the target network node; sending a handover command from the source network node to the relay node without waiting for an acknowledgement of the handover request from the target network node; and detaching the relay node from the source network node. |
| US09258743B2 |
Resource scaling in wireless communication systems
Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate resource scaling for inter-access point fairness in a wireless communication system. As described herein, an offered load of an access point can be determined based on one or more loading metrics relating to associated terminals, throughput, data rate, quality of service (QoS), or the like. Based on the determined offered load of an access point, resources used by the access point and/or power utilized for communication over those resources can be scaled based on a comparison of the offered load of the access point to a nominal or default offered load. Centralized techniques for resource scaling are described herein, wherein one or more centralized controllers coordinate resource scaling with respective access points via backhaul messaging. In addition, distributed techniques for resource scaling are described herein, wherein neighboring access points communicate with each other via over-the-air messaging to determine a local optimal resource apportionment. |
| US09258740B2 |
Push service providing system and method for balancing message loads
A push service device for balancing message loads includes: a service provider (SP) interworking unit to connect with a service providing device; a controller to route a push message received from the service providing device through the SP interworking unit to one or more corresponding client devices; and a client interworking unit to transmit the push message transferred from the controller to the one or more corresponding client devices, to receive a keep-alive message from at least one of the one or more corresponding client devices, and to transmit a keep-alive configuration message to the one or more corresponding client devices to disperse reception time points of the keep-alive message for a predetermined transmission period of the keep-alive message when the reception time points of the received keep-alive message are synchronized. |
| US09258739B2 |
Offloading method and device for enhancing mobility
The present invention provides an offloading method and device for enhancing mobility, used for solving the technical problem of poor mobility in the current offloading and network construction solution. The present invention discloses that: a Network Address Translating (NAT) gateway is deployed in an upper layer of a Femto Node B; a dedicated tunnel for transmitting the offloading data between the Femto Node B and the NAT gateway is established; the NAT translation of the offloading data message is performed by the NAT gateway and the offloading data is forwarded through the dedicated tunnel according to a continuation relationship; when a User Equipment (UE) performs a handover across two Femto Node B's due to mobility, it is only necessary to modify the continuation relationship of the UE, without disconnecting and reconnecting the link of the offloading data stream, thereby improving the system's mobility. |
| US09258729B1 |
Enhanced forced dormancy based on air interface conditions
A method, system, and apparatus for managing release of air interface traffic channels are described. When a radio access network (RAN) is deciding whether to release traffic channels assigned to one or more of a plurality of mobile stations, the RAN may prioritize the release of the assigned air interface traffic channels based on reported air interface conditions. For instance, when the RAN is deciding whether to release a traffic channel from a first mobile station or a second mobile station, the RAN may determine to release the assigned traffic channel from the first mobile station if the first mobile station is experiencing worse air interface conditions. |
| US09258720B2 |
Throughput-based active mode trigger
A method and apparatus for reducing gaps in data transmission between a device and at least one wireless access point connecting the first device to a central monitoring system. The device includes a radio that enables bidirectional data communication between the device and the at least one wireless access point, the radio being able to operate in a power save mode and an active transmission mode. A control processor selectively monitors a type and amount of data being transmitted between the radio and the at least one wireless access point to predict an occurrence of a gap in data transmission between the device and the at least one access point. The control processor, in response to predicting a gap in data transmission, automatically switches an operational mode of the radio from the power save mode to the active transmission mode for a predetermined amount of time enabling full bidirectional communication between the device and the at least one wireless access point for the predetermined amount of time preventing the gap in data transmission. |
| US09258718B2 |
Positioning location for remote radio heads (RRH) with same physical cell identity (PCI)
A method of wireless communication includes configuring a plurality of remote radio heads (RRHs) to prevent position location reference signal (PRS) transmissions on the same subframes where the macro eNodeB transmits PRS. The configured RRHs each have a same physical cell identity (PCI) as the macro eNodeB. The RRHs communicating in accordance with the configuration. |
| US09258714B2 |
Broadcast replenishment of account parameters for groups of wireless devices
A system and method are provided for the broadcast replenishment of account parameters for select groups of wireless devices, where select groups of wireless devices have their internally-stored account parameters (e.g., prepaid amount of usage authorization) simultaneously updated as a group by a single broadcast message, such as an encrypted SMS message. An account update message is generated based on the account parameters to be updated and encrypted using an encryption key uniquely associated with the select group of wireless devices. The encrypted account update message is broadcast for receipt by the select group of wireless devices, such only those wireless devices previously provided with a key for decryption can receive and decrypt the broadcast account update message. The wireless devices use information and/or instructions in the broadcast message in order to update their internally stored account parameters accordingly. |
| US09258711B2 |
Wireless communication system and authentication method thereof
A wireless communication system and an authentication method thereof are provided. The wireless communication system includes a User Equipment (UE), an Evolved Node B (eNodeB), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), and a Mobility Management Entity (MME). Before the UE enters an Attachment Procedure, the MME is configured to acquire an Authentication Vector from the HSS in advance, and transmit, based on the Authentication Vector, a first Authentication Vector corresponding to the UE to the UE and a second Authentication Vector corresponding to the eNodeB to the eNodeB in advance. The eNodeB is configured to transmit a UE identifier to the UE. The UE is configured to complete an Authentication procedure with the eNodeB according to the UE identifier and the Authentication Vector. |
| US09258710B2 |
Wireless communication device, wireless communication method, remote operation device and remote operation method
From a remote control device, a pairing command including an authentication key is transmitted to a slave device by an infrared ray remote control signal by first depression of a push button. The slave device transmits an authentication key, which is generated based on the received authentication key, through a wireless LAN. By second depression of the push button, the remote control device transmits a pairing command, which includes an authentication key, to a master device by an infrared ray remote control signal. The master device compares the authentication key, which is received through the wireless LAN, and the authentication key, which is received by the infrared ray remote control signal, with each other, and transmits a pairing authorization to the slave device through the wireless LAN if both of the authentication keys coincide with each other. The slave device receives the pairing authorization, and establishes pairing. |
| US09258708B2 |
Service models for roaming mobile device
A method for providing cellular access to a mobile device when the mobile device is out of a home network operated by a home wireless service provider that has no pre-arranged roaming agreements with any foreign wireless service provider in a location of the mobile device. The method includes implementing an intelligent Mobile Device Access Network Manager (iMDANM) application on a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). The iMDANM application being configured to allow a foreign wireless service provider to lease a portion of the UICC from the home wireless service provider to provision service credentials to the leased portion of the UICC, thereby providing the mobile device access to a foreign network operated by the foreign wireless service provider. |
| US09258706B2 |
Mobile device and method for secure on-line sign-up and provisioning for wi-fi hotspots using SOAP-XML techniques
Embodiments of a mobile device and method for secure on-line sign-up and provisioning of credential for Wi-Fi hotspots using SOAP-XML techniques are generally described herein. Techniques for subscription remediation using SOAP-XML techniques are also generally described herein. In some embodiments, the mobile device may be configured to establish a transport-layer security (TLS) session with a sign-up server through a Wi-Fi Hotspot to receive a certificate of the sign-up server. When the certificate is validated, the mobile device may be configured to exchange device management messages with the sign-up server to sign-up for a Wi-Fi subscription and provisioning of credentials, and retrieve a subscription management object (MO) that includes a reference to the provisioned credentials for storage in a device management tree. |
| US09258704B2 |
Facilitating network login
A system and method for transmitting user credentials to another device. According to some embodiments, a method is described of receiving into a first portable electronic device a set of credentials from a user, the set of credentials to include a WLAN SSID and a network key, the set of credentials to allow the first device to connect to the WLAN. The set of credentials is used to connect the first device to the WLAN. The first device creates a message for wireless transmission, the message includes the set of credentials for accessing the WLAN and is adapted to be delivered to a second device. Finally, the first device transmits the message over the air, wherein the message is addressed to the second device. The second device receives the message and uses the credentials in the message to connect to the WLAN. Other embodiments are also described. |
| US09258700B2 |
Systems and methods for utilizing IMS data security mechanisms in a circuit switched network
Aspects of the present invention provide a mechanism to utilize IMS media security mechanisms in a CS network and, thereby, provide end-to-end media security in the case where the media traffic travels across both a CS network and a PS network. |
| US09258699B2 |
Method for route transmission based on single IPv6 address prefix, and wireless device
The present document provides a method and wireless device for implementing route transmission based on a single IPv6 address prefix. The method includes: when a wireless device succeeds in IPv6-based dialing and obtains one 64-bit-long IPv6 address prefix from a network side, the wireless device first setting apart a 126-bit IPv6 address prefix from the prefix, and then allocating the 126-bit IPv6 address prefix to a WAN interface, allocating the 64-bit-long IPv6 address prefix to a LAN interface, and notifying a user terminal connected to the LAN interface of the IPv6 prefix of the LAN interface, so that the user terminal connected to the LAN interface generates its own IPv6 address through a stateless address auto-configuration mechanism for communication. With the technical solutions of the present document, in an IPv4/IPv6 dual stack mode, IPv4 and IPv6 protocol stacks operate normally, and the radio resource consumption is reduced. |
| US09258696B2 |
Method for secure network based route optimization in mobile networks
The present invention provides a method of route optimization involving a first mobile device associated with a first home gateway. One embodiment of the method is implemented in a first mobility forwarding entity and includes registering the first mobile device at the first mobility forwarding entity. The first mobile device is registered using a session key included in a registration message transmitted by the first mobile device. The embodiment also includes establishing a secure route between the first mobility forwarding entity and a terminating node using the session key. The secure route bypasses the first home gateway. |
| US09258693B2 |
Device centric or interactive discovery
Methods and apparatus are provided for discovering computing devices in a local area. A method includes receiving, by a first device, a request to provide discovery information, generating, by the first device, the discovery information, wherein the discovery information includes a communication address of the first device, and providing, by the first device, the discovery information using a short-range protocol that can be received only within a defined distance of the first device. The method can further include receiving, by a second device, the discovery information, wherein the second device is located within the defined distance of the first device, extracting, by the second device, the communication address of the first device from the discovery information, and initiating, by the second device, communication with the first device using the communication address and a communication protocol associated with the address. |
| US09258689B1 |
Transfer of trimmed commercial mobile alert system messages
Systems, methods, and software for transferring Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) messages over wireless communication networks are provided herein. In one example, a method of operating a management node in a wireless communication network is provided that includes receiving a CMAS message transferred by an emergency authority system for transfer over the wireless communication network, the CMAS message accompanied by a payload list of wireless access nodes that are affected by the CMAS message. The method includes processing the CMAS message and the payload list to determine if wireless access nodes associated with a tracking area handled by the management node are indicated by the payload list. The method includes determining a trimmed payload list that includes at least one of the wireless access nodes, and transferring the CMAS message with the trimmed payload list for delivery to the at least one of the wireless access nodes. |
| US09258688B2 |
Alert device and system
An alert device and methods of using the device in conjunction with a portable communication device are presented. The alert device is intended to be worn discretely on the person of the user and includes an output mechanism and user interface such that the user is notified of incoming communications received by a portable communication device, such as a cellular telephone, and may trigger the portable communication device to send pre-selected responses to those communications through interaction solely with the alert device. The alert device may further initiate pre-selected communications to be sent by the portable communication device solely through interaction with the alert device. |
| US09258687B2 |
Method and system for providing tiered access to communication network resources
Methods and systems automatically allocate cellular communication network resources to emergency response personnel during emergency situations which are detected by call volumes exceeding a predetermined maximum. Access to cellular communication network resources is provided by dedicating a portion of communication radio resources to emergency response personnel use. By reserving radio resources for emergency communication purposes, emergency personnel are able to both initiate and receive calls or data sessions from both other mobile devices as well as conventional landline telephone stations. Qualified emergency response personnel can preregistered their phones and be assigned personal identification numbers to enable access to allocated network resources. Users can also be registered “on the fly.” |
| US09258683B2 |
Delivery of visual voice mail
Delivery of a text message and/or voice mail message may include identifying a recipient of the message, receiving a notification indicative of one of the subscriber's availability, the subscriber's presence and the subscriber's location, recording the message, selectively converting a voice mail message to a text message based on the notification, and delivering either the text message or the voice mail message to a device of the recipient based on the notification. The text message and/or voice mail message may be delivered via a map, wherein selection of a location on the map may retrieve the text message and/or voice mail message. |
| US09258682B2 |
Server apparatus, server control program, and server client system
A server-client system includes a client terminal having a telephone function, and a server apparatus on a network. The terminal displays telephone number display screen data received form the server apparatus, and transmits, to the server apparatus, designation information indicating a telephone number position in the display screen, which is designated by a user. The server apparatus transmits designated telephone number outgoing call data to the terminal based on the designation information. The terminal makes an outgoing call in accordance with the telephone number outgoing call data received from the server apparatus. |
| US09258679B1 |
Modifying a history of geographic locations of a computing device
Methods and systems for modifying a location history of a computing device are described. An example method may include receiving sensor data collected by one or more sensors of a computing device, and receiving a history of geographic locations of the computing device determined based on the sensor data collected by the computing device and additional data from one or more sources. The method may also include receiving updated additional data from the one or more sources, and reprocessing at least a portion of the sensor data with the updated additional data to determine one or more updates to the history of geographic locations of the computing device. The method may further include modifying the history of geographic locations of the computing device based on the one or more updates to provide an updated history of geographic locations of the computing device. |
| US09258674B2 |
Tracking device and tracking device control method
A tracking device and a tracking device control method with intelligent safe-zone demarcation are provided. The tracking device includes a positioning module, a long-range transceiver and a microcontroller. The microcontroller is configured to operate the long-range transceiver to regularly transmit position information of the tracking device to a server during a data-collection period for behavior analysis of a tracked object equipped with the tracking device and for safe-zone demarcation of the tracking device. The safe-zone demarcation is adaptive to habitual behaviors of the tracked object, and the habitual behaviors are obtained from the behavior analysis. |
| US09258670B2 |
Wireless enabled cap for a data-capable device
A housing (e.g., a wearable structure) includes one or more sensors operative to capture sensor data and a plug operative to electrically communicate data (e.g., the sensor data) to another device via a hard wired connection. A wirelessly enabled cap may be removably coupled with the housing and may include: a cavity operative to house the plug; a RF chip disposed within the housing; and one or more antennas electrically coupled with the chip. The chip is operative to wirelessly communicate data (e.g., the sensor data) in accordance with one or more wireless communication protocols (e.g., short-range, long-range, near field). The one or more antennas may form an exterior portion(s) of the housing and/or may be embedded in a portion(s) of the housing. The chip may be passive powered from an external RF source (e.g., an externally generated RF signal electrically coupled with the chip through one or more antennas). |
| US09258667B2 |
Device with multiple cue modules
A device includes a primary cue module, a secondary cue module, a processing module, and a wireless transceiver. The primary cue module obtains primary data regarding an object of interest and the secondary cue module obtains secondary data regarding the object of interest. The processing module is operably coupled to: convert the primary data and the secondary data into an outbound message; convert the outbound message into an outbound symbol stream; and convert an inbound symbol stream into an inbound message, wherein the inbound message includes information regarding the object of interest. The wireless transceiver is operably coupled to: convert the outbound symbol stream into an outbound wireless signal; and convert an inbound wireless signal into the inbound symbol stream. |
| US09258654B2 |
Coil
A coil for a transducer includes a pair of first sections, a second section connecting two ends of the first sections, and a third section connecting the other two ends of the first sections for forming a closed loop. The third section includes a pair of first stretch parts each extending from one first section toward the other stretch part, and a first concave part extending from the first stretch parts toward the second section. |
| US09258653B2 |
Method and system for parameter based adaptation of clock speeds to listening devices and audio applications
In accordance with an embodiment, a system for processing an incoming signal for audio application includes a parameter extraction module coupled for receiving an incoming signal having a first frequency that is configured to extract at least one parameter from the incoming signal. The system includes at least one oscillator and at least one processing engine processing that receives a clock signal from the at least one oscillator. In accordance with another embodiment, a method is provided that performs a first processing with the clock signal and generates an oscillator control signal for adjusting the frequency of the clock from the oscillator adaptively depending on parameters of the incoming signal extracted or analyzed in the first processing. |
| US09258652B2 |
Microphone structure
A microphone structure is disclosed. The microphone structure comprises a substrate penetrated with at least one opening chamber and having an insulation surface. A conduction layer is arranged on the insulation surface and arranged over the opening chamber. An insulation layer is arranged on the conduction layer and having a opening to expose a part of the conduction layer as a vibration block arranged over the opening chamber. At least two first patterned electrodes are arranged on the insulation layer and arranged over the vibration block. At least two second patterned electrodes are arranged over the opening chamber, arranged on the vibration block and separated from the first patterned electrodes by at least two first gaps. When the vibration block vibrates, the vibration block moves the second patterned electrodes whereby the second patterned electrodes and the first patterned electrodes perform differential sensing. |
| US09258648B2 |
Levered loudspeakers
A loudspeaker includes an acoustic diaphragm, an oscillatory force source, a lever that couples the oscillatory force source to the acoustic diaphragm, and a pivot that is coupled to the lever such that the lever pivots about a pivot axis when the oscillatory force source applies a force to the lever. The pivot includes a pair of rotational joints which are spaced apart to allow the diaphragm to pass therebetween as the lever pivots about the pivot axis. |
| US09258647B2 |
Obtaining a spatial audio signal based on microphone distances and time delays
Examples disclose a method to receive a first audio signal at a first microphone positioned at an actual distance from a second microphone. Additionally, the examples disclose the method is further to receive a second audio signal at the second microphone, the second audio signal is associated with an actual time delay relative to the first audio signal. Also, the examples disclose the method is also to determine a virtual time delay corresponding to a virtual distance that is different from the actual distance and to obtain a spatial audio signal based the distances and the time delays. |
| US09258646B2 |
Self-powered audio speaker having modular components
Embodiments of the invention include a speaker system having the ability to accommodate one or more transmission protocols as well as multiple upgrade paths. One or more replaceable cards sit in a socket or bus system. The cards may include one or more components for receiving a wireless audio signal and decoding the signal. Other cards may include circuits for converting the digital audio signals into analog audio signals. Yet other cards, or other components on cards, may include circuitry for filtering or modifying the audio signals. In some embodiments the main components of the cards may be formed in a re-programmable device that can be updated by a user. In conjunction, these components create a powered speaker system that is constantly upgradeable as various data transmission standards and audio filtering standards mature. |
| US09258645B2 |
Adaptive phase discovery
In an adaptive phase discovery system a first audio signal is received via a first microphone and a second signal is received via a second microphone. Corresponding audio frames of the first and second signals are each transformed into the frequency domain and a plurality of frequency sub-bands are generated. A phase is determined for each frequency sub-band in each signal. Instantaneous phase differences are determined between the signals at each of the frequency sub-bands. Lower frequency instantaneous phase differences are filtered over time to determine current phase differences at lower frequencies. When SNR is high in lower frequency sub-bands, lower frequency sub-band phase differences are tracked to the higher frequency sub-bands. The tracked higher frequency phase differences are filtered over time to determine phase differences for the current frame. The phase differences may be used to rotate phases in each sub-band and sum signals and/or to reject off-axis signals. |
| US09258643B2 |
System for blending signals
A time modification system is disclosed. The time modification module includes a delay module for receiving an input signal comprising a series of digital samples at an input sample rate. The delay module provides a delayed output signal. The time modification module further includes a duration modification module for receiving the input signal or a delayed version thereof, and providing a modified output signal. A first switch is included for selecting either the delayed output signal or the modified output signal. |
| US09258641B2 |
Method and system of audio capture based on logarithmic conversion
Audio capture based on logarithmic conversion. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods including capturing audio represented by an electrical signal, the electrical signal having both positive voltage portions and negative voltage portions. In some cases, the capture is by: performing logarithmic analog-to-digital conversion on the positive voltage portions to create a first plurality of digital values; and performing logarithmic analog-to-digital conversion on the negative voltage portions to create a second plurality of digital values; and storing representations of the first and second plurality of digital values to a storage medium. |
| US09258638B2 |
Anti-diffraction and phase correction structure for planar magnetic transducers
An anti-diffraction plate for including in a planar magnetic transducer. The anti-diffraction plate includes anti-diffraction structures for positioning adjacent to magnets of the planar magnetic transducer. By introducing a shape over top surface of the magnets, the anti-diffraction structures cause the elimination of diffraction patterns as a main audio wavefront passes by the magnets from a diaphragm. A diffusion structure for diffusing reflected sound waves, the diffusion structures reducing or eliminating the power and capacity of the reflected sound waves to create interference patterns with oncoming sound waves. |
| US09258637B2 |
Earphone socket having RF connector device
An electrical facility includes an earphone socket having a housing which includes a socket opening at one end portion and a compartment in the other end portion and which includes one or more signal terminals and a ground terminal, and a connector mechanism is engaged in the compartment of the housing and includes a socket element directed toward and aligned with the socket opening of the housing, and includes an output terminal electrically connected to the socket element. The connector mechanism may be selected from an RF connector mechanism. The output terminal of the housing is directed toward an outer peripheral portion of the housing. |
| US09258630B2 |
Coaxial audio speaker using single audio source
A disclosed coaxial audio speaker may include a treble sound unit and a bass sound unit co-axially surrounding the treble sound unit. The bass sound unit may be in form of a single magnetic gap mechanism and have a magnetic-conductive base. The magnetic-conductive base may be with an auxiliary magnetic adjoining space and a coil movement space adjacent to the auxiliary magnetic adjoining space. A magnet, a vibrating vocal tone diaphragm along with a wiring board may be disposed within the coil movement space. A bass vibration audio source point and a treble vibration audio source point may be at the same horizontal level. Therefore, the size of the audio speaker may be reduced. And the broader electricity adjustability may be achieved as the bass vibration audio source point and the treble vibration audio source point may be horizontally aligned. |
| US09258629B2 |
System and method for an agile cloud radio access network
In one embodiment, a cloud radio access network (C-RAN) includes a first plurality of antennas and a first plurality of radio remote units (RRUs) coupled to the plurality of antennas. The C-RAN also includes a first plurality of broadband base units (BBUs) and a first photonic switch optically coupled between the first plurality of RRUs and the first plurality of BBUs. |
| US09258627B2 |
Locating utility metering devices
Disclosed are various embodiments for locating utility metering devices. Utility metering devices are those that are lost or stolen and that are facilitating unauthorized utility service access. Many AMI and/or AMR deployments lack the ability to remotely deactivate a meter. Accordingly, embodiments of this disclosure can generate a zone of interest in which an unauthorized utility metering device is located, and the unauthorized utility metering device can be subsequently located within the zone of interest. |
| US09258624B2 |
Mixed format media transmission systems and methods
Systems and methods for operating cameras are described. An image signal received from an image sensor can be processed as a plurality of video signals representative of the image signal. An encoder may combine baseband and digital video signals in an output signal for transmission over a cable. The video signals may include substantially isochronous baseband and digital video signals. The baseband video signal can comprise a standard definition analog video signal and the digital video signal may be frequency modulated before combining with the baseband video signal and/or transmitting wirelessly. The digital video signal may be a compressed high definition digital video signal. A decoder demodulates an upstream signal to obtain a control signal for controlling the position and orientation of the camera and content of the baseband and digital video signals. |
| US09258622B2 |
Method of accessing a spatio-temporal part of a video sequence of images
The invention concerns a method and a device for accessing a spatio-temporal part of a video sequence of images compressed using a coding format implementing a prediction.The method comprises the steps of: defining a target spatial region corresponding to said spatio-temporal part to access; obtaining compressed data corresponding to a selection spatial region in at least one image of the video sequence, said selection spatial region including said target spatial region; obtaining at least one item of updating information for updating the selection spatial region that is provided for selecting compressed data in a following image of the video sequence, said updating information depending on the decoding of the compressed data corresponding to said target spatial region. |
| US09258621B2 |
Method and system for multi-service reception
A multi-service antenna may comprise: a support structure, a reflector mounted to the support structure, a signal processing assembly mounted with the support structure, a first wire strung between the reflector and the support structure and/or the signal processing assembly, and circuitry for processing a first signal received as a result of electromagnetic radiation (e.g., terrestrial television and/or cellular signals) incident on the first wire. The circuitry for processing the first signal may be housed in the signal processing assembly. A second wire may also be strung between the reflector and the support structure and/or the signal processing assembly, and the circuitry may be operable to perform diversity processing of signals received via the two wires. |
| US09258619B2 |
Method and apparatus for performing IPTV communication service
Provided are a method and apparatus for performing an internet protocol television (IPTV) communication service. The method includes: acquiring an application message providing the IPTV communication service from an external input with respect to a general-purpose web application by using plug-in application programming interfaces (APIs) of a web browser which are independent of an IPTV communication service provider; sending the application message to an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) gateway (IG) functional entity apparatus; and receiving a response message comprising a result of processing the application message as a response to the sending of the application message, from the IG functional entity apparatus. |
| US09258618B2 |
Channelization method of digital content and audio-video server system
A channelization method of digital content and an audio-video server system are provided. A received operational behavior is packaged as an execution module, and the execution module is associated with a channel number. A correlation between the channel number and the execution module is recorded in a local channel list. Accordingly, when a switch command that contains the channel number is received, the execution module corresponding to the channel number is obtained from the local channel list, so as to perform the operational behavior to use the digital content. |
| US09258615B2 |
Method for providing interactive contents for smart TV
The present invention relates to a method for providing interactive contents for a smart TV, which allows a seller to directly upload contents such that vivid contents can be easily provided. |
| US09258609B2 |
Multi source and destination media discovery and management platform
A platform allows viewing and sorting digital media from multiple content sources across multiple devices by title, category, series, or other sorting desired. Available content from providers may be co-mixed to display as if from a single provider. Listings may be restricted to specific providers or sets of providers, such as removing providers with paid content which the user will not access. Alternatively, listings may be prioritized based on business rules programmed into the system. Listings may be limited to those available on the current device, on another set of devices, or on all devices. Control of access to content, including playback and queuing, may be done through the interface regardless of the consumption device. This allows access to all content across all devices in a fashion desirable to the user, merging providers and devices into a seamless interface tailored for the user instead of the content or device manufacturer. |
| US09258605B2 |
System and method for transrating based on multimedia program type
A multimedia program type of a received multimedia data is determined. Based on the determined multimedia program type, a peak bit rate limit and/or an average bit rate limit are determined. In instances where a transrated version of the multimedia data is to be stored, a remaining storage capacity of a storage device is determined and the peak bit rate limit and/or the average bit rate limit can be adjusted based on the remaining storage capacity. The multimedia data then is transrated to generate transrated multimedia data that has a peak bit rate that does not exceed the selected peak bit rate limit and/or having an average bit rate that does not exceed the selected average bit rate limit. The transrating of the multimedia additionally can include the application of rule sets based on content characteristics. After transrating, the multimedia data can be transmitted via a network to a destination multimedia device, stored locally for subsequent use, or a combination thereof. |
| US09258603B2 |
Method and system for achieving higher video throughput and/or quality
Digital data, including audio and video, may be communicated at increased data rates by utilizing non-data signal channels in cables to communicate additional data. For data transmission, a reformatter receives data in a first format adapted for communication over the data signal channels of a cable. The reformatter may convert the received data into a second format with one or more additional data signals. The reformatter then utilizes non-data signal channels of the cable to carry the additional data signals. An example non-data signal channel may include a clock signal channel, and the reformatter may fold a clock signal into one or more of the data signals to allow for clock recovery downstream. Data may also be split into two or more subsets and each subset encoded separately, for example with two or more data encoders such as legacy HDMI encoders. |
| US09258597B1 |
System and method for obtaining information relating to video images
A system and method is provided where, in one aspect, a user signals that the user is interested in a particular image being displayed as part of a video, wherein objects in the image are detected and recognized, and wherein an action is taken based on information associated with the recognized objects. By way of example only, the actions may include recording a show (with or without a user's prior confirmation) or displaying information about a product in the image. |
| US09258596B2 |
Demodulator and multi-chip module for a multi-mode receiver and method therefor
In one form, a multi-chip module for a multi-mode receiver includes an MCM substrate and first and second demodulator die. The MCM substrate has first and second satellite input ports, first and second terrestrial/cable input ports, and first and second transport stream ports. The first demodulator die has a satellite port coupled to the first satellite input port of the MCM substrate, a terrestrial/cable port coupled to the first terrestrial/cable input port of the MCM substrate, and first and second transport stream ports coupled to the first and second transport stream ports of the MCM substrate. The second demodulator die has a satellite port coupled to the second satellite input port of the MCM substrate, a terrestrial/cable port coupled to the second terrestrial/cable input port of the MCM substrate, and first and second transport stream ports coupled to the first and second transport stream ports of the MCM substrate. |
| US09258590B2 |
Method for receiving media and device thereof
A method for receiving media according to one embodiment comprises the following steps: selecting a receiving channel; receiving a media transport stream transmitted through the receiving channel; generating a media storage stream based on the received media transport stream; and recording the media storage stream. The media transport stream comprises at least one sync bite which represents data removed from the media transport stream. |
| US09258589B2 |
Methods and systems for generating and providing program guides and content
Systems and methods for identifying, assembling, and publishing content are described. A content item, such as a video, having a first time length, is identified by a system to be included in a program scheduled for a first time period. The video may be hosted on a third party system. A first span of time within the first program is allocated for the video, wherein the first span of time is longer than the first time length. The system determines, prior to or at the first time period, a time difference between a current length of the video and the first span of time. At least partly in response to determining that the video has a time length shorter than the first span of time, the system selects supplemental content based at least in part of the determined time difference to be streamed to user terminals over a data network within the first time period. |
| US09258587B2 |
Content blackout determinations for playback of video streams on portable devices
Content, such as audio or video content, is streamed to portable devices based on an entitlement determination that includes determining the location of the portable device and whether the content is subject to blackout restrictions. In one implementation, requests may be received for content that is to be streamed to a portable device and a location of the portable device may be determined. Entitlements may be determined, where the entitlements define whether the content is permitted to be viewed by the portable device, where the entitlements are determined based at least on the indication of the location of the portable device and based on blackout restrictions applicable to the content. The content may be selectively streamed to the portable device based on the applicable blackout restrictions. |
| US09258584B2 |
Video content protection
A method includes receiving, by a client device associated with a particular user, product details for video content including a purchase option identifier (ID) for the video content from a video service provider. The method includes requesting, by the client device based on a single sign on (SSO) protected call, a playback uniform resource locator (URL) for the video content from an orchestration layer associated with the video service provider. The method also includes receiving the playback URL, an entitlement ID associated with the particular user for the video content, and the encrypted content. The method includes obtaining a digital rights management (DRM) license for the encrypted content based on the entitlement ID, and decrypting and playing the video content based on DRM rules associated with the video content. |
| US09258578B2 |
System and method for selectively transcoding signal from one format to one of plurality of formats
A device is provided for use with an input signal and a selecting signal. The input signal has a first format, and the selecting signal has a first state and a second state. The device comprises a receiving portion and a transcoder portion. The receiving portion can receive the input signal and output a received signal. The transcoder portion is arranged to receive the selecting signal and can output a first transcoded signal when the selecting signal is in the first state and can output a second transcoded signal when the selecting signal is in the second state. The first transcoded signal is based on the received signal and is in a second format. The second transcoded signal is based on the received signal and is in a third format, wherein the first format is different from the second format, the first format is different from the third format and the second format is different from the third format. |
| US09258565B1 |
Context model cache-management in a dual-pipeline CABAC architecture
A method and system are disclosed for managing cache memory in a dual-pipelined CABAC encoder. A request for a context model is received from both encoder pipelines. If the requested context model is not stored in cache, the requested context model is retrieved from a context table. At least one context model stored in cache is written to the context table. The retrieved context model is updated and written to the cache. If the requested context model is stored in cache, and if the requested context model was updated in the previous clock cycle, the requested context model is retrieved from the pipeline, updated, and written to cache. If the requested context model is not stored in cache, and if the requested contest model was not updated in the previous clock cycle, the requested context model retrieved from cache, updated, and written back to cache. |
| US09258564B2 |
Visual search system architectures based on compressed or compact feature descriptors
An embodiment of a visual search system includes at least one imaging device, each imaging device operable to capture a corresponding image, a feature extraction device coupled to each imaging device, each feature extraction device operable to generate feature descriptors from the image received from the corresponding imaging device. A descriptor encoding device is coupled to each feature extraction device and operable to generate compressed feature descriptors from the received feature descriptors. An application processor is coupled to each descriptor encoding device. The application processor is operable to process the received compressed feature descriptors to generate output information as a function of the processed compressed feature descriptors. |
| US09258563B2 |
Multi-metric filtering
A filter unit of a video encoder or video decoder can determine a first metric for a group of pixels within a block of pixels, determine a second metric for the group of pixels, determine a filter based on the first metric and the second metric, and generate a filtered image by applying the filter to the group of pixels. The first metric and second metric can be an activity metric and a direction metric, respectively, or can be other metrics such as an edge metric, horizontal activity metric, vertical activity metric, or diagonal activity metric. |
| US09258561B2 |
Method for coding a sequence of digital images
A method codes a sequence of digital images, each image having the same image format and including a number of pixels with assigned pixel values. Motion parameters between first and second images are determined, where based on said motion parameters a motion compensation is performed for coding the sequence of images, where said motion parameters are included in the coded sequence of images. The motion parameters between a first image and a second image include a scalar field having scalar values for a plurality of image positions in the image format. The scalar field is determined such that gradient vectors derived from the scalar field correspond to motion vectors for the motion compensation. |
| US09258560B2 |
Video decoding apparatus, video coding apparatus, video decoding method, video coding method, and program
In the present invention, reconstructed images for prediction are stored in uncompressed reference picture memory and compressed reference picture memory. A video decoder stores in uncompressed reference picture memory a reconstructed image of a frame to be decoded which has been generated on the basis of a prediction, and among reconstructed images which have been stored in the uncompressed reference picture memory, compresses a reconstructed image that will not be used for prediction of the frame to be decoded and stores the image in the compressed reference picture memory. Using the reconstructed images which are stored in the uncompressed reference picture memory and the compressed reference picture memory, the video bitstream is decoded into a video. |
| US09258559B2 |
Reference picture list construction for multi-view and three-dimensional video coding
A video encoder generates, based on a reference picture set of a current view component, a reference picture list for the current view component. The reference picture set includes an inter-view reference picture set. The video encoder encodes the current view component based at least in part on one or more reference pictures in the reference picture list. In addition, the video encoder generates a bitstream that includes syntax elements indicating the reference picture set of the current view component. A video decoder parses, from the bitstream, syntax elements indicating the reference picture set of the current view component. The video decoder generates, based on the reference picture set, the reference picture list for the current view component. In addition, the video decoder decodes at least a portion of the current view component based on one or more reference pictures in the reference picture list. |
| US09258556B2 |
Digital signage device capable of entering diagnostic display mode
One aspect of the disclosure directs to a signage device, which include a display device, a camera, and a signage controller. The display device is configured to display media content in a display mode and display diagnostic information in a diagnostic mode. The diagnostic information includes content operational and deployment information related to the media content being displayed, and system information of the signage device. The signage controller is configured to control the camera to capture an image frame, process the captured image frame to generate information for a server system such that the server system provides the media content to the signage controller based on the generated information, display the media content on the display device in the display mode, switch the display device to the diagnostic mode in response to a diagnostic input command, and display the diagnostic information on the display device in the diagnostic mode. |
| US09258555B2 |
Apparatus and method for determining defect pixel
Provided is an apparatus of determining a defect pixel which includes at least one of a first edge periphery defect determiner and a second edge periphery defect determiner, wherein the first edge periphery defect determiner is configured to determine if a central pixel of a pixel group is the defect pixel by using pixel values of pixels adjacent to the central pixel disposed close to an image edge, wherein the edge includes at least one of right, left, upper, lower, lower-left, lower-right, upper-left and upper-right pixels of the central pixel, and wherein the second edge periphery defect determiner is configured to determine if the central pixel is the defect pixel by using a pixel disposed at at least one of the lower-left, lower-right, upper-left and upper-right of the central pixel. |
| US09258554B2 |
Stereo video image display apparatus and stereo video image display method
A stereo video image display apparatus includes a data obtaining unit, a video image generator and an image quality degradation unit. The data obtaining unit obtains left eye video image data and right eye video image data. The video image generator generates sequential data in which a left eye video image data sequence repeating the left eye video image data and a right eye video image data sequence repeating the right eye video image data are arranged alternately to generate a control signal controlling opening and closing of shutter glasses according to the sequential data. The image quality degradation unit processes image quality degradation for object data which is frame data corresponding to one frame either before the switching between the left eye video image data and the right eye video image data and one frame after the switching, or two frames before and after the switching. |
| US09258551B2 |
Auto-stereoscopic display device and driving method
The invention provides a directional back-light arrangement for an auto-stereoscopic display in which different parts of the backlight arrangement point in different directions. This means that different parts of the backlight arrangement will be suitable for directing images in different directions, while reducing the effect of optical aberrations resulting from large exit angles. |
| US09258550B1 |
System and method for adaptively conformed imaging of work pieces having disparate configuration
A system is provided for adaptively conformed imaging of work pieces having disparate configurations, which comprises a mount unit for holding at least one work piece, and an imaging unit for capturing images of the work piece held by the mount unit. At least one manipulator unit is coupled to selectively manipulate at least one of the mount and imaging units for relative displacement therebetween. A controller coupled to automatically actuate the manipulator and imaging units executes scene segmentation about the held work piece, which spatially defines at least one zone of operation in peripherally conformed manner about the work piece. The controller also executes an acquisition path mapping for the work piece, wherein a sequence of spatially offset acquisition points are mapped within the zone of operation, with each acquisition point defining a vantage point for the imaging unit to capture an image of the work piece from. |
| US09258548B2 |
Apparatus and method for generating depth image
Provided is a depth image generating apparatus. The depth image generating apparatus may include a filtering unit, a modulation unit, and a sensing unit. The filtering unit may band pass filter an infrared light of a first wavelength band among infrared lights received from an object. The modulation unit may modulate the infrared light of the first wavelength band to an infrared light of a second wavelength band. The sensing unit may generate an electrical signal by sensing the modulated infrared light of the second wavelength band. |
| US09258543B2 |
Method and device for generating three-dimensional image
A method and a device for generating a three-dimensional image are provided. In the method, in an Nth time slot, an Nth left-eye image is received and stored in a download buffer of a first memory unit by a first control unit. An Nth right-eye image is received and stored in a download buffer of a second memory unit by a second control unit, where N is a positive integer from 1 to M, and M is a positive integer. In an (N+1)th time slot, the Nth right-eye image is received from the second control unit through a data transmission interface and stored in a receive buffer of the first memory unit. In an (N+2)th time slot, the Nth left-eye image and the Nth right-eye image are combined into an Nth three-dimensional image stored in a display buffer of the first memory unit for real time display. |
| US09258539B2 |
Method of calibrating automatic white balance and image capturing device performing the same
An image capture device and a method of calibrating automatic white balance thereof are provided. The method includes generating first and second frame data using first and second image sensors, respectively, in response to incident light; generating first and second color temperature estimation information based on the first frame data and the second frame data, respectively; determining whether an amount of the first color temperature estimation information is sufficient to estimate a color temperature of a light source; estimating the color temperature of the light source based on the first color temperature estimation information when the amount of the first color temperature estimation information is sufficient; and when the amount of the first color temperature estimation information is insufficient estimating the color temperature of the light source based on the first and second color temperature estimation information; and adjusting the first frame data based on the estimated color temperature. |
| US09258536B2 |
Imaging systems with plasmonic color filters
An image sensor integrated circuit may contain image sensor pixels. A channel for receiving a fluid with particles such as fluorescent biological samples may be formed on top of the image sensor. Light-control layers may be interposed between the fluid channel and the top of the image sensor. The light-control layers may include a color filter array, a microlens array over the color filter array, and a plasmonic color filter. The plasmonic color filter may be formed from a patterned metal layer on the color filter array or on the microlens array. The patterned metal layer may include openings that are configured to use plasmonic effects to control the colors of light that pass through the plasmonic color filter. The color filter array and the plasmonic color filter, in combination, may block light from a light source in the system while passing fluorescent light from the sample. |
| US09258530B2 |
Method for accessing a spatio-temporal part of a compressed video sequence using decomposed access request
A processing method and an associated device for accessing a spatio-temporal part of a compressed video sequence.The method includes the following steps: obtaining a request for access to the part by identifying a temporal section defined between initial and final times of the initial and final spatial regions—different from the initial region of the sequence at the initial and final times; decomposing the access request into a plurality of elementary requests for access to a video fragment, each elementary request identifying a fixed spatial region to extract in a temporal sub-interval of the temporal section; and exploiting at least one elementary request to access video fragments constituting the part to access. |
| US09258529B2 |
Data distribution
A device may include a communication interface configured to receive programming information from a service provider multicast over multiple channels. The device may also include logic configured to decode the programming information received over the multiple channels, assemble a programming guide based on the decoded programming information and output the programming guide to an output device for display. |
| US09258528B2 |
Method for controlling a decoder and decoder for implementing said method
A method for controlling a multimedia decoder that can simultaneously access different programs from different sources and/or of different qualities, wherein the decoder can operate in a multitask mode such that it controls the display and/or recording of a first program simultaneously with the display and/or recording of a second program, wherein the decoder performs the following steps: the step of identifying the resources available for displaying and/or recording programs accessible by the decoder; the step of determining the resources required for displaying and/or recording each of the programs accessible by the decoder; and the step in multitask mode of inhibiting a displaying and/or recording control of one of these programs when the resources required by the ordered program are higher than the available resources of the decoder. |
| US09258526B2 |
Method and system for audio/video communication, and client thereof
The disclosure relates to a method and system for audio/video communication, and a client. The method includes setting up a connection with a server for audio/video communication, opening multiple windows for the audio/video communication; obtaining an enabling instruction for enabling audio/video communication of any one of the windows for audio/video communication amongst the multiple windows for audio/video communication; disabling audio/video communication for other windows for audio/video communication amongst the multiple windows for audio/video communication according to the enabling instruction. The method and system for audio/video communication obtain enabling instructions from the user for enabling any window for audio/video communication, and disable audio/video communication of the other windows for audio/video communication according to the enabling instruction, while the user would not have to close those unneeded windows for audio/video communication one by one, thereby improving the operation facility greatly, saving time and loosening the user's burden, and meeting the users' demands. |
| US09258524B2 |
Streaming playback within a live video conference
A method for streaming playback within a live video conference. The method includes, a computer detecting access to a video conference using a live interface. The method includes, the computer receiving an indication of an interrupt condition. The method includes, the computer retrieving a selected content. The method includes, the computer inserting the selected content into the video conference, and the computer playing the selected content within the video conference. |
| US09258523B2 |
Apparatus and method for integrating computing devices
Methods, systems, and apparatus are provided for physically and/or logically combining two or more smart devices to enhance user experience and help efficiently design, create, implement, or execute desired applications. According to one embodiment, system of the present disclosure provides a smart device apparatus having one or more processors, a communication interface device, and one or more internal data storage devices that are operatively coupled to the one or more processors. The smart device or a sleeve thereof further includes a housing, also interchangeably referred to as a slot or a docking basin, where the housing is configured to physically receive a second smart device and couple the smart device with the second smart device. |
| US09258521B2 |
Real-time advisor system with projected augmentable annotations
Machines, systems and methods for providing remote assistance, the method comprising establishing a communications session between a local user and a visitor over a communications network, wherein the local user is positioned in a local physical operating environment and the visitor is positioned in a remote location relative to the local physical operating environment; communicating audio or video data captured at the local physical operating environment to the visitor; and receiving, at the local physical operating environment, imaging data generated as a result of the visitor interacting with a visitor application running on a visitor computing device, wherein the imaging data is used to project, by way of a projector, a first image of one or more annotations created by the visitor onto a local physical work environment to assist the local user, wherein the projector is mounted on a mechanically articulated arm. |
| US09258518B2 |
Method and apparatus for performing super-resolution
A method for performing super-resolution comprises steps of generating the high-resolution, low-frequency spatial and temporal bands of the input video sequence by interpolation, synthesizing the high-resolution, high-frequency spatial band by cross-frame spatial high-frequency extrapolation, and fusing these two bands to generate the spatio-temporally super-resolved video sequence. A corresponding system for performing super-resolution comprises a stage where the high-resolution, low-frequency spatial and temporal bands of the input video sequence is generated by interpolation, a stage where the high-resolution, high-frequency spatial band is synthesized by cross-frame spatial high-frequency extrapolation, and a stage where these two bands are fused to generate the spatio-temporally super-resolved video sequence. |
| US09258516B2 |
News production system with display controller
An example news production system includes a scheduling system, a composite display with multiple display panels, and a driver and a controller for the composite display. The controller receives data from the scheduling system. The controller then identifies a digital video effect to be run by the driver. The digital video effect involves the driver using an input video stream, at least in part, to generate output video streams for the display panels. In response, the controller prompts a user for an input, and then receives a timing signal based on a user input. In response to receiving the timing signal, the controller causes a video feed network to route the input video stream to the driver and causes the driver to run the digital video effect using the input video stream to thereby generate video streams to the composite display. |
| US09258514B2 |
User interface method, system, and device in multitasking environment
In a user interface method, system and device in a multitasking environment, it is possible for a user to view all of a plurality of simultaneously executed applications by assigning different display areas to the plurality of applications. In the method, system and device, priorities of applications already being executed and of additional applications for which execution is requested are determined, and a display area size is determined and assigned to each application according to its priority. The system comprises a set-top box for performing the latter functions and a user terminal for transmitting a user request, while the device comprises a control unit for performing the latter functions. |
| US09258509B2 |
Broadcast receiving apparatus, method of controlling the same, user terminal device, and method of providing screen thereof
A broadcast receiving apparatus includes a receiving unit which receives a broadcast signal, a graphic user interface (GUI) generating unit which generates a GUI, a signal processing unit which generates a video frame to which the GUI is added, a display unit which displays the video frame to which the GUI is added, a communication unit which establishes a communication connection with a user terminal device that executes a smart view function, and a control unit which controls the broadcast receiving apparatus to perform a corresponding operation according to a touch coordinate value transmitted from the user terminal device. Thus, the broadcast receiving apparatus can be controlled in various forms through the user terminal device. |
| US09258502B2 |
Methods of operating depth pixel included in three-dimensional image sensor and methods of operating three-dimensional image sensor
In a method of operating a depth pixel included in a three-dimensional (3D) image sensor, a plurality of sampling values are obtained by sampling a reception light reflected by an object based on a transfer control signal having a first initial activation level. The depth pixel includes a photo detection region, a transfer gate and a floating diffusion region. The transfer control signal is applied to the transfer gate. A first final activation level of the transfer control signal is determined based on the plurality of sampling values and at least one reference value. A distance between the depth pixel and the object is calculated based on the reception light and the transfer control signal having the first final activation level. |
| US09258494B2 |
Method and system for restricting applications for a focal plane array
Systems and methods disclosed herein include preventing use of a Focal Plane Array (“FPA”) in a thermal imaging system if used in conjunction with a weapons-related activity by disabling the FPA in response to detecting one or more shock pulse events using accelerometers coupled with the thermal imaging system. The method includes monitoring an output from the one or more of the accelerometers to determine whether a shock pulse acceleration event has been detected that exceeds a predetermined threshold. The method also includes determining that a second acceleration event associated with the accelerometers exceeds a second predetermined threshold. The method further includes disabling the thermal imaging system in response to the detected acceleration events. |
| US09258492B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image pickup apparatus including image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium in which program is stored for acquiring and processing images taken at different focus positions
An image processing apparatus includes an image acquisition unit configured to acquire a first image and a second image taken at a different focus position from the first image, an image magnification calculator configured to calculate a first image magnification of an object in the first image and a second image magnification of the object in the second image, an image size changer configured to change an image size of at least one of the first and second images so as to reduce a difference between the first and second image magnifications that are calculated by the image magnification calculator, according to the difference between the first and second image magnifications, and a processor configured to perform a calculation using the first and second images after the image size is changed by the image size changer. |
| US09258490B2 |
Smoothing of ghost maps in a ghost artifact detection method for HDR image creation
An improved ghost-artifact detection and removal method for high-dynamic range (HDR) image creation and related apparatus are described. A binary ghost map is first generated for each image of the multiple input images by a ghost-artifact detection process, where one of the binary values indicate ghost pixels and the other indicates non-ghost pixels. Each binary ghost map is smoothed to generate a continuous-tone ghost map, by changing the pixel value of each non-ghost pixel of the binary map to a ghost value between the two binary values. The ghost value is calculated using a monotonous function of the distance between the non-ghost pixel of the binary map and the nearest ghost pixel. Ghost pixels in the binary ghost map are kept as fully ghost pixel in the continuous-tone ghost map. This method helps to reduce visibility of artifacts at ghost boundaries without losing small detected ghost regions. |
| US09258488B2 |
Camera and method of controlling operation of same
It is arranged so that the user of a camera will not experience a sense of incongruity when the camera is switched between an optical viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder. When the electronic viewfinder function is set, the image of a subject captured by a solid-state electronic image sensing device is displayed on the display screen of a liquid crystal device and a viewfinder shutter closes. When the optical viewfinder function is set, the viewfinder shutter opens and the image of the subject is not displayed on the liquid crystal device. At the time of a changeover between the electronic viewfinder function and the electronic viewfinder function, the image of the subject being displayed on the liquid crystal device gradually vanishes, or the image of the subject is gradually displayed on the liquid crystal device, while the opening and closing of the viewfinder shutter is tracked. Sudden darkening and sudden brightening at the time of the viewfinder changeover is prevented. |
| US09258487B2 |
Auto calibration method and OIS camera using the same
An auto calibration method and an optical image stabilizer (OIS) camera using the same are provided. The auto calibration method includes removing a DC offset of a gyroscope. A vibrator signal applied by operating a vibrator, and an actual measurement value of the gyroscope is obtained using the applied vibrator signal. A first gain value for compensating for sensitivity of the gyroscope is calculated using the vibrator signal and the actual measurement value of the gyroscope, and an actuator is operated. A displacement of a pixel actually moving on an image is moved under an operation of the actuator. A second gain value for controlling a sensitivity variation of the actuator is calculated based on the displacement of the actually moving pixel. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce processing time and to ensure high performance. |
| US09258473B2 |
Camera orientation sensing using camera module with MEMS AF actuator
A camera module includes an actuator coupled to one or more movable lenses of an optical train and configured to move the one or more lenses relative to the image sensor to provide zoom or autofocus or both to the camera module. The actuator is configured to bias one or more pairs of actuator components, and to measure one or more capacitances of the one or more pairs of actuator components, and to determine an orientation of the camera module based on the one or more measured capacitances, and to provide information accordingly for the actuator to step through an auto-focus process that is specifically tailored to one of multiple sub-ranges of camera pointing angles. |
| US09258466B2 |
Camera module
Disclosed herein is a camera module including: a lens barrel including at least one lens L stacked and bonded therein and having a lower protrusion part formed on a bottom surface thereof; a housing having an internal space so as to receive the lens barrel therein and having a supporting surface supporting the lens barrel; and a substrate formed below the housing and having an image sensor mounted thereon. |
| US09258458B2 |
Displaying an image with an available effect applied
A method for automatically displaying an image with an available effect applied on a digital display device includes analyzing the image stored on a storage device and choosing the available effect to apply to the image, where analyzing the image includes executing an image analysis on the image to identify at least one characteristic of the image, where the available effect to apply to the image to be displayed is automatically chosen from a list of available effects which may be applied to the image in consideration of the at least one characteristic of the image, and rendering the image with the available effect applied on the digital display device. |
| US09258457B2 |
Gamma correction table generation method or image processing method using gamma correction table and control method thereof
A gamma correction table generation method includes: obtaining density information by reading, with a reading sensor, a density patch output by an image forming device in a range wider than a cell, the density patch including a plurality of cells disposed such that a part of the cells as a unit representing a tone overlaps with each other and dots included in each of the cells are separated from each other to an extent that no influence is exerted on each other on a recording medium which the image forming device outputs; correcting the density information according to a number of the cells in the density patch; and generating a gamma correction table based on the corrected density information. |
| US09258455B2 |
Mechanism for K-only object rendering in a high-speed color controller
Embodiments of the invention disclose a method for K-only (gray/black) object rendering in a high-speed color controller of a printing system. The method includes setting a flag to indicate selection of a K-only text and barcode print preference from a user of a print system, receiving one or more objects to be printed by the print system, the one or more objects including at least one of a text object and a barcode object, determining whether an input color space for the at least one text object and barcode object should be converted to K-only black ink, and rendering the at least one of the text object and the barcode object as K-only black ink if the input color space is determined to be converted to K-only black ink. |
| US09258454B2 |
Printer optical sensing error determination
Embodiments of printer optical sensing error determination are disclosed. |
| US09258452B1 |
Altering scans to include security features identifying scan origination
Systems and methods scan a previously printed sheet using a scanner to create an original scan, and evaluate the original scan to identify marks printed on the printed sheet. For example, any marks, such as the straight and curved marks located in separation areas (areas separating data areas of the printed sheet) of the printed sheet can be evaluated using a specialized image processor. Then, these systems and methods alter the pixels of such marks to add security features (e.g., microtext, microprinting, etc.) to the marks that identify the time, place, and user of the scanner, and this process produces an altered scan. Rather than outputting the original scan, these systems and methods instead substitute the altered scan in place of the original scan and, therefore, output the altered scan from the image processor in place of the original scan. |
| US09258446B2 |
Image processing apparatus
An image processing apparatus, includes: an acceptance unit that accepts image data and reading data read from a medium; an extraction unit that extracts a rectangular image by segmenting one image of the image data and the reading data to have a size calculated based on an error; a searching unit that searches for a matching position of a rectangular image in the other image of the image data and the reading data, which corresponds to a position of the rectangular image extracted by the extraction unit within a range of a movement amount calculated based on the size of the rectangular image extracted by the extraction unit and a predetermined size calculated by the error; and a comparison unit that compares the rectangular image extracted by the extraction unit with the rectangular image in the other image at the position searched by the searching unit. |
| US09258440B2 |
Image forming apparatus, remote operation device, remote control method, remote operation method, non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with remote control program, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium encoded with remote operation program for performing remote operation
An image forming apparatus includes: a setting information transmitting portion to transmit setting information including a setting screen stored in a screen storage area, screen identification information thereof, and a setting value stored in a setting value storage area to a remote operation device; a remote setting portion to, in response to remote operation information being received after transmission of the setting information, update the setting value stored in the setting value storage area with a setting value included in the remote operation information; and a remote setting screen update portion to generate a setting screen based on the setting value stored in the setting value storage area and update the setting screen stored in the setting screen storage area, after the setting value is updated. An operation is specified based on positional information included in the remote operation information in the updated setting screen. |
| US09258437B2 |
Printing system, control method, and computer-readable medium for controlling printing of data stored in a print server
A system comprises an image forming apparatus and a server, the image forming apparatus including: a receiving unit which receives the series of data from the server; a transfer unit which transfers a plurality of print jobs included in the series of data to a printing unit; and an accepting unit which accepts a cancel instruction for the series of data from a user, wherein when the receiving unit accepts the cancel instruction while receiving the series of data, the receiving unit discards the plurality of print jobs until termination data is received, and when the transfer unit accepts the cancel instruction while transferring the series of data, the transfer unit cancels transfer of the plurality of print jobs to the printing unit, and instructs the printing unit to cancel printing of a transferred print job. |
| US09258436B2 |
Method of easily configuring a network camera
A method of setting up a network camera to communicate with a network includes connecting a cable to both the network camera and a computing device, the computing device being in communication with the network. The method also includes transmitting network configuration data from the computing device to the network camera via the cable, and adjusting network settings of the network camera according to the received network configuration data. |
| US09258432B2 |
Dynamic time based products
The system and method alters the data delivery service plan of a subscriber in response to a network degradation event that negatively affects the subscriber's plan during transportation (e.g. in flight). In response to the subscriber's request, the system and method grants the subscriber access to the in-flight network and/or data during the flight. Additionally, the system and method monitors and detects network degradation events during the flight. If an event occurs that negatively affects the subscribers plan during the flight, the system and method determines a time extension for the subscriber to access the network and/or data based on the duration of the network degradation event. The system and method also modifies the subscriber's plan based on the determined time extension and notifies the subscriber about the network degradation event and plan modification. The plan modification may credit the subscriber additional time, data, and/or services. |
| US09258426B2 |
System and method for processing a voice mail
Described is a system and method for processing a voice mail. The method comprises receiving a voice mail, converting the voice mail into a text message using a predefined speech-to-text conversion algorithm and transmitting the text message to a wireless computing device. |
| US09258418B2 |
Method and apparatus for accessing and interacting with an internet web page
A facility is provided for interfacing the Internet with a telecommunications network and vice versa so that a user who does not have access to the Internet may, nevertheless, provide a Web page and update the Web page via the telecommunications network and so that a user may access the telecommunications network via the Internet. |
| US09258416B2 |
Dynamically-changing IVR tree
Methods, systems, and products dynamically change an interactive response system. Responses to a menu of prompts are monitored. A presentation order of the menu of prompts is automatically updated according to a set of rules. The set of rules describe qualifications for membership in a tier. |
| US09258415B1 |
Communication device and related methods for offline data record modification and synchronization with a backend server associated with a relay service for hearing-impaired users
Communication devices configured to assist hearing-impaired users and related methods are disclosed that synchronize unclean data records of a local database with a remote database of a backend server. Communication elements are configured to receive audio signals from a far end communication device, and to receive text captions corresponding to the audio signals from a relay service for display by the communication device during a call. The memory device stores a local database of data records for the communication device. Each data record has at least one flag associated therewith indicating whether the data record is involved in a modification to the local database by the hearing-impaired user. The processor is configured to synchronize unclean data records from the local database with a remote server associated with the relay service responsive to querying flags in the local database that indicate data records that are unclean. |
| US09258414B2 |
Computer-implemented system and method for facilitating agent-customer calls
A computer-implemented system and method for facilitating agent-customer calls is provided. A call from a customer is accepted into a call center and is assigned to an agent associated with the call center. At least one text message is received from the customer during the call and is directed to the agent. Outgoing text messages are received from the agent in response to the text message from the customer and content of the outgoing text messages from the agent are converted into synthesized speech. The synthesized speech is provided to the customer during the call. |
| US09258413B1 |
System and methods for reducing silence descriptor frame transmit rate to improve performance in a multi-SIM wireless communication device
Methods and devices are disclosed for enabling improved transmission performance on a multi-SIM wireless communication device. The wireless device may detect a voice communication in a held state on a modem stack associated with the first SIM and an active voice communication on a modem stack associated with the second SIM. The wireless device may detect a conflict between at least one silence descriptor (SID) frame scheduled for transmission by the modem stack associated with the first SIM and a transmit opportunity for the modem stack associated with the second SIM. Once the wireless device identifies a SID frame transmission rate for the modem stack associated with the first SIM, the wireless device may apply a reduction scheme to the SID frames scheduled to be transmitted by the modem stack associated with the first SIM. |
| US09258412B1 |
Enhanced service levels for call-processing services
Service levels for call-processing are enhanced based on the subscriber status of at least one of the calling party and the called party. In one example, a calling party (caller) places a call to a called party (recipient). At least one of the parties subscribes to a call-processing service and the call normally would be processed according to a predetermined service level. However, the service level is enhanced in response to a subscriber status for at least one of the parties, and the call is processed according to the enhanced service level. |
| US09258411B2 |
Forensic diagnostic capability including G.inp
There is a need for a forensic diagnostic capability to facilitate a greater understanding of why xDSL transceivers are subject to otherwise inexplicable service interruptions during Showtime (steady state data transmission mode). In certain exemplary embodiments, diagnostic data from a previous Showtime is stored and then communicated to another transceiver and/or reported (or communicated) to a management entity. The stored diagnostic data can be used to determine why the service interruption occurred. In other embodiments, one or more portions diagnostic data from a last Showtime are stored. In additional embodiments, this diagnostic data is collected immediately prior to exiting Showtime and/or retraining (the “last” data collected prior to exiting Showtime and/or retraining). Alternatively, or in addition, the diagnostic data can be collected during a current Showtime using a sliding window that covers the most recently received signals and communicated to another transceiver and/or a management entity during the current Showtime. |
| US09258410B2 |
Methods and systems for determining crosstalk for a joining line in a vectored system
At least one example embodiment discloses a method of determining crosstalk for a joining line in a communication system having a plurality of current active lines. The method includes obtaining a number of disturber lines among the plurality of current active lines, the number of disturber lines being less than a number of the plurality of current active lines, obtaining a pilot matrix, a first dimension of the pilot matrix being based on the number of disturber lines, the pilot matrix representing a sequence of pilots to be transmitted across the plurality of current active lines and the joining line, the first dimension being a number of time instances, the number of time instances being less than the number of the plurality of active lines and determining a crosstalk coupling vector for the joining line based on the pilot matrix. |
| US09258409B1 |
Determining that a user is in a vehicle or driving a vehicle based on sensor data gathered by a user device
A device may receive sensor data regarding a user device; and determine, based on the sensor data, that a user of the user device is in a vehicle or driving the vehicle. When determining that the user of the user device is in the vehicle or driving the vehicle, the device may compare the sensor data, received from the user device, with a reference dataset that includes reference data associated with users being present in or driving a vehicle, or determine that a value of a measurement, received as part of the sensor data, satisfies a threshold that is related to whether the user is in the vehicle or driving the vehicle. The device may output a particular control instruction to the user device based on determining that the user is in the vehicle or is driving the vehicle. |
| US09258401B2 |
Method and apparatus of providing messaging service and callback feature to mobile stations
Disclosed are an apparatus and method of performing automated administrative operations on a mobile device. One example method may include determining via a hosted server that an action needs to be performed by a mobile device under management. The method may further include generating a message via the hosted server, the message includes the action, and transmitting the message to the mobile device under management, and receiving a result message from the mobile device under management responsive to the transmitted message, the result message indicating that the action has been satisfied. |
| US09258399B2 |
SNS providing method using phone book and mobile terminal using the method
A method of providing a Social Networking Service (SNS) based on a phone book of a mobile terminal is provided. The method includes executing the phone book, receiving a selection of a group tab of the phone book from a first user of the mobile terminal, displaying a list of social groups that shares group activity information of its group members including a second user registered in the phone book in response to the selection of the group tab, and, when at least one social group is selected from the list of social groups, providing at least one piece of information from among group information, a group share space including group activity information, and link information corresponding to the selected at least one social group. |
| US09258395B2 |
Caduceus-style coil for reduction of radiation and production of longitudinal waves
Systems, devices, and methods reduce or attenuate electromagnetic radiation emitted by a wireless client device, e.g. a cellphone or tablet computing device, such that less electromagnetic radiation impinges on a user of the wireless client device. The electromagnetic radiation as measured at or near the front of the wireless client device may be reduced during use by about 90%. |
| US09258390B2 |
Reducing network latency
A method of transmitting data for use at a data processing system and network interface device, the data processing system being coupled to a network by the network interface device, the method comprising: forming a message template in accordance with a predetermined set of network protocols, the message template including at least in part one or more protocol headers; forming an application layer message in one or more parts; updating the message template with the parts of the application layer message; processing the message template in accordance with the predetermined set of network protocols so as to complete the protocol headers; and causing the network interface device to transmit the completed message over the network. |
| US09258388B2 |
Framework of an efficient congestion exposure audit function
A method of operating a packet dropper in a congestion exposure-enabled network, wherein sending hosts and receiving hosts communicate with each other by sending flows of packets over network paths via intermediate routers, which, upon detecting congestion, mark packets of the flows as congestion packets, wherein congestion is indicated to the sending hosts by way of a congestion feedback mechanism, and wherein the sending hosts, upon receiving congestion indications, declare a subset of the packets they send as congestion response packets, thereby producing either conformant flows or non-conformant flows, depending on whether the amount of congestion response packets is balanced with the indicated congestion level or not, is characterized in that the packet dropper carries out in succession a series of traffic analyzing steps for identifying the non-conformant flows. Furthermore, a corresponding packet dropper for use in a congestion exposure-enabled network is described. |
| US09258387B2 |
System for scan organizing, managing and running enterprise-wide scans by selectively enabling and disabling scan objects created by agents
Disclosed is a system configured to create, organize, and monitor computer searches across a large number of networked computers. The system allows individual searches to be created and tailored depending upon specific objectives. Once established, the system permits the search parameters to be subsequently edited as needed. A graphical user interface (GUI) allows users to view established searches and to monitor searches once activated. Search results can also be tabulated by way of the GUI. |
| US09258386B2 |
Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) mobility detection
A mobility event for a VoIP user is detected, with an estimated confidence/certainty that the VoIP user in fact moved. In response, a user is prompted to cause an update to their registration and/or location information. Notification to the VoIP user of the likely need for a location update may be implemented in the communication protocol such that an icon on the VoIP phone displays the need to the VoIP user. The icon may include a measure of the confidence/certainty of the need for a location update, e.g., similar in visual image to the bars showing coverage on a wireless phone. Mobility of the VoIP user may be detected using, e.g., (1) The VoIP user's Internet protocol (IP) address; (2) a mapping of physical to logical location; and/or (3) mapping between physical location information and physical network resources such as switches, routers, ports, access points, etc. |
| US09258385B2 |
Method for loading a program module into a network device and network with network devices
A method for loading program modules into programmable network devices of a network comprises loading an ID-generator into each network device for generating a unique identification code for the network devices. Next the program modules are loaded into the network devices based on the identification codes. Thus selective programming of network devices within a network is possible. |
| US09258383B2 |
Monetization of television audience data across muliple screens of a user watching television
A method, apparatus, and system related to relevancy improvement through targeting of information based on data gathered from a networked device associated with a security sandbox of a client device are disclosed. In one embodiment, a system may comprise a networked device, a relevancy-matching server, and a client device. The networked device may be configured to generate a preliminary data and/or a primary data associated with a user and automatically announce a sandbox-reachable service of the networked device to a discovery module. The relevancy-matching server may be configured to match a targeted data with the primary data based on a relevancy factor associated with the user. The client device may be configured to automatically process an identification data of the networked device and/or the sandbox-reachable service of the networked device from the discovery module and to automatically associate with the networked device based on the identification data. |
| US09258382B2 |
User-specific roaming settings
Disclosed herein is a roaming settings service that receives an update to roaming settings specific to a user that is initiated by an instance of an application program provisioned according to a first application mode. Upon receiving a request for the roaming settings specific to the user initiated by an instance of the application program provisioned according to a second application model, the roaming settings service retrieves updated roaming settings that reflect the update to the roaming settings. The settings service transfers the updated roaming settings for delivery to the instance of the application program provisioned according to the second application model. |
| US09258381B2 |
Information processing apparatus, information processing method and storage medium storing program
An information processing apparatus accesses to each of a plurality of access destinations via communications between the information processing apparatus and the server. And the apparatus decides a time-out time corresponding to each of the plurality of access destinations based on a communication count, with the server, for access to each of the plurality of access destinations. When accessing to an access destination of the plurality of access destinations via the communication with the server, the apparatus controls the communication to reach a time-out according to the time-out time which is decided and corresponds to the access destination. |
| US09258379B2 |
Session initiation protocol adapter system and method providing stateless node mapping to a stateful server node hosting a communication session for an actor
In accordance with various embodiments, a set of features are described for enabling an application server platform for telecom based applications. A system for providing an application server for telecom-based applications can include an application server that includes a session initiation protocol (SIP) adapter. The SIP adapter can use a connection oriented protocol and provides interactions with application code in an actor of said application server by means of asynchronized SIP protocol events. The SIP adapter can also provide stateless node mapping to a stateful server node hosting a specific session for the actor. |
| US09258374B2 |
Method and system for capturing expertise of a knowledge worker in an integrated breadcrumb trail of data transactions and user interactions
A system and method is provided for creating a trail of events. A plurality of data exchange events and a plurality of user interaction events are captured. A frame is generated based on the captured plurality of user interaction events. A cut is generated based on the captured plurality of data exchange events and the frame. The cut represents a historical trail of the plurality of user interaction events associated with the back-end data receive event and the back-end data send event. |
| US09258372B2 |
Wireless router system and method
A wireless router employing a technique to couple a plurality of host services or host systems and a plurality of wireless networks. A method to route data items between a plurality of mobile devices and a plurality of host systems through a common wireless router. A point-to-point communication connection is preferably established between a first host system and a common wireless router, a mobile network message at a mobile device is generated, the mobile network is transmitted via a wireless network to the common wireless router which in turn routes a data item component of the mobile network message to the appropriate host service. |
| US09258371B1 |
Managing interaction with hosted services
Systems and methods are disclosed which facilitate managing interaction with instances corresponding to hosted services. Customers may implement services on a hosted computing environment. Further, the customer may allow limited interaction with the hosted service to a third party (e.g., in connection with a secondary service). For example, the third party may interact with a temporary copy of the hosted service. Thereafter, the customer may, given the consent of the third party, view details of the third party's interaction with the copy, and may be enabled to merge any alterations with the initial hosted service. In addition, a customer may monitor their own interactions with a hosted service or copies of a hosted service, and view details of the differences between multiple versions of the hosted service. |
| US09258366B2 |
Remote management system and operating method thereof
A remote management system includes a remote management apparatus and a user interface. The remote management apparatus has an network interface, a computer interface, and a console interface. The network interface is coupled to a first computer via a network. The computer interface is a signal transmitting interface between the remote management apparatus and a second computer. The user interface corresponds to a set of cursor control device and monitor. The user interface provides a plurality of functional options corresponding to a plurality of functions managing the remote management apparatus respectively. The user interface also shows a plurality of steps on the screen needed for the user to perform the function corresponding to the functional option on the remote management apparatus in response to one of functional options selected by the user to guide the user to finish the function interactively. |
| US09258365B2 |
Remote direct memory access acceleration via hardware context in non-native applciations
Provided are techniques generating a data structure, wherein the data structure specifies both a specified size of a memory space to allocate within an application and a virtual address within the application to locate a data path transmission queue; including within a verb for allocating the data path transmission queue the defined data structure; in response to a call of the verb, allocate, within the application, the data path transmission queue of the specified size and at the virtual location; in response to a request to transmit control data, employ a remote direct memory access (RDMA) transmission path; and, in response to a request to transmit data, employ the data path transmission queue rather than an RDMA transmission path. |
| US09258363B2 |
Data cube high availability
The subject disclosure is directed towards making cube data highly available and efficient to access by separating the read cube server from the processing cube server, on different physical machines. The read cube server may be mirrored, and the write cube server may be mirrored. When the primary read cube server is not operational (e.g., has failed) or is having its read cube synchronized, the read queries are handled by the mirror read cube server. When a processing cube server (or its write cube) is not operational, its mirror processing cube server takes over and performs cube processing operations via its mirror write cube. |
| US09258361B2 |
Transferring data among nodes on a network
Techniques for transferring data among nodes on a network are disclosed. Some example methods include a downloader-initiated random linear network coding algorithm. A downloading node may be aware of the chunks of original data held by neighboring nodes, and the downloading node can request linear combinations of chunks from the neighboring nodes that are linearly independent of any linear combinations of chunks already held by the downloading node. |
| US09258358B2 |
Parallel computing system and control method of parallel computing system
A parallel computing system includes: each computing node including: a first channel receiving data which a preceding node transfers, and transferring received data to a subsequent node; a second channel receiving data which a preceding node transfers, and transferring received data to a subsequent node; and a computational processor receiving data which the first or second channel has received, and transferring processed data to a subsequent node; an input-output node including: a third channel receiving data which the first channel or the computational processor of a preceding node transfers; a fourth channel receiving data which the first channel or the computational processor of a preceding computing node transfers, and transferring the received data to the second channel of a subsequent computing node; and an input-output processor receiving data which the third channel has received, and transferring inputted and outputted data to the first channel of a subsequent computing node. |
| US09258356B2 |
Flow-directed collaborative communication
A method for resolving a query received from a first node in a network includes accepting, by a second node in the network, ownership of the query from the first node, receiving, at the second node, an identification of a third node in the network, wherein the identification is received from a user of the second node and the user of the second node believes that a user of the third node has information necessary to resolve at least part of the query, and transferring, by the second node, ownership of the at least part of the query to the third node, wherein the accepting, the receiving, and the transferring dynamically generates a data structure that traces a propagation of the query, and the data structure is accessible to an origin of the query. |
| US09258354B2 |
Progressive multimedia synchronization
There is disclosed means for uploading/downloading images to/from a remote server and for viewing the same. The uploading/downloading of the images to/from the remote server is parallel instead of serial. This means that the images, instead of being transferred as a sequential stream of bytes, instead are arranged in scans of image data in such a way that the uploaded/downloaded images can be browsed early albeit at a lower quality than if the entire image data is considered. As in the serial case, it is possible to interrupt the uploading/downloading process at any time, and still browse the received image data. Likewise it is possible to re-start the uploading/downloading process in the future. |
| US09258353B2 |
Multiple buffering orders for digital content item
Various embodiments are disclosed that relate to buffering digital content items in different orders for different user experiences. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides, on a computing device, a method for providing a buffering order for a digital content item. The method includes receiving from a remote computing device a request to access a selected digital content item, the selected digital content item comprising a plurality of content portions consumable in a plurality of different orders, the plurality of different orders corresponding to a plurality of user experiences for the selected digital content item, and in response, providing a selected content provision schema selected from a plurality of content provision schemas for the selected digital content item, each content provision schema defining a buffering order of the plurality of content portions of the selected digital content item for a corresponding user experience of the selected digital content item. |
| US09258351B2 |
System and method for message processing and routing
A message routing system that allows applications at either end of the system to run as-is without modification. The system functions in a multithreaded environment and is capable of handling complex routing rules and message transformation. It is also capable of learning and executing new routing rules and message transformations in formats previously unrecognized by the system. The system enables precise and reliable logging of messages throughout processing and supports publication of enterprise-wide broadcast messages. The system further preferably employs cooperating inbound and outbound transport processes for consuming, routing, processing, safely storing and publishing messages in batches of logical units of work to ensure that the logical units of work are not lost in system transactions. The system also preferably utilizes a replay server for preserving and replaying messages that might otherwise fail to reach their intended destinations. |
| US09258350B2 |
Analyte data retriever
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided for processing analyte data. In some example implementations, a method may include receiving, at a first processing system including a user interface, an installation package including a plug-in and code configured to provide at the first processing system an interface between a sensor system configured to measure an analyte concentration level in a host and a second processing system; storing, by the first processing system, the installation package in a location based on a role of a user initiating the installation of the code; installing the plug-in for the user interface to enable the plug-in to control one or more aspects of an installation of the code; and initiating, by at least the plug-in, the installation of the code at the first processing system to provide the interface. Related systems, methods, and articles of manufacture are also disclosed. |
| US09258343B2 |
Streaming data downloading method and computer readable recording medium thereof
A streaming data downloading method is illustrated, which is adaptive to a video player downloading a video file from a video server via Internet. The method includes dividing the video file into a plurality of time sections by the video player, sending several downloading requests to the video server for simultaneously downloading data corresponding to different time sections based on the number of the downloading requests. Therefore, data of the video file may be downloaded efficiently and waiting time for users may be drastically reduced. |
| US09258340B2 |
Secure digital remediation systems and methods for managing an online reputation
Secure digital remediation methods and systems are provided for managing a reputation. A method for managing a reputation includes receiving a complaint from a victim regarding an unfavorable item published by one or more third parties, extracting information from the unfavorable item, and providing a communication to the one or more third parties of the complaint including the information, the communication requesting a response from the one or more third parties. The method also includes scoring the unfavorable item on a severity scale based on the information, responses to queries and/or a ruleset to produce a severity score, the ruleset including instructions for responding to the complaint based on the severity score. |
| US09258339B2 |
Presenting data to electronic meeting participants
Described is a method for presenting web conference contents to one or more attendees in a shared session. Metadata is aggregated that is related to one or more participant electronic devices and a presenter electronic device that communicate with each other in the web conference. A presentation parameter is determined from the metadata. A selection interface is generated from the presentation parameter. A conference setting is selected from the selection interface. A set of content is presented at the presenter electronic device and shared with the one or more participant devices according to the selected conference setting. |
| US09258335B1 |
Connection-aggregation proxy service
A connection-aggregation proxy service disclosed in various embodiments receives connection requests from a plurality of local initiating services, where the connection requests are not targeted at the connection-aggregation proxy service. The connection-aggregation proxy service establishes connections with the local initiating services, receives packets over those connections, and transmits the packets across the same connection when the packets are for the same external target. A local connection-aggregation proxy service in one example executes on the same physical computing device as the local initiating services. A gateway connection-aggregation proxy service in another example resides at a network edge between the local initiating services and the external target that the network local initiating services are requesting. In yet another example, a central connection-aggregation proxy service establishes a connection with multiple local connection-proxy aggregation services and acts as an upstream aggregator for the connections from those local connection-aggregation proxy services. |
| US09258332B2 |
Distributed multi-processing security gateway
A system and method for a distributed multi-processing security gateway establishes a host side session, selects a proxy network address for a server, uses the proxy network address to establish a server side session, receives a data packet, assigns a central processing unit core from a plurality of central processing unit cores in a multi-core processor of the security gateway to process the data packet, processes the data packet according to security policies, and sends the processed data packet. The proxy network address is selected such that a same central processing unit core is assigned to process data packets from the server side session and the host side session. By assigning central processing unit cores in this manner, higher capable security gateways are provided. |
| US09258331B2 |
System and method for hardware-based trust control management
A trust control management method for security, operable on a computer system generates a unique Trust ID value by combining user-defined values with hardware-specific values associated with the user's computer system and storing the Trust ID value in a memory register physically associated with the hardware of the computer system. A Trust Control Suite (TCS) operable with a server OS/hypervisor maintains a database of user-defined values and hardware-specific values for computer systems clustered in a trusted computing pool. An attestation procedure is performed by the trust control server combining the user-defined values with the hardware-specific values from its database and comparing it to the user-stored Trust ID value stored in the memory register associated with a user's computer system. Depending on whether it is a match or mismatch, the TCS can determine if it is a trusted computer or not, and can take appropriate alerts and policy actions. |
| US09258328B2 |
Identifying malicious devices within a computer network
This disclosure describes techniques for proactively identifying possible attackers based on a profile of a device. For example, a device includes one or more processors and network interface cards to receive, from a remote device, network traffic directed to one or more computing devices protected by the device, determine, based on content of the network traffic, a first set of data points for the device, send a response to the remote device to ascertain a second set of data points for the device, and receive, from the remote device, at least a portion of the second set of data points. The device also includes a security module operable by the processors to determine a maliciousness rating, and selectively manage, based on the maliciousness rating, additional network traffic directed to the one or more computing devices protected by the security device and received from the remote device. |
| US09258323B1 |
Distributed filtering for networks
A firewall coordinates with devices in a network to create a distributed filtering system. The firewall detects an attack in the network, such as a distributed denial of service attack, and creates attack information defining characteristics of malicious packets used in the attack. The attack information is forwarded to the devices in the network. The devices use the attack information to configure themselves to detect packets having the characteristics of the malicious packets. After configuration, the devices detect and discard malicious packets. |
| US09258322B2 |
Systems and methods for assessing the compliance of a computer across a network
The disclosed principles describe systems and methods for assessing the security posture of a target device, wherein the assessment is performed by a scanning computer in communication with the target device via a communication network. By employing a system or method in accordance with the disclosed principles, distinct advantages are achieved. Specifically, conducting such a remote scan allows for the scanner computer to perform a remote scan of the remote device without installing client software to the remote device. Thus, the disclosed principles reduce the need for internal IT resources to manage the deployment and updates of client software on the target device. Also, conducting a remote scan according to the disclosed principles allows for the remote scan to be performed even if the scanner computer and remote device run different operating systems. |
| US09258319B1 |
Detection of and responses to network attacks
Disclosed are various embodiments for detecting and responding to attacks on a computer network. One embodiment of such a method describes monitoring data communications transmitted to a target class of first computing nodes; in response to detecting a non-legitimate data communication to a computing node in the target class, determining whether the non-legitimate data communication is a form of attack on a network to which the computing nodes are connected; and in response to determining that the network is under attack, implementing new security measures for second computing nodes that are not part of the target class to protect the second computing nodes against the attack on the network while the attack is ongoing. |
| US09258316B1 |
Systems and methods for generating reputation-based ratings for uniform resource locators
An exemplary computer-implemented method for generating reputation ratings for URLs may include (1) identifying a URL that identifies the location of at least one web resource, (2) identifying the computing health of at least one member of a computing community that has accessed the URL, (3) generating, based at least in part on the computing health of the member(s) that accessed the URL, a reputation rating for the URL that indicates whether the URL represents a potential security risk, and then (4) providing the reputation rating for the URL to at least one additional computing device to enable the additional computing device to evaluate whether the URL represents a potential security risk. In addition, a client-side, computer-implemented method for determining whether a URL represents a potential security risk may be based at least in part on such a reputation rating. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed. |
| US09258315B2 |
Dynamic filtering for SDN API calls across a security boundary
Presented herein are techniques to reduce the vulnerabilities of network elements to malicious API calls. One or more filters that validate data across an API boundary at a network element are dynamically loaded into the network element such that a reboot of the network element is not required to use the one or more filters. An API call is received for an API function, wherein the API call contains one or more parameter values associated with the API function. The parameters may be validated using the one or more filters. If it is determined that the one or more filters validate the parameters for the API function, the API function may be executed using the parameter values. If it is determined that the one or more filters do not validate the parameters for the API function, the execution of the API function may be aborted. |
| US09258309B2 |
Method and system for operating a wireless access point for providing access to a network
A method is described for operating a single network adapter for use on two different sub-networks of the same type, and a corresponding apparatus. The method comprises setting up a first network address and routing table in the network adapter for use in the first sub-network; setting up a second network address and routing table in the network adapter for use in the second sub-network; receiving data for one of the first and second sub networks, and re-transmitting the data to the other of the first and second sub-network, using the network addresses and routing tables. |
| US09258306B2 |
Methods for confirming user interaction in response to a request for a computer provided service and devices thereof
A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and access manager device includes providing an initial challenge to a client computing device requesting access to a service. The initial challenge includes one or more of one or more objects, one or more indicative answers, and one or more questions based on the one or more objects. At least one challenge response to the initial challenge is received from the client computing device. A determination is when there is a match between the at least one challenge response to the initial challenge and corresponding response data associated with the initial challenge. One or more actions with respect to the request to access the service are performed based on the determination. |
| US09258305B2 |
Authentication method, transfer apparatus, and authentication server
It is provided an authentication method for realizing a network authentication function for an authentication system, the authentication system including an authentication server for authenticating a terminal used by a user, and a switch for mediating an authentication sequence between the terminal and the authentication server. The authentication method includes steps of: providing, by the switch, identification information for identifying the switch to the authentication server in the authentication sequence; authenticating, by the authentication server, an authentication request transmitted from the terminal; transmitting, by the authentication server, an authentication result of the authentication to the switch based on the provided identification information on the switch; and authenticating, by the switch, access from the terminal based on the authentication result received from the authentication server. |
| US09258304B2 |
Methods and apparatus for using keys conveyed via physical contact
An example touch key system may include a master device, one or more carrier devices and protected devices, and a server. The master device may automatically detect a predefined trigger action. In response, the master device may automatically generate a carrier device credential and a corresponding cloud credential. The master device may then automatically send the cloud credential to the server. The master device may also automatically detect the carrier device in electrical communication with the master device. In response, the master device may automatically determine whether the carrier device credential from the key pair is intended for the carrier device. If so, the master device may automatically transfer the carrier device credential to the carrier device. The carrier device may use the carrier device credential to obtain access to the protected device. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US09258303B1 |
Method of providing real-time secure communication between end points in a network
A method of establishing a multiplicity of shared secrets at two mutually authenticated end points in a network. The method includes authenticating a first end point in the network based on an asymmetric key pair and authenticating a second end point based on an asymmetric key pair. Upon successful authentication of the first and second end points, the end points negotiate a shared secret. Multiple shared secret keys are generated from the negotiated shared secret and session keys are computed from the multiple shared secret keys. |
| US09258302B2 |
Method and system for distinguishing humans from machines
A method and an apparatus for distinguishing humans from computers. During user registration, a computer prompts a human user to provide a spoken response to certain authentication information for registration. The computer obtains registration voice data from the spoken response and establishes a registration voiceprint of the human user. During user logon, the computer identifies the user requesting to logon by the user's logon credentials, provides authentication information for logon to the user, and prompts the user to provide a spoken response to the authentication information for logon. The computer obtains logon voice data from the spoken response, and establishes a logon voiceprint of the user. The computer then determines whether the user requesting to logon is human by comparing the logon voiceprint with the registration voiceprint. |
| US09258301B2 |
Advanced authentication techniques
A method, system, apparatus, and computer program product are provided for facilitating advanced authentication techniques. For example, a method is provided that includes receiving at least one request to access at least one resource and receiving at least one composite authentication credential, the composite authentication credential comprising a first credential component and a second credential component. The method further includes determining whether the first credential component is valid, determining whether the second credential component is valid and, in an instance in which it is determined that the first and second credential components are valid, causing access to the at least one resource to be permitted. |
| US09258298B2 |
Simplified configuration of a network device
Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to pair a client device with a CPE device. The methods, systems and computer readable media described in this disclosure can enable the pairing of a client device with a CPE device upon a connection of the client device to a whole-network associated with the CPE device. Further, methods, systems and computer readable media can enable the secure pairing of a client device with a CPE device with little to no user-input. |
| US09258297B2 |
Methods, devices, and mediums for securely sharing restricted content
A computing device is disclosed for securely sharing restricted content. The computing device includes a memory storing computer readable instructions, and one or more processors configured to execute the computer readable instructions. The computer readable instructions configure the one or more processors to, collectively, receive a share request to share the restricted content; in response to the share request, encode a link with encrypted access information, the access information including a first password and identifying the restricted content; receive an access request for access to the restricted content from a client device executing the link, the access request including the encrypted access information; receive a second password from the client device in association with the access request; and grant the client device access to the restricted content in response to determining the first password matches the second password. A method and a computer readable medium are also disclosed. |
| US09258294B2 |
Remote authentication method with single sign on credentials
Systems and methods for remote authentication using Single Sign-On (SSO) credentials are disclosed. An implementation includes transmitting a request for an identification code from an application to a wireless service provider, the request provided through an encrypted transport protocol, receiving the identification code as a messaging service message from the wireless service provider, securely routing the received identification code to the requesting application, upon receipt of the identification code at the application, retrieving an authentication token for the application through the encrypted transport protocol and providing the authentication token to an application content server to allow content transfer between the application content server and the application. |
| US09258291B2 |
Pre-authorizing a client application to access a user account on a content management system
A content management system can tag a client installer with an information tag linking the client installer to a user account. The client installer can be configured to install the client-side application on the client device and pass the identification tag to the installed client-side application. The client-side application can transmit the identification tag to the content management system, which can use the identification tag to identify the linked user account and log the client-side application into the user account. The content management system can implement several verification measures such as limiting the number of times and when an identification tag can be used, as well as IP addresses that can use the identification tag. The content management system can also use data cached by the web-browser application to determine if the web-browser application was used to access the user account in the past. |
| US09258290B2 |
Secure administration of virtual machines
Methods and systems for performing secure administration of virtual domain resource allocation are provided herein. A cloud service provider (CSP) may provide instances of virtual machines to one or more contracting user entities. The cloud service provider may store an authorization database identifying one or more resources (e.g., storage, CPU, etc.) that each of the different contracting user entities is authorized to use on a virtual machine server device. The CSP may subsequently receive a request from an unverified entity to instantiate a virtual machine with access to one or more resources. The request may include security information. The CSP validates the request by verifying the unverified entity using the first security information (e.g., checking a PKI certificate, requiring a login/password, etc.) and, when the request is validated, provides access to the verified entity to a subset of the requested one or more resources based on the authorization database. |
| US09258289B2 |
Authentication of IP source addresses
A method and system for authenticating IP source addresses by accessing one or more HTTP requests whose source client identifies itself as a legitimate web crawler. One or more IP addresses are detected from the one or more HTTP requests and each detected IP address is authenticated via a probability estimation regarding its association with a legitimate web crawler. A lookup table is preferably compiled for the authenticated IP addresses for reference, publication and authentication purposes. |
| US09258287B2 |
Secure active networks
A secure active network includes a plurality of secure elements which communicate with one another to share and log information such as identification, location, and user activity associated with each secure element. Secure elements exchange data with one another, and log data received. The periodicity of communication between secure elements, encryption of the information, and the operating frequency in which the information is transmitted and received may be changed if communication is lost between any of the secure elements or if a determination is made that a secure element has traveled outside a predetermined zone. The integrity of the secure network may be verified at any time by comparing the logged information to a reference network. |
| US09258286B1 |
Systems and methods for communications channel authentication
A user may access an institution system via more than one communications channel, either by the same device (e.g., a mobile device accessing the institution system via a voice channel and a data channel) or by different devices (e.g., a personal computer via a web channel and a phone via a voice channel). If a user is not currently authenticated to a communications channel and attempts to access the institution system via a communications channel, the user may be authenticated using strong authentication. If the user is currently authenticated to the institution system via a communications channel and would like to engage a second communications channel to access the institution system, the user may authenticate to the second communications channel using both communications channels and weak authentication, such as single factor authentication or a challenge question. |
| US09258283B2 |
Key management system, key management method, and communication device
In a key management system, a RFID tag decrypts a first key encrypted by a master key and stores the decrypted first key to a service key storage region, then decrypts a second key encrypted by the first key in a third party server, then, encrypts the decrypted second key by the master key and transmits the second key encrypted by the master key to an application of a mobile information terminal, and then decrypts the encrypted second key returned from the application and stores the decrypted second key to the service key storage region. |
| US09258282B2 |
Simplified mechanism for multi-tenant encrypted virtual networks
The present disclosure provides protection of customer data traveling across a network. A reverse cryptographic map (also referred to herein as a reverse crypto map) can be defined for a customer, where the reverse crypto map indicates how customer data should be protected. A reverse crypto map for a customer is applied to an interface of an edge device that is coupled to that customer's private subnet (or customer-facing interface). A reverse crypto map can be configured by a network administrator on a provider edge device, or can be pushed from a key server as part of group policy. A provider edge device can protect customer data by encrypting and decrypting the customer data according to the reverse crypto map. A provider edge device can also be configured with virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) tables that can be used to forward the VPN traffic flow across a provider network. |
| US09258277B1 |
Decentralized packet dispatch in network devices
In general, techniques are described for performing decentralized packet dispatch. A network device comprising one or more service processing units (SPUs) and an interface may implement the techniques. The interface receives a packet associated with a session and selects a first one of SPUs to dispatch the packet based on first information extracted from the packet. The first one of the SPUs dispatches the packet to a second one of the SPUs based on second information extracted from the packet. The second one of the SPUs performs first pass processing to configure the network security device to perform fast path processing of the packet such that second one of the SPUs applies one or more services to the packet and subsequent packets associated with the same session without application of services to the packets by the first one of the service processing units. |
| US09258276B2 |
Efficient packet handling, redirection, and inspection using offload processors
A method for handling packets is disclosed. The method can include providing at least one main processor connected to a plurality of offload processors by a memory bus; configuring the offload processors to provide security related services on packets prior to redirection to the main processor; and operating a virtual switch respectively connected to the main processor and the plurality of offload processors using the memory bus, with the virtual switch capable of receiving memory read/write data over the memory bus. |
| US09258273B2 |
Duplicating packets efficiently within a network security appliance
A network security appliance uses a switch to switch packets between cores configured for fast path processing and slow path processing. The switch duplicates packets for delivery to the slow path processing cores, eliminating the need for the fast path processing cores to expend processor resources on packet duplication. The switch can use IEEE 802.1ad Q-in-Q VLAN tags in the packet to perform the switching and packet duplication. Slow path processing cores may also broadcast packets to other slow path processing cores via the switch. |
| US09258270B2 |
Selecting between domain name system servers of a plurality of networks
A method and computer for managing domain name system services for a plurality of networks is disclosed. A computer identifies information for the plurality of networks to which a client device is connected. The computer receives a request to identify an internet protocol address for a domain name or vice-versa. In response to the request, the computer selects a particular set of domain name system servers of a particular network in the plurality of networks based on the information for the plurality of networks and a set of rules for selecting the particular set of domain name system servers when identifying the internet protocol address for the domain name. The computer then sends the request to identify the internet protocol address for the domain name to a domain name system server in the particular set of domain name system servers. |
| US09258267B1 |
Highly scalable data center architecture with address resolution protocol (ARP)-free servers
A network device establishes a logical channel with each server device of multiple server devices, where each logical channel is not shared with another server device of the multiple server devices. The network device also determines a network loopback Internet protocol (IP) address for each server device of the multiple server devices, and associates each network loopback IP address with a corresponding logical channel. The network device further receives a packet destined for a particular server device, and provides the packet to the particular server device via the logical channel associated with the particular server device. |
| US09258265B2 |
Message tracking with thread-recurrent data
A method, system, computer program product, and related business methods are described in the context of a web-based business information system having an internal email facility, wherein e-mail communications between a native e-mail system of an end user of the web-based business information system and an external contact are facilitated and automatically tracked by the web-based business information system, the native e-mail system lying outside the web-based business information system but often being preferred by the end user over the internal e-mail facility of the web-based business information system. The described preferred embodiments provide for easy-to-use, reasonably transparent, “no-click” integration of the web-based business information system with the end user's native e-mail system in a manner that is independent of the particular type and choice of native e-mail system. |
| US09258263B2 |
Dynamic granular messaging persistence
Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for dynamic, granular messaging persistence in a messaging system. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for dynamic, granular messaging persistence in a messaging system is provided. The method includes monitoring operational performance of a message broker and receiving a message for queuing in a message queue of the message broker. The method also includes parsing the message to extract different fields and corresponding priorities and selectively storing in fixed storage, data for corresponding ones of the different fields based upon consideration of corresponding ones of the priorities and the monitored operational performance. Finally, the method includes queuing the message in the message queue. |
| US09258262B2 |
Mailbox-based communications system for management communications spanning multiple data centers and firewalls
System and methods for effecting communications between a trusted management process and one or more managed processes in a distributed computing environment where direct communications between processes via a data communications network is blocked by a firewall or other security system. The method includes a file server that is accessible to all communicating processes. The file server provides a secure mailbox for each managed process. The mailbox is used to hold messages that are stored as individual files. The management and managed processes communicate by writing and reading files in the mailbox of the managed process. The stateless manner of the message-based communications makes it easy to replicate the management process in order to provide scalability and fault-tolerance for the management functions. |
| US09258261B1 |
System and method for detecting unwanted content
A system and method for detecting unwanted electronic content, such as spam. As a user operates an application to send messages, several metrics are tracked to allow the system to analyze her activity. Illustrative metrics may include, but are not limited to, block count (e.g., how many other users have blocked her), block rate (e.g., the rate at which other users block her), peer symmetry (e.g., percentage of her messages that are to other users that have her in their address book), message uniqueness (e.g., how unique her messages are from each other), peer uniqueness (e.g., how unique the addressees of her messages are), and message rate (e.g., the rate at which she sends messages). Periodically, metrics may be compared to corresponding thresholds. Depending on whether a threshold is crossed, and which threshold is crossed, she may be banned from using the application or placed on a watch list. |
| US09258260B2 |
Filtering electronic messages based on domain attributes without reputation
A messaging application filters electronic messages based on domain attributes without a reputation. A message with a uniform resource identifier (URI) is received and determined to not be included within a trusted or a block list. A total score is computed from weighted scores assigned to factors associated with the message. The message is evaluated for an unsolicited message determination by comparing the total score against a predetermined threshold. |
| US09258259B2 |
Retrieval of offline instant messages
Retrieving messages stored in a mail server and pending to be retrieved by a user is disclosed. A summary of the messages stored in the mail server and pending to be retrieved by the user is received at a terminal device of the user, each message associated with a unique identifier. At least one of the messages to be retrieved from the mail server is selected on the basis of the summary of messages. From the unique identifier associated with the at least one message an identifier valid for retrieval of the at least one message is determined, and a retrieval request with the identifier valid for retrieval is sent to the mail server. Upon receiving the retrieval request with the at least one identifier valid for retrieving the at least one of the stored messages, the mail server sends the at least one message towards the terminal device. |
| US09258257B2 |
Direct memory access rate limiting in a communication device
Rate limiting operations can be implemented at an ingress DMA unit to minimize the probability of dropped packets because of differences between the communication rates of the ingress DMA unit and a packet processing engine. The communication rate associated with each of the software ports of a communication device can be determined and an aggregate software port ingress rate can be calculated by summing the communication rate associated with each of the software ports. The transfer rate associated with the ingress DMA unit can be limited so that packets are transmitted from the ingress DMA unit to the packet processing engine at a communication rate that is at least equal to the aggregate software port ingress rate. If each software port comprises a dedicated rate-limited ingress DMA queue, packets from a rate-limited ingress DMA queue can be transmitted at the at least the communication rate of the corresponding software port. |
| US09258254B2 |
Virtual router and switch
An input/output (I/O) switch fabric includes input physical ports that convey packets associated with at least a first network flow. Moreover, virtual routers in the I/O switch fabric, which have associated routing tables, provide types of service and/or routes for different source-destination pairs based on link-layer information and network-layer information in the packets. Note that different virtual routers can provide different types of service and/or different routes. For example, a type of service associated with a first virtual router may include changing packet headers when crossing service domains in a global network, and a type of service associated with a second virtual router may avoid changing packet headers when providing connectivity in the network. Furthermore, the I/O switch fabric includes output physical ports that convey packets associated with at least a second network flow. The virtual routers may facilitate InfiniBand inter-subnet crossing. |
| US09258253B2 |
System and method for flexible switching fabric
A system and method for a flexible switching fabric includes a network switching device. The network switching device includes a plurality of connectors configured to couple the network switching device to other network devices, one or more front panel cards, each front panel card including one or more first ports and configured to forward network packets between the first ports, one or more fabric cards, each fabric card including one or more second ports and configured to forward network packets between the second ports, and a port multiplexing unit configured to flexibly couple the connectors to the one or more first ports and the one or more second ports to the one or more first ports. The flexible coupling between the one or more first ports and the connectors and the one or more second ports is determined based on a desired configuration for the network switching device. |
| US09258252B1 |
Virtual server resource monitoring and management
A system is provided that monitors a first and second virtual server on a first physical server containing a physical processor, monitors physical processor usage wherein capacity is allocated to a first entitlement comprising a first percentage of the capacity guaranteed to the first virtual server, to a second entitlement comprising a second percentage guaranteed to the second virtual server, and to a third percentage one of unallocated and partially and totally allocated to a virtual server based on need, and wherein the percentages total to one hundred percent. The system monitors usage of a first virtual processor associated with the first virtual server, receives a request for first virtual processor utilization by percentage, determines utilization comprising first virtual processor usage divided by a first allocated processing capacity comprising the first entitlement and a portion of the third percentage currently allocated to the first virtual server, and reports the utilization. |
| US09258243B2 |
Symmetric service chain binding
A plurality of network nodes are deployed in a network, each network node configured to apply a service function to traffic that passes through the respective network nodes. A controller generates information for a service chain that involves application to traffic of one or more service functions at corresponding ones of the plurality of network nodes along a forward path through the one or more network nodes. The controller identifies one or more of the service functions within the service chain that is stateful. When one or more of the service functions of the service chain is stateful, the controller generates information for a reverse path through the one or more service nodes for the one or more stateful service functions. The controller binds a forward chain identifier for the forward path with a reverse chain identifier for the reverse path for the service chain. |
| US09258242B1 |
Path selection using a service level objective
In one aspect, a method includes measuring performance parameters for each path, determining classifications of each path based on a service level objective and sending I/Os using load balancing by the classifications determined. In another aspect, an apparatus includes electronic hardware circuitry configured to measure performance parameters for each path, determine classifications of each path based on a service level objective and send I/Os using load balancing by the classifications determined. In a further aspect, an article includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores computer-executable instructions. The instructions cause a machine to measure performance parameters for each path, determine classifications of each path based on a service level objective and send I/Os using load balancing by the classifications determined. |
| US09258241B2 |
Transparent provisioning of services over a network
An apparatus and method for enhancing the infrastructure of a network such as the Internet is disclosed. A packet interceptor/processor apparatus is coupled with the network so as to be able to intercept and process packets flowing over the network. Further, the apparatus provides external connectivity to other devices that wish to intercept packets as well. The apparatus applies one or more rules to the intercepted packets which execute one or more functions on a dynamically specified portion of the packet and take one or more actions with the packets. The apparatus is capable of analyzing any portion of the packet including the header and payload. Actions include releasing the packet unmodified, deleting the packet, modifying the packet, logging/storing information about the packet or forwarding the packet to an external device for subsequent processing. Further, the rules may be dynamically modified by the external devices. |
| US09258240B2 |
Available bandwidth estimating device
An available bandwidth estimating device 300 is equipped with: a transmission rate acquiring part 301 configured to acquire a transmission rate, which is the amount of data transmitted by a transmitting device per unit time to a receiving device connected so as to be capable of communicating via a communication network; and an available bandwidth estimating part 302 configured to estimate the available bandwidth based on a mathematical model constructed by representing a relation between an available bandwidth, which is a communication bandwidth available in a communication path between the transmitting device and the receiving device, and the transmission rate by a dynamic model including a mobile body movable in a preset moving direction and an elastic body transforming in the moving direction by a movement amount of the mobile body having moved in the moving direction, and based on the acquired transmission rate. |
| US09258232B2 |
Ingress traffic flow control in a data communications system
Embodiments of the invention provide flow control of incoming data packets to data processing resources via a controller that can receive and react to advanced backpressure messages. These advanced backpressure messages are used to rate limit the data packets based one or more of the following factors: traffic class, traffic priority, destination port. The controller can also generate a traffic preference message to an upstream source of the data packets to inform the upstream unit of the most appropriate type of data that should be transmitted downstream at that time, thereby improving the likelihood of the transmitted data being processed in a proper and timely manner by the downstream data processing resources. Embodiments of the invention can improve the performance of a communications system during periods of congestion by ensuring that high-priority traffic has precedence over traffic of lower priority while maximizing utilization of the ingress data path bandwidth. |
| US09258230B2 |
In flight TCP window adjustment to improve network performance
A system and method for reconfiguring a TCP window in a switch of a network system, where the size of the window is determined based on the operating speed of a work station to which data packets in the window are being sent and the size of the switch buffer. The algorithm includes establishing a connection between a server and the station, where the connection includes TCP data packets. The algorithm identifies a TCP window size requested by the station, and identifies the connection speed of the station in the switch. The algorithm then modifies the TCP window size of the connection if the identified TCP window size does not support the connection speed and the size of the buffer. The algorithm also changes the TCP check-sum based on the new TCP window size. |
| US09258228B2 |
Filtering and route lookup in a switching device
Methods and devices for processing packets are provided. The processing device may Include an input interface for receiving data units containing header information of respective packets; a first module configurable to perform packet filtering based on the received data units; a second module configurable to perform traffic analysis based on the received data units; a third module configurable to perform load balancing based on the received data units; and a fourth module configurable to perform route lookups based on the received data units. |
| US09258226B2 |
Systems and methods for dual network address translation
Included are systems and methods for providing dual network address translation. Accordingly, some embodiments include translating, via a processor at a network operations center (NOC), a public source address and a public destination address to and from assigned unique private addresses for data to be communicated across a wide area network, while including gateway functions to manage an application with an imbedded IP address. Some embodiments include communicating, via the processor at the NOC, the data to a ReNAT virtual private network (VPN) with packets wrapped in a private ReNAT defined protocol that includes the public source address and the public destination address. Still some embodiments include mapping, via the processor at the NOC, a unique private address in the data to customer defined private IP addresses. |
| US09258225B2 |
System and method for efficient matching of regular expression patterns across multiple packets
A system and method for efficient matching regular expression patterns across multiple packets. A deep packet inspection system can be embodied in a switch ASIC using a flow tracker and a signature matching engine. The flow tracker can be positioned in an ingress portion of the switch ASIC at a location where packets in a bi-direction flow can be observed and recorded. The flow tracker generates a signature match request that is forwarded to a signature matching engine in an auxiliary pipeline. The signature matching engine is enabled to perform cross-packet signature matching using signature matching state machines and reports the signature matching results to the flow tracker using a response packet that is sent to the ingress pipeline. |
| US09258218B2 |
Software-defined network overlay
A software-defined network overlay capability is configured to control one or more overlay networks using software-defined networking (SDN) in which control functions and forwarding functions are separated. The software-defined network overlay capability may be configured to vertically move packets across network layers, e.g., into an overlay network (e.g., into a tunnel via encapsulation), out of an overlay network (e.g., out of a tunnel via decapsulation), or the like. The software-defined network overlay capability may be configured to move packets from native forwarding infrastructure into an overlay network, between overlay networks (e.g., into a first overlay network from a second overlay network without leaving the second overlay network, out of a first overlay network and into a second overlay network, out of a first overlay network while remaining within a second overlay network, or the like), from an overlay network onto native forwarding infrastructure, or the like. |
| US09258217B2 |
Systems and methods for rule-based anomaly detection on IP network flow
A system to detect anomalies in internet protocol (IP) flows uses a set of machine-learning (ML) rules that can be applied in real time at the IP flow level. A communication network has a large number of routers that can be equipped with flow monitoring capability. A flow collector collects flow data from the routers throughout the communication network and provides them to a flow classifier. At the same time, a limited number of locations in the network monitor data packets and generate alerts based on packet data properties. The packet alerts and the flow data are provided to a machine learning system that detects correlations between the packet-based alerts and the flow data to thereby generate a series of flow-level alerts. These rules are provided to the flow time classifier. Over time, the new packet alerts and flow data are used to provide updated rules generated by the machine learning system. |
| US09258206B2 |
System administration
A technique for improving system administration involves implementing system administration agent programs on a plurality of devices in an administered network. A deployment agent deploys the system administration agent program or a portion thereof to suitable devices when they are detected. System monitoring agents monitor the administered network to generate data. A reporting engine sends agent reports including the generated data to a system administration server. The system administration server facilitates administration of the administered network in real time. |
| US09258204B2 |
Method and apparatus for deciding network coding method based on link utilization
A method and apparatus for deciding a network coding method based on link utilization are disclosed herein. The method may include a step of setting up an output link utilization reference value of a network intermediate node, a step of calculating an average utilization of output links for each network intermediate node, a step of deciding a network coding method in accordance with the average utilization of the output link for each network intermediate node, a step of consistently updating the average utilization of the output link for each network intermediate node, and a step of changing the network coding method, when a value of the average utilization value is changed. |
| US09258203B1 |
Monitoring computer performance metrics utilizing baseline performance metric filtering
A system and method for managing performance metric information is provided. Baseline performance metrics, such as network bandwidth capabilities, of various client computing devices may be obtained. The baseline performance metrics can be used to separate client computing devices into one or more groups. Based on the groupings, subsequent performance metrics associated with the one or more monitored groups can be collected in a manner to mitigate performance latencies associated with the baseline performance metric. The subsequent performance metrics can be processed to determine which metrics correspond to a potential performance problem. |
| US09258202B2 |
Correlation of performance monitoring records for logical end points within a protected group
A network system comprising logical work and protect Connection Termination Points. Performance Monitoring (PM) records are provided by generating for each work Connection Termination Point (CTP) a work bit vector and a protect bit vector. The work bit vector keeps track of severely errored seconds (SES) occurrences at the work CTP only when the work CTP is selected. The protect bit vector keeps track of severely errored seconds (SES) occurrences at the protect CTP only when the protect CTP is selected. Processing the work bit vector and the protect bit vector provides accurate PM records. |
| US09258201B2 |
Active device management for use in a building automation system
A building automation system (BAS) comprising a plurality of end devices, at least one communication network, and a server engine comprising a communication state manager for actively managing the state of various devices in building automation system and an associated reconnect manager to reestablish communication with off-line devices. The communication manager and the reconnect manager coordinate the interaction between the server engine and the devices in order to minimizing the load on the communication network, while also working to establish the working state of any of the end devices and to transition off-line to an on-line state. |
| US09258198B2 |
Dynamic generation of policy enforcement rules and actions from policy attachment semantics
At least one defined service policy to be enforced by a policy enforcement point (PEP) is obtained. The obtained at least one defined service policy is parsed to identify at least one set of enforceable policy provisions and the at least one set of enforceable policy provisions is identified. Each set of enforceable policy provisions includes a policy subject, a policy domain, and at least one assertion as the enforceable policy provisions within the at least one defined service policy. At least one runtime processing rule including at least one processing action usable by the PEP is created to enforce the policy subject, the policy domain, and the at least one assertion of each identified at least one set of enforceable policy provisions. |
| US09258192B2 |
Multi-chassis topology discovery using in-band signaling
A multi-chassis network device may automatically detect whether cables connected between chassis devices are correctly inserted. The device may insert, into a first data stream output from a first port of the device, control information identifying the first port. The device may receive, from a second data stream received by the first port of the device, second control information identifying a second port, at another device connected to the device via a cable. The device may determine, based on the second control information, whether the connection of the first port to the second port, via the cable, is valid and cause, when the connection of the first port to the second port is determined to not be valid, the device to output an indication that the connection is not valid or to reconfigure the device to make the connection of the first port to the second port valid. |
| US09258191B2 |
Direct network having plural distributed connections to each resource
A direct network is described in which each resource is connected to a switching fabric via a set of two or more routing nodes. The routing nodes are distributed so as to satisfy at least one inter-node separation criterion. In one case, the separation criterion specifies that, for each resource, a number of routing nodes that share a same coordinate value with another routing node in the set (in a same coordinate dimension) is to be minimized. In some network topologies, such as a torus network, this means a number of unique loops of the direct network to which each resource is connected is to be maximized. The routing provisions described herein offer various performance benefits, such as improved latency-related performance. |
| US09258190B2 |
Systems and methods for managing excess optical capacity and margin in optical networks
A method, a network element, and a network include determining excess margin relative to margin needed to insure performance at a nominal guaranteed rate associated with a flexible optical modem configured to communicate over an optical link; causing the flexible optical modem to consume most or all of the excess margin, wherein the capacity increased above the nominal guaranteed rate includes excess capacity; and mapping the excess capacity to one or more logical interfaces for use by a management system, management plane, and/or control plane. The logical interfaces can advantageously be used by the management system, management plane, and/or control plane as one of restoration bandwidth or short-lived bandwidth-on-demand (BOD) connections, such as sub-network connections (SNCs) or label switched paths (LSPs). |
| US09258189B2 |
Method, node device and system for establishing label switched path
A method, node device, and system are disclosed for establishing a label switched path, which belong to the field of communications technologies. Establishing the label switched path between a source node and a sink node utilizes a connection establishment request message that carries bandwidth request information corresponding to different conditions. Based on the bandwidth request information corresponding to the different conditions, various amounts of bandwidth resources corresponding to the different conditions are reserved on local links that establish a connection between the source node and the sink node. |
| US09258186B2 |
System and method for configuration of network-capable appliances
A controlling device is used to configure a target device for wireless network communications through use of a setup wizard. The setup wizard is used to obtain information required to perform communications on a wireless network via a wireless network router and a digital representation of the information obtained through use of the setup wizard is provided to the target device via use of the controlling device. The target device will use the digital representation of the information to configure itself for wireless network communications. |
| US09258184B1 |
System and method for monitoring the status of multiple servers on a network
A system and method for monitoring a plurality of servers by a monitoring server in a computer network. A list of servers and a plurality of services to monitor in the computer network is generated at the monitoring server. A status query is transmitted sequentially by the monitoring server to each of the plurality of servers, the status query including the plurality of services to monitor at each server. A status message report is received from each of the plurality of servers in response to each status query. An event is reported in an event log for each server that has an abnormal service status. The transmission of the status query to each server is performed by the monitoring server at a specified service time interval. |
| US09258181B1 |
Managing agent login to multiple conference call bridges
A method, a computer readable medium, and a system for managing agent login to multiple bridges are provided. The method comprises reserving at least one bridge for at least one agent, creating a first queue for the at least one bridge, the first queue comprising the at least one agent, monitoring efficiency of the at least one bridge, determining if a need for a first bridge of the at least one bridge is high, creating a second queue for the first bridge of the at least one bridge if the need for the first bridge of the at least one bridge is high, assigning at least one agent from the first queue to the second queue, and moving the at least one agent up in the second queue. |
| US09258173B2 |
Vehicle communication network including wireless communications
A wired and wireless vehicle communication network includes network node modules, switch modules, bridge-routing modules, and a network manager. The network manager is operable to determine a wired packet communication mode and/or a wireless packet communication mode. When the network is in the wireless packet communication mode, the network manager coordinates wireless communication of packets among the network node modules, the switch modules, and the bridge-routing modules based on individual content of the packets and wireless channel mapping. When the network is in the wired packet communication mode, the network manager coordinates wired communication of packets among the network node modules, the switch modules, and the bridge-routing modules based on the individual content of the packets and in accordance with a global vehicle network communication protocol. |
| US09258161B2 |
Reference signal design for massive MIMO communication
The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for extending a reference signal pattern to define additional reference signals using a phase division multiplexing (PDM) technique. The reference signal pattern can be a predefined reference signal pattern in a wireless communication standard and can be extended to support massive MIMO communication. |
| US09258160B2 |
Multiplexing demodulation reference signals in wireless communications
Methods and apparatuses are provided for determining cyclic shift (CS) values and/or orthogonal cover codes (OCC) for a plurality of demodulation reference signals (DM-RS) transmitted over multiple layers in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications. A CS index can be received from a base station in downlink control information (DCI) or similar signaling. Based at least in part on the CS index, CS values for the plurality of DM-RSs can be determined. In addition, OCC can be explicitly signaled or similarly determined from the CS index and/or a configured CS value received from a higher layer. In addition, controlling assignment of CS indices and/or OCC can facilitate providing orthogonality for communications from paired devices in multiuser MIMO. |
| US09258158B2 |
Method for determining uplink transmission power
There is provided a method for determining uplink transmission power. The method may performed by a user equipment (UE) and comprise: receiving, by the UE, a value of additional maximum power reduction (A-MPR) from a base station (BS), if the UE is configured to use for uplink transmission a frequency range of 1980 MHz through 2010 MHz or 1920 MHz through 2010 MHz and if another UE which is located in an adjacent BS and is to be protected uses for an uplink transmission a frequency range of 2010 MHz through 2025 MHz; and determining an uplink transmission power by applying the value of A-MPR. |
| US09258157B2 |
Method and system for mapping bit sequences
A method of mapping a plurality of different bit sequences to a plurality of different signal points in a constellation, the number of bit sequences being greater than the number of signal points. The method includes, for a device in a telecommunication network, the acts of: determining, for each signal point in the constellation, a number of bit sequences to be mapped to each signal point, the numbers of bit sequences being distributed according to a discrete Gaussian distribution among the constellation, selecting in the plurality of bit sequences, for each signal point in the constellation, a set including the determined number of bit sequences (u) that minimize the maximal Hamming distance among the selected sets. |
| US09258155B1 |
Pam data communication with reflection cancellation
The present invention is directed to data communication systems and methods. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide a communication system that removes reflection signals. A digital data stream is processed through both tentative path and the main path. The tentative path uses a first DFE device and a reflection cancellation circuit to generate a correction signal for removing reflection signal from the digital data stream. A second DFE device removes ISI and other noises from the corrected digital data stream. There are other embodiments as well. |
| US09258153B1 |
Inter-symbol interference (ISI) loss filter device
An inter-symbol interference (ISI) loss filter device emulates frequency dependent losses to an electrical signal. The ISI loss filter device includes amplifier stages connected in series for cascading programmable poles or zeros in a signal path carrying the electrical signal. Each amplifier stage includes a high performance bypass path, a bandwidth limited path parallel to the high performance bypass path, a controllable signal router for routing a variable first and second portions of the electrical signal through the high performance bypass path and the bandwidth limited path, respectively, and a summing junction to combine outputs of the high performance bypass path and the bandwidth limited path for outputting a test signal with high and low frequency content. The high performance bypass path transmits an entire bandwidth of the first portion of the electrical signal, and the bandwidth limited path transmits a controllable limited bandwidth of the second portion of the electrical signal. |
| US09258150B2 |
Channel estimation filtering
The disclosed methods and systems for improved OFDM channel estimation filtering take advantage of the presence of highly correlated adjacent subcarriers to reduce the computational intensiveness of channel estimation filtering. Specifically, baseband signals corresponding to a channel are received. The cyclic prefixes of the baseband signals are removed, and the resulting signal is transformed into the frequency domain, and compensated by a first time offset of the baseband receive signal. Subcarrier signals used to transmit the baseband signal are then extracted. Adjacent subcarriers having channel responses highly correlated to the subcarriers of the channel are identified, and the signal is compensated by a second time offset that corresponds to a minimal angle of the autocorrelation function of the subcarrier and adjacent subcarriers. The resulting signal is filtered to produce filtered channel estimates, using a filter having a filter length corresponding to the number of highly correlated subcarriers that were identified. |
| US09258148B2 |
Method for channel estimation, related channel estimator, receiver, and computer program product
An embodiment of a method for channel estimation for an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing communication system, including estimating a Time Domain Least Squares channel impulse response having a given maximum number of L taps based on a channel covariance matrix Q, and for each tap l=1, . . . , L a respective channel impulse response in the time-domain ĥl, wherein the channel impulse responses in the time-domain are grouped as a channel impulse response vector in the time domain ĥ. Specifically, an updated channel-impulse-response vector in the time domain {tilde over (h)} is determined by computing for each tap l the solution of the following system: Q1:l, 1:l{tilde over (h)}l×1=ĥ1:l, wherein the updated channel-impulse-response vector in the time domain {tilde over (h)} is computed recursively via a Levinson Durbin algorithm. |
| US09258144B2 |
Methods, systems and computer-readable media for integrating a composite MIME message
The present invention provides a method and system for integrating a composite message such as a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) message. A metadata template associated with a metadata XML object is extracted from a content management system, whereby a key of the metadata XML object is passed with the request for communicating the composite message. One or more content assemblers are configured to retrieve one or more static content from one or more content management systems and one or more document management systems, in an iterative manner, based on the metadata template. A child content assembler is further configured to extract the dynamic content required for merging with the retrieved static content, to generate one or more message parts. A message generator is configured to concatenate the one or more message parts in a sequence for generating the composite message. |
| US09258140B2 |
Architecture for routing data of a customer network over provider's network in provider backbone bridges
Embodiments of the disclosure are related to routing or switching data of a customer network over a provider's network in Provider Backbone Bridge (PBB) to another customer network such that the traffic in the communication channel between the two customer networks is reduced and thus prevents packet loss. The architecture model for routing or switching data of a customer network over a provider's network is a B-component bridge used in backbone networks which performs Σn1 data path protection to prevent packet loss, data aggregation for load sharing, TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) to Ethernet Circuit Emulation. |
| US09258136B2 |
Browser with dual scripting engine for privacy protection
A data processing system has a browser with scripting engine means for executing a script. The scripting engine means implements a public scripting engine and a private scripting engine. The browser is configured to have the script executed by the public scripting engine if the script does not require access to a pre-determined resource at the system. The browser is configured to have the script executed by the private scripting engine if the script requires access to the pre-determined resource. Only the private scripting engine has an interface for enabling the script to access the predetermined resource. The scripting engine means is configured to prevent the private scripting engine from communicating data to the public scripting engine or to a non-approved server external to the data processing system. |
| US09258135B2 |
Scalable method to support multi-device link aggregation
A network device determines whether the network device has a local link for a link aggregation group (LAG), and identifies, when the network device has a local link for the LAG, the network device as a designated forwarder for the LAG. The network device also identifies, when the network device does not have a local link for the LAG, a closest network device to the network device, with a local link for the LAG, as the designated forwarder for the LAG. |
| US09258129B2 |
Resilient device authentication system
A resilient device authentication system comprising: one or more verification authorities (VAs) including a memory loaded with a complete verification set that includes hardware part-specific data, and configured to create a limited verification set (LVS) therefrom; one or more provisioning entities (PEs) each connectable to at least one of the VAs, including a memory loaded with a LVS, and configured to select a subset of data therefrom so as to create an application limited verification set (ALVS). Also disclosed is a device for use with an authentication system, comprising: a first hardware part and a second hardware part that are adapted to communicate with and perform authentication on each other; and/or a hardware part that contains two or more chips that are adapted to communicate with and perform authentication on each other. |
| US09258128B1 |
Systems and methods for creating customer-specific tools for generating certificate signing requests
A method for creating customer-specific tools for generating certificate signing requests may include (1) identifying a request from a customer for a tool for generating a certificate signing request for a digital certificate, (2) creating, in response to the request, a customer-specific version of the tool that is unique to the customer by injecting information into the customer-specific version of the tool that (a) uniquely identifies the customer and (b) identifies a desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate and/or a desired certificate authority for the digital certificate, (3) configuring the customer-specific version of the tool to generate the certificate signing request using the injected information, and (4) providing the customer-specific version of the tool to the customer to enable the customer to generate, using the customer-specific version of the tool, the certificate signing request without having to manually provide the injected information. |
| US09258125B2 |
Generating evidence of web services transactions
Methods, systems, and products are disclosed in which generating evidence of web services transactions are provided generally by receiving in an ultimate recipient web service from an initial sender a request, the request containing a proof of message origin (‘PMO’). The PMO contains an element addressed to the ultimate recipient web service and the element bears a first signature, the first signature having a value. Embodiments also include authenticating the identity of the initial sender; creating a proof of message receipt (‘PMR’) including signing the value of the first signature; sending the PMR to the initial sender, receiving, by the initial sender, the PMR; and saving, by the initial sender, the PMR. |
| US09258120B1 |
Distributed public key revocation
Techniques for improving the security and availability of cryptographic key systems are described herein. A graph representation of a network of cryptographic key servers is created with vertices representing the servers and edges representing connections between pairs of servers. As cryptographic key events are received, the graph is used to locate the appropriate servers upon which to perform the operations associated with the events. In the event that the network requires repairing, the graph is first repaired obeying any constraints on the graph and then the network is updated to reflect alterations to the graph. |
| US09258119B2 |
Trusted tamper reactive secure storage
A cryptographic system includes a memory device and a processor. The memory device has at least two sections, including a first section and a second section. The processor is configured to determine a mode of operation, receive a signal, and selectively zeroize at least one section of the memory device based at least in part on the received signal and the determined mode of operation. |
| US09258114B2 |
Quantum key distribution (QSD) scheme using photonic integrated circuit (PIC)
Described herein are techniques related to implementation of a quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme by a photonic integrated circuit (PIC). For example, the PIC is a component in a wireless device that is used for quantum communications in a quantum communications system. |
| US09258113B2 |
Username based key exchange
A method and apparatus for an system and process for sharing a secret over an unsecured channel in conjunction with an authentication system. A client computes a message authentication code based on a hashed password value and a first random string received from the server. The client sends a response to the server that includes authentication data including a second random string. Both the client and server concatenate the first random string, second random string and username. Theses values are processed to generate as a shared master secret to further generate shared secrets or keys to establish a secured communication channel between the client and server. The secured communication can be based on stateless messaging where the decryption key associated with the message is identified by the message authentication code, which is placed within the message. |
| US09258110B2 |
Phase detector
A phase detector device having a modulo N operator coupled with an adder is disclosed. Furthermore, clock recovery devices using such a phase detector device are discussed. |
| US09258105B2 |
Ethernet physical layer device using time division duplex
An Ethernet physical layer device using time division duplex. A time division duplex frame can be defined with uplink and downlink transmission periods. These defined uplink and downlink transmission periods can be adjusted based on bandwidth and latency considerations on the network link. |
| US09258104B2 |
Pattern indicator signal for new DMRS pattern
A small cell station communicates with user equipment utilizing a reduced overhead demodulation reference signal (DMRS) pattern when good channel conditions are detected. An indicator field is used to identify whether a reduced overhead DMRS pattern is being transmitted. If appropriate, the reduced overhead DMRS pattern is generated and transmitted by the small cell station and received and used by the user equipment as indicated by the indicator field. |
| US09258102B2 |
Methods and systems to mitigate inter-cell interference
The present invention provides methods and devices for mitigating inter-cell interference in communication environments having a plurality of cells. In some embodiments, a time-frequency transmission resource that includes multiple sub-carriers over multiple OFDM symbol intervals is partitioned into a first zone and a second zone. In the first zone, transmissions are transmitted on at least one frequency sub-band which is common to all of the plurality of cells. In the second zone, transmissions are transmitted on at least one frequency sub-band which is used by less than all of the plurality of cells, so as to mitigate inter-cell interference. In some embodiments, in the first zone transmissions are transmitted using a transmission power which is common to all of the plurality of cells and in the second zone transmissions are transmitted using a transmission power which is used by less than all of the plurality of cells so as to mitigate inter-cell interference. |
| US09258100B2 |
Multiple frequency band information signal frequency band compression
A wireless device includes processing circuitry and a Radio Frequency (RF) receiver section. The processing circuitry determines a set of a plurality of information signals of interest within a RF Multiple Frequency Bands Multiple Standards (MFBMS) signal. The RF receiver section down-converts the plurality of information signals by a shift frequency to produce a plurality of down-converted signals and filters the plurality of down-converted signals to produce a plurality of filtered signals corresponding to the set of the information signals of interest. The processing circuitry further extracts data corresponding to the set of the information signals from the plurality of filtered signals. |
| US09258096B2 |
Method and system for supporting multiple hybrid automatic repeat request processes per transmission time interval
A method and apparatus may be used for supporting multiple hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) processes per transmission time interval (TTI). A transmitter and a receiver may include a plurality of H-ARQ processes. Each H-ARQ process may transmit and receive one TB per TTI. The transmitter may generate a plurality of TBs and assign each TB to a H-ARQ process. The transmitter may send control information for each TB, which may include H-ARQ information associated TBs with the TBs. The transmitter may send the TBs using the associated H-ARQ processes simultaneously per TTI. After receiving the TBs, the receiver may send feedback for each of the H-ARQ processes and associated TBs indicating successful or unsuccessful receipt of each of the TBs to the transmitter. The feedback for multiple TBs may be combined for the simultaneously transmitted H-ARQ processes, (i.e., TBs). |
| US09258095B2 |
Uplink demodulation reference signal design for MIMO transmission
A base station capable of communicating with a plurality of subscriber stations is provided. The base station transmits control information and data to at least one of the plurality of subscriber stations in a subframe using a subset of antenna ports corresponding to a subset of antenna port numbers. The base station maps reference signals corresponding to the subset of antenna ports according to a transmission rank R. The base station indicates, via a cyclic shift indicator (CSI) field in an uplink grant, an assigned resource index corresponding to the mapped reference signal. The CSI field includes a cyclic shift and an orthogonal cover code (OCC) index. The subscriber station uses a resource mapping table to identify the assigned resource index based on the transmission rank, cyclic shift and OCC index. |
| US09258094B2 |
Channel state information feedback method and apparatus in a multi-node system
A method and apparatus of feeding back channel state information in a multi-node system are provided. The method includes receiving a reference signal of N nodes, wherein N is a natural number equal to or more than 2, aligning the N nodes in an order of preferring the N nodes based on a result of measuring the reference signal, generating channel state information for the aligned nodes, and transmitting the generated channel state information to the base station, wherein the channel state information is generated with respect to N node combinations configured from the aligned nodes, and wherein the N node combinations are obtained by adding next highest-priority nodes to a first node combination one by one, the first node combination consisting a highest-priority node among the aligned nodes. |
| US09258092B2 |
Sounding reference signal transmission in carrier aggregation
A cell-specific sounding reference symbol (SRS) subframe configuration and UE-specific SRS configuration are defined for carrier aggregation. For the cell-specific SRS subframe configuration, the same cell-specific SRS subframes are configured for all uplink (UL) carrier components (CCs). For the UE-specific SRS configuration, different configurations are applied for UL CCs. Also, to reduce signaling overhead, the different UE-specific SRS configuration is signaled by using an offset on top of the UE-specific SRS configuration of a primary component carrier (PCC). |
| US09258086B2 |
Allocating physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH) resources
Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques for allocating resources for Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Indicator Channel (PHICH). |
| US09258085B2 |
Apparatus and method for transmitting and receiving signal in broadcasting and communication systems
A method for transmitting a signal in broadcasting and communication systems is provided. The method includes dividing source data into two or more streams and respectively coding the two or more streams through coders, selecting two or more symbols from among coded codeword symbols, mapping the selected two or more symbols to one signal constellation for modulation, and transmitting a modulated signal, in which the codeword symbols include one or more non-binary codewords, and a product of orders of finite fields on which the codeword symbols are defined is equal to an order of the signal constellation. |
| US09258082B2 |
Network system configured for resolving forward error correction during a data mode
Apparatus, systems, and methods for resolving a forward error correction (FEC) protocol include requesting, by a network node element during an auto-negotiation period between the node element and a link partner, to resolve at least one FEC mode during a data mode period, wherein auto-negotiation period occurs before the data mode period. At least one channel quality parameter of at least one channel of a communication link between the network node element and the link partner are determined by the network node element during the data mode period. The network node determines, during the data mode period, whether to enable or disable at least one FEC mode for use by the network node element based on, at least in part, the at least one channel quality parameter. |
| US09258071B1 |
Wireless communication session initiation based on a frequency modulation (FM) radio data service (RDS)
A wireless communication system wirelessly receives a Frequency Modulation (FM) signal including audio data and Radio Data System (RDS) data. The wireless communication system audibly plays the audio data and graphically displays the RDS data from the FM signal. The wireless communication system detects action codes in the RDS data, and in response, initiates a wireless communication session with a wireless communication network. The wireless communication system also audibly captures user data. The wireless communication system then wirelessly transfers the captured user data for delivery to a server over the wireless communication session. |
| US09258070B2 |
Simultaneous feedback signaling for dynamic bandwidth selection
A method of simultaneously providing channel quality feedback information in all valid sub-channels is provided to facilitate and improve the performance of dynamic transmission bandwidth adjustment and fast link adaptation. A receiving device receives a sounding signal over a wide channel in a wireless system. The sounding signal is transmitted from a transmitting device over multiple sub-channels of the wide channel. The receiving device estimates channel quality information based on the sounding signal for each sub-channel. The channel quality information includes estimated average SNR and recommended MCS and other channel quality metrics. The receiving device transmits a feedback message to the transmitting device. The feedback message contains the estimated channel quality information for all valid sub-channels within the transmission bandwidth. The transmitting device performs dynamic transmission bandwidth selection and fast link adaptation based on the channel quality information for all valid sub-channels. |
| US09258069B2 |
Non-contiguous carrier aggregation
A method of operating a user equipment for measuring non-contiguous carriers comprises: changing a position of a local oscillator to be in the middle of the non-contiguous carriers; measuring the carriers simultaneously; estimating a power level of an interferer in a gap in the non-contiguous carriers which creates image interference; and compensating the measurement dependent on the interferer power level and an image rejection factor. |
| US09258066B2 |
Interference removal method in multi-node system and terminal using same
The present invention provides an interference removal method in a multi-node system. The interference removal method comprises receiving node information from a base station; receiving a first signal from an objective node and a second signal from an interference node; and removing interference due to the second signal by applying a receive filter to a receive signal including the first and the second signal, where the node information includes at least one of information about a reference signal included in the second signal and information about a pre-coding matrix applied to the second signal and the receive filter is determined based on the node information. |
| US09258063B1 |
Optical transmitter having multiple optical sources and a method to activate the same
An algorithm to reduce a peak current for a transmitter module with multiple laser diodes (LDs) is disclosed. When the current temperature of the LDs is higher than the target temperature, the thermo-electric cooler (TEC) controller is first activated then the LD driver to drive the LDs is subsequently activated with a substantial delay. When the ambient temperature of the LDs is lower than the target temperature, the LD driver is first driven; then, the TEC controller is subsequently activated. |
| US09258061B2 |
Individual information in lower and upper optical sidebands
This disclosure is directed to an optical transmitter arrangement 100 and a method therein producing a first RF-signal UA1 comprising a first set of data A1 carried by a subcarrier fC1, and a second RF-signal UB1 comprising a second set of data B1 carried by the subcarrier fC1. Further producing a first transform signal H(UA1) being a Hilbert Transform of the first RF-signal UA1, and a second transform signal −H(UB1) being a Hilbert Transform of the second RF-signal UB1. In addition, modulating the optical carrier fopt with the first RF-signal UA1 and the first transform signal H(UA1), and forming a first sideband SB1 comprising the first set of data A1 at one side of the frequency f0 of the optical carrier fopt. In addition, modulating the optical carrier fopt with the second RF-signal UB1 and the second transform signal −H(UB1), and forming a second sideband SB2 comprising the second set of data B1 at the other side of the frequency f0 of the optical carrier fopt. |
| US09258055B2 |
Wireless earpiece and wireless microphone to service multiple audio streams
A wireless microphone and wireless earpiece each may exchange radio frequency (RF) signals with a base unit and render content contained within the exchanged RF signals to a user. This wireless earpiece further includes a wireless interface, a processor, a speaker, a user interface, and an authentication module. The wireless interface allows the earpiece to wirelessly communicate with the base unit. The processor recovers communications exchanged with the base unit that the speaker then renders audible. A user interface coupled to the processor may alert the user to any additional incoming audio communications. Having received the alert, the user may select between the communications. The authentication module allows the wireless earpiece and microphone to pair and register with the base unit. |
| US09258054B2 |
Cyclical obstruction communication system
Techniques for improving data rates at mobile terminals that are subject to periodic channel interruptions in a beyond-line-of-sight communication system are disclosed, including improved encoding and decoding systems that identify blockages and modify receiver operation during blockages to reduce data errors. In certain embodiments, encoding, symbol mapping, interleaving, and use of unique periodic identifiers function to enable a series of packets that may be received in a blockage impaired channel with reduced errors. |
| US09258049B2 |
Communication device and orientation control method
The communication device includes: a phased array antenna having a plurality of antenna elements arranged on a plane for receiving signals transmitted from one or more transmitting devices; a signal converter for combining signals received through antenna elements for each sub-array and converting the combined signal for each sub-array into a baseband signal, the each sub-array being grouped from the plurality of antenna elements; a signal processor for decoding playback data based on respective baseband signals for sub-arrays in each resource block and detecting an error of the decoded playback data; and an orientation controller for controlling orientation of the phased array antenna based on the base band signals for the sub-arrays and a signal of a resource block with the playback data having no error. |
| US09258047B2 |
MIMO beamforming method and method of constructing a differential codebook for a wireless network
A MIMO beamforming method comprises receiving at a base station information regarding a difference between an ideal beamforming matrix and an averaged beamforming direction, using the information to construct a beamforming matrix at the base station, and performing a beamforming operation using the reconstructed beamforming matrix. Alternatively, the method comprises computing at a subscriber station an averaged beamforming direction, computing at the subscriber station a quantization index corresponding to a differential matrix in a differential codebook, and transmitting the quantization index across a wireless channel of the wireless network. The differential codebook may be constructed by identifying a codebook center and transforming a predefined codebook that is stored in a memory of a component of the wireless network. |
| US09258045B2 |
Method for efficiently transmitting signal in multi-antenna wireless communication system and apparatus for same
The present invention relates to a method for a transmitting end efficiently transmitting a signal in a wireless communication system supporting a multi-antenna and an apparatus for same. More particularly, the method comprises a step of transmitting a downlink signal based on a precoding matrix (W) for an antenna comprising a plurality of antenna elements aligned perpendicularly, wherein the precoding matrix (W) corresponds to a codebook configured so that phase increase is limited with respect to a plurality of precoding vector values populating a same column. |
| US09258040B2 |
Channel sounding for improved system performance
A transmitter generates and transmits a low rate signal to its intended receiver. Upon receiving the low rate signal, the intended receiver generates and transmits a channel sounding response (CSR), said CSR being a short burst having a predefined transmit format and carrying predetermined information. The transmitter then analyzes the CSR and determines uplink channel response, estimates downlink channel response, and determines appropriate transmit parameter settings based on the analysis and downlink response estimate. Adjustment of the transmit parameters can be made in either the MAC or PHY layer or in a combination of both. After adjusting its transmit parameters and modulating sub-carriers with user-data according to the determined transmit settings, the transmitter transmits the user-data to the receiver on a preferred portion of bandwidth. In a preferred embodiment, the transmitter also generates and transmits a transmit format control (TFC) signal containing the determined transmit parameter settings, including sub-carrier modulation information, to the receiver. |
| US09258038B2 |
Method and apparatus for transmitting reference signal in multi-antenna system
A method for transmitting a reference signal in a multi-antenna system is provided. The method includes: selecting at least one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in a subframe containing a plurality of OFDM symbols; allocating a channel quality indication reference signal (CQI RS) capable of measuring a channel state for each of a plurality of antennas to the selected at least one OFDM symbol; and transmitting the CQI RS, wherein the CQI RS is allocated to an OFDM symbol which does not overlap with an OFDM symbol to which a common reference signal to be transmitted to all user equipments in a cell or a dedicated reference signal to be transmitted to a specific user equipment in the cell is allocated. |
| US09258036B1 |
Narrow and secure near field communication ring device
The present invention winds an antenna wire of a NFC (Near Field Communication) chip and antenna component round inside a hard concave ring, which is then encapsulated in a room temperature-solidifiable resin adhesive. If metal material is used, then a repeater material is disposed between the metal and the NFC chip and antenna component to prevent interference thereto. The present invention thus resolves the frequently seen shortcomings of NFC circuit component failure because of the high temperature when encapsulating, poor waterproofing, and the main body of the ring being too wide. In particular, wearing the NFC ring device on a finger reduces the sensing distance of the NFC device to a minimum, and prevents data from being stolen. If there are abnormalities in receiving and transmitting information, then taking off the ring and placing the circumferential plane of the ring close to the NFC sensor improves the situation. |
| US09258029B2 |
Protective sheath
A protective sheath includes a first cover portion, a flexible display unit, a second cover portion, a flexible portion, and a control unit. The first cover portion includes an external surface portion having an opening and an internal surface portion. The flexible display unit is sandwiched between the external and internal surface portions. A second display surface of the flexible display unit is exposed by the opening. The second cover portion has two bending openings. The second cover portion is bent along the bending openings to be divided into a leaning portion and a supporting portion. Two opposite sides of the flexible portion are foldably connected to the first cover portion and the supporting portion of the second cover portion. The control unit is disposed in an accommodating space of the supporting portion and electrically connected to the flexible display unit. |
| US09258028B2 |
Spectacle-type wireless communicator
A glasses-type radio communication device (1) to be worn on the head of a user includes: left and right eyepiece parts (11), temples (14), an antenna (100) for carrying out a radio communication, hinges (17) each provided for folding each of the temples (14) towards a corresponding one of the eyepiece parts (11), while one of the temples (14) being folded towards a corresponding one of the eyepiece parts (11), the temple (14) having a shape in which the temple curves so as to be away from the antenna (100) provided in an outer edge region along an outer edge of the eyepiece part (11). |
| US09258027B2 |
Proximity detection using an antenna and directional coupler switch
Detection of an increase in a mismatch of an antenna of a radio frequency (RF) device and/or a change in a capacitance value of the antenna indicates proximity of a body to the antenna. Upon detection of proximity of a body to the antenna, reduction of transmit power of the RF device may be done to meet Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) level regulations. |
| US09258020B2 |
Scalable mapping with integrated summing of samples for multiple streams in a radio interface frame
An apparatus includes a first circuit, a second circuit, and a third circuit. The first circuit may be configured to buffer a plurality of antenna carrier sample streams. The second circuit is coupled to the first circuit and may be configured to generate message data through pipelined processing and mapping of the antenna carrier samples. The third circuit is coupled to the second circuit and may be configured to generate a master frame in response to the processed and mapped message data. |
| US09258016B2 |
Method and apparatus for controlling the decoding of codewords received by a linear block code pipelined decoder from an input buffer
A computer implemented method of controlling the decoding of codewords received by a linear block code pipelined decoder from an input buffer, the pipelined decoder comprising at least two decoding stages. The method comprises iteratively: loading the decoding stages of the pipelined decoder, executing a decoding step, determining the number of residual errors in the codewords and outputting error free codewords. The method allows the different decoding stages to be loaded with any codeword coming from the buffer or from any decoding stage of the decoder. Accordingly, the occupation rate of the pipeline is improved. |
| US09258011B2 |
Efficient two-stage asynchronous sample-rate converter
Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide an improved sample-rate converter that overcomes the limitations of conventional sample-rate converters. The improved system comprises a simple asynchronous sample-rate converter and synchronous sample-rate converter. The output of the simple asynchronous sample-rate converter is connected to the input of the synchronous sample-rate converter. In an alternative embodiment, the output of the synchronous sample-rate converter is connected to the input of the simple asynchronous sample-rate converter. |
| US09258008B2 |
Adaptive delay based asynchronous successive approximation analog-to-digital converter
An asynchronous SAR ADC to convert an analog signal into a series of digital pulses in an efficient, low power manner. In synchronous SAR ADC circuits, a separate and cumbersome clock signal is used to trigger the internal circuitry of the SAR ADC. Instead of triggering the components of the SAR DAC synchronously with a clock signal, the asynchronous solution uses its own internal signals to trigger its components in an asynchronous cyclic manner. Further, in order to increase efficiency and guard against circuit failures due to difficulties arising from transient signals, the asynchronous SAR ADC may also include a delay circuit for introducing a variable delay to the SAR ADC cycle. |
| US09258000B1 |
Combined lock/out-of-lock detector for phase locked loops
A detector for detecting a locked state and an out-of-lock state of a phase locked loop includes an out-of-lock detector circuit that receives a reference signal and an input signal representing a PLL oscillator signal. The out-of-lock detector detects an out-of-lock state of the PLL and generates an out-of-lock signal indicating whether an out-of-lock state is detected. The detector further includes a lock detector circuit that receives the reference signal and the input signal, detects a locked state of the PLL, and generates a lock signal indicating whether a locked state is detected. A logic circuit receives both the out-of-lock signal and the lock signal and combines both signals to obtain an output signal indicative of whether the PLL is in a locked state or an out-of-lock state. |
| US09257997B2 |
Analog loop filter systems, apparatus, and methods
Described herein is a distributed analog loop filter that can be employed in a phase locked loop or a delay locked loop. A circuit block of the distributed analog loop filter includes at least two parallel equivalent circuit elements. The parallel equivalent circuit elements each have an input line. The input lines for each of the parallel equivalent circuit elements are activated sequentially, one after the other. The parallel equivalent circuit elements have sequentially produced outputs that are also activated sequentially, one after another. The parallel equivalent circuit elements extend the tuning range of distributed analog filter while reducing noise associated with the distributed analog filter. |
| US09257996B2 |
Oscillator circuits and methods to compensate frequency pulling
An oscillator circuit may include a local oscillator to generate a carrier signal having a tunable frequency, a first modulator and a power amplifier coupled in cascade to the local oscillator to generate an output signal. The first modulator may be activated from a first modulating signal having a first frequency alternatively defining ON and OFF states of the first modulator. An estimator unit may receive the carrier signal during a time window and detect an estimated frequency variation of the carrier signal during the ON and OFF states. A compensation unit may include a second modulator to generate a compensation signal proportional to the estimated frequency variation and modulated with a second modulating frequency. The second modulating frequency may be substantially the same as the first modulating frequency, and the compensation signal may be added to a bias signal of the local oscillator to tune the tunable frequency. |
| US09257993B2 |
Control of multi-temperature micro-oven for MEMS devices
Disclosed are microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices and methods of using the same. In some embodiments, a MEMS device comprises a micro-oven comprising a MEMS oscillator configured to generate a reference signal. The device further comprises a control unit comprising at least one input node configured to receive a parameter set, where the parameter set comprises at least a first parameter indicative of a sensed ambient temperature, and where the control system is configured to (i) based on the parameter set, select from a plurality of pre-characterized operation temperatures an operation temperature for the MEMS oscillator, and (ii) generate a temperature-setting signal indicating the selected operation temperature. The device still further comprises a temperature control system communicatively coupled to the control unit and configured to (i) receive the temperature-setting signal and (ii) maintain the MEMS oscillator at the selected operation temperature. |
| US09257990B2 |
Clock dividing device
A clock dividing device includes an accumulator that accumulates a first accumulated value and a denominator value and stores a second accumulated value, a register that stores a delayed accumulated value obtained by delaying the second accumulated value, a first comparison operation unit that performs a comparative operation on the second accumulated value and a numerator value and stores the second accumulated value as a greater value if the second accumulated value is greater than or equal to the numerator value, a second comparison operation unit that performs a comparative operation on the delayed accumulated value and the numerator value and stores the delayed accumulated value as a delay greater value if the delayed accumulated value is greater than or equal to the numerator value, and a third comparison operation unit that performs a comparative operation on the greater value and the delay greater value and determines the shape of a clock, wherein the shape of the clock is one of a bypass, a rising edge, and a falling edge. |
| US09257986B2 |
Rescaling
A novel method for designing an integrated circuit (“IC”) by rescaling an original set of circuits in a design of the IC is disclosed. The original set of circuits to be rescaled includes sequential nodes, combinational nodes, and interconnects. Each sequential node is associated with a phase of a clock. The method generates a rescaled set of circuits that includes multiple replica sets of the circuits. Each replica set of circuits includes sequential nodes, combinational nodes, and interconnects that are identical to nodes and interconnects in the original set of circuits. Each sequential node is associated with a phase of a clock that is at a fraction of the phase of its corresponding sequential element in the original set. The method connects nodes in each replica set of circuits to a logically equivalent node in another replica set. The method replaces the original set of circuits with the rescaled set of circuits. |
| US09257984B2 |
Multi-threshold circuitry based on silicon-on-insulator technology
Multiple threshold voltage circuitry based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology is disclosed which utilizes N-wells and/or P-wells underneath the insulator in SOI FETs. The well under a FET is biased to influence the threshold voltage of the FET. A PFET and an NFET share a common buried P-well or N-well. Various types of logic can be fabricated in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology using multiple threshold voltage FETs. Embodiments provide circuits including the advantageous properties of both low-leakage transistors and high-speed transistors. |
| US09257983B2 |
Level shifter utilizing a capacitive isolation barrier
According to an exemplary implementation, a level shifter includes a low voltage circuit and a high voltage circuit. The low voltage circuit is configured to provide a differential signal to the high voltage circuit through a capacitive isolation barrier. The high voltage circuit is configured to receive the differential signal from the low voltage circuit through the capacitive isolation barrier so as to level shift the differential signal from a first ground of the low voltage circuit to a second ground of the high voltage circuit. The high voltage circuit is further configured to provide a feedback signal to the low voltage circuit through the capacitive isolation barrier. The low voltage circuit can be configured to receive the feedback signal from the low voltage circuit between edges of the differential signal. |
| US09257980B2 |
Measuring capacitance of a capacitive sensor with a microcontroller having digital outputs for driving a guard ring
A guard ring is provided around each capacitive sensor plate and charged to substantially the same voltage as a voltage on the capacitive sensor plate. The guard ring reduces parasitic capacitances of the capacitive sensor plate caused by differences in voltage potentials between the capacitive sensor plate, and adjacent circuit conductors, ground planes and power planes. Two digital outputs and associated voltage divider resistors are used to drive the guard ring voltage to substantially the same voltage as the voltage on the capacitive sensor plate. |
| US09257978B2 |
Multiplex driving circuit
A multiplex driving circuit receives m master signals and n slave signals, and includes m driving modules for generating m×n gate driving signals. Each driving module includes a voltage boost stage and n driving stages. The voltage boost stage is used for receiving a first master signal of the m master signals and converting the first master signal into a first high voltage signal, wherein a high logic level of the first master signal is increased to a highest voltage by the voltage boost stage. The n driving stages receives the n slave signals, respectively, and receives the first high voltage signal. In response to the highest voltage of the first high voltage signal, the n driving stages sequentially generates n gate driving signals according to the n slave signals. |
| US09257974B1 |
Quadrature phase relaxation oscillator
A low voltage quadrature phase wideband relaxation oscillator. An ultra-wideband tuning range from Mega to Giga Hz order is also realized by tuning the I/Q coupling factor, zeros and poles. Preferably, a novel synchronous quadrature injection lock is proposed to validate low noise performance. |
| US09257972B1 |
High speed dynamic flip-flop circuit with split output driver
A flip-flop circuit is disclosed. The flip-flop circuit includes pull-up and pull-down circuits each coupled to a data input and configured to be activated responsive to a clock signal transition from a first phase to a second phase, depending on the input data. A write circuit is configured to write data into a latch of the flip-flop responsive to activation of one of the pull-up and pull-down circuits. An output driver circuit includes a dynamic portion and a static portion, with the dynamic portion being activated responsive to activation of one of the pull-up and pull-down circuits. Activation of the dynamic portion may occur concurrently with writing of the data into the latch. The output driver circuit also includes a static portion. After the clock transitions back to the first phase, the static portion may drive and hold the output while the dynamic portion is deactivated. |
| US09257969B2 |
Frequency locking oscillator
A delay line of individually selectable delay elements can operate as an oscillator in an open loop mode to track process variation or drive a clock signal that varies with temperatures and voltages in the system. The delay line oscillator can also operate in a closed loop mode to match a frequency given by a tuner ratio and a reference clock. The delay line can also be used for measuring clock jitter or duty cycle. |
| US09257966B2 |
Clock correction circuit and clock correction method
An operation clock generation circuit performs calculation on the basis of the frequency errors of a fundamental clock and the clock pulses of the fundamental clock, and generates an operation clock obtained by correcting the frequency errors at first intervals. A correction clock generation circuit converts a lower-bit value that is a value represented by the bits lower than the predefined bit used for judging the change of the state of the operation clock into a count number of the clock pulses of a second clock whose frequency is higher than that of the operation clock, generates a correction clock obtained by correcting the operation clock on the basis of a time required for counting the count number of the clock pulses and the clock pulses of the operation clock. |
| US09257965B2 |
VCC charge and free-wheeling detection via source controlled MOS transistor
A driver circuit using a power converter allows free-wheeling detection and/or provision of supply voltage. A circuit controls a switching state of a power switch. A first port of the switch is coupled to an inductor. The circuit is coupled to a control port of the switch wherein the control port of the switch is different from the first port of the switch. The circuit comprises a unit generating a signal for controlling the switching state of the switch wherein the signal is provided to the control port of the switch. Furthermore, the circuit comprises free-wheeling sensing means to detect an oscillation of a voltage at a measurement port of the switch wherein the measurement port of the switch is different from the first port of the switch and wherein the oscillation of the voltage at the measurement port indicates free-wheeling of the inductor. |
| US09257960B2 |
Electroacoustic transducer having reduced losses due to transverse emission and improved performance due to suppression of transverse modes
An electroacoustic transducer has reduced loss due to acoustic waves emitted in the transverse direction. For this purpose, a transducer comprises a central excitation area, inner edge areas flanking the central excitation area, outer edge areas flanking the inner edge areas, and areas of the busbar flanking the outer edge areas. The longitudinal speed of the areas can be set so that the excitation profile of a piston mode is obtained. |
| US09257959B2 |
Resonator element, resonator, oscillator, electronic apparatus, sensor, and moving object
A resonator element includes a quartz crystal substrate having a base, a pair of vibration arms extending from the base, and a support arm located between the vibration arms and extending from the base in the direction in which the vibration arms extend. Each of the vibration arms has an arm portion and a hammer head provided at the front end of the arm portion. The arm portion has a pair of principal surfaces and a groove that has a bottom and opens through each of the principal surfaces. In the invention, the width of each of bank-shaped portions of each of the principal surfaces that are disposed side by side on opposite sides of the groove along the width direction of the vibration arm perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof is set at 6 μm or smaller. |
| US09257956B2 |
Passive filter
A passive filter may include at least one elliptical filter unit and at least one asymmetric rejection filter unit coupled in series with the elliptical filter unit. The at least one asymmetric rejection filter unit may have a frequency response curve that includes a dip with different attenuations on either side, and an overshoot upon exiting the dip at the side with the lower attenuation. |
| US09257955B2 |
Common mode noise reduction circuit
A common mode noise reduction circuit includes at least one first input end, at least one second input end, at least one first output end, and at least one second output end. The circuit is further provided with at least one resistor, at least one inductor, and at least one capacitor, symmetrically disposed within the circuit loop defined by the four ends. Common mode noise, after entering the circuit, is transformed into heat by the resistance of the circuit such that the common mode noise is suppressed. Differential mode signals, on the contrary, after entering the circuit, can pass through the circuit with minimum loss. |
| US09257942B2 |
Audio amplifier apparatus
An audio amplifier apparatus for driving a loudspeaker is provided. The audio amplifier apparatus includes a soft charge unit, a first amplification module, and a second amplification module. The soft charge unit is coupled to the loudspeaker through an output terminal and supplies a driving current according to a first control signal to soft charge the loudspeaker, so as to gradually increase a voltage level on the output terminal. The first amplification module receives an audio signal according to the first control signal and amplifies the audio signal to output a first amplified signal for driving the loudspeaker. The second amplification module receives the audio signal according to a second control signal and amplifies the audio signal to output a second amplified signal for driving the loudspeaker. The soft charge unit generates the second control signal by comparing the voltage level on the output terminal with a predetermined voltage level. |
| US09257941B2 |
Adaptive biasing scheme for an amplifier
There is provided a bias arrangement for an amplifier adapted to amplify a varying input signal, the arrangement comprising a control circuit arranged to adaptively vary a bias current to the amplifier in dependence on an envelope of the varying input signal. |
| US09257938B2 |
Integrated system for cooling a building, collecting rainwater, and cleaning a rooftop solar array
This invention provides a simple integrated system that uses roof-spray, water collection, and water storage components to cool a building, collect and store rainwater, and clean a rooftop solar array. |
| US09257937B2 |
Minimal penetration modular roof-top mounting racks and solar photovoltaic systems incorporating the same
The present invention provides for a modular, plug-and-play DC/AC compatible solar photovoltaic power system and mounting frames therefor, having inexpensive modular designs which require no or minimal penetration for rooftop installation and provide enhanced wind-induced position disruption protection. |
| US09257936B2 |
System and method for efficient drive of capacitive actuators with voltage amplification
A circuit for driving a plurality of capacitive actuators, the circuit having a low-voltage side, a high voltage side and a flyback transformer between the two. The low-voltage side comprises first and second pairs of low-side switches connected in series across an input voltage. The flyback transformer has a primary winding connected to the two pairs of switches. The high-voltage side has a pair of switches connected between the secondary winding of the flyback transformer and a ground and a plurality of capacitive loads and bidirectional switches to connect the loads to the secondary winding of the flyback transformer and a ground. |
| US09257934B2 |
Apparatus for parallel operation of pulse-width modulation power converters
To perform an anti-windup control without interference with a cross current compensating function even in case of voltage saturation.There is provided a feedback value calculating section to calculate an average of voltage commands V1_cmd, V2_cmd after output limitation, as a feedback value. As a deviation used for an integral calculation of a current control section 6a, 6b, a sum obtained by adding a product to a deviation between a current command value Id_cmd, Iq_cmd and a current detection value Id_det, Iq_det is used. The product is a quantity obtained by multiplying a saturation quantity by a feedback gain Kfb. The saturation quantity is a saturation quantity of an operation quantity limited by a voltage command limiting section 3a, 3b, and the saturation quantity is a deviation or difference between a feedback value V_fb (Vd_fb, Vq_fb) and the voltage command Vd_cmd. |
| US09257932B2 |
Control device for servomotor
A control device of a servomotor includes a current control loop selecting unit configured to select a first current control loop or a second current control loop having a response speed slower than that of the first current control loop, as a current control loop for controlling a current flowing through the servomotor; a filter configured to attenuate an input or an output of the first current control loop or the second current control loop selected by the current control loop selecting unit in accordance with a set attenuation ratio in a specific frequency range; and a filter attenuation ratio setting unit configured to set, as the attenuation ratio of the filter, a first attenuation ratio when the first current control loop is selected by the current control loop selecting unit, and a second attenuation ratio smaller than the first attenuation ratio when the second current control loop is selected. |
| US09257925B2 |
Speed control for power tools
A power tool, typically battery-operated, such as a lawnmower, comprising: a driven element (9), an electric motor (7) coupled to the driven element so as to drive the driven element, an electric power source (2) electrically coupled to the motor (7) so as to supply electric current to the motor (7) and a control circuit (3) arranged to control the supply of electric current to the motor (7) from the power source (2), and a current sensor (6) operable to output a current signal indicative of the current flowing through the motor (7); in which the control circuit (3) has a high speed mode (40) and a low speed mode (32), the control circuit (3) being arranged so that: when it is in the high speed mode (40), the control circuit supplies electric current to the motor (7) so as to attempt to drive the driven element (9) at a first desired speed (54); when it is in the low speed mode (32), the control circuit supplies electric current to the motor (7) so as to attempt to drive the driven element (9) at a second desired speed (52) which is lower than the first desired speed (54); and the control circuit (3) switches between the high speed mode (40) and the low speed mode (32) dependent on the current signal. As such, energy can be saved by efficient use of electrical power, by increasing the speed of the driven element when the load increases. |
| US09257924B2 |
Method for determining the rotary position of the rotor of an electric machine
A method for determining the rotary position of the rotor of an electric machine, which includes star-connected phase conductors, wherein a measurement signal representing the rotary position of the rotor within a magnetic half-period is determined from the potential at the star point. At a measurement time a specified voltage is applied to the ends of all the phase conductors by forcing the star point to a specific potential. At a time following the measurement time a voltage that deviates from the specified voltage is applied to the ends of one of the phase conductors. Then the measurement signal is derived from the current that develops from the measurement time in a connection of the star point to the specified potential. |
| US09257920B2 |
Method and related driver of a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor
A method of driving a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor includes sensing or estimating a back electromotive force induced in at least a winding of the motor by the rotation of a rotor of the motor; and reading, from a memory, values of a first voltage waveform having a phase angle with respect to the back electromotive force. The method also includes generating a driving voltage corresponding to the sum of values of a control voltage, obtained as product of the values of the first voltage waveform by a first coefficient determined as a function of a desired value of motor torque, and values of a cancelation voltage of the back electromotive force. The method also includes applying the driving voltage at the motor winding. |
| US09257916B2 |
Power inverters with multiple input channels
A method and apparatus is disclosed for intelligently inverting DC power from DC sources such as photovoltaic (PV) solar modules to single-phase or three-phase AC power to feed the power grid for electricity generation. A power inverter with multiple input channels or input ports that can connect to multiple DC sources is disclosed. |
| US09257915B2 |
Bridge rectifier circuit
A bridge rectifier circuit has first to fourth diode groups which are bridge-connected and each include a main diode and sub-diodes being enabled to be respectively connected in parallel to the main diode, first and second input terminals to which AC power is supplied, a first output terminal connected to the first input terminal via the first diode group and connected to the second input terminal via the second diode group, a second output terminal connected to the first input terminal via the third diode group and connected to the second input terminal via the fourth diode group, and a control circuit configured to detect a current flowing through at least one diode group and increases the number of sub-diodes connected in parallel to the main diode of the diode group through which the detected current flows in accordance with an increase in the detected current. |
| US09257914B2 |
Active rectification control
A method of active rectification control of an active rectifier includes detecting a phase angle and a frequency of a voltage input of the active rectifier; regulating a DC output voltage of the active rectifier with d-q components of a pole voltage; and aligning a reference current input of the active rectifier to the d-q components of the pole voltage. |
| US09257912B2 |
Switching power supply device
In a switching power supply device, a partition portion that includes a slit divides a winding portion of a bobbin. A primary winding of a transformer is wound to a height h1 in a first section, and a secondary winding is wound to a height h2 in a second section. A low side drive winding and a high side drive winding are wound around the primary winding to a height h3 with the high side drive winding being located toward the secondary winding. |
| US09257907B2 |
Semiconductor integrated circuit and method for operating the same
A switching loss is reduced by reducing a deviation from the operational principle of zero-volt switching (ZVS). A semiconductor integrated circuit includes high-side switch elements Q11 and Q12, a low-side switch element Q2, and a controller CNT. A decoupling capacitance Cin is coupled between one end of a high-side element and an earth potential, and the high-side element includes the first and second transistors Q11 and Q12 coupled in parallel. In changing the high-side elements from an on-state to an off-state, CNT controls Q12 from an on-state to an off-state by delaying Q12 relative to Q11. Q11 and Q12 are divided into a plurality of parts inside a semiconductor chip Chip 1, a plurality of partial first transistors formed by dividing Q11 and a plurality of partial second transistors formed by dividing Q12 are alternately arranged in an arrangement direction of Q11 and Q12, inside the semiconductor chip Chip 1. |
| US09257906B2 |
Internal compensation for power management integrated circuits
A voltage regulator integrated circuit comprises a control circuit driving at least one power switch to provide a regulated voltage at an output of an inductor/capacitor (LC) circuit coupled to the at least one power switch; an error amplifier having a first input coupled to a feedback signal representative of the regulated output voltage and a second input coupled to a reference signal; and a compensation network coupled to an output of the error amplifier and configured to provide a compensation voltage. The compensation network includes at least one digitally programmable resistor array and at least one digitally programmable capacitor array. Each array provides a plurality of user selectable component values. The control circuit includes a pulse modulator configured to modulate an input voltage based on the compensation voltage. |
| US09257905B1 |
Method and apparatus for power supply with fast transient response
An efficient power supply with fast transient response has been disclosed. In one implementation, two loops with different frequency responses are combined to provide an efficient, fast responding power supply. |
| US09257904B2 |
Direct current conversion circuit
A direct current (DC) conversion circuit suitable for driving a load comprises a buck-boost converter, a resonant stage circuit and an output stage circuit. The buck-boost converter has two input ends receiving a first DC signal, and two output ends outputting a second DC signal. The resonant stage circuit has two input ends receiving the second DC signal. The resonant stage circuit converts the second DC signal to energy and further converts the energy to a negative voltage by a resonance effect. The resonant stage circuit has two input ends outputting the energy. The output stage circuit has two input ends receiving the energy to store the energy, and two output ends outputting energy to the load. |
| US09257898B1 |
Power supplying circuit and soft-start circuit of the same
The soft-start circuit includes a first charging transistor, a first capacitor, a second charging transistor, a second capacitor and a clamping p-type transistor. The first charging transistor is conducted in response to activating pulses to charge the first capacitor through a first output node such that a first output voltage at the first output node gradually increases. The second charging transistor is conducted in response to the first output voltage to charge the second capacitor through a second output node such that a second output voltage at the second output node gradually increases. The clamping p-type transistor includes a source terminal electrically connected to a clamping node, a drain terminal connected to a ground terminal and a gate electrically connected to the second output node, and is conducted when a voltage at the clamping node exceeds a clamping threshold value to pull low the voltage at the clamping node. |
| US09257897B2 |
Circuit arrangement for protecting electronic devices against incorrect logic voltages
The invention is based on the problem of devising a circuit arrangement (10) for protecting electronic devices from incorrect logic voltages, wherein this circuit arrangement delivers increased protection against overvoltages, so that this circuit arrangement could also be used in multi-channel fail-safe systems that satisfy, for example, Performance Level “e” according to DIN EN ISO 13849. The circuit arrangement (10) has an input terminal (80) for connecting a power supply device and at least one voltage converter (90) that delivers, on the output side, an adjustable logic voltage. A controllable switching element (70) is connected between the one or more voltage converters (90, 95) and the input terminal (80). Furthermore, a first monitoring device (20) is provided for monitoring the logic voltage. The first monitoring device (20) is constructed so that it triggers the opening of the switching element (70) when the logic voltage reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold. |
| US09257896B1 |
Control circuit of power converter and method for maximum power point tracking
A control circuit of a power converter including a first and a second control modules is provided. The first control module sets sampling points for a ripple signal of an input voltage according to a reference signal. The first control module determines whether a power point is the maximum power point according to ripple voltages of the sampling points. The second control module controls the power converter to output a maximum power according to the maximum power point based on the determination result of the first control module and the reference signal. An embodiment of a method for tracking a maximum power point is provided. The input voltage of the power converter is measured. The sampling points are set for the ripple signal of the input voltage and phase information of the ripple signal is determined, such that the maximum power point is determined by using the ripple voltages. |
| US09257891B2 |
Vibration type electromagnetic generator
A vibration type electromagnetic generator is formed by a nonmagnetic material and includes a hollow first pipe whose both end portions are closed, a magneto coil which is wound around the periphery of the first pipe and which is provided with solenoid coils, and a movable magnet which is arranged inside the first pipe and which is movable along a winding axis direction of a magneto coil. Then, the movable magnet includes a plurality of magnets and a magnet fixing unit composed of a nonmagnetic body for fixing the plurality of magnets whose same magnetic poles are facing one another, and among the plurality of solenoid coils, the coil length of one or more solenoid coils are made to be length equal to or greater than the magnet length of the magnet. |
| US09257888B2 |
Rotary solenoid
In one of its aspects the technology disclosed herein concerns a process of making a rotary solenoid. In a generic mode, the process comprises fitting together two mating core half members (22A, 22B) of a stator until two respective pole faces (32A, 32B) of the two mating core half members (22A, 22B) press to a positive stop against a precision diameter pin positioned between the two mating core half members and so that the two mating core half members interlock at the positive stop. The process further comprises removing the precision diameter pin to provide an axially extending space comprising a predetermined distance between the two respective pole faces (32A, 32B). The process further comprises inserting a rotor (26) within the axially extending space. The process further comprises fitting the two mating core half members (22A, 22B) and the rotor (26) between the two opposing end caps (20, 30). The act of fitting the two mating core half members and the rotor between the two opposing end caps preferably comprises aligning the two pole faces (32A, 32B) with pole face alignment features provided on the two opposing end caps whereby the two pole faces are retained at a predetermined position relative to the rotor. |
| US09257887B2 |
Brush DC motor with permanent magnet rotor
A direct current motor has a wound stator, a permanent magnet rotor having a commutator assembly, and brush gear. The brush gear has a first pole brush, a second pole brush and a plurality of commutating brushes. The commutator assembly has a cylindrical insulating base, and first and second members fixed to the base. The first member includes a radially extending first slip ring and a number of axially extending first bars. The second member includes a radially extending second slip ring and a number of axially extending second bars. The first and second pole brushes make continuous sliding contact with the first and second slip rings respectively. The first and second bars are fixed to the outer cylindrical surface of the base and form a cylindrical surface against which the commutating brushes make sliding contact. |
| US09257883B2 |
Electric machine with rotor interior ventilation
An electric machine includes a stator, a rotor interacting magnetically with the stator, a housing surrounding the stator and rotor, and a hollow shaft provided for arrangement of the rotor and mounted on the housing. A radial fan is mounted rotationally fixed on the hollow shaft on the ventilation side. A section of a fan blade of the radial fan extends axially away from the housing to a greater extent than the hollow shaft. A guide element with radially extending plate is arranged in the hollow shaft, wherein the plate is arranged axially further away from the housing than the end side of the hollow shaft on the ventilation side. An inner coolant flow can thus be delivered from the section of the fan blade out of the hollow shaft through a passage between the end side of the hollow shaft on the ventilation side and the plate radially outwards. |
| US09257882B2 |
Vehicle AC generator
Provided is a vehicle AC generator having a retainer attached on a bearing containing portion of a front bracket, thereby realizing temperature reduction in a bearing without deteriorating the cooling performance as a whole. In the vehicle AC generator, a front bracket 2 has a bearing containing portion 21 supporting a bearing 5 fitted therein, and an air inlet 22 that is provided along the outer circumference of the bearing containing portion 21 and allows cooling air from a fan 83 to pass therethrough. In addition, a retainer 15 is attached on the bearing containing portion 21, so as to cover the bearing 5. The retainer 15 has a planar shape, and has a fin 15b as a surface area increasing portion for increasing an area of contact with the cooling air, formed at a position facing to and outside the air inlet 22 in the shaft direction. |
| US09257873B2 |
Method and apparatus for generator stator core separation
An intercoupled stator core is separated from a non-vertically oriented (including horizontal) generator frame by decoupling the stator core and frame coupling members and interposing a slidable member between them. Thereafter they are separated relative to each other on the sliding member. The sliding or slidable member may comprise a rail, or alternatively a roller adapted for rolling contact with one of the opposed stator core or generator structures and an engagement surface in contact with the other structure. A system for separating the stator core from a non-vertically oriented generator frame includes first and second raising end plates adapted coupled to axial ends of the stator core. The end plates project outwardly from the generator frame ends, for coupling to a raise mechanism. After the raise mechanism raises the stator core the slidable member is interposed between the stator core and generator frame. |