最新美国发明专利第2016-02-09期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

Document	Document Title
US09256285B2	Method for gaze-controlled text size control, and methods for gaze-based measuring of a text reading speed and of a number of visual saccades per text line For gaze-controlled text size control of a display, the invention proposes to probe, sample and record a user's horizontal gaze Signal; to subject the gaze Signal to a subband filterbank or wavelet transform; to detect line delimiters in the gaze Signal; to derive a reading speed; to determine, as a number of saccades per text line the number of locations where the gaze Signal has sudden high slope portions surrounded on both sides by portions of markedly smaller slope; to detect, based on the reading speed and the number of saccades, a too small font size Status or a too big font size Status; and to initiate a corresponding font size change. Parts of this method can be used for gaze-based measuring of text reading speed and for gaze-based measuring of number of saccades.
US09256279B2	Multi-element memory device with power control for individual elements A multi-element device includes a plurality of memory elements, each of which includes a memory array, access circuitry to control access to the memory array, and power control circuitry. The power control circuitry, which includes one or more control registers for storing first and second control values, controls distribution of power to the access circuitry in accordance with the first control value, and controls distribution of power to the memory array in accordance with the second control value. Each memory element also includes sideband circuitry for enabling a host system to set at least the first control value and the second control value in the one or more control registers.
US09256278B2	Devices and methods for multi-core memory A power management device is adopted in a memory device which includes a first memory unit and a second memory unit, including a first voltage regulator, a second voltage regulator, and a controller. The first voltage regulator receives a supply voltage from an external supply source and provides a first internal voltage to the first memory unit. The second voltage regulator receives the supply voltage from the external supply source and provides a second internal voltage to the second memory unit. The controller independently enables or disables the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator according to a control signal.
US09256274B2	Dynamic low power states characterization An optimal idle state of a processor is selected using dynamically derived parameters. For example, the idle state is selected from a group of possible idle power states. A current detector is arranged to perform power measurements of the processor and to report a total power consumption of the processor for each time value of a range of discrete values for each possible idle power state. A calibration unit is arranged to communicate with the current detector and the processor, and to automatically activate a calibration sequence that is used to produce data from which idle power state is optimal for the processor for an estimated idle period.
US09256269B2	Speech recognition system for performing analysis to a non-tactile inputs and generating confidence scores and based on the confidence scores transitioning the system from a first power state to a second power state Aspects of the present disclosure describe methods and apparatuses for executing operations on a client device platform that is operating in a low-power state. A first analysis may be used to assign a first confidence score to a recorded non-tactile input. When the first confidence score is above a first threshold an intermediate-power state may be activated. A second more detailed analysis may then assign a second confidence score to the non-tactile input. When the second confidence score is above a second threshold, then the operation is initiated. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
US09256267B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes: a plurality of circuit parts; a global power source; a plurality of power source supply circuits; and a plurality of local power source control circuits provided in correspondence to the plurality of circuit parts, wherein each of the plurality of power source supply circuits includes a plurality of discrete supply switches, each of the plurality of local power source control circuits includes: a voltage monitor circuit; a storage circuit storing an output target characteristic value of the voltage monitor circuit; a comparator configured to compare the output characteristic value of the voltage monitor circuit and the target characteristic value; and a switch control circuit configured to control the number of the plurality of turned-on discrete supply switches based on the comparison result of the comparator.
US09256266B1	Negative bit line driver circuitry Integrated circuits with memory elements are provided. Data may be loaded into the memory elements using write driver circuitry. The write driver circuitry may be provided with a fixed positive power supply voltage and an time-varying ground power supply voltage that is less than the positive power supply voltage. The time-varying ground power supply voltage may be generated using programmable power supply circuitry. The programmable power supply circuitry may include a pulse generation circuit and a configurable capacitive circuit. The pulse generation circuit may output a pulse signal to the capacitive circuit. In response to receiving the pulse signal, the capacitive circuit may push the time-varying ground power supply voltage to a negative value. The time-varying ground power supply voltage may be driven below zero volts for at least a portion of a write cycle to help improve write margins and increase memory yield.
US09256264B2	Information processing device and method for driving the same Hibernation/resume time is reduced, and a low-power information processing device and a method for driving the information processing device are provided. In an information processing device in which a virtual environment is created, in hibernation during which part of a main storage unit is stopped while data in the main storage unit is retained, data stored in the main storage unit is saved to a non-volatile memory, and whether another data shares a common block with the data saved to the non-volatile memory is determined in hibernation during which part of the main storage unit is stopped while the other data in the main storage unit is retained. In the case where there is a common block, the common block of the other data is not saved to the non-volatile memory, and the information on the common block is retained in the non-volatile memory.
US09256260B2	Processing system, processing device and power supply control method A microcomputer of an ECU which is a master determines whether to turn on or off the power supply of a slave ECU, and outputs a power supply control signal indicating power-on/off via serial communication on the basis of the result of determination. A signal superposition circuit accepts the output power supply control signal and transmits the accepted power supply control signal to a CAN bus to which a CAN transceiver is connected. In the slave ECU, a signal separation circuit individually receives a CAN communication signal and a serial communication signal transmitted to the CAN bus, while an input/output control circuit to which the serial communication signal is input as the power supply control signal outputs a signal to the power supply circuit to control power-on/off of the microcomputer.
US09256257B2	Electronic device and docking station An electronic device, including: a first body, a second body, a first coupling member and a second coupling member; in the case where the first body and the second body are located in a first relative position, the first body and the second body are coupled together by cooperation between the first coupling member and the second coupling member; and in the case where the first body and the second body are located in a second relative position different from the first relative position, the first body and the second body are decoupled from each other by cooperation between the first coupling member and the second coupling member.
US09256252B2	Mobile device protecting structure A mobile device protecting structure includes a first frame having a first frame portion and a first guard plate, a second frame having a second frame portion and a fixing edge, and the second frame portion encircling the first frame portion, and a packing element disposed in the second frame portion and inserted into a packing slot formed at the exterior of the first frame portion, and a waterproof ring installed between the first and second frames and having an internal periphery. A mobile device is covered by the first and second frames, and a second guard plate is selectively packed between the internal periphery and the fixing edge or packed between the internal periphery and the mobile device depending on the thickness of the mobile device.
US09256251B1	Back frame and liquid display device with the same A back frame including at least two main pieces is disclosed. The adjacent main pieces are assembled via assembly sections, and a plurality of anchor points are arranged on different locations of each of the assembly sections. The size of the back frame is variably configured by assembling the adjacent main pieces through different anchor points. The main pieces with anchor points on different locations may be manufactured by the same mold. The main pieces are assembled to form back frame with different sizes so as to reduce the mold cost and the manufacturing cost.
US09256248B2	Protecting device for tablet device Protecting device includes a main body and a removable cover. The main body receives an electronic device and includes a first holding member and a second holding member. The removable cover includes a first attaching portion, a first supporting portion, a second attaching portion and a second supporting portion. When the removable cover is located on a closed position, the first holding member holds the first attaching portion, or the second holding member holds the second attaching portion. When the removable cover is located on a first open position, the first holding member holds the first attaching portion, and the first supporting portion is configured to support the electronic device. When the removable cover is located on a second open position, the second holding member holds the second attaching portion, and the second supporting portion is configured to support the electronic device.
US09256244B2	USB3.0 clock frequency generation device without crystal oscillator The present invention discloses a USB3.0 clock frequency generation device without crystal oscillator, that is, the crystal oscillator used in the USB3.0 device (or apparatus) is removed and replaced with an oscillator circuit module in the present invention, in which a simple circuit module is added to the controller circuit of the USB3.0 device to provide accurate and proper timing signals needed. The oscillator circuit module includes an oscillator block, a frequency divider block, a delta-sigma modulator block, and a preset number block.
US09256243B2	Apparatus for reducing effort of clutch pedal for vehicle An apparatus for reducing an effort of a clutch pedal for a vehicle may include a pedal member through both sides of which a guide slot that may be extended frontwardly and then rearwardly may be formed integrally to pass the both sides, a pedal arm lever provided at an upper part of a pedal arm so as to be protruded towards the guide slot, a guide bar engaged to the pedal arm lever and passing through the guide slot, wherein the guide bar is movable along the guide slot when the pedal arm pivots, and an elastic member, a first end of which is connected to the pedal member, and a second end of which is connected to the guide bar, such that a turnover force is generated thereto when the pedal arm pivots forwardly and a recovery force is generated thereto when the pedal arm pivots rearwardly.
US09256236B2	Area-efficient frequency compensation A DC-to-DC converter includes an error integrator that further includes a first amplifier and a second amplifier that each includes a first input for receiving a reference voltage and a second input for receiving a feedback voltage, a capacitor to an output of the second amplifier, and a resistor including a first end being coupled to an output of the first amplifier and a second end being coupled to the capacitor.
US09256235B2	Temperature control circuit and oven controlled crystal oscillator A temperature control circuit of an oven controlled crystal oscillator is a circuit in which a supply voltage is applied to a first terminal of a resistance R10, a first terminal of a resistance R11, and a first terminal of a heater resistance RH1, a second terminal of a thermistor TH1, a second terminal of a temperature sensing element, and a collector side of a transistor Q2 are connected to a common ground, a first terminal of a temperature sensing element ZZ is connected to an input terminal of an operational amplifier IC2, and a setting temperature in a thermostatic oven is controlled to gradually rise as an ambient operative temperature rises.
US09256233B2	Generating a root of an open-loop freqency response that tracks an opposite root of the frequency response In an embodiment, an electronic includes a feedback-coupled circuit stage and a compensation circuit stage. The feedback-coupled stage is configured to drive a load, and the compensation stage is coupled to the feedback-coupled stage such that a combination of the compensation and feedback-coupled stages has a frequency response including a first root and an opposite second root that depend on the load. For example, an embodiment of such an electronic circuit may be a low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator that lacks a large output capacitance for forming a dominant pole to stabilize the regulator. The regulator includes a feedback-coupled stage that generates and regulates an output voltage, and includes a compensation stage that is designed such that the frequency response of the regulator includes a zero that tracks a non-dominant output pole of the regulator so that the output pole does not adversely affect the stability of the regulator.
US09256232B2	Voltage regulation using multiple voltage regulator controllers Disclosed herein are systems and methods for regulating a voltage profile of an electric power delivery system. According to some embodiments, a system may include a remote voltage regulating device configured to regulate voltage profile by selecting among a plurality of taps on a remote transformer and an associated a remote voltage regulator controller in communication. The remote voltage regulator controller may calculate remote voltage regulation information and may transmit the remote voltage regulation information to a local voltage regulator controller. The local voltage regulator controller may be in communication with a local voltage regulating device configured to regulate the voltage profile of a local portion of the electric power delivery system by selecting among a plurality of taps on a local transformer. The local voltage regulator controller may be configured to receive the remote voltage regulation information and generate a tap change command for the local voltage regulating device.
US09256229B2	Air-conditioning control system and program According to a calculation 13 of a peak operating rate of an air conditioner 19 based on an actual quantity of electric power used, a calculation 14 of an hourly average operating rate according to the peak operating rate in consideration of an outside air temperature, a calculation 15 of an hourly average surplus rate according to (1−average operating rate), and a calculation 16 of a control rate having the upper limit of the average surplus rate as a predetermined value, energy-saving control 17 of the air conditioner 19 is performed by a quantity of the control rate. Thereby, providing an air-conditioning control system 100 for achieving appropriate energy saving with simplified calculations.
US09256226B1	Object bounding box estimation Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to maneuvering autonomous vehicles. Specifically, the vehicle may use a laser to collect scan data for a section of roadway. The vehicle may access a detailed map including the section of the roadway. A disturbance indicative of an object and including a set of data points data may be identified from the scan data based on the detailed map. The detailed map may also be used to estimate a heading of the disturbance. A bounding box for the disturbance may be estimated using the set of data points as well as the estimated heading. The parameters of the bounding box may then be adjusted in order to increase or maximize the average density of data points of the disturbance along the edges of the bounding box visible to the laser. This adjusted bounding box may then used to maneuver the vehicle.
US09256223B2	Safety interlock device for a plant A control device includes: an input portion for inputting a process signal transmitted from a plant; a numerical processing part for outputting a Boolean value evaluating normal/abnormal of the process signal by a numerical processing based on a program; and a logical processing part for a logical processing of the Boolean value based on a logic circuit and then outputting a control signal related a safety protection operation of the plant.
US09256222B2	Sensor virtualization through cloud storage and retrieval mechanisms Mechanisms are provided for virtualizing physical sensors and providing sensor data to a requestor using the virtualized physical sensors. The mechanisms obtain sensor data from a plurality of physical sensors and storing the sensor data in a virtual sensor storage system of the data processing system in at least one standardized format. A request from a requestor for a first type of sensor data is received which does not specify a particular physical sensor. A portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system is retrieved in response to receiving the request, the portion of sensor data corresponding to the type of sensor data requested in the request from the requestor. The retrieved portion of the sensor data is returned to the requestor in a format corresponding to a physical sensor configured to provide the requested type of sensor data.
US09256219B2	System configuration using templates A method in a computer system for developing a process control strategy includes providing a module template having a first plurality of components and being associated with a control operation, receiving a selection of one or more of the first plurality of components of the module template, generating an instance of a module based on the module template, including instantiating only the selected one or more of the first plurality of components, and associating the generated instance of the module with the process control strategy.
US09256218B2	Control mechanism having an image display area A control mechanism includes a housing that is moveable from a first position to a second position. The housing includes a display area. The movement of the housing from the first position to the second position is detected. A first image is displayed on a display screen responsive to detection of the movement of the housing from the first position to the second position. At least a portion of the first image is optically transmitted from the display screen to the display area via an optical coupling system for display in the display area of the housing.
US09256213B2	Numerical control unit having function to smoothly change feed speed when override is changed A commanded speed is acquired by a command program analysis unit, an override is acquired by an override input unit, and the override before input is changed in steps by a stepwise override change unit to the override that is input, in a predesignated time or by a predesignated change amount, and outputs the override changed as an actual override. The actual override is acquired by a speed operation unit in an interpolation cycle from the stepwise override change unit and the commanded speed is multiplied by the actual override to calculate a feed speed.
US09256211B2	Input channel diagnostics This invention relates to input channel diagnostics for an industrial process control system. The invention provides improved apparatus and methods relating to fault containment, overload protection and input channel diagnostics.
US09256206B2	Device for maintaining and regulating a timepiece resonator Timepiece resonator oscillating at a natural frequency, comprising one oscillating member and oscillation maintenance means, this oscillating member carrying a regulator oscillating at a regulation frequency comprised between 0.9 times and 1.1 times the value of an integer multiple greater than or equal to 2 of the natural frequency, this resonator is included in a timepiece movement for a timepiece, particularly a watch, and this regulator imposes a periodic modulation of the resonant frequency and/or quality factor and/or point of rest of this resonator.
US09256202B2	System, method and apparatus for phase-coded multi-plane microscopy A volume holographic imaging system enables the projection of a two-dimensional (2D) slice of a four-dimensional (4D) object. The 4D source object is illuminated to emit or scatter an optical field. A holographic element having one or more recorded holograms receives and diffracts the optical field into a diffracted plane beam. A phase mask is encoded in one or more multiplexed holographic gratings of the holographic element using a spatial filter. A collector lens focuses the diffracted plane beam to a 2D slice of the 4D probing source object. The focused 2D slice is projected onto a 2D imaging plane. The holographic element may have multiple multiplexed holograms that are arranged to diffract light from a corresponding slice of the 4D probing source object to a non-overlapping region of the detector.
US09256201B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus having: a filter member configured to trap particles floating in the apparatus; a suction section configured to suck air including the particles at a variable suction rate; a determiner configured to determine the suction rate of the suction section; an exhaust path capable of leading the air sucked by the suction section to outside of the apparatus through the filter member; a circulation path capable of allowing the air sucked by the suction section and passing through the filter member to circulate inside the apparatus; a switching member configured to make switches between the exhaust path and the circulation path; and a control unit configured to control at least the suction section and the switching member. The control unit allows the switching member to open the exhaust path only when the suction rate determined by the determiner is equal to or less than a predetermined value.
US09256199B2	Image forming apparatus having spacing configuration for process cartridge An image forming apparatus may include: a process cartridge, an apparatus body and a spacing member. The process cartridge may be detachably mountable to the apparatus body and include a photosensitive unit having a photosensitive member, a developing unit having a developing roller, and a driving input part into which a driving force from the apparatus body is configured to be inputted. The apparatus body may include a driving input member which is configured to input the driving force. Additionally or alternatively, the spacing member may be attached to the process cartridge and configured to space the photosensitive member and the developing roller. The spacing member may include a first cover part which is located between the driving input part and the driving input member and covers at least a portion of the driving input part.
US09256198B2	Electrophotographic image forming apparatus and development cartridge An electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a development cartridge are provided. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus including a body including an opening, a photoreceptor cartridge attached to, or detached from, the body through the opening, and including a mounting portion, and a development cartridge attached to, or detached from, the mounting portion through the opening while the photoreceptor cartridge is mounted in the body. The mounting portion includes first and second guide rails, and both side portions of the development cartridge respectively include first and second guide protrusions having different protrusion amounts from the both side portions to be respectively guided by the first and second guide rails.
US09256197B2	Electrophotographic image forming apparatus having space regulated detachable cartridge An image forming apparatus includes a cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of the apparatus, the cartridge including a photosensitive drum, a drum frame supporting the drum, and a regulated portion for regulating rotation of the cartridge; a supporting member movable between an inside position an outer position; a moving member capable of taking a first position in which the moving member urges the regulated portion to space the drum from the transfer member and a second position in which the moving member to contact the drum to the transfer member; and a regulating portion for engaging with the regulated portion to regulate rotation of the cartridge when the moving member is in the second position, and for permitting movement of the supporting member between the outer position and the inside position with the regulating portion being in engagement with the regulated portion to limit rotation of the cartridge.
US09256196B2	Image forming apparatus There is provided an image forming apparatus including a main body, a drum cartridge attachable to and detachable from the main body and including a photosensitive drum, a developing agent cartridge attachable to and detachable from the main body and containing a developing agent to be supplied to the photosensitive drum, and an exposure unit configured to expose a surface of the photosensitive drum. The main body includes a drum cartridge guide which is configured to guide the drum cartridge such that the drum cartridge passes above the exposure unit, when the drum cartridge is attached to or detached from the main body, and a developing cartridge guide which is configured to guide the developing agent cartridge such that the developing agent cartridge passes below the exposure unit, when the developing agent cartridge is attached to or detached from the main body.
US09256195B2	Development cartridge, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus having the same A development cartridge including a housing, a developer carrying body rotating around a first axis along a first direction, a supply member rotating around a second axis along the first direction, a first gear connected with the developer carrying body, a second gear connected with the supply member, and a gear cover covering the first gear and the second gear, the gear cover including a first cover portion extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a second cover portion connected with the first cover portion, the second cover portion extending in the first direction, the second cover portion having an opening through which a part of the second gear protrudes from the second cover portion and is exposed.
US09256193B2	Image forming apparatus having cover member with locking member An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a casing, a cover member having an opening and supported by the casing, a first lock member configured to move between a first lock position in which the cover member is locked in an closed position and a first release position in which a locked state of the cover member is released, a tray configured to pivot between a first position covering the opening and a second position uncovering the opening, and a second lock member configured to move between a second lock position in which the tray is locked in the first position and a second release position in which a locked state of the tray is released, the second lock member being configured to move to the second lock position in response to movement of the first lock member to the first release position.
US09256191B2	Image forming apparatus having reduced height An image forming apparatus has a compact size in height. The apparatus includes a main frame, a plurality of image forming components arrayed in the main frame in an array direction to form an image, a belt extending in the array direction and in contact with the plurality of image forming components, a first sheet accommodating portion configured to accommodate therein a recording sheet, and extending in the array direction and positioned below the belt, a collection member disposed in contact with the belt and configured to collect developing agent on the belt, and a container configured to hold the developing agent collected by the collection member. The container is positioned below the belt such that the container is juxtaposed with the first sheet accommodating portion in the array direction.
US09256190B2	Lubricant supplying device, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge A lubricant supplying device includes: lubricant; a supplying member that supplies the lubricant to a lubricant supply target; and a remaining amount detecting unit that detects that a remaining amount of the lubricant is equal to or smaller than a certain amount. The remaining amount detecting unit includes a first electrode member and a second electrode member. The lubricant supplying device includes a member that causes at least a part of the second electrode member to move and causes the second electrode member to abut the first electrode member with an increase in consumption of the lubricant.
US09256183B2	Image forming apparatus that electrically grounds the sheet cassette upon withdrawal of the sheet cassette A sheet storing portion is maintained in a state in which a sheet stacking portion on which sheets are stacked is electrically insulated, when the sheet storing portion is contained in a containing portion of an image forming apparatus body at the time of formation of an image. The sheet stacking portion is switched from the insulation state to a grounding state in which the sheet stacking portion is grounded through a ground portion by a switching portion through an operation of drawing the sheet storing portion.
US09256182B2	Image forming apparatus and method of controlling the same An image forming apparatus, a color registration test pattern of the image forming apparatus, and a method of forming the color registration test pattern are provided. A time required for color registration may be reduced by minimizing a region in which a color registration test pattern is formed on an intermediate transfer body. A control method of the image forming apparatus, which includes photosensitive media arranged side by side to correspond to colors in a rotation direction of the intermediate transfer body, includes forming first patterns of the colors arranged in a single row in a sub-scanning direction in a first region of the intermediate transfer body over a single-rotation period of the photosensitive media, and forming second patterns of the colors arranged in a single row in the sub-scanning direction in a second region of the intermediate transfer body over another single-rotation period of the photosensitive media.
US09256181B2	Belt unit and image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus 100 includes an intermediate transfer belt 21, a reading section 25, and an intermediate transfer unit 2 having a supplementary roller 26. The intermediate transfer belt 21 is passed over a drive roller 22 and an idle roller 23, and moves along a predetermined circulating path. The reading section 25 reads a concentration of a toner image from a surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21. The supplementary roller 26 is in contact with a rear face of the intermediate transfer belt 21 in such a manner that a gap between a reading face of the reading section 25 and the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 is kept constant. The supplementary roller 26 is disposed on a downstream side of the reading section 25 in a horizontal direction by a predetermined distance S. The predetermined distance S is a distance from a center M of the reading section 25 to a point of contact P at which the supplementary roller 26 is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 21 in a horizontal direction.
US09256167B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer; a toner image forming unit, a transfer unit, a detector, and a controller. The toner image forming unit forms a plurality of types of density detection patterns on the surface of the image bearer in mutually-different positions in a surface-movement direction of the image bearer. The density detection patterns have mutually-different lengths in a direction orthogonal to the surface-movement direction of the image bearer. The transfer unit transfers the density detection patterns onto the surface of the transfer member. The detector detects image densities of the density detection patterns transferred on the surface of the transfer member. The controller calculates an image density difference between the density detection patterns on a basis of a detection result obtained by the detector, and corrects a transfer bias for transferring a toner image on a basis of a value of the image density difference.
US09256166B2	Image forming apparatus In a constitution in which a power source exclusively for primary-transfer is omitted and a predetermined voltage is generated in an intermediary transfer member, in a test mode in which a test voltage is applied to a secondary-transfer member in advance in order to obtain a proper secondary transfer voltage, in the case where the test voltage is low, a proper secondary-transfer voltage cannot be obtained in some cases. In a period of the test mode, the power source is controlled in order to maintain a Zener breakdown voltage, so that the proper secondary-transfer voltage can be obtained.
US09256161B2	Process cartridge, developing device and image forming apparatus A process cartridge detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus includes a rotatable developer carrying member, a rotatable developer feeding member, a rotatable developer stirring member, a developer carrying member gear, a developer feeding member gear, a developer stirring member gear, a transmission member for transmitting a driving force to the developer carrying member, the developer feeding member and the developer stirring member, wherein the transmission member includes a first gear for transmitting the driving force to the developer carrying member gear, a second gear for transmitting the driving force to the developer feeding member gear, and a third gear for transmitting the driving force to the developer stirring member gear, in which the first gear, the second gear and the third gear are integrally molded.
US09256158B2	Apparatus and method for preventing an information storage device from falling from a removable device An information storage device installed in a removable device configured to be removably installed in an image forming apparatus body, includes: an information storage unit that stores information communicated between the image forming apparatus body and the removable device; a terminal that comes in contact with a body side terminal; and a substrate that holds the information storage unit and the terminal and includes a hole configured to be engaged with a protruding section installed in the image forming apparatus body. The terminal includes a plurality of terminals each including one of a plurality of metallic plates arranged in a transverse direction thereof. An earth terminal, which comes in contact with a body side earth terminal formed in the protruding section, is formed in the hole. The hole is disposed at a position sandwiched between two metallic plates among the plurality of metallic plates.
US09256155B2	Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes scanning targets, an optical scanning section, a cassette, a cassette insertion section, and a cassette guide. The optical scanning section scans the scanning targets with light. The cassette guide is disposed in the cassette insertion section and guides the cassette. The optical scanning section includes a plurality of reflecting members corresponding one-to-one with the scanning targets. Each reflecting member directs the light to a corresponding one of the scanning targets. The cassette guide includes one or more adjustment mechanisms that are equal in number to a prescribed number of reflecting members out of the plurality of reflecting members. The prescribed number of adjustment mechanisms correspond one-to-one with the prescribed number of reflecting members. Each adjustment mechanism adjusts a position of a corresponding one of the reflecting members.
US09256154B2	Image forming apparatus with dark current compensation for automatic power control (APC) An image forming apparatus, including: a laser light source supplied with a bias current and a superimposed current to emit laser light; a splitting unit configured to split the laser light into first and second laser lights; a photoelectric conversion unit configured to output a voltage corresponding to a light intensity of the second laser light; a voltage holding unit configured to hold a voltage output from the photoelectric conversion unit with not the superimposed current but the bias current being supplied to the laser light source; a voltage conversion unit configured to remove the voltage held by the voltage holding unit from the voltage from the photoelectric conversion unit which receives the second laser light; and a current control unit configured to control, based on a voltage from the voltage conversion unit, a value of the superimposed current supplied to the laser light source based on image data.
US09256152B2	Image processing apparatus and method having viewing-density priority and color material saving modes Transmission information indicating transmittance of light of a printing medium used in image formation is acquired, a reduction ratio with respect to a maximum amount of mounted color materials used in the image formation is set based on the transmission information, and a fixing index indicating a fixing state of the color materials with respect to the printing medium is set based on the transmission information.
US09256148B2	Toner A toner having toner particles, each of which contains a binder resin, a wax and inorganic fine particles, wherein the inorganic fine particles are fixed at the surface of the toner particles as a result of a surface treatment by hot air, and the degree of uneven distribution of wax in the toner is controlled in a depth direction of the toner, from the toner surface towards a toner central portion.
US09256145B2	Electrophotographic photosensitive member, process cartridge, and electrophotographic apparatus An electrophotographic photosensitive member that can not easily cause charging lines even where it is an electrophotographic photosensitive member employing as a conductive layer a layer containing metal oxide particles is disclosed. Also disclosed are a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus which have such an electrophotographic photosensitive member. The electrophotographic photosensitive member has a conductive layer which contains titanium oxide particles coated with tin oxide doped with phosphorus or tungsten.
US09256142B2	Pellicle mounting system and method A pellicle mounting method is provided. The method includes aligning a mounting apparatus with a top surface of a pellicle frame, the mounting apparatus having a continuous duct extending therethrough and a plurality of contact pins projecting from the mounting apparatus. The method also includes introducing a pressurizing fluid into the continuous duct that causes each of the plurality of contact pins to engage the top surface of the pellicle frame with a substantially equal force, a combined force of the plurality of contact pins urging a bottom surface of the pellicle frame against a top surface of a photomask, the combined force being adjustable based on a pressure within the continuous duct. Further, the method includes adjusting the pressure within the continuous duct until the pressure is approximately equal to a pre-determined optimal pressure.
US09256140B2	Movable body apparatus, pattern formation apparatus and exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method with measurement device to measure movable body in Z direction On the +X and −X sides of a projection unit, a plurality of Z heads are arranged in parallel to the X-axis, by a predetermined distance half or less than half the effective width of the Y scale so that two Z heads each constantly form a pair and face a pair of Y scales. Of the pair of heads consisting of two Z heads which simultaneously face the scale, measurement values of a priority head is used, and when abnormality occurs in the measurement values of the priority head due to malfunction of the head, measurement values of the other head is used, and the positional information of the stage in at least the Z-axis direction can be measured in a stable manner and with high precision.
US09256134B2	Photoresist removal Disclosed herein is a composition and method for semiconductor processing. In one embodiment, a wet-cleaning composition for removal of photoresist is provided. The composition comprises a strong base; an oxidant; and a polar solvent. In another embodiment, a method for removing photoresist is provided. The method comprises the steps of applying a wet-cleaning composition comprising about 0.1 to about 30 weight percent strong base; about one to about 30 weight percent oxidant; about 20 to about 95 weight percent polar solvent; and removing the photoresist.
US09256131B2	Developing method for developing apparatus A developing method including a developing step in which, while a wafer horizontally held by a spin chuck is being rotated, the wafer is developed by supplying a developer onto a surface of the wafer, wherein provided before the developing step is a pre-wetting step in which, simultaneously with the developer being supplied from a first nozzle that is located on a position near a central part of the surface of the rotating wafer, a deionized water as a second liquid is supplied from a second nozzle that is located on a position nearer to an outer peripheral part of the wafer than the first nozzle, to thereby spread out the developer in the rotating direction of the wafer by a wall that is formed by the deionized water flowing to the outer peripheral side of the wafer with the rotation of the wafer.
US09256130B2	Method for manufacturing light-shielding mask for curing cell sealant The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a light-shielding mask for curing a sealant, including the following steps: step 1: providing a transparent substrate (20); step 2: sequentially forming a metal layer (22) and a photoresist layer (24) on the transparent substrate (20); Step 3: carrying out exposure on an edge of the photoresist layer (24) to form an inspection mark (242); step 4: subjecting the photoresist layer (24) to exposure along a predetermined trace by adopting an edge exposure process, wherein the predetermined trace corresponds to a predetermined trace of a sealant to be formed in a liquid crystal display panel; step 5: removing the exposed portion of the photoresist layer (24) to expose the metal layer (22); step 6: subjecting the exposed portion of the metal layer (22) to etching and removing the unexposed portion of the photoresist layer (24); and step 7: forming a transparent protection layer (26) on the metal layer (22) and the transparent substrate (20). The present invention uses an edge exposure process to achieve exposure of the photoresist layer so that no specific masking plate is needed and the number of masking plates prepared can be effectively reduced, thereby reducing the cost the material for manufacture.
US09256129B2	Method for creating surface texture on flexographic printing elements A method of making a relief image printing element from a photosensitive printing blank is described. The photosensitive printing blank comprises a laser ablatable mask layer disposed on at least one photocurable layer and the laser ablatable mask layer is selectively laser ablated to create an in situ mask and uncover portions of the at least one photocurable layer. The method includes a) pushing the photosensitive printing blank through a nip formed by a textured roller and a backing roller, wherein the textured roller contacts the in situ mask and the uncovered portions of the at least one photocurable layer; and b) exposing the at least one photocurable layer to at least one source of actinic radiation through the in situ mask to selectively cross link and cure the portions of the at least one photocurable layer not covered by the in situ mask. A defined topographical pattern is transferred from the textured surface of the roller to the at least one photocurable layer.
US09256127B2	Monomer, polymer, resist composition, and patterning process A polymer for resist use is obtainable from a monomer having formula (1) wherein R1 is H, CH3 or CF3, R2 and R3 each are H or a monovalent hydrocarbon group, X1 is a divalent hydrocarbon group, k1=0 or 1, and Z forms a 5 or 6-membered alicyclic ring. A resist composition comprising the polymer is shelf stable and displays a high dissolution contrast, controlled acid diffusion and low roughness during both alkaline development and organic solvent development.
US09256126B2	Methanofullerenes The present disclosure relates to novel methanofullerene derivatives, negative-type photoresist compositions prepared therefrom and methods of using them. The derivatives, their photoresist compositions and the methods are ideal for fine pattern processing using, for example, ultraviolet radiation, beyond extreme ultraviolet radiation, extreme ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and charged particle rays.
US09256120B2	Method of performing optical proximity correction for preparing mask projected onto wafer by photolithography A method of performing optical proximity correction for preparing a mask projected onto a wafer by photolithography includes the following steps. An integrated circuit layout design including a first feature and a second feature is obtained, wherein the first feature overlaps a first boundary of two structures in the wafer. An edge of the first feature close to the second feature pertaining to a specific trend section of an experimental chart having trend sections is recognized. An optical proximity correction value is evaluated for the edge through a computer system according to a rule corresponding to the specific trend section. The layout design is compensated with the optical proximity correction value.
US09256118B2	Positive photosensitive resin composition Disclosed is a positive photosensitive resin composition that includes (A) an alkali soluble resin selected from a polybenzoxazole precursor, a polyimide precursor, and a combination thereof, (B) a photosensitive diazoquinone compound, (C) a phenol compound, (D) an organic dye and (E) a solvent, wherein the organic dye (D) includes at least one red dye having an absorption wavelength of 590 to 700 nm, at least one yellow dye having an absorption wavelength of 550 to 590 nm, and at least one blue dye having an absorption wavelength of 450 to 500 nm.
US09256108B2	Dark spot repair method of liquid crystal panel and liquid crystal panel The present invention provides a dark spot repair method of a liquid crystal panel and a liquid crystal panel. The dark spot repair method includes (1) providing a liquid crystal panel, wherein the liquid crystal panel comprises a plurality of main pixels and the plurality of main pixels includes main pixels that have bright spot defects and are to be repaired, each of the main pixels being of a charge-share pixel structure, the main pixel comprising first and second voltage-division capacitors, which are connected in series, the first voltage-division capacitor comprising first and second metal layers that are opposite to each other, the second voltage-division capacitor comprising third and fourth metal layers that are opposite to each other; and (2) soldering and connecting together the first metal layer and the second metal layer of the first voltage-division capacitor and soldering and connecting the third metal layer and the fourth metal layer of the second voltage-division capacitor of each of the main pixels that have bright spot defects and are to be repaired so as to form electrical connections thereby repairing and making the main pixels to be repaired in a normally dark state. The method is simple in operation so as to save repair time, reduce repairing tools, increase throughput, and lower down manufacture cost.
US09256107B2	Liquid crystal display and method of manufacturing the same A liquid crystal display includes a first substrate and a second substrate facing the first substrate, a gate line and a data line disposed on the first substrate, and a pixel electrode disposed on the first substrate. The pixel electrode is connected to the gate line and the data line, and includes subregions. The liquid crystal display further includes a storage electrode disposed on the first substrate overlapping the pixel electrode to form a storage capacitor, a common electrode disposed on the second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode and including liquid crystal molecules disposed therein. The pixel electrode includes a stem defining boundaries between the subregions, and a width of the stem changes from a center portion of the pixel electrode to a peripheral portion of the pixel electrode.
US09256102B1	Backlight module and liquid crystal display device The present invention discloses a backlight module, comprising a backsheet, and a light guide plate and a middle frame provided on the backsheet; the backsheet being assembled with multiple spacers, one side of the spacer being connected with the side wall of the backsheet, the opposite side thereof being tightly connected with the light guide plate, on the spacer further being provided with a holding groove; a slot connected to the holding groove being provided corresponding to each spacer on the side wall of the backsheet; the middle frame comprising a vertical supporting portion, the vertical supporting portion comprising multiple intertongue, each intertongue corresponding to each holding groove, on the side wall of the intertongue being provided with a hook; the middle frame being assembled in the holding groove through the intertongue, the hook and the slot being engaged with each other. The present invention further discloses a liquid crystal display device comprising the backlight module.
US09256101B2	Liquid crystal display device Liquid crystal display device preventing brightness reduction of a backlight even when a recess is formed in a lower frame accommodating the backlight and a light-emitting diode substrate mounted with a light-emitting diode is accommodated in the recess. A backlight includes a reflection member arranged on the back side of a light guide plate, and the light-emitting diode irradiating the light guide plate with illumination light from a side portion of the light guide plate. The recess protruding on the back side is formed in the lower frame for accommodating and arranging the light-emitting diode substrate mounted with the light-emitting diode therein. A part of an end portion of the reflection member protrudes into a space formed by the recess toward the light emitting diode. A holding member is arranged between the reflection member and the lower frame at least to hold the protruding region of the reflection member.
US09256099B2	Polarizer, polarizing plate using the same, liquid crystal display device, and method of manufacturing polarizing plate Provided is a polarizer durable against high-temperature and high-humidity conditions, small in changes in the single plate transmittance, and a liquid crystal display device. A polarizer including a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin, a dichroic colorant, and a compound, etc. represented by the formula (1) below, the content of the compound represented by the formula (1) being 0.01 to 30 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin. In the formula (1) , each of R1 and R3 independently represents a hydrogen atom, C1-20 straight-chain alkyl group, C3-20 branched alkyl group, C3-20 cycloalkyl group, C2-20 alkenyl group or C6-20 aromatic group, and R5 represents a substituent.
US09256096B2	Liquid crystal display with embedded touch panel and method of manufacturing the same A liquid crystal display having an embedded touch panel is disclosed. The display includes a color filter substrate, an array substrate, a liquid crystal molecule layer between the color filter substrate and the array substrate, and a touch panel integrated with the color filter substrate. A plurality of first transfer pads are arranged on the color filter substrate and a plurality of second transfer pads are arranged on the array substrate, where locations of the first transfer pads correspond to locations of the second transfer pads. The first transfer pads are electrically connected with the second transfer pads, and the first and second transfer pads are used to transmit a touch control signal to the touch panel.
US09256094B2	Touch panel A touch panel is presented, which includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a third substrate. The first substrate includes a first side having a first circuit. The second substrate includes a first side arranged on the first side of the first substrate and a second side having a second circuit. The third substrate is arranged on the second side of the second substrate. Therefore, by using the structure of the touch panel, the substrates of the touch panel can be integrated, so as to achieve the objective of decreasing the overall thickness of an electronic device.
US09256093B2	Display apparatus and method for manufacturing the same A display apparatus includes a display panel including an upper substrate and a lower substrate coupled to a rear surface of the upper substrate; a guide frame supporting the display panel, and a coupling member coupling the guide frame to the display panel. The coupling includes a main adhesive adhering the guide frame to the display panel, and a sub adhesive adhered to the guide frame adjacent to the main adhesive. Accordingly, the display panel can more readily absorb an impact applied thereto, thus enhancing the stability of the display panel.
US09256092B2	Backlight module and liquid crystal display device The present invention discloses a backlight module that includes a liquid crystal glass and a front frame. The front frame includes at most three successively-connected side frame members. The three side frame members are positionable on and hold down the liquid crystal glass. The present invention also discloses a backlight module, which includes a liquid crystal glass and a front frame, of which the front frame includes at most two side frame members that are opposite to each other. The two side frame members re positionable on and hold down the liquid crystal glass. The present invention also discloses a liquid crystal display device that uses the backlight module. The backlight module and the liquid crystal display device using the backlight module according to the present invention improve firmness of bonding between the liquid crystal glass and the front frame and lowers down cost of the backlight module.
US09256091B2	Display device with stand A display device includes a front side and a rear side. A screen is mounted on the front side. A stand is mounted on the rear side. The stand includes a first supporting piece and a second supporting piece obtusely connected to the first supporting piece. The first supporting piece is pivotably connected to the rear side of the display device. A circuit board is mounted on the first supporting piece of the stand.
US09256087B2	Color cast compensation method and system for liquid crystal display panel The embodiments of the present invention publishes a color cast compensation method for liquid crystal display panel, which comprises the steps of obtaining a trace impedance of each trace of a plurality of traces in a fan-out-shape and obtaining a correlation curve showing the relationship between the trace impedance and a channel according to the trace impedance; obtaining a curve of a real driving force on an output terminal of the channel according to the correlation curve showing the relationship between the trace impedance and the channel; adjusting a size of a cross-sectional area of a MOS transistor on the output terminal of the channel according to the curve of the real driving force. The embodiment of the present invention further publishes another color cast compensation method for liquid crystal display panel and a color cast compensation system for liquid crystal display panel. The embodiments of the present invention solves the color cast problem appears in the liquid crystal display panel nowadays.
US09256086B2	Organic electro-optic modulators with transparent conducting electrodes and related device structures Electro-optic (EO) modulator and related device structures which can be used in conjunction with high EO materials to lower switching voltage and improve related performance parameters.
US09256085B2	Multifunctional building component A multifunctional building component is capable of serving as one or more of a window, a wall, a shading device, a roofing element, a color panel, a display, an energy harvesting device, an energy storage device, and an energy distribution device.
US09256084B2	Polarization beam splitter An optical system may include: a polarization beam splitter having: a first end having an input configured to receive multiple optical signals; a second end having a first output and a second output, where the first output may provide first components, having a first polarization of the multiple optical signals, and the second output may provide second components, having a second polarization, of the multiple optical signals; and a first waveguide having a first width and a second waveguide having a second width, where the first waveguide and the second waveguide may each have a length corresponding to a difference between the first width and the second width, where the first waveguide and the second waveguide may be configured to induce a phase shift of the plurality of optical signals based on the first width, the second width, and the length of the first waveguide and the second waveguide.
US09256081B2	Protective eyewear Protective eyewear includes a frame having a first side with a first member and an opposing second side with a second member. A foldable strap has openings at either end and is folded about the first and/or the second member and is held in place by a clip. The clip has a base portion and a swivel portion. The base portion and the swivel portion of the clip engage one another at least partially within the openings of the folded strap. The swivel portion has a range of rotation relative to the base portion of the clip.
US09256080B2	Receptor and lock for glasses with removable lenses A glasses structure that receives a variety of lens element types including full-frame, half-frame and frameless lens elements. A temple that receives a connector on the lens element includes a kerf-like slotted spring lock, that releases under pressure to allow the insertion of the lens element and once inserted, provides sufficient force to retain the lens element in position even during athletic activity. The lock includes an interior space that includes latches. The lens element includes catches and detents that correspond to the latches. In operation, the lock is forced into the open position as the catches of the lens element are forced to the backside of the latches, and as the lock closes, the latches are forced into the detents thereby securing the lens to the lock.
US09256079B2	Polarized beam director and method Incident differently-polarized light beams are separately directed and combined by one or two corner cube structures, each having one or two walls formed as a beam splitter. One incident light beam is passed, while the other incident light beam is reflected.
US09256077B2	Optical device Disclosed is an optical device which includes: optical components configured to be electrically actuated such that light transmission states are variable; a driver circuit for the optical components; a power source unit for driving the optical components; rims for supporting the optical components; temples having front and rear ends and connected at the front ends to the rims; and earpieces formed at the rear ends of the temples. The power source unit includes a secondary battery, and a charge/discharge circuit for controlling charge and discharge of the secondary battery. The secondary battery is provided near the rear end of the temple or in the earpiece.
US09256076B2	Image display device Many pixels (11) are laid out in horizontal and vertical directions on liquid crystal panel (10). There is black matrix (12) between them not to display images. Lenticular lenses (20) are set so that lenticular lenses are inclined at a predetermined angle to vertical direction of liquid crystal panel. Observer observes linear observation region (21) indicated by dotted line through lenticular lenses from predetermined viewpoint. Pixels of liquid crystal panel are parallelograms. Straight line connecting lower right vertex of target pixel to lower left vertex of immediately right pixel is angularly coincide with the observation region. In this way, straight line connecting lower right vertex of target pixel to lower left vertex of immediately right pixel angularly coincides with the lenticular lenses. Consequently, brightness on a screen visible through lenticular lenses becomes constant irrespective of position of observer, which results in reduced moire.
US09256075B2	Image display device using diffractive element An image display device includes a display panel displaying an image, and a diffractive element formed to operate in a 2D mode or a 3D mode so that the image of the display panel is perceived as a 2D image or a 3D image after passing through the diffractive element. In the image display device, the diffractive element includes a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other, a first electrode layer formed on the first substrate that includes a plurality of zones, a second electrode layer formed on the second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. Further, when the diffractive element operates in the 3D mode, a common voltage is applied to the second electrode layer, and polarity of voltages applied to the first electrode layer with respect to the common voltage is inverted every zone.
US09256073B2	Optical cross-coupling mitigation system for multi-wavelength beam combining systems A system and method for increasing efficiency and power output of a multi-wavelength beam combining system through providing a common output coupler to reflect feedback that stabilizes or individually seeds each emitter, and wherein the individual feedback is preserved by mitigating cross-coupling, wherein a multi-wavelength beam comprised of radiation having a plurality of wavelengths, high brightness and power.
US09256069B2	Image processing apparatus image processing method and program using electrodes contacting a face to detect eye gaze direction Disclosed herein is an image processing apparatus, including: a projection section adapted to alternately project an image for a right eye and another image for a left eye; a separation section adapted to separate a projected image of the right eye image and another projected image of the left eye image from each other; a gaze detection section adapted to detect a gaze direction of an observer to which the right eye image and the left eye image are to be given; and a luminance adjustment section adapted to set a range with respect to the gaze direction to the right eye image and the left eye image and adjust a luminance value of pixels so that a portion of the right and left eye images other than the set range exhibits an invisible state.
US09256068B2	Spherical aberration corrector, method of spherical aberration correction, and charged particle beam instrument A spherical aberration corrector is offered which permits a correction of deviation of the circularity of at least one of an image and a diffraction pattern and a correction of on-axis aberrations to be carried out independently. The spherical aberration corrector (100) is for use with a charged particle beam instrument (1) for obtaining the image and the diffraction pattern and has a hexapole field generating portion (110) for producing plural stages of hexapole fields, an octopole field superimposing portion (120) for superimposing an octopole on at least one of the plural stages of hexapole fields to correct deviation of the circularity of at least one of the image and diffraction pattern, and a deflection portion (130) for deflecting a charged particle beam.
US09256067B2	Optical scanner, image display apparatus, and head-mount display An optical scanner includes: a base portion; a light reflecting portion that reflects light; a connection portion that connects the base portion and the light reflecting portion; and a shaft portion that supports the base portion in a swingable manner, wherein the light reflecting portion is disposed so that a geometrical center of the light reflecting portion is separated from a geometrical center of the base portion in a plan view, and wherein the light reflecting portion includes a center of gravity adjusting portion that performs adjustment so that a distance between the geometrical center of the base portion and a center of gravity of the light reflecting portion in the plan view becomes smaller than a distance between the geometrical center of the light reflecting portion and the geometrical center of the base portion in the plan view.
US09256063B2	Fluidic, in particular electro-fluidic, display element with reservoir channels The invention relates to a fluidic, in particular an electrofluidic display element, comprising at least one pixel chamber (1) which is in fluid communication with at least one reservoir volume (2), wherein an electrically conducting and/or polar liquid (3) can be reciprocated between the pixel chamber (1) and the reservoir volume (2), wherein the pixel chamber (1) has a height (H) and a pixel width (B) and the reservoir volume (2) has a reservoir width (D) and a length (L), characterized in that the width (D) of the reservoir volume (2) is insignificantly greater than or equal to the height (H) of the pixel chamber (1).
US09256061B2	Focus control apparatus and method A focus control apparatus and method capable of generating a focus position signal according to focus position error even in proximity to an interface between regions having different thicknesses, to perform a high precision focus position control using the focus position signal, are provided. A focus control apparatus includes an error signal correction portion configured to process a focus error signal that indicates an error of a focus position of an optical system with respect to an object. Moreover, the focus control apparatus includes a region conversion detection portion configured to output a region signal that corresponds to a first region or a second region of the object. The first and second regions of the object have different respective heights.
US09256060B2	Pinhole array and display device using same Two pieces of elliptic semi-sphere surfaces, each forming a pinhole at the zenith thereof and also forming a reflection mirror on an inside thereof are stuck onto each other, with facing the interior surfaces thereof, respectively. A light ray entering therein from one of the pinholes, after being reflected between the elliptic semi-sphere surfaces facing to each other, emits from the pinhole on opposite side at an angle plane symmetric to the incident angle. Disposing the elliptic semi-sphere surfaces facing to each other, aligning on a plane, by plural numbers thereof, there is built up a pinhole array. Plural numbers of light rays reflecting on and/or emitting from a display object, which is disposed on one side of the pinhole array, after passing through the plural numbers of pinholes of the pinhole array, form an image at a position plane symmetric thereto, on the opposite side of the pinhole array.
US09256057B2	Projection lens A projection lens includes a first lens group, a second lens group and a third lens group, all of which are arranged in sequence from an projection side to an image source side along an optical axis. The first lens group is with negative refractive power and includes four lenses. The second lens group is with positive refractive power and includes two lenses. The third lens group is with positive refractive power and includes a stop and six lenses.
US09256053B2	Imaging lens and imaging apparatus including the imaging lens An imaging lens substantially consists of, in order from an object side, five lenses of a first lens that has a biconvex shape, a second lens that has a negative refractive power, a third lens that has a negative refractive power and has a meniscus shape which is concave toward the object side, a fourth lens that has a positive refractive power, and a fifth lens that has a negative refractive power and has an aspheric shape which is concave toward an image side and of which an image side surface has an extreme point. Further, the imaging lens satisfies predetermined conditional expressions.
US09256051B2	Photographic lens optical system A photographic lens optical system includes: a first lens having a negative refractive power and a meniscus shape convex toward an object side; a second lens having a positive refractive power and a shape convex toward an image side; a third lens having a positive refractive power and a double convex shape; and a fourth lens having a negative refractive power and a shape convex toward the image side, wherein the first to fourth lenses are sequentially arranged in a direction from the object side to the image side, and the photographic lens optical system satisfies the following condition: 0.15<\|(tan θ)/f\|<0.25 where θ and f denote an angle of view and a focal length of the photographic lens optical system, respectively.
US09256049B2	Lens driving apparatus Disclosed is a lens driving apparatus. The lens driving apparatus includes a base formed at a center thereof with a first opening; a housing coupled with the base and having a second opening corresponding to the first opening; a yoke installed on the base and including a horizontal plate having a third opening corresponding to the first opening and a vertical plate protruding upward from the horizontal plate; a bobbin movably installed in the yoke and coupled with a lens module; a coil fixedly disposed around the bobbin; a plurality of magnets provided at the vertical plate of the yoke to face the coil; and a spring installed on at least one of upper and lower portions of the yoke to return the bobbin, which has moved up due to interaction between the magnet and the coil, to its initial position.
US09256048B2	Lens driving device An lens holding device is disclosed. The lens holding device includes a stationary magnetic field generator having a housing and at least one magnet fixed on the housing, the housing having a receiving chamber; at least one elastic member attached to the stationary magnetic field generator; a movable magnetic field generator suspended in the receiving chamber by the elastic member and separated from the stationary magnetic field, the movable magnetic field generator having a lens holding device received in the housing for receiving at least a lens and a coil attached on the lens holding device and facing the magnet, the lens holding device having a lens barrel and a coil holder directly extending from the lens barrel for holding the coil. Wherein the lens barrel and the coil holder are integrated with each other, in which the pre-wind coil is then subsequently attached. This overcomes the issue of the coil deforming the lens barrel in the winding process.
US09256047B2	Lens driving apparatus According to one embodiment, a lens driving apparatus comprises: a fixed member in which a first long groove is formed; a movable member including a lens and a second long groove; a first ball arranged between the first long groove and the second long groove, and configured to guide the movable member along the groove; a plurality of second balls arranged on a side opposite to a side of the first ball with the lens; a first actuator configured to generate a driving force for moving the movable member along the groove; and a second actuator for pivoting the movable member with respect to the fixed member. A pivoting center around which the movable member is pivoted with respect to the fixed member is a position of the first ball when the movable member is moved along the first long groove and the second long groove.
US09256041B2	Optical fiber cable An optical fiber cable comprises a plurality of optical fibers, tensile strength fibers that accommodate the plurality of optical fibers, and a sheath formed with a thermoplastic resin and covering the tensile strength resin. In this optical fiber cable, when a Young's modulus of the sheath at 0° C. is E [MPa], a cross-sectional area of the optical fiber cable is S [mm2] and an inner diameter of the sheath of the optical fiber cable is Di [mm], ES (0° C.) [N] which is the product of the Young's modulus E at 0° C. and the cross-sectional area S, and the inner diameter Di [mm] satisfy: ES ⁡ ( 0 ⁢ ° ⁢ ⁢ C . ) Di ≤ 600 ( 1 )
US09256039B2	Electromagnetic isolating ball spring A device including a port barrel, a ball spring, a first enclosure part, and a mounting plate disposed adjacent to the first enclosure part is disclosed. The mounting plate includes a mounting hole. The port barrel is arranged to extend through the mounting hole, and the ball spring is arranged between an inner surface of the mounting hole and an exterior surface of the port barrel.
US09256030B2	Optical fiber cable assembly with improved strain relief An optical fiber cable assembly includes an optical fiber cable, an optical fiber connector and a strain relief member. The optical fiber connector has a housing supporting a plurality of optical fibers of the cable. The strain relief member has a flexible conduit, a first section and a second section spaced from the first section. The first section is connected to a rear end of the optical fiber connector and the second section is connected to a portion of the optical fiber cable.
US09256027B2	Integrated optoelectronic device and system with waveguide and manufacturing process thereof An integrated electronic device, delimited by a first surface and by a second surface and including: a body made of semiconductor material, formed inside which is at least one optoelectronic component chosen between a detector and an emitter; and an optical path which is at least in part of a guided type and extends between the first surface and the second surface, the optical path traversing the body. The optoelectronic component is optically coupled, through the optical path, to a first portion of free space and a second portion of free space, which are arranged, respectively, above and underneath the first and second surfaces.
US09256020B2	Light-guiding plate comprising a plurality of trenches radiating from a first incident surface and a plurality of mesh dots, backlight module and liquid crystal display device The present invention discloses light-guiding plate, backlight module and liquid crystal display device. The light-guiding plate includes first incident surface, light-emitting surface, bottom surface and side surface; wherein light-emitting surface being connected to first incident surface, bottom surface being connected to first incident surface, light-emitting surface being connected to side surface, bottom surface being connected to side surface, the angle between first incident surface and side surface connected to first incident surface being obtuse, and light-emitting surface including a plurality of trenches radiating from first incident surface. The radiating trenches disposed on light-emitting surface have certain converging effect on light propagating in light-guiding plate. The propagating light will propagate along the trenches. As such, the incident light can be distributed uniformly over the entire light-guiding plate, and the dark corner phenomenon is eliminated and the emission uniformity of the light-guiding plate is improved.
US09256017B2	Optical transmission medium bend working device and optical transmission medium bend working method An optical transmission medium bend working device that reduces bending loss of an optical transmission medium includes: an arc-discharge electrode that partially and sequentially heats a bend working area of a tape core wire in an up-down direction, the tape core wire extending in the up-down direction with a distal end thereof being located on a lower side, the bend working area being located above the distal end; a core wire holding unit that holds a portion of the tape core wire located above the bend working area; and a bending arm that applies force to the tape core wire in a state where the bend working area is heated to bend the tape core wire at the bend working area.
US09256009B2	Tunable acoustic gradient index of refraction lens and system A microscope, comprising a stage onto which is placed an item, a lens having a tunable acoustic gradient index of refraction (TAG lens) sufficiently proximate to said stage to magnify an image of the item, a viewing point for providing for viewing of the magnified image, and a pulsed illuminator capable of illuminating the stage and synchronously pulsed with an operating frequency of the TAG lens.
US09256006B2	Method for printing product features on a substrate sheet The present invention provides a method of producing a product comprising an array of product features (3) arranged on a surface (7) of a substrate sheet (5), and an arrangement for the production of such products. In this method curable compound (13) is filled into recesses of a matrix (8), pre-cured and then printed onto the substrate sheet (5), thereby forming printed product features (3). These printed product features (3) and additional product features (2) arranged on the opposed side of the substrate sheet (5) may form image objects and focusing elements, respectively, of a synthetic image device. By way of example a cast cure step can be used to form the additional product features (2). Preferably the production of the product is performed in a continuous roll-to-roll process.
US09256005B2	Polarizing plate Provided are a polarizing plate and a liquid crystal display device. The polarizing plate has lighter weight, a smaller thickness, and excellent physical properties such as durability, water resistance, workability, and light leakage preventing ability. In addition, the polarizing plate prevents curling occurring in the polarizing plate or a polarizer in formation thereof, and has excellent thermal resistance or thermal shock resistance.
US09256001B2	Bandwidth enhancing liquid coupled piezoelectric sensor apparatus and method of use thereof Sensors used in mapping strata beneath a marine body are described, such as in a flexible neutrally buoyant towed array. A first sensor is a motion sensor including a conductive liquid in a chamber between a rigid tube and a piezoelectric motion film circumferentially wrapped about the tube. The liquid transfer signal from a gravitational bottom of the sensor while rejecting water body surface reflected noise. A second sensor is a traditional acoustic sensor or a novel acoustic sensor using a piezoelectric sensor mounted with a thin film separation layer of flexible microspheres on a rigid substrate. Combinations of motion sensors and acoustic sensors co-located in a rigid streamer housing sections are provided.
US09255995B2	Gamma ray spectroscopy employing divalent europium-doped alkaline earth halides and digital readout for accurate histogramming According to one embodiment, a scintillator radiation detector system includes a scintillator, and a processing device for processing pulse traces corresponding to light pulses from the scintillator, where the processing device is configured to: process each pulse trace over at least two temporal windows and to use pulse digitization to improve energy resolution of the system. According to another embodiment, a scintillator radiation detector system includes a processing device configured to: fit digitized scintillation waveforms to an algorithm, perform a direct integration of fit parameters, process multiple integration windows for each digitized scintillation waveform to determine a correction factor, and apply the correction factor to each digitized scintillation waveform.
US09255993B2	Processing satellite data for slant total electron content measurements A method, system, and apparatus provide the ability to estimate ionospheric observables using space-borne observations. Space-borne global positioning system (GPS) data of ionospheric delay are obtained from a satellite. The space-borne GPS data are combined with ground-based GPS observations. The combination is utilized in a model to estimate a global three-dimensional (3D) electron density field.
US09255989B2	Tracking on-road vehicles with sensors of different modalities A vehicle system includes a first sensor and a second sensor, each having, respectively, different first and second modalities. A controller includes a processor configured to: receive a first sensor input from the first sensor and a second sensor input from the second sensor; detect, synchronously, first and second observations from, respectively, the first and second sensor inputs; project the detected first and second observations onto a graph network; associate the first and second observations with a target on the graph network, the target having a trajectory on the graph network; select either the first or the second observation as a best observation based on characteristics of the first and second sensors; and estimate a current position of the target by performing a prediction based on the best observation and a current timestamp.
US09255988B2	Object fusion system of multiple radar imaging sensors A method of detecting and tracking objects using multiple radar sensors. Objects relative to a host vehicle are detected from radar data generated by a sensing device. The radar data includes Doppler measurement data. Clusters are formed, by a processor, as a function of the radar data. Each cluster represents a respective object. Each respective object is classified, by the processor, as stationary or non-stationary based on the Doppler measurement data of each object and a vehicle speed of the host vehicle. Target tracking is applied, by the processor, on an object using Doppler measurement data over time in response to the object classified as a non-stationary object; otherwise, updating an occupancy grid in response to classifying the object as a stationary object.
US09255987B2	Device for warning of radar traps The invention relates to a device for warning of radar traps or speed radar signals, comprising a radar detection antenna, a central processing unit, which is connected to the radar detection antenna, an alert device or unit, which is connected to the central processing unit and which is designed for delivering an alarm, wherein the central processing unit is designed for determining at least one characteristic of the signal received by the radar detection antenna and for causing the alert device to deliver an alarm or suppress the delivery of an alarm in dependence on least one determined characteristic.
US09255984B1	Using sensor measurements of nearby devices for estimating confidence of location determination Methods and systems are disclosed for evaluating the reliability of sensor measurements of environmental properties used for deriving the location of a mobile device. A mobile device can receive measurements of environmental properties made sensors of one or more other mobile devices concurrently with real-time measurements of the environmental properties made by sensors of the mobile device. The mobile device can determine that each of the other mobile devices is within a locality threshold of the mobile device. The mobile device can determine that a difference between at least one of the real-time measurements and a metric of the received measurements corresponds to a statistical likelihood that the at least one of the real-time measurements is unreliable. Any of the real-time measurements that are determined to be unreliable can be excluded from a location determination of the mobile device derived from the real-time measurements of the environmental properties.
US09255979B2	Measuring diffusional anisotropy of ODF lobes having maxima peaks and minima troughs with diffusion weighted MRI A method for measuring diffusional anisotropy in diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. The method includes determining an orientation diffusion function (ODF) for one or more fibers within a single voxel, wherein the ODF includes lobes representative of a probability of diffusion in a given direction for the one or more fibers. The method also includes characterizing an aspect ratio of the lobes. The method further includes determining a multi-directional anisotropy metric for the one or more fibers based on the aspect ratio of the lobes.
US09255977B2	Local coil A local coil for an imaging system includes an anterior torso part and a posterior torso part that are detachably connected to one another with a fastening device.
US09255971B2	Device and method for detecting state of health of batteries A device for detecting state-of-health (SOH) of batteries has a detection module, a computation control module and an output module. The computation control module is electrically connected to the detection module and the output module. The detection module detects voltage values of a battery at multiple test points. The computation control module converts the voltage values at the test points into a ratio and maps the ratio to a SOH value in a SOH curve of the battery indicative of a state of health of the battery and the SOH value is outputted through the output module. The present invention can easily detect the SOH of a battery within a short period of time to solve the existing problems of being time-consuming and complicated in determining the SOH of batteries and causing incorrect determination of battery capacity and additional maintenance cost.
US09255968B2	Integrated circuit with a high-speed debug access port An integrated circuit with a high-speed debug access port includes interface circuitry and a dedicated debug port in the interface circuitry. The interface circuitry includes a function circuit block that is used to receive a data packet from external circuitry coupled to the integrated circuit. The dedicated debug port is coupled to the function circuit block and is used to transmit the received data packet to debug circuitry on the integrated circuit. The interface circuitry may include a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) interface circuit.
US09255960B2	Testing structure and method for interface trap density of gate oxide The present invention discloses a testing structure and method for interface trap density of gate oxide, relating to the field of quality and reliability researches of MOS devices. The present invention makes the interface traps density tests for gate oxide layers of n-type and p-type MOS devices completed on a same testing structure, this does not only shorten the measurement period by half but also decrease the costs for testing instruments, because the present testing method is based on a simple current-voltage scanning test without using equipments such as pulse generator required in conventional method. The testing results obtained according to the present invention are featured with spectral peak, which facilitates the data analysis and computation.
US09255957B2	Earth fault detection circuit and power source device An earth fault detection circuit for detecting an earth fault between a high-voltage battery and a motor includes: an A.C. signal generation portion generating an A.C. signal; a first capacitive element between the A.C. signal generation portion and one end side of the high-voltage battery; a voltage dividing circuit dividing a voltage on the one end side of the high-voltage battery; an earth fault detection portion detecting the earth fault between the high-voltage battery and the motor based on an earth fault detection signal inputted thereto; and a second capacitive element inputting an A.C. component of the voltage, on the one end side of the high-voltage battery, which is obtained by the voltage division in the voltage dividing circuit as the earth fault detection signal to the earth fault detection portion.
US09255948B2	Data converting device, data processing device, power consumption processing system and computer program product According to an embodiment, a data converting device is connected to a power meter configured to add up power consumptions of electrical equipment. The device includes a receiving unit configured to receive power consumptions per predetermined unit time added up by the power meter; and a calculating unit configured to calculate a second sequence to be stored as added up power consumptions in a storage unit from a first sequence containing the power consumptions per unit time received by the receiving unit in time series by using a conversion rule for converting a value of a second element in the second sequence based on a value of a first element in the first sequence. The second sequence has no privacy information and, the second sequence can be used for calculating a total value of the first sequence.
US09255945B2	Micro positioning test socket and methods for active precision alignment and co-planarity feedback Methods and structures for testing a microelectronic packaging structure/device are described. Those methods may include placing a device in a floating carrier, wherein the floating carrier is coupled to a socket housing by pin dowels disposed in four corners of the socket housing, and wherein at least two actuating motors are disposed within the socket housing, and micro adjusting the device by utilizing a capacitive coupled or a fiber optic alignment system wherein a maximum measured capacitance or maximum measured intensity between alignment structures disposed in the socket housing and alignment package balls disposed within the device indicate optimal alignment of the device. Methods further include methods for active co-planarity detection through the use of a capacitive-coupled techniques.
US09255944B1	Tip structure of platinum-platinum silicide-silicon composite field sensor probe and method for forming MSTA strucutre on the probe A platinum-platinum silicide modified silicon composite tip apex, and a method for forming the aforesaid tip apex are disclosed, where a metallic precursor solution and a silicon probe are reacted to form a local platinum nano-structure, which could be precisely controlled with local selectivity, and a local platinum silicide layer is formed between the platinum nano-structure and the silicon probe with an atmospheric microwave annealing (a-MWA) process conducted as well, largely enhancing the conductivity of the tip and spatial resolution of the field detection in field sensitive scanning probe microscopy. In addition to exemption from a stray-field effect and thus having better image quality, the platinum silicide-containing probe could more efficiently enhance the interfacial electron transfer efficiency as compared to the probe tip having only a platinum nano-structure, so that the probe could be applicable to a controlled conductive probe having high spatial resolution.
US09255943B2	Information processing apparatus and information processing method A process of the invention analyzes a moving speed using acceleration data by an acceleration sensor and calculates a moving distance of the object. The process removes each of given candidate values of drift components from angular velocity data by a gyro sensor and generates relative azimuths data pieces. Based on the respective relative azimuths data pieces, the process calculates moving directions of the object. Using the moving distance and moving directions calculated, the process creates plural moving loci corresponding to the candidate values of drift components. By comparing the positions of actual starting and end points of moving in a building with the positions of starting and end points of each moving locus, the process evaluates the moving loci and determines an optimal moving locus out of the moving loci, based on the evaluation result.
US09255940B2	Sensor and method for manufacturing sensor A sensor includes: a substrate on which an active chip including a semiconductor circuit is disposed; and a passive chip including an acceleration sensor, and a thick portion and a thin portion, the thick portion being disposed on the substrate so as to be in contact therewith. An active chip terminal is disposed on the active chip. A passive chip terminal is disposed on the passive chip at the thin portion. The passive chip terminal and the active chip terminal face each other and are connected via a bump.
US09255937B2	Automatic analyzer Provided is an automatic analyzer that includes a suction nozzle, a detection container, and a detector. The suction nozzle suctions a sample and a solution used for the detection of the sample. The suctioned sample and the solution are supplied to the detection container. The detector detects a signal from the sample. In addition, a vessel for the sample and a container for the solution are disposed below the detection container.
US09255935B2	Lipid biomarkers for stable and unstable heart disease The present invention relates generally to the field of diagnostic and prognostic assays for heart disease. More particular, the present invention provides an assay for diagnosing the presence or extent of development of heart disease or its classification or state thereof. The assay of the present invention is also useful in the stratification of a subject with respect to a risk of developing heart disease. The assay of the present invention is also capable of integration into pathology architecture to provide a diagnostic and reporting system.
US09255934B2	SRM/MRM assay for the insulin receptor protein Specific peptides, and derived ionization characteristics of the peptides, from the Insulin Receptor protein (IR), and its isoforms IR-A and IR-B, that are particularly advantageous for quantifying the IR protein, IR-A isoform and/or IR-B isoform, directly in biological samples that have been fixed in formalin by the method of Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) mass spectrometry, or what can also be termed as Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mass spectrometry. Such biological samples are chemically preserved and fixed and are selected from tissues and cells treated with formaldehyde containing agents/fixatives including formalin-fixed tissue/cells, formalin-fixed/paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue/cells, FFPE tissue blocks and cells from those blocks, and tissue culture cells that have been formalin fixed and or paraffin embedded. A protein sample is prepared from said biological sample using the Liquid Tissue™ reagents and protocol and the IR protein, and IR-A and/or IR-B isoforms, is quantitated in the Liquid Tissue™ sample by the method of SRM/MRM mass spectrometry by quantitating in the protein sample at least one or more of the peptides described. These peptides can be quantitated if they reside in a modified or an unmodified form. An example of a modified form of an IR peptide is phosphorylation of a tyrosine, threonine, serine, and/or other amino acid residues within the peptide sequence.
US09255930B2	BNP-SP antibodies The invention provides methods for predicting, diagnosing or monitoring acute cardiac disorders, cardiac transplant rejection, or distinguishing acute cardiac disorders from pulmonary disorders, by measuring BNP signal peptide levels in a sample taken from a subject shortly after onset of, or presentation with the disorder or transplant rejection.
US09255929B2	Zwitterionic polymers having biomimetic adhesive linkages Zwitterionic polymers having adhesive groups, methods for making the polymers, surfaces having the polymers grafted thereto and grafted therefrom, and methods for making and using the polymer-modified surfaces.
US09255923B2	Quantitative multiplex detection of pathogen biomarkers The present invention addresses the simultaneous detection and quantitative measurement of multiple biomolecules, e.g., pathogen biomarkers through either a sandwich assay approach or a lipid insertion approach. The invention can further employ a multichannel, structure with multi-sensor elements per channel.
US09255922B2	Biocompatible and photocurable polymers The present invention relates to substrates for biological testing produced from photo-curable epoxy compositions which further include carboxyl-containing monomers such as acrylic acid, 2-carboxyethyl acrylic acid, 4-vinylbenzoic acid, or 3-Acrylamido-3-methyl-1-butanoic acid, or glycidyl methacrylate, etc. The photo-curable compositions may be used to cast films or fabricate beads, magnetic beads, or magnetic beads containing nickel barcodes. The resulting various kinds of films, beads, magnetic beads, or magnetic beads containing nickel barcodes may find use in clinical or biological applications.
US09255916B2	Gas detection management system with replacement modules A calibration system is provided that supports a plurality of multi-gas detectors and that includes additional options for delivering additional test gases to the detectors. The system can include a calibration module for calibrating a multi-gas detector with a first gas and a replacement module capable of being coupled to the calibration module. When coupled to the calibration module, the replacement module can support delivering a plurality of test gases, not including the first test gas, to the calibration module.
US09255914B2	Ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus and program According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus is configured as follows. Namely, the apparatus includes a first unit configured to generate a first transmission wave for acquisition of a first image with a higher priority on sensitivity than on resolution, a second unit configured to generate a second transmission wave for acquisition of a second image with a higher priority on resolution than on sensitivity, an analysis unit configured to perform multiresolution analysis based on predetermined transform processing on the first image and the second image, a filter unit configured to perform predetermined filter operation for corresponding coefficients of the first image and the second image for each coefficient of each resolution acquired by the analysis unit, and an inverse transform unit configured to generate a composite image of the first image and the second image by performing inverse transform processing of transform processing by the analysis unit.
US09255912B2	Monolithic FBAR-CMOS structure such as for mass sensing An apparatus comprises a thin-film bulk acoustic resonator such as including an acoustic mirror, a piezoelectric region acoustically coupled to the acoustic mirror, and first and second conductors electrically coupled to the piezoelectric region. In an example, an integrated circuit substrate can include an interface circuit connected to the first and second conductors of the resonator, the integrated circuit substrate configured to mechanically support the resonator. An example can include an array of such resonators co-integrated with the interface circuit and configured to detect a mass change associated with one or more of a specified protein binding, a specified antibody-antigen coupling, a specified hybridization of a DNA oligomer, or an adsorption of specified gas molecules.
US09255907B2	Identification of surgical smoke A method includes assessing tumor margins and discriminating between tumor and non-tumor tissues by analyzing the compositional make-up of smoke produced during cautery resection of tissues.
US09255906B2	Methods for the analysis of glycoproteins or glycopeptides by mass spectrometry A method for the analysis of samples including one or more glycopeptides including the steps of separating one or more glycopeptides using a chromatography system to produce a chromatographic eluent, adding a supercharging reagent to the chromatographic eluent, providing the chromatographic eluent and supercharging reagent to a mass spectrometer, ionizing the chromatographic eluent and supercharging reagent in an ion source to produce glycopeptide ions, performing at least one ion ion reaction on at least some of the glycopeptides ions to produce fragment ions, mass analyzing the fragment ions to produce ion ion reaction mass spectral data, and interpreting the ion ion reaction mass spectral data to provide structural information relating to the glycopeptide.
US09255900B2	Hand held toxicity tester A system and method for reliably testing for toxic substances is described. Based on spectrographic means, the system embodies one or more types of spectrometers, designed for the detection of toxic elements such as lead, and alternatively designed for the detection of toxic compounds such as asbestos. By restricting the broad functionality common to a typical spectrometer, dramatic cost reductions can be made permitting the device to be cost-effectively manufactured and made available to the typical consumer. The device can be portable and incorporates safety systems to inhibit improper use.
US09255894B2	System and method for detecting cracks in a wafer A wafer crack detection system includes a rotational wafer stage assembly configured to secure a wafer and selectively rotate the wafer, a light source positioned on a first side of the wafer and configured to direct a light beam through the wafer, a sensor positioned on a second side of the wafer and configured to monitor one or more characteristics of light transmitted through the wafer as the wafer is rotated, and a controller communicatively coupled to the sensor and a portion of the rotational wafer stage assembly, the controller configured to: determine the presence of one or more cracks in the wafer based on the monitored one or more characteristics of light transmitted through the wafer, and, responsive to the determination of the presence of one or more cracks in the wafer, direct the rotational stage assembly to adjust the rotational condition of the wafer.
US09255893B2	Apparatus for illuminating substrates in order to image micro cracks, pinholes and inclusions in monocrystalline and polycrystalline substrates and method therefore An apparatus for illuminating monocrystalline and polycrystalline substrates in order to image micro cracks, pinholes and inclusions in the substrates is disclosed. A first illumination system illuminates a first line of light on the front surface of the substrate. A second illumination system illuminates a second line of light on the front surface of the substrate. The first line of light and the second line of light are oriented transverse to the transport direction (T). The second illumination system is arranged within a 3-dimensional coordinate system such that the substrate is illuminated under a second angle. The arrangement of the second illumination system is comparable to a street lamp. A camera, preferably a camera, is arranged such that it faces the back surface of the substrate. The camera captures light which is transmitted through the substrate from the first illumination system and the second illumination system.
US09255888B2	Defect inspection method and device for same In defect scanning carried out in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor or the like, a light detection optical system comprising a plurality of photosensors is used for detecting scattered light reflected from a sample. The photosensors used for detecting the quantity of weak background scattered light include a photon counting type photosensor having few pixels whereas the photosensors used for detecting the quantity of strong background scattered light include a photon counting type photosensor having many pixels or an analog photosensor. In addition, nonlinearity caused by the use of the photon counting type photosensor as nonlinearity of detection strength of defect scattered light is corrected in order to correct a detection signal of the defect scattered light.
US09255885B2	Method and device for detecting an analyte in a body fluid A method for detecting at least one analyte in at least one sample of a body fluid is disclosed. Therein, at least one test element (124) is used, the at least one test element (124) having at least one test field (162) with at least one test chemistry (154) is used, wherein the test chemistry (154) is adapted to perform at least one optically detectable detection reaction in the presence of the analyte. The method comprises acquiring an image sequence of images of the test field (162) by using at least one image detector (178). Each image comprises a plurality of pixels. The method further comprises detecting at least one characteristic feature of the test field (162) in the images of the image sequence. The method further comprises correcting a relative position change between the image detector (178) and the test field (162) in the image sequence by using the characteristic feature, thereby obtaining a sequence of corrected images.
US09255882B2	Optical imaging system The invention relates to an optical imaging system (20) comprising an illumination unit (23), a detection unit (24) and a measurement chamber (21) for receiving a subject to be examined, wherein the illumination unit (23) is arranged such in relation to the measurement chamber (21) that it can illuminate a subject placed inside the measurement chamber (21), and wherein the measurement chamber (21) is provided with several fins (31, 31′) for preventing stray light from reaching the detection unit (24), the several fins (31, 31′) being arranged in such a way that at least some of the fins (31, 31′) are in the field of view of the detection unit (24) with the fins (31, 31′) being orientated such that the surfaces (31.1, 31.1′) of the fins that are subjected to illumination by stray light are not visible to the detection unit (24).
US09255879B2	Method of measuring refractive index distribution, method of manufacturing optical element, and measurement apparatus of refractive index distribution A method of measuring a refractive index distribution includes steps of setting a plurality of different arrangements by a translation movement in a state where an object is arranged in first and second media having refractive indices different from a refractive index of the object, measuring transmissive wavefront of the object for each of media and each of the plurality of arrangements by reference light entering the object (S400), obtaining wavefront aberration corresponding to a difference between each transmissive wavefront and a reference transmissive wavefront (S500), obtaining refractive index distribution of the object by removing an influence of a shape error of the object using wavefront aberration of two media in which the object is arranged at the same position (S70), and obtaining refractive index distribution information of the object based on a plurality of refractive index distributions corresponding to the plurality of arrangements (S80).
US09255875B2	Method and apparatus for inspection of corrosion and other defects through insulation Detection of corrosion and other defects in piping is needed to prevent catastrophic pipeline failure. Sensors, systems and methods are provided to enable detection of such defects. These apparatus and methods are configured to characterize pipe protected by insulation and conductive weather protection. The sensors may utilize inductive and/or solid state sensing element arrays operated in a magnetic field generated in part by a drive winding of the sensor. Multiple excitation frequencies are used to generate the magnetic field and record corresponding sensing element responses. Relatively high excitation frequencies may be used to estimate the properties of the weather protection and sensor lift-off while lower frequencies may be used to detect internal and external pipe damage. Linear arrays may be moved to generate damage images of the pipe providing size and location information for defects. Two dimensional sensor arrays may be used to provide imaging without moving the sensor.
US09255872B2	Process for determining the rheological properties of materials A process and an apparatus determine the rheological properties of medium samples. The normal forces arising in a measuring gap perpendicular to the measuring surfaces are recorded with a recording unit and the height of the measuring gap is adjusted with a positioning unit and with positioning elements actuated by the positioning unit. During the measuring procedure the initial height of the measuring gap is kept constant, by the values of the normal forces arising being linked with a calibrating function, and in that, upon detection of normal forces arising, values derived from the calibrating function are drawn upon as control signals, with which at least one sliding actuator acting on at least one of the two measuring elements is driven, which by position adjustment or height adjustment of the respective measuring element performs an immediate resetting of a height of the measuring gap, changed by the normal forces exerted by the medium sample to be examined, to the initial spacing set originally.
US09255870B2	Method of and apparatus for measuring the true contents of a cylinder of gas under pressure There is provided a method of, and apparatus for, measuring the mass of a gas under pressure using a piezoelectric oscillator. The gas is contained within a pressure vessel (100) having a fixed internal volume (V) and the piezoelectric oscillator (202) is immersed in the gas within the pressure vessel (100). The method comprises: a) utilizing said piezoelectric oscillator (202) to measure the density of the gas within the high-pressure vessel (100); b) determining, from the density measurement and from the internal volume (V) of said pressure vessel, the mass of the gas within the pressure vessel (100). By providing such a method, the true contents (i.e. mass) of fluid in a pressure vessel such as a cylinder can be measured directly without the need to compensate for factors such as temperature or compressibility. This allows a determination of mass through direct derivation from the density of the gas in the cylinder, reducing the need for additional sensors or complex calculations to be performed.
US09255866B2	Mixing of fluids in fluidic systems Fluidic devices and methods associated with mixing of fluids in fluidic devices are provided. In some embodiments, a method may involve the mixing of two or more fluids in a channel segment of a fluidic device. The fluids may be in the form of, for example, at least first, second and third fluid plugs, composed of first, second, and third fluids, respectively. The second fluid may be immiscible with the first and third fluids. In certain embodiments, the fluid plugs may be flowed in series in the channel segment, e.g., in linear order, causing the first and third fluids to mix without the use of active components such as mixers. The mixing of fluids in a channel segment as described herein may allow for improved performance and simplification in the design and operations of fluidic devices that rely on mixing of fluids.
US09255860B2	Immersion inspection system for a machine and related method of operation Systems, devices, and methods, adapted to immersively test/inspect machine components (e.g., tubes, conduits, etc.) in an in-situ manner are disclosed. In one embodiment, a system includes: a first seal member configured to sealingly engage a first portion of a machine component; a base system connected to the first seal member and configured to extend within the machine component, the base system including: a housing; and a inspection device disposed within the housing and configured to inspect the machine component; and a second seal member connected to the base system and configured to sealingly engage a second portion of the machine component.
US09255859B2	Force platform system A method of processing force signals from plural force platforms includes, in a computer, in an initialization process, receiving data distinguishing the plural platforms, monitoring force data signals from each of the plural platforms, and identifying each of the plural platforms to a force platform data process application by a sequence of received above-threshold force data signals. The method further includes, subsequent to the initialization process, processing subsequent force data signals according to the identification of each of the plural force platforms. The distinguishing data can include data retrieved from nonvolatile memory of each of the plural force platforms, such as a platform serial number, calibration data, and platform capacity. A force platform system includes one or more force platforms and force platform signal conditioning circuitry connected to the one or more force platforms. The signal conditioning circuitry may include a separate signal conditioner connected to each force platform.
US09255855B2	Torque measurement apparatus, method, and program A first angle acquiring unit acquires a rotational angle of a characteristic portion in a predetermined region on an inlet side of an insertion member of a linear body extending through the insertion member. From an image of the linear body inserted into a body of a subject, a second angle acquiring unit acquires a direction of a curved portion of the linear body inserted into the body of the subject and then acquires a rotational angle of a distal end of the linear body. A torque calculation unit calculates a torque based on a difference between the rotational angle in the predetermined region acquired by the first angle acquiring unit and the rotational angle of the distal end of the linear body acquired by the second angle acquiring unit.
US09255852B2	Vibration and dynamic acceleration sensing using capacitors The present disclosure relates to an apparatus comprising at least one sensing capacitor and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to receive a signal from the at least one sensing capacitor indicative of a change of charge of the sensing capacitor, and wherein the controller is configured to determine an amount of force applied to the sensing capacitor, an acceleration of the sensing capacitor, a torsion of the sensing capacitor, a vibration of the sensing capacitor or a pulling force applied to the sensing capacitor based on the change of charge of the at least one sensing capacitor.
US09255851B2	Enhanced device for determining the location of induced stress in stuck borehole tubulars A method for identifying the location of a binding zone between a stuck tubular and a borehole includes the steps of passing a demagnetizing stress sensor through the tubular on a baseline magnetization pass to magnetize the tubular. Next, the demagnetizing stress sensor measures a baseline magnetization of the tubular. Once the baseline magnetization has been established, the method continues by applying a stress to the tubular and passing the demagnetizing stress sensor through the tubular on a scanning pass while the tubular is stressed. The demagnetizing stress sensor then measures a stress-induced magnetization of the tubular. The method concludes by comparing the baseline magnetization of the tubular against the stress-induced magnetization of the tubular. Notably, in preferred embodiments, the method includes the magnetization of the tubular in a substantially radial direction and the stresses are applied in vectors perpendicular to the radial magnetization of the tubular.
US09255850B2	Temperature detection circuit and method of adjusting the same A temperature detection circuit that can detect temperature with high accuracy regardless of manufacturing variations, and a method of adjusting the same. The circuit includes: first and second diodes having respective independent p-n junctions; a first current path including a first variable voltage dividing resistor series connected to the first diode; a second current path including a second variable voltage dividing resistor series connected to the second diode; a reference voltage generation part that feeds back a differential voltage to each of the first and second current paths and outputs as a reference voltage the differential voltage indicating a difference between a first divided voltage of the first variable voltage dividing resistor and a potential on the second current path; and a temperature detection signal generation part generating a temperature detection signal based on a second divided voltage of the second variable voltage dividing resistor.
US09255849B2	Temperature compensation apparatus, methods, and systems In some embodiments, an apparatus and a system, as well as a method and an article, may operate to receive down hole tool environmental temperature data, axial temperature data, radial temperature data, and log data. Further activity may include applying temperature effects compensation associated with the environmental temperature data and the down hole log data using a fitting function model obtained from a trained neural network to transform the down hole log data into corrected log data. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are described.
US09255846B1	Digital temperature determination using a radiometrically calibrated and a non-calibrated digital thermal imager A method, system, and non-transitory computer readable medium storing a plurality of computer executable instructions for calibrating an uncalibrated thermal imager is provided. The system includes a calibrated pyrometer for determining a first temperature of a Region of Interest under a first condition, and an uncalibrated thermal imager for determining a first average count value over the region of interest under the first condition and for determining a second average count value over the region of interest under a second condition. A temperature sensor for determining a second temperature of the region of interest under a second condition is also provided. Control electronics determine a Planck function that intersects the points (first temperature, first average count value) and (second temperature, second average count value). The uncalibrated thermal imager is calibrated using the Planck function.
US09255842B2	Heroin detection by raman spectroscopy from impure compositions comprising an interfering fluorescent contaminant A method of identifying the presence of heroin in an impure heroin composition which contains heroin and at least one fluorescent contaminant which interferes with a Raman signal from the heroin. The method may include contacting the mixture with a solvent such as an alcohol, then contacting the resulting alcohol composition with a SERS surface. The surface may then be exposed to laser light from a hand-held Raman spectrometer to detect a Raman signal from the heroin. An apparatus for performing the method is also provided.
US09255835B2	System for remote vibration detection on combustor basket and transition in gas turbines A gas turbine combustor vibration sensing system includes a non-contact reflective optical vibration sensor adapted for reflecting photons off of a component within the combustor with a photon source and receiving reflected photons with a photon detector. Exemplary combustor internal components include the combustor basket or transition. A vibration analyzer is coupled to the vibration sensor, for correlating photons received by the detector with vibration characteristics of the component. Vibration characteristics in turn can be correlated with combustion characteristics, including by way of example flame front position and flameout conditions. Vibration characteristic information may be used as an operational parameter by a turbine monitoring system to modify operation of a gas turbine.
US09255831B2	Apparatus and method for improving the accuracy of measurements taken with a capacitance-type sensor An apparatus and method improve the accuracy of measurements taken with a capacitance-type sensor. In addition to the sensor the apparatus comprises a measurement circuit and a microprocessor. One of the sensor or a calibration capacitor with a known and fixed capacitance is connectable to the measurement circuit by a switch that has its position controlled by the microprocessor. The microprocessor sends measurement signals to the measurement circuit and receives data therefrom. According to the disclosed method, the measurement circuit is programmed to determine an error between measured calibration data and the known capacitance and to use this error to calculate a correction value, which it applies to the measured sensor data to calculate corrected sensor measurements.
US09255830B2	Dose measurement system and method Embodiments described herein generally relate to devices, systems and methods for measuring the dose remaining in a drug delivery device that is used for delivering a dose to a patient. In some embodiments, a dose measurement system for measuring the liquid volume in a container includes a plurality of light sources which are disposed and configured to emit electromagnetic radiation toward the container. A plurality of sensors are located in the apparatus that are optically coupleable to the plurality of light sources and are disposed and configured to detect the electromagnetic radiation emitted by at least a portion of the light sources. The apparatus also includes a processing unit configured to receive data representing the portion of the detected electromagnetic radiation from each of the plurality of sensors. The processing unit is further operable to convert the received data into a signature representative of the electromagnetic radiation detected by the plurality of sensors.
US09255829B2	Systems and methods for determining amount of liquid and gaseous fuel A method may comprise, on board a vehicle and executed by a vehicle controller, determining a liquid volume based on a fuel level sensor, determining a gas volume based on the liquid volume, the liquid volume comprising first and second fuels, the gas volume comprising the second fuel, determining a second fuel solubility in the first fuel based on a fuel temperature sensor, determining first and second fuel quantities based on the second fuel solubility, and adjusting engine operation based on the first and second fuel quantities.
US09255826B2	Temperature compensation module for a fluid flow transducer Apparatus and associated methods relate to a temperature-compensated drive for a heating element used in a micro-bridge flow sensor. In some embodiments, the heating element may be located substantially between two temperature sensors. The two temperature sensors may be convectively coupled to the heater by a fluid ambient. When the fluid ambient is flowing, one of the temperature sensors may be upstream of the heating element, and one of the temperature sensors may be downstream. The fluid may be heated by the heating unit, and this heated fluid may then flow past the downstream temperature sensor. The two temperature sensors may be used in a Wheatstone bridge configuration. In some embodiments, an output signal of the Wheatstone bridge may be indicative of a measure of fluid flow. The temperature-compensated drive for the heating element may enhance, for example, the flow meter's disturbance rejection of ambient temperature.
US09255824B2	Apparatus for metering pulverulent filling material The invention provides an apparatus for metering pulverulent filling material, comprising at least one metering wheel with a plurality of metering chambers for accommodating filling material, wherein a plurality of metering chambers are formed by means of a common component, and the common component can be displaced in the radial direction of the metering wheel using an adjusting means in order to change the volume of the metering chambers.
US09255821B1	Optical fiber vibration sensor A fiber optic sensor comprising a first light source, a second light source, a first optical coupler operatively connected with the first light source, and a second optical coupler operatively connected with the second light source. The first optical coupler directs first and second optical waves along a first optical path into first and second ends of an optical fiber such that the first and second optical waves interfere to form a first combined optical wave. The second optical coupler directs the third and fourth optical waves along a second optical path into the first and second ends of the optical fiber such that the third and fourth optical waves interfere to form a second combined optical wave. The second optical path is longer than the first optical path by a predetermined distance. Detectors receive the first and second combined optical waves and output information with respect thereto.
US09255820B2	Sensor for measuring the angle of rotation having at least dual rotatable code disc with at least dual optics The invention relates to an angle of rotation sensor comprising a rotatable first code disc, at least one first image sensor and at least one optics which images an optical code of the code disc onto the first image sensor.
US09255819B2	Device for sensing a capsule in a beverage production apparatus The invention aims to provide a device sensing a capsule inserted in a receptacle in machine and physical parameters of liquid supplied by a beverage production apparatus flowing through the capsule in function of the type of capsule. The capsule containing beverage ingredient is inserted in a cylindrical or conical wide mouthed receptacle having an upper opening for inserting the capsule and a lower bottom closing the receptacle. The receptacle rotates around an axis of a hollow shaft attached at the center and perpendicularly to the external face of the bottom of the receptacle, said shaft forming a hole at the center of the inner face of the bottom of the receptacle. The device comprises a rod sliding in the shaft and passing through the hole of the inner face of the bottom of the receptacle, said rod being provided with a spring maintaining an end of the rod lifted inside the receptacle in contact with the capsule, the other end being inside the shaft. The device further comprising means for measuring the position of the end of the rod in the shaft, in order to control, in function of the size of the capsule inserted in the receptacle, rotation speed of the receptacle, discharge and physical parameters of liquid supplied by the beverage production apparatus flowing through the capsule.
US09255815B2	Fingertip slides for guitar playing A guitar slide adapted to be worn on a musician's finger has an annular end including a hole adapted for receiving the musician's finger, and a semiannular end adapted to extend over a tip of the musician's finger. The semiannular end forms a recess adapted for the musician's finger to rest within and is configured such that the recess becomes wider as the distance from the annular end increases.
US09255813B2	User controlled real object disappearance in a mixed reality display The technology causes disappearance of a real object in a field of view of a see-through, mixed reality display device system based on user disappearance criteria. Image data is tracked to the real object in the field of view of the see-through display for implementing an alteration technique on the real object causing its disappearance from the display. A real object may satisfy user disappearance criteria by being associated with subject matter that the user does not wish to see or by not satisfying relevance criteria for a current subject matter of interest to the user. In some embodiments, based on a 3D model of a location of the display device system, an alteration technique may be selected for a real object based on a visibility level associated with the position within the location. Image data for alteration may be prefetched based on a location of the display device system.
US09255809B2	System and method for integrated trip planning based on fixed and flexible itinerary components The techniques introduced here include a method for estimating a travel time between an origin and a destination. The method comprises determining a plurality of travel options from the origin to the destination. Further, each travel option is divided into a plurality of serial travel segments such that the travel segments serially connect the origin to the destination. For each of the travel options, the method further comprises estimating a time of travel in each of the travel segments. The estimated time of travel in a given travel segment is a function of both the nature of travel service associated with the segment and the one or more second user preferences associated with a travel service used in the segment. The method further comprises calculating, for each of the travel options, the total estimated travel time as a function of estimated travel times associated with each of the travel segments.
US09255805B1	Pose estimation using long range features Aspects of the present disclosure relate to using an object detected at long range to increase the accuracy of a location and heading estimate based on near range information. For example, an autonomous vehicle may use data points collected from a sensor such as a laser to generate an environmental map of environmental features. The environmental map is then compared to pre-stored map data to determine the vehicle's geographic location and heading. A second sensor, such as a laser or camera, having a longer range than the first sensor may detect an object outside of the range and field of view of the first sensor. For example, the object may have retroreflective properties which make it identifiable in a camera image or from laser data points. The location of the object is then compared to the pre-stored map data and used to refine the vehicle's estimated location and heading.
US09255804B2	Determination of state vector, timing, and navigation quality metrics from reception of ADS-B transmissions A technique for determining the position of a mobile device includes receiving messages from respective mobile reference devices. Each of the messages is broadcast beginning at one of several predetermined message start opportunity (MSO) times that have known timings relative to a reference time. Each of the messages contains a MSO value identifying the MSO time at which transmission of the message started. The MSO value is used to determine the time of transmission of each of the messages received at the mobile device, and the position of the mobile device is determined via multi-lateration. According to another approach, the mobile device receives a set of ADS-B messages from a respective set of mobile reference devices. The time of transmission of each of the ADS-B messages is supplied in the ADS-B message itself or in a subsequent message and used to determine the position of the mobile device.
US09255800B2	Space vehicle and guidance and control system for same A space vehicle has a frame with a configuration of fiber optic gyroscopes (FOGs) and control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) at the outer perimeter of the frame. The FOGs and CMGs provide guidance and control for the space vehicle. This arrangement results in the largest possible FOG and CMG diameters, and therefore yielding the highest signal sensitivities and precision inertial control of vehicle orientation and pointing. Because the configuration places these guidance and control system components at the perimeter of the vehicle, it also provides a platform for multi-aperture signal channels in the interior of the vehicle by freeing up volume within the vehicle.
US09255798B2	Survey device A survey device may include a shaft portion having a longitudinal axis, a prism having a center point and being arranged near the top of the shaft portion and offset laterally relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft portion, and a laser having a laser emission point in general alignment along the shaft portion with the center point of the prism.
US09255795B2	Distance measuring device with increased signal-to-noise ratio and method thereof A method of increasing signal-to-noise ratio of a distance-measuring device includes a light-emitting component emitting a detecting light to a measured object during an emitting period for generating a reflected light, a delay period after the light-emitting component emitting the detecting light, a light-sensing component sensing the energy of the reflected light to generate a light-sensing signal, and obtaining a measured distance between the distance-measuring device and the measured object according to the energy of the detecting light and the light-sensing signal. Since the measured distance is longer than a predetermined shortest measured distance, the method can accordingly calculate a proper delay period for ensuring that the reflected light reaches the light-sensing component after the delay period. In this way, the light-sensing component does not sense the background light during the delay period, so that the signal-to-noise ratio of the light-sensing signal is improved.
US09255794B2	Microwave probe for furnace refractory material Disclosed is a system and method to aid in these inspections that avoid the disadvantages of the prior art. The system and method are operative to take thickness measurements of, and thus evaluate the condition of, materials including but not limited to refractory materials, operating in frequency bands that result in less loss than previously known technologies, and utilizing a system configuration and signal processing techniques that isolate the reflected signal of interest from other spurious antenna reflections, particularly by creating (through the configuration of the antenna assembly) a time delay between such spurious reflections and the actual reflected signal of interest, thus enabling better isolation of the signal of interest. Still further, the antenna assembly is intrinsically matched to the material to be probed, such as by impedance matching the antenna to the particular material (through knowledge of the dielectric and magnetic properties of the material to be evaluated) to even further suppress spurious reflections.
US09255793B2	Defect inspection method and device thereof A defect inspection device includes an irradiation unit for simultaneously irradiating different regions on a sample with illumination light under different optical conditions, the sample being predesigned to include patterns repeatedly formed thereupon, wherein the patterns are to be formed in the same shape; a detection unit for detecting, for each of the different regions, a beam of light reflected from each region irradiated with the illumination light; a defect candidate extraction unit for extracting defect candidates under the different optical conditions for each of the different regions, by processing detection signals corresponding to the reflected light which is detected; a defect extraction unit for extracting defects by integrating the defect candidates extracted under the different optical conditions; and a defect classifying unit for calculating feature quantities of the extracted defects and classifies the defects according to the calculated feature quantities.
US09255791B2	Optically monitoring and controlling nanoscale topography Methods and apparatus for method for characterizing a height profile of a scattering surface relative to a fiducial plane. The scattering surface, which may be an interface between distinct solid, liquid, gaseous or plasma phases, is illuminated with substantially spatially coherent light, and light scattered by the scattering surface is collected and dispersed, such as by a grating, into zeroth- and first-order beams. A spatial Fourier transform of the zeroth- and first-order beams is created, and one of the beams is low-pass filtered. The beams are interfered at a focal plane detector to generate an interferogram, which is transformed to retrieve a spatially resolved quantitative phase image and/or an amplitude image of the scattering surface. Imaging may be performed during an etching process, and may be used to adaptively control a photoetching process in a feedback loop.
US09255788B1	Measuring method for linear stage A measuring method for linear stage used for measuring a displacement volume of a linear stage includes a light source, a two-dimensional grating, a quadrant photodiode and a processor. The light source provides an incident light, and the two-dimensional grating is disposed in light path of the incident light and reflects the incident to form a reflection light. The quadrant photodiode is disposed in light path of the reflection light and receives the reflection light for generating a plurality of sensing signals. The processor receives the sensing signals and utilizes the sensing signals to calculate a slope signal by a slope signal equation of the two-dimensional grating and an initial position signal and an end position signal by a position signal equation of the two-dimensional grating. The processor obtains the displacement volume of the linear stage by the slope signal, the initial position signal and the end position signal.
US09255787B1	Measurement of critical dimension and scanner aberration utilizing metrology targets Metrology targets and method of using the metrology targets for measurement of critical dimension, overlay or scanner aberration are disclosed. A target may include an unresolved grid having a plurality of lines spaced equally apart from each other according to a pre-determined pitch distance and at least one resolved feature tilted at an angle with respect to the unresolved grid. The method may indentify multiple regions of interest (ROIs) and determine a series of center points between the ROIs as the ROIs are being shifted. Critical dimension, overlay or scanner aberration may be calculated by analyzing the series of center points between the ROIs.
US09255786B2	Motion detection A motion sensor has at least two tiers of monitored volumes that are offset from each other. Electromagnetic radiation, such as infrared light, is directed from the monitored volumes onto at least two sets of detector elements having separate outputs on a pyroelectric substrate of an infrared detector. As a warm object, such as a human or an animal, moves through the monitored volumes, the warmth from the object causes the voltage on the outputs of the infrared detector to change. The resultant waveforms are compared and if the two waveforms have a phase relationship corresponding to a critical phase angle that is based on the pitch of the monitored volumes and the offset between the tiers of monitored volumes, an animal-immune motion indication is generated.
US09255784B2	Contactless angular position detection device The contactless angular position detection device includes a main casing (1) having a through opening (2) formed about a geometric axis (E) and a rotary element (3) to which a permanent magnet (4) is fixed. The rotary element (3) is mounted inside the main casing (1) to rotate with respect thereto about the geometric axis (E) Further, an electronic circuit 5 is mounted inside the main casing (1) and which includes a sensor (7) capable of detecting variations in the magnetic field produced by the permanent magnet (4) when rotating with respect to the main casing (1), a secondary casing (9) coupled to the main casing (1), and plug connection housed in or supported by the secondary casing (9) for connecting said electronic circuit 5 to the outside. The main casing (1) and secondary casing (9) are permanently and tightly attached.
US09255782B2	MEMS device including a mobile element and a resistive sensor, and method for generating a signal indicating the position of the mobile element A MEMS device includes a supporting body, a first deformable element and a second deformable element, and a mobile element set between the first and second deformable elements and rotatable with respect to the fixed supporting body. A generator causes a current to flow through at least one of the first and second deformable elements, which function as resistors, so as to generate an electrical position signal proportional to deformation of the first and second deformable elements and indicative of angular position of the mobile element. The electrical signal is processed to determine mobile element angular position. A drive signal is generated in response to the electrical signal for the purpose of driving oscillation of the mobile element.
US09255780B2	Method for measuring thickness of film on wafer edge A method for measuring a film thickness of a film on an edge of a wafer, comprising: off-line detecting a film at a detection point on the wafer by a four-point probe method to obtain a real film thickness of the film at the detection point, and detecting a distance from the detection point to a center of the wafer using a length measurement, in which the detection point is located between the center of the wafer and a edge point of the wafer; detecting the film at the detection point using an eddy current transducer to obtain a detected film thickness of the film at the detection point; determining a film thickness measuring correction factor according to the real film thickness, the detected film thickness at the detection point and the distance from the detection point to the center of the wafer; and measuring the film on an edge of the wafer using the eddy current transducer to obtain a measured film thickness of the film on the edge of the wafer and correcting the measured film thickness of the film on an edge of the wafer according to the film thickness measuring correction factor to obtain a real film thickness of the film on the edge of the wafer.
US09255774B2	Controlled fragmentation of a warhead shell A series of small explosive charges are used to preferentially crack the casing of a warhead to provide for a controlled fragmentation of the warhead. During detonation of the warhead's explosive fill, the casing will break early in the process along pre-determined lines resulting in very large fragments that are projected towards the ground and away from innocent civilians. A fragmentation control collar which contacts these charges can be fitted on the outside of existing warheads. An annular liner within the warhead aids in the controlled fragmentation.
US09255770B1	Illumination for telescopic sight An illuminating device includes a clamp tube including an open front end and an opposed open rear end and defining an inner cavity extending from the front end to the rear end. A light assembly is receivably connected to the clamp tube at the rear end. The clamp tube is configured to receivably connect to an eyepiece of a scope of a firearm at the front end. The light assembly projects illumination through the inner cavity and through the scope.
US09255762B2	Archery release comprising finger extension A triggerless back tension archery release is provided. Disclosed archery releases include a bearing ring that rotates relative to a release body. During use, the bearing ring rotates to the same position when force is applied during a draw cycle. This reduces inconsistent placement of the finger and provides consistent release alignment. Disclosed archery releases also include a variety of removable finger extension that provide high mass triggers. An archer can feel subtle movement of the high mass triggers with increased accuracy which provides better control over the archery release.
US09255748B2	Heat exchanger for vehicle A heat exchanger for a vehicle includes a heat radiating portion provided with first and second connecting lines formed by alternately stacking a plurality of plates and first and second operating fluids heat-exchanging with each other while passing through the first and second connecting lines; a bifurcating portion connecting an inflow hole for flowing one of the operating fluids with an exhaust hole for exhausting the one operating fluid, and adapted for the one operating fluid to bypass the heat radiating portion according to a temperature of the one operating fluid; and a valve unit mounted at the inflow hole forming the bifurcating portion and adapted to flow the operating fluid selectively to the heat radiating portion or the bifurcating portion according to a temperature of the one operating fluid flowing into the inflow hole.
US09255747B2	Cooling plate, method for manufacturing the same, and member for semiconductor manufacturing apparatus A member for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes an alumina electrostatic chuck, a cooling plate, and a cooling plate-chuck bonding layer. The cooling plate includes first to third substrates, a first metal bonding layer between the first and second substrates, a second metal bonding layer between the second and third substrates, and a refrigerant path. The first to third substrates are formed of a dense composite material containing Si, SiC, and Ti. The metal bonding layers are formed by thermal compression bonding of the substrates with an Al—Si—Mg or Al—Mg metal bonding material interposed between the first and second substrates and between the second and third substrates.
US09255746B2	Reactor core for use in a chemical reactor, and method of making the same A reactor core for use in a chemical reactor includes first and second reactor core sections. Each core section includes heat transfer fluid conduits extending through the core section in a first direction, the lengths of the conduits defining a core section width. Each core section further includes spaced apart parallel plates arranged into a plate stack, with the conduits extending through the stack. Surfaces of the plates have a catalyst coating applied to them. The plates are rectangular and define a core section depth and a core section length, the core section depth being substantially smaller than both the core section width and length. Channels are defined by the spaces between adjacent plates, and are open to flow through the reactor core section in both the core section depth and length directions. The first core section is adjacent to the second core section in the depth direction.
US09255745B2	Heat exchanger A heat exchanger has a fluid passage sharing a wall with a cooling fluid passage adjacent to the passage. The thermally conductive wall allows heat to be transferred from the fluid into the cooling fluid passage. The passage additionally has a set of at least one airfoil pin extending into the passage.
US09255742B2	Sample cooling device and sampling apparatus A sample cooling device for cooling a sample container held in a heat conductive rack comprises a cooler; a heat conductive member, on which the rack is placed, to be cooled in contact with the cooler; and a heat conductive water absorbing member disposed at least partly in an opposite region defined between the heat conductive member and the rack in contact with both of the heat conductive member and the rack. The water absorbing member has a structure for absorbing water by a capillary force.
US09255741B2	Cooled electric assembly A cooled electric assembly includes a box that defines an interior space. An electrical conductor is located within the interior space. A cooling tube is attached to the box. A thermal conductor is located at least partially within the interior space and is in thermal contact with the electrical conductor and in thermal contact with the cooling tube.
US09255737B2	External insulation system for tanks and the like An apparatus comprises a vessel, a first vertical support, a second vertical support, and a series of insulating panels. The first vertical support and the second vertical support are fixated to the vessel such that the first vertical support is spaced apart from the second vertical support. Each of the insulating panels in the series of insulating panels is supported between the first vertical support and the second vertical support. Moreover, each insulating panel in the series of insulating panels slidably overlaps one or more adjacent insulating panels in the series of insulating panels.
US09255735B2	Process and apparatus for manufacturing confectionery products In order to provide a process and an apparatus for manufacturing confectionery products made from cereals, in particular thin ones having uniform shapes, which solve disadvantages in transporting such products, it is characterized in that a first and a second drying steps are arranged prior to cut-out baking raw material dough pieces in manufacturing thin confectionery products made from cereals and having uniform shapes, in which in the first drying step, drying is conducted by a step of transporting the raw material dough pieces aligned on transporting conveyor belts under a hot blast atmosphere inside a first drying compartment, a maturing step in a cooling state is arranged following a completion of the first drying step, and in the second drying step, drying is conducted by a step of transporting the raw material dough pieces in their mixed state under a hot air atmosphere inside rotary drums in an axial direction in a second drying compartment.
US09255732B2	Vacuum heat pump clothes drying method and dryer A dryer includes a sealed drum, a heat pump system, a vacuum device and a steam generating device. The steam generating device connects with the interior of the drum to introduce hot steam into the interior of the drum. The vacuum device connects with the interior of the drum. The heat pump system is arranged external to the drum. Heat generated by the heat pump device is exchanged with the outer surface of the drum through a liquid medium so as to heat the wet clothes in the drum. Simultaneously, damp-hot air mixed with the water vapor in pumped from heating clothes in the drum by the vacuum device and the hot steam pumped into the drum and contacted with clothes are cooled and condensed into water. The water produced by damp-hot air is connected with water provided by the steam generating device.
US09255731B2	Sour NGL stream recovery A method for recovering a sour natural gas liquids stream is provided. In one embodiment, a carbon dioxide recycle stream that comprises carbon dioxide, natural gas liquids, and acid gas is received. The carbon dioxide recycle stream is separated into a purified carbon dioxide recycle stream and a natural gas liquids stream. The purified carbon dioxide recycle stream comprises the carbon dioxide, and the natural gas liquids stream comprises the natural gas liquids and the acid gas. In another embodiment, a system comprises piping and a separator. The piping is configured to receive a recycle stream that comprises an injection gas, natural gas liquids, and acid gas. The separator is configured to separate the recycle stream into a purified recycle stream and a natural gas liquids stream. The purified recycle stream comprises the injection gas, and the natural gas liquids stream comprises the natural gas liquids and the acid gas.
US09255730B2	Refrigerator A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator may include a main body having a first storage compartment and a second storage compartment, a first door rotatably coupled to the main body to open and close the first storage compartment, a second door slidably coupled to the main body to open and close the second storage compartment, a receptacle received in the second storage compartment and coupled to the second door to move together with the second door, and a camera installed at the main body to take a picture of an interior of the receptacle. A controller may combine a plurality of pictures taken by the camera as the second door is moved, and may correct the images into an image showing the interior of the receptacle.
US09255727B2	Systems and methods for temperature control and heat extraction from waste landfills The field of the invention relates to systems and methods for exchanging heat from the degradation, decomposition, and chemical/biochemical transformation of municipal, industrial, and other types of waste. In one embodiment, a heat extraction system may include a closed-loop fluid circulation piping channeled throughout at least one heat extraction well oriented throughout a waste mass. The piping is fluidly coupled to a heat exchanger. A first circulation fluid is circulated through the closed-loop circulation piping into various depths of the waste mass to transfer thermal energy between said mass and said heat exchanger. In one embodiment, the transfer of thermal energy between the waste mass and the heat exchanger is used as alternative energy method and to control at least one of shear strength, compressibility, and hydraulic conductivity of the waste mass.
US09255722B2	Air conditioner having a movable panel that opens and closes discharge ports An air conditioner is provided. The air conditioner may include a case, a first discharging port provided at a first side of the case and a second discharging port provided at a second side of the case, each selectively discharging air therefrom based on an operation mode of the air conditioner. A movable panel connected to the case may be movable between the first discharging port and the second discharging port. A transfer direction of the movable panel may also be determined based on the operation mode of the air conditioner.
US09255719B2	Ventilation member A ventilation member (10) includes an air-permeable membrane (2), a support body (4), a cover body (6), and a column portion (8). The support body (4) has a through hole (14) serving as an air passage. The through hole (14) includes (a) a first portion (14a) having a relatively large inner diameter and (b) a second portion (14b) having a relatively small inner diameter. An annular ridge portion (12) is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the support body (4) along a circumferential direction of the support body (4). When the housing (20) has a nozzle opening portion (22), the ventilation member (10) is attached to the housing (20) by inserting the nozzle opening portion 22 into the support body 4. When the housing (20) has a recess opening portion (24), the ventilation member (10) is attached to the housing (20) by fitting the support body (4) into the recess opening portion (24).
US09255717B2	Ceiling mounted air conditioner A ceiling mounted air conditioner is provided. The ceiling mounted air conditioner includes a main body configured to be fixed onto a ceiling and have an open bottom; an outlet panel configured to be coupled to a lower part of the main body and have a plurality of air outlets; an intake panel configured to be coupled to the outlet panel and have an air intake; a door panel configured to be lifted up or down from the bottom of the intake panel and thus to open or shut the air intake; and a human body sensor module configured to be installed in the door panel, to begin to operate when the door panel is lifted down and to sense a movement of a user. Since the ceiling mounted air conditioner can blow air-conditioned air toward the user in a localized manner, it is possible to improve the performance of the ceiling mounted air conditioner.
US09255716B2	In-ceiling mount type air conditioner and indoor unit thereof An indoor unit of an in-ceiling mount type air conditioner including a box-shaped housing having a top plate portion, a side plate portion and an opening portion at the lower portion thereof, a face panel detachably mounted on the opening portion of the housing, an indoor heat exchanger through which the inside of the housing is compartmented into a primary side and a secondary side, and an air blower secured to the top plate portion of the housing that faces the primary side, has a primary side heat insulating material is provided to the top plate portion so as to face the primary side of the housing and a secondary side heat insulating material provided to the side plate portion so as to face the secondary side of the housing, wherein the primary side heat insulating material is provided with an opening portion through which the air blower is fixed to the top plate portion.
US09255715B2	Natural fuel heating system The natural fuel heating system includes an elongate firebox covered by a cowling. The firebox includes means for accessing the interior thereof for fuel placement and vents at opposite ends. The cowling surrounds a majority of the firebox and forms an air circulating barrier between the firebox and the cowling. Outside air is introduced into the barrier through an intake shroud extending from the back of the firebox. The natural fuel heating system includes a heat exchange system for efficiently heating the cooler outside air circulating within the barrier. The heated air is drawn through an exhaust shroud extending from the air barrier into a building ventilation system to heat the building via natural thermal convection and negative air pressure caused by oxygen consumption from combustion within the firebox. A waste gas exhaust vent protrudes from the firebox to deliver harmful exhaust gas back outside.
US09255713B2	Cooking hob with illumination equipment The present invention relates to a cooking hob with illumination equipment. The cooking hob includes at least one transparent or semitransparent panel (10) arranged at the top side of said cooking hob. Further, the cooking hob includes at least one frame (12) enclosing at least partially the panel (10). A plurality of lighting elements (14) is arranged within the frame (12) and beside a narrow side of the panel (10). The frame (12) comprises at least one opening (16) on at least one inner side of said frame (12), so that the cooking hob and/or the environment above said cooking hob are illuminated out of the frame (12).
US09255712B2	Oven appliance with doors having a tongue and groove interface An oven appliance with a cabinet that defines a chamber is provided. A pair of doors is mounted proximate the cabinet and provides selective access to the cabinet. One of the pair of doors includes a tongue. Another of the pair of doors defines a groove configured for receipt of the tongue when the pair of doors is in a closed position. The tongue and groove can limit heat loss through a gap between the pair of doors or assist with sealing the pair of doors against the cabinet.
US09255711B2	System for reducing combustion dynamics by varying fuel flow axial distances First and second combustors are provided, and each combustor includes a fuel nozzle and a combustion chamber downstream from the fuel nozzle. Each fuel nozzle includes an axially extending center body, a shroud that circumferentially surrounds at least a portion of the center body, and vanes that extend radially between the center body and the shroud. A first fuel port through at least one of the vanes is located at a first axial distance from the combustion chamber, a second fuel port through the center body is located at a second axial distance from the combustion chamber, and the vanes are located at a third axial distance from the combustion chamber. The system varies one or more of the first, second, and third axial distances from combustor-to-combustor to produce a combustion instability frequency in the first combustor that is different from the combustion instability frequency in the second combustor.
US09255710B2	Multi-ring gas burner A multi-ring gas burner for a cooktop appliance is provided. The multi-ring gas burner includes an inner burner ring, an outer burner ring, and a carryover slot that extends between about the inner burner ring and about the outer burner ring. A pair of restrictors defines a Venturi throttle therebetween. The Venturi throttle can assist with regulating a flow of gaseous fuel out of the carryover slot.
US09255709B2	Automatic water supply-type steam generator using vapor pressure The present invention relates to an automatic water supply-type steam generator using vapor pressure for creating the optimum vacuum pressure inside a pressurized water supply tank, and for smoothly providing water to the pressurized water supply tank by using the strong aspiration force that is created by means of the vacuum pressure while continuously generating steam. The present invention is characterized by allowing control of the vacuum pressure to the optimum state when creating the vacuum pressure inside the pressurized water supply tank by introducing an adequate amount of outside air from the atmosphere through an air vent. In addition, the present invention is characterized by providing a means for cooling the pressurized water supply tank so as to control the vacuum pressure inside the tank to the optimum state.
US09255696B2	Lighting devices Improved lighting devices, such as non-rechargeable and rechargeable flashlights, having simplified designs with fewer component parts are described. A focusing feature is described where the light source is held stationary and the reflector is moved through the engagement of threads and/or teeth arrangement. An improved reflector that avoids regions of increased thickness to reduce or avoid distortion caused by sink is also described.
US09255694B2	Reflector structure of illumination optic system An illumination optic system includes a convex mirror to reflect light from a light source to towards a lens. The light source is at a first focus position and the lens is at a second focus position of the mirror. The system also includes a reflector to reflect light not incident on the lens toward the convex mirror. The reflector has a light guide hole to guide light to the incidence surface of the lens.
US09255691B2	Light source device and projection type display apparatus employing same light source device A light source device and a projection type display apparatus include: an excitation light source; and a fluorescence light-emitting plate including a fluorescence light-emitting section arranged opposite to the excitation light source and a reflection section containing titanium oxide located on the opposite side of the excitation light source as viewed from the side of the fluorescence light-emitting section and arranged such as to be joined to the fluorescence light-emitting section. Then, excitation light from the excitation light source is projected onto the fluorescence light-emitting section so that fluorescence emission light is emitted from the fluorescence light-emitting section and reflected fluorescence light is emitted from the reflection section.
US09255689B2	Optical lens and light source module having the same A light source module includes a light source and an optical lens facing the light source. The optical lens includes a light incident face facing the light source, a light emitting face opposite to the light incident face, and a connecting face connecting the light incident face and the light emitting face. The connecting face is planar. The light emitting face includes a lateral face extending upwardly from an outer periphery of the connecting face and a top face located above the light incident face. The optical lens further includes a plurality of protrusions protruding outwardly from the light emitting face, and a plurality of grooves defining in the connecting face. The protrusions are formed on the lateral face and located adjacent to the connecting face, and the grooves are located adjacent to the lateral face.
US09255687B2	LED system and housing for use with halogen light fixtures An LED optical light engine spotlight which can accommodate a variable number of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is disclosed. An optical projection lens mounted in front of the LEDs merges the separate LED beams into a single beam, similar to the single beam provided by a halogen light and reflector. A heat sink provides convection cooling up to approximately 100 F. An optional fan provides additional heat dissipation for more extreme conditions. The depicted device can include a vertical tilt of over 200. Optimally, the depicted device is designed to have a full vertical tilt range between zenith (0 degrees) to horizontal (90 degrees) to full depression (135 degrees). An optional accessory lens provides additional capabilities, including flood lenses, colored lenses and rock guards, for example. The depicted device can be hard wired or wireless. The depicted device can be adapted to many base units and/or pan and tilt platforms.
US09255686B2	Multi-lens LED-array optic system Lighting apparatus having a first lens over the LED emitter and a second lens over the first lens, and including: a first optical surface which is a first-lens outer surface configured to refract light from the emitter; a second optical surface which is a second-lens inner surface spaced from the first optical surface; and a third optical surface which is a second-lens outer surface configured to refract light from the second optical surface toward a preferential side. One embodiment includes asymmetric primary and secondary lenses.
US09255680B2	Transportation device lamp fixture A transportation device lamp fixture includes a semiconductor light-emitting device, a circuit board to which the semiconductor light-emitting device is mounted, a lamp body, and a front cover that covers an opening of the lamp body. The semiconductor light-emitting device and the circuit board are housed inside of a lamp chamber formed by the lamp body and the front cover, and the circuit board is attached to an inside surface of an upper portion of the front cover or the lamp body.
US09255678B2	Lighting appliance for vehicles A lighting appliance for vehicles with a light unit includes a light source and a light guide assigned to the light source for the creation of a given light function, wherein the light guide is embodied as a rod-shaped light guide with a punctiform surface for the coupling-out of light or as a flat light guide with a line-shaped or a sheet-like surface for the coupling-out of light, wherein for the creation of the light function, a light surface magnifying unit is provided, which comprises a light source and a mask template unit for the generation of an illumination pattern from a light beam sent from a light source onto a projection screen.
US09255676B2	Tubular luminaire A luminaire having a tubular body that fits into a ceiling mounted sleeve that allows azimuthal rotation of a light beam. The luminaire features an upright tubular heat sink connected to a fixed base having a downward portion inclined at an angle where an LED chip is affixed. The chip is sandwiched in place by a reflector holder having a rim that centers a rotating reflector that admits light from the LED and forms a beam. The angular inclination of the reflector is additive with the angle of the inclined portion of the base allowing vertical angle adjustment of the beam independently of the azimuthal adjustment.
US09255673B2	LED bulb having an adjustable light-distribution profile A light-emitting diode (LED) bulb includes a reflector, a plurality of LEDs disposed within a recess of the reflector, a thermally conductive liquid disposed within the recess, and an adjustment mechanism to move the LEDs from a first position to a second position, with respect to the reflector. The thermally conductive liquid may transfer heat generated by the LEDs to the reflector, and the reflector may dissipate heat transferred by the thermally conductive liquid to the surrounding environment. The reflector may also reflect light from the LEDs to produce a first light-distribution profile, having a respective first beam angle, when the LEDs are in the first position, and to produce a second light-distribution profile, having a respective second beam angle, when the LEDs are in the second position.
US09255667B2	LED lighting assembly and an LED retrofit lamp having the LED lighting assembly An LED lighting assembly may include a printed circuit board with an LED chip, and a heat sink thermally conducted with the printed circuit board, wherein the LED lighting assembly further comprises a light guide body configured as a bulb, the light guide body having an end surface as a light incidence surface of light from the LED chip, an outer surface as a light emergent surface and an inner surface, wherein the inner surface is structured so as to form a reflecting surface, reflecting at least part of light from the end surface to the outer surface.
US09255666B2	Illumination apparatus This disclosure discloses an illumination apparatus. The illumination apparatus comprises an inner cover comprising a top surface having a first length; a pedestal on which the inner cover is disposed comprising a top surface having a second length; and a holder supporting the pedestal; wherein the first length is greater than the second length.
US09255663B2	Pressure tank A pressure tank includes a metallic vessel, a plastic liner received in the metallic vessel, a flexible diaphragm, two connectors and a nozzle coupled to the nipples respectively. The metallic vessel includes upper and lower shells. The upper shell defines a first planar area on a side thereof and a second planar area on a top thereof. The lower shell defines a third planar area therebottom. The flexible diaphragm divides the metallic vessel into a storage space and a pneumatic room. Each of the connectors includes a nipple and an anti-leak assembly. The nipples of the connectors are mounted on the side and top of the upper shell respectively and are in communication with the storage space. The two anti-leak assemblies provide leakproof connection between the nipples and the plastic liner. Additionally, the nozzle is mounted on the third planar area to be in communication with the pneumatic room.
US09255654B2	Hard lead egress adapter for an instrumentation component An instrumentation component includes an instrumentation portion, a casing at least partially surrounding the instrumentation portion, a lead protruding from the instrumentation portion through a lead egress hole in the casing, a lead egress adapter, and a lead egress cap. The lead egress adapter is situated in the lead egress hole. The lead egress adapter includes a cup portion and a lip portion at least partially circumscribing the cup portion. The lead egress adapter includes a hole in the cup portion. The lead protrudes through the cup hole and the cup hole is tight fit to the lead. A potting material fills a remainder of the cup portion. The lip portion of the lead egress adapter contacts the casing. A lead egress cap seals the lead egress adapter to the casing. The lead egress cap further includes a cap hole through which the lead protrudes, and the cap hole is tight fit to the lead egress.
US09255651B2	Marine pipeline installation system and method The present invention relates to a marine pipeline installation system for laying an offshore pipeline and/or installing a subsea riser. The system comprises: a pipeline launch tower (10), a pipeline guide (16) provided at an elevated position for guiding said pipeline to the pipeline launch trajectory along said tower, one or more tensioners (18), an abandonment and recovery (A&R) system (30) comprising at least one A&R cable and associated A&R winch and a sheave arrangement with one or more sheaves supported by the pipeline launch tower at an upper position thereof. Furthermore, an auxiliary trolley (38, 50) is provided which is adapted to support the weight of the launched pipeline and which is movable along a rail in the pipeline launch trajectory when the one or more tensioner frames are in the retracted non-operable position, from a position above the uppermost tensioner to a position below the lowermost tensioner, the rail being supported by the pipeline launch tower.
US09255650B2	Movable valve apparatus having conditioned lubricating surfaces Movable valve apparatus having conditioned lubricating surfaces are described. An example valve includes a valve packing having a graphite packing ring disposed within a bonnet of the fluid valve and a stem or shaft has a conditioned surface to hold a lubricating material. The conditioned surface of the stem or shaft is disposed within the bonnet and moves the lubricating material relative to and in contact with the graphite packing ring during operation of the fluid valve.
US09255649B2	Apparatus for fluid control device leak detection Apparatus for fluid control device leak detection are disclosed. An example apparatus in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure includes a plurality of ports. One of the ports is to receive a supply pressure to drive an actuator and another of the ports to be fluidly coupled to a purge port of a fluid control device. The apparatus includes a sensor to measure a value at the purge port and a processor to compare the value to a predetermined value or a previously measured value to identify if the value is outside of a predetermined threshold.
US09255648B2	Self-regulated compact-geometry valve assembly A self-regulated valve assembly contains a valve body which, in the lower part, has an input section for a connection to a tank intended to contain a fluid under pressure and, in the upper part, an output for connection to a pipe system. A piston is movable in the valve body along a first axis between an open position, enabling the fluid to communicate between the input section and the output, and a closed position. A spring type module is coupled to the piston and to the valve body and interacts dynamically with the piston at least after an actuation of the valve and during the entire cycle of self-regulation of the valve, imposing a positioning of the piston between its open and closed position. The spring type module is positioned beneath the lower sealing section of the piston and the dimensions of the valve assembly can be considerably reduced.
US09255647B2	Dynamic fluid gas bleeder manifold Disclosed are high pressure test systems and methods. One dynamic fluid gas bleeder manifold includes gas outlet having opposing first and second ends and defining first opening at first end of gas outlet, wherein gas outlet extends between first and second ends along longitudinal axis of gas bleeder manifold, a first fluid inlet having opposing first and second ends defines second opening at first end of first fluid inlet, wherein first fluid inlet extends between first and second ends along first direction forming first acute angle with longitudinal axis, a second fluid inlet having opposing first and second ends defines third opening at first end of second fluid inlet, wherein second fluid inlet extends between first and second ends of second fluid inlet along second direction forming second acute angle with longitudinal axis, an internal fluid passage fluidly couples gas outlet to first and second fluid inlets.
US09255644B1	Prompt hot water and water conservation system and method The prompt hot water and water conservation system includes a hot water supply pipe connected to a hot water heater outlet. A discharge faucet is connected to the supply pipe. A return pipe is connected to the supply pipe and to a hot water tank drain. The return pipe carries cooled water to the drain for reheating. Reheated water circulates into the supply pipe. A flow control device, in the return pipe, includes a chamber that houses a sphere. Return water flow moves the sphere toward a stop and permits unimpeded movement of water into the tank drain for reheating. When the faucet is opened, water flows from the tank drain into the flow control device. The sphere is moved to contact a small end of the chamber and substantially stop flow through the return pipe. Water is circulated through the system by increased density of cooled water.
US09255643B2	Integrated pneumatic valve lock A pneumatic lock assembly for securing a valve comprises a lock pin engaging a contact surface on a poppet assembly. The head of a poppet creates a sealing relationship with an end of the valve. A guide with a bore extends between the exterior and interior of the valve terminating at a sleeve. The sleeve slidably receives a stem extending from the poppet head. A spring biases a pin, slidably received within the pylon bore, into engagement with a contact surface on the valve stem for securing the valve head in a closed position. The pin may be pneumatically disengaged from the groove by forcing air from a pneumatic power source into a bore in the pin. A cap assembly at the exterior of the valve provides protection for the lock assembly and allows for manual disengagement of the pin from the groove.
US09255642B2	Aerodynamic seals for rotary machine An aerodynamic seal assembly for a rotary machine includes multiple sealing device segments disposed circumferentially intermediate to a stationary housing and a rotor. Each of the segments includes a shoe plate with a forward-shoe section and an aft-shoe section having multiple labyrinth teeth therebetween facing the rotor. The sealing device segment also includes multiple flexures connected to the shoe plate and to a top interface element, wherein the multiple flexures are configured to allow the high pressure fluid to occupy a forward cavity and the low pressure fluid to occupy an aft cavity. Further, the sealing device segments include a secondary seal attached to the top interface element at one first end and positioned about the flexures and the shoe plate at one second end.
US09255641B2	Saddle for a branch connection A saddle, in particular a clamping saddle for plastic pipes, containing a branch projection, a saddle piece, center axes (X), (Y) and (Z), and a groove for the arrangement of a seal, wherein the inner cheek of the groove is arranged, throughout the course of the groove, perpendicular to the inner surface of the saddle piece.
US09255636B2	Shift device In a shift lever device (10), due to a tilt shaft (58) being nipped between peripheral surfaces of lower supporting holes (20) of a shift lever plate (12) and peripheral surfaces of upper supporting holes (38A) of a shift lever guide (26), a shift lever (52) is supported so as to be able to tilt around the tilt shaft (58). A shift position of the shift lever (52) is changed due to the shift lever (52) being tiltingly operated while being guided by a guide hole (30) of the shift lever guide (26) and passed within a passage hole (64) of a cover (62). Here, the strength of the shift lever guide (26) is made to be large as compared with that of the cover (62). Moreover, when load is inputted from the shift lever (52) to the shift lever guide (26), rotation of the shift lever guide (26) is stopped by the shift lever plate (12). Therefore, the shift lever (52) can be tiltably supported properly.
US09255633B2	Drive arrangement In a drive arrangement for wheels of a motor vehicle which are driven by an electric machine via a differential, an electric machine which has a ring shaped rotor drives a drive element of the differential, whose output shafts output to the wheels of the motor vehicle. The ring shaped rotor of the electric machine outputs to the input element of the differential via a gear mechanism and the differential is integrated in the rotor thereby allowing for a structurally compact construction and enabling favorable transmission ratios.
US09255632B2	Integrated torque limiter/no-back device An integrated torque limiter/no-back device for use in an actuator with an input shaft, an output and gear reduction. The device includes an input ramp to receive torque from the input shaft; a combined ramp to transfer torque; an output ramp to transfer torque to the gear reduction; one or more balls between the input ramp and the combined ramp and between the combined ramp and the output ramp to transfer torque; and a brake for causing torque to be grounded and for preventing backdriving of the input shaft by preventing movement of one or more of the input ramp, the combined ramp and the output ramp when a torque threshold has been met. The input ramp and the output ramp are a no-back ramp and a torque limiter ramp, respectively, and the device also includes a pin between the combined ramp and one or more of the no-back ramp and the gear reduction for transferring torque.
US09255630B2	Advancing/retracting actuation device with meshing chain An interlocking chain type forward and backward actuating device is provided that does not increase workload involved in assembling the device, adjusting the rotation phase, and servicing and maintaining the device. The device is capable of smoothly actuating a driven body by advancing and retracting the body, and of preventing any pulsation or the like of the meshing chain. The interlocking chain type forward and backward actuating device includes chain-guide grooves formed so as to equalize an interlocked-state pin-to-pin distance (D1) between a pair of connecting pins that face each other in a chain interlocking imaginary plane (S) and a rigid-state pin-to-pin distance (D2) between a pair of connecting pins.
US09255628B2	Chain tensioner for internal combustion engine A chain tensioner includes a base frame secured to each of front and rear banks, a slider plate shiftable in the extending direction of the base frame, and a tensioner provided to straddle between the base frame and the slider plate. The slider plate is biased to elastically deform and arcuately bend the tensioner, which applies a tensile force to each of cam chains transmitting the rotation of a crankshaft. In the chain tensioner, upper securing portions are provided in an upper portion of the base frame so as to be secured to each of the front and rear banks in the bending direction of the tensioner. A lower end of the base frame extends to a position facing the inside of the crankcase to provide a lower securing portion which is secured to each of the front and rear banks perpendicularly to the bending direction of the tensioner.
US09255626B2	Rotorcraft and planetary gear systems Planetary gear systems, transmissions, and apparatuses include at least one non-fixed annular gear, at least one non-fixed sun gear, at least one compound planet gear meshed between the at least one non-fixed annular gear and the at least one non-fixed sun gear, and at least one fixed gear meshed with the at least one compound planet gear. Rotational input to one of the at least one non-fixed annular gear and the at least one non-fixed sun gear results in an opposite rotational output of the other of the at least one non-fixed annular gear and the at least one non-fixed sun gear.
US09255622B2	Buffering device A buffering device includes a cylindrical casing and a piston module movably mounted in the cylindrical casing. The cylindrical casing includes a base plate and a shielding piece pivotally attached to the base plate. An air inlet and an air outlet are defined in the base plate. A diameter of the air inlet is greater than that of the air outlet. When the piston module is moving towards the base plate, the shielding piece is rotated to a closed position to shield the air inlet by air pressure above the shielding piece. When the piston module is moving away from the base plate, the shielding piece is rotated to an open position to expose the air inlet by environmental air pressure.
US09255620B2	Apparatus and methods for a vehicle shock absorber A method and apparatus for a vehicle shock absorber comprising a main damper cylinder, a first reservoir and a second reservoir. One embodiment includes a first operational mode where both reservoirs are in fluid communication with the cylinder. In a second operational mode, only one reservoir communicates with the cylinder during fluid evacuation from the cylinder. In each mode, rebound from either or both reservoirs may travel through a single, user-adjustable metering device.
US09255617B2	Disc for a disc brake of the ventilated type A disc for a disc brake of the ventilated type comprising a braking band (2) defined by two plates (3, 4), which are co-axial to an axis, which are mutually facing and spaced to provide an interspace. The plates have facing surfaces (6, 7) from which elements (8, 9, 10) for the connection of the same plates transversally extend. Such facing surfaces define, together with the connecting elements, inside the interspace, ventilation ducts in order to cool the disc. The disc (1) comprises a plurality of projections (11, 12) protruding from both facing surfaces of the two plates (3, 4). The projections are circumferentially arranged only in proximity of the outer edges of the plates in correspondence of the outlet of the ventilation ducts. Each projection (11) of a plate (3) is opposed to and aligned with a projection (12) of the other plate (4) along a direction parallel to the axis.
US09255616B2	Fan clutch for vehicle A fan clutch for a vehicle may include a shaft rotated by a drive force and having a first oil line formed in the shaft in a radial direction thereof, a rotor rotated in combination with the shaft, wherein the rotor includes an oil storage chamber formed in the rotor and the oil storage chamber communicates with the first oil line, a valve formed in an end of the oil storage chamber and being selectively opened, wherein the valve may be configured to allow oil stored in the oil storage chamber to flow to an outside of the rotor through the first oil line, and a housing formed to surround the rotor, and provided with a second oil line through which the oil that has flowed through the valve flows to the first oil line through an actuation chamber surrounding the rotor.
US09255615B2	Clutch pedal apparatus for vehicle for reducing effort A clutch pedal apparatus for a vehicle for reducing effort may include a rear fixed magnet and a front fixed magnet respectively fixed at an initial position and a last position of a movement section of a pushrod with a predetermined distance in a cylinder housing included in a clutch master cylinder, and a moveable magnet coupled to the pushrod disposed between the rear fixed magnet and the front fixed magnet, wherein the moveable magnet guides complete restoration of a pedal arm via magnetic force with the rear fixed magnet during an initial manipulation and reverse restoration of the pedal arm and generates a turnover force via a magnetic force with the front fixed magnet during a full stroke manipulation of the pedal arm.
US09255614B2	Electronic vehicular transmission and coupling and control assembly for use therein An electronic vehicular transmission and a coupling and control assembly for use herein are provided. A case of the transmission has an environment hostile to electrical components during use of the transmission. A coupling member supported for rotation within the case has a coupling face oriented to face radially with respect to a rotational axis. The transmission also includes an electromechanical component capable of operating in the environment. The component includes a mechanical locking element, at least one excitation coil and electrical wiring to supply electrical power to the at least one excitation coil from a power source outside the environment. The component is mounted to and extends into the environment of the case so that the locking element is in close-spaced opposition to the coupling face and the wiring is segregated from the environment to resist long-term, hot temperature embrittlement and fragmentation of insulation on the wiring.
US09255613B2	Normally closed automotive clutch with hydraulic drive A normally closed automotive clutch with hydraulic drive and having: a stack of driven and driving plates, which are mounted so as to rotate around a rotation axis; a pressure ring, which is mechanically coupled to the stack of plates and can axially slide so as to axially compress the stack of plates; at least one elastic closing element, which presses the pressure ring; a hydraulic actuator comprising an inner actuation chamber, which is suited to be filled with a fluid under pressure so as to generate an opening thrust, and a sliding piston, which is coupled to the inner actuation chamber and is mechanically connected to the pressure ring; and a box, which is provided with a lateral lid and houses the stack of plates, the pressure ring, the elastic closing element, and the hydraulic actuator.
US09255609B2	Tolerance ring, hard disk device, and method for manufacturing hard disk device A tolerance ring has a ring shape formed of a plate-shaped member substantially into a circle along a predetermined direction and includes a plurality of convex portions protruding in a radial direction, and a notch portion notched in a direction orthogonal to a circumferential direction on at least one of outer edge side end portions in the direction orthogonal to the circumferential direction.
US09255605B2	Bearing assemblies and apparatuses including tilting superhard bearing elements, and motor assemblies using the same Embodiments relate to tilting superhard bearing element bearing assemblies and apparatuses. The disclosed assemblies/apparatuses may be employed in downhole motors of a subterranean drilling system or other mechanical systems. In an embodiment, a bearing assembly may include a support ring and a plurality of superhard bearing elements each of which is tilted and/or tiltably secured relative to the support ring and distributed circumferentially about an axis. Each of the superhard bearing elements includes a bearing surface and a base portion. The base portion of the at least one of the superhard bearing elements may include a tilting feature configured to allow the at least one of the superhard bearing elements to be tiltable about a tilt axis. The bearing assembly includes retaining features that secure the superhard bearing elements to the support ring.
US09255603B2	Test equipment with housing damping system A machine has an outer housing that receives a drive shaft. A bearing housing supports a bearing. The drive shaft is mounted within the bearing and the outer housing. Attachment members extend between the outer housing and the bearing housing. A selected damping includes an elastomeric ring attached to a surface of a bearing housing and an outer housing. A selectively moveable plate is connected to the outer housing and the bearing housing. The plate is selectively moveable from a position at which it engages the elastomeric ring to a point at which it is spaced from the elastomeric ring.
US09255602B2	Systems and methods for a locking double carabineer An apparatus for attaching items includes a body and a first and second hook oriented on a first and second side of the body. The apparatus further includes a first and second gate, the first gate attached to the body and oriented to close the first hook, and the second gate attached to the body and oriented to close the second hook. The apparatus further includes a first and second sliding lock, the first and second sliding locks oriented on the first and second gates, respectively, the first and second sliding locks having a first position, the first position being a locked position where the sliding lock is positioned in a first and second notch in the body, and a second position, the second position being an unlocked position where the first and second sliding locks are distal from the first and second notches.
US09255601B2	Nut and combination of a bolt part with a nut The invention relates in first instance to a nut having a first part (11) which has a first through opening (O1), and having a second part (12) which has a opening (O2) having an opening contour, the parts (11, 12) being connected so as to be rotatable about a rotational axis (A) which passes through the openings (O1, O2), and the openings (O1, O2) being aligned with one another, in addition, the first opening (O1) on its inner face having a profile which extends in the peripheral direction and which is interrupted in the peripheral direction. In order to provide a nut which is quickly mountable on a threaded bolt, and which has a simple design that allows greater security against the nut coming off the threaded bolt, it is proposed that the opening contour of the second opening is non-circular. The invention further relates to a combination of a bolt (4) having a cross-sectional area with a nut (10).
US09255599B1	Nut tightening system A system for applying rotational torque to a fastener on a fastening member (such as a threaded rod) to maintain the tight fastening. One specific embodiment of the system uses a recoil spring to apply such torque directly to the fastener; the system enables continued tightening of the fastener long after the initial fastening occurs.
US09255598B2	Tamper-resistant locking fastener cover A tamper-resistant fastening provision includes a fastener cover having a first flange and second flange joined at one end. The first flange has an elongate opening slidably receiving a shaft of a fastener, and the second flange has an opening disposed closer to a second end of the cover than the first end. The cover is moveable to a first position such that the fastener head is operably accessible through the second opening and the fastener shaft is disposed at an end of the elongate opening proximate to the second end of the cover. The cover is also moveable to a second position such that the cover is in an interference position relative to the fastener head and the shaft is disposed at an end of the elongate opening proximate to the first end of the cover.
US09255597B2	Self-piercing rivet with a pre-perforated flat element, production method and joining method therefor The present invention discloses a self-piercing rivet (10), particularly a semi-hollow self-piercing rivet, with a head (12) and a shank (14) as well as a pre-perforated flat element (30) that is arranged on the shank (14) and at least part of which extends radially relative to the head (12) beyond a head radius. A production method and a joining method for said self-piercing rivet with pre-perforated flat element are also described.
US09255594B2	Removable anchoring device usable as a suspension bolt A removable anchoring device designed to be inserted in a hole drilled in a wall, and designed to support a mechanical load, including a female body provided with a radially expandable front area designed to be inserted in the hole and with a rear stop designed to be outside the hole, a male body slidingly engaged in the female body including an expansion head at its front end, the male body including a rear stop designed to be outside the hole, a flexible compression part fitted in compression between the stop of the female body and the stop of the male body in order to bias the male body and the female body in the direction of engagement of the expansion head in the radially expandable area, the male body presenting a stop part determining a penetration length into the drilled hole.
US09255593B2	Staging assembly An assembly comprises a corner block piece and a locating plate. The corner block piece has a node receiving cavity which includes an aperture configured to receive a locking pin. The locating plate includes at least one locking node. The locking node includes a spring-loaded locking pin configured to engage the aperture when the locking node is inserted in the node receiving cavity. The assembly facilitates construction of a portable staging system involving a platform, at least two support legs, and bracing.
US09255591B2	Apparatus adapter An apparatus adapter, including a first adapter member having an internal cavity with an opening thereinto, and a slot spaced away from the opening and oriented transverse of the internal cavity and communicating therewith. A second adapted member has an adaptation extension that is sized to be received into the internal cavity of the first adapter member, the adaptation extension having an interlock relief formed in an outer surface thereof and juxtapositionable with the transverse slot. A plunger has an elongated open band that is positionable about the first adapter member and movable transversely of the internal cavity, an interlock member that is projected into an interior of the band and sized to slidably extend through the slot of the receiver post and enter into the internal cavity, and a biasing member for biasing the interlock member into the internal cavity for occluding a portion thereof.
US09255588B2	Flow regulating valve subassembly A flow regulating valve subassembly includes a main valve configured as a seat valve and a valve piston. The valve piston is acted upon via a first end face by the pressure of a first working connection and via an annular surface of the valve piston by the pressure of a second working connection in the opening direction. The valve piston is also acted upon in the closing direction via a second end face by the pressure of the higher-pressure working connection. An adjustable throttle is formed between a housing of the main valve and the valve piston. The throttle has a cross section that changes continuously during displacement of the valve piston and connects the higher-pressure working connection to the second end face. A pilot control valve arrangement is configured to control a control line which connects the second end face to the lower-pressure working connection.
US09255587B2	Hydraulic two-way valve for the lifting mechanism of an agricultural vehicle A hydraulic two-way valve includes a pump connection, a tank connection, and first and second working connections. The working connections are connectable to a hydraulic cylinder of an agricultural vehicle lifting mechanism. The pump connection is connectable to a hydraulic pump. In a first position, the pump connection, tank connection, and working connections are shut off. In a second position, the pump connection is connected to the first working connection and the tank connection to the second working connection. In a third position, the pump connection is connected to the second working connection and the tank connection to the first working connection. In a fourth position, the working connections are connected to the tank connection and the pump connection is shut off. In a fifth position, the tank connection is connected to the second working connection and the pump connection and first working connection are shut off.
US09255586B2	Diffuser block and diffuser comprising said diffuser blocks combined with one another Provided is a diffuser block used to form a diffuser with a plurality of the diffuser blocks, the diffuser block including: a body having a tube shape including an inner space provided inside the body, an inlet through which a fluid flows into the inner space and an outlet through which the fluid flows out of the inner space; and a first vane portion which protrudes toward the inner space from one side of the body.
US09255579B2	Vacuum pump having rotary compressing elements It is intended to provide a vacuum pump so that without upsizing the vacuum pump, noise and vibration are reduced, heat dissipation property is secured, and the casing is downsized. Therefore, at least one turning part is provided in an exhausting path formed in a casing body. The casing body is formed of a material whose thermal conductivity is higher than that of a rotor and vanes, and a cylinder part where the vanes slide is press fitted in the casing body.
US09255572B2	Portable pumping unit base A portable pumping unit base for receiving and anchoring a pumping unit thereto is disclosed herein. The disclosed base generally comprises a body made of a rigid polyurethane foam system, said rigid polyurethane foam system comprising an isocyanate component and a polyol resin component. Additionally, the disclosed base made of said rigid polyurethane foam system may be encapsulated in a polyurea coating.
US09255562B2	Starter having a switchable number of pole pairs The invention relates to a starter (10) for an internal combustion engine, comprising a starter motor (12), which can be connected to a direct voltage network (30, 31) by means of a switching device (27). In order to improve the process of meshing a starter pinion (22) into a ring gear (26) of an internal combustion engine, it is proposed that the excitation winding (37) of the starter motor (12) be divided into several partial windings (a-f), which can optionally be connected to the direct voltage network (30, 31) by the switching device (27) in a staggered manner.
US09255559B2	Metallic hollow valve A metallic hollow valve may include a tubular shaft having a cavity. The shaft may be coupled to a valve head. The shaft may have an external diameter of 5.0 mm
US09255558B2	Dynamic valve seal arrangement A valve assembly for a fuel injector that includes a sleeve member having an interior chamber, a piston member supported for movement within the interior chamber of the sleeve member and separating an upstream pressure side of the valve assembly from a downstream pressure side of the valve assembly, and a dynamic sealing device mounted to one of the sleeve member and the piston member for sealingly isolating the upstream pressure side of the valve assembly from the downstream pressure side of the valve assembly. The dynamic sealing assembly includes a PTFE seal member having a generally C-shaped cross-section defining an internal cavity having an opening about the outer periphery thereof the seal member, and a helical spring disposed within the internal cavity of the seal member for providing a constant sealing force to the seal member. The dynamic sealing device is positioned in the valve assembly so that the opening of the internal cavity of the seal member faces away from the upstream pressure side of the valve assembly and towards the downstream pressure side of the valve assembly.
US09255555B2	Air cleaner for vehicle Disclosed is an air cleaner for a vehicle. The air cleaner for a vehicle according to the exemplary embodiment includes: a body portion which has an air inlet formed at one side of the body portion so as to suck air; a cover portion which is coupled to an upper portion of the body portion and has an air outlet formed at one side of the cover portion; an element which is inserted into or withdrawn from the interior of the body portion and the cover portion through a receiving opening that is formed at one side of the body portion and the cover portion; a height adjustment handle which is rotatably coupled to a lower portion of the element and allows the element to be raised upward and lowered downward by a rotation of the height adjustment handle; and an element cover which is coupled to one side of the cover portion so as to prevent the element from being moved away from the receiving opening, and has a locking member which is provided at one surface of the element cover and has elastic force.
US09255554B2	Air cleaner structure of motorcycle An opening of an upper surface of an air cleaner main body has an air cleaner upper cover mounted thereon, and is closed by the air cleaner upper cover fastened by bolts via a seal member, and air cleaner bottom plates are fastened to the air cleaner main body via seal members in openings of a bottom surface of the air cleaner main body. Passage holes connecting an engine combustion chamber and the air cleaner main body are provided on the air cleaner bottom plates; and an opening of a front surface of the air cleaner main body is inserted into intake ducts of vehicle body frames via seal members, and configured as an air introduction port.
US09255553B2	Leak detection for canister purge valve Methods and systems for detecting a leak in a canister purge valve are disclosed. In one example approach, a method comprises indicating a leak in response to a temperature change in a fuel vapor canister coupled to a fuel tank in an emission control system while the engine is in operation and a purge valve is closed.
US09255551B2	Diesel-gasoline dual fuel powered engine with fouling free clean EGR system A fouling free clean EGR system for a diesel-gasoline dual fuel powered engine allows re-circulation of an exhaust gas of a certain cylinder among a plurality of cylinders. The fouling free clean exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system for a diesel-gasoline dual fuel powered engine in which gasoline and air are pre-mixed and supplied to cylinders and then a diesel fuel is injected and combusted together comprises a directly-exhaust cylinder of which an exhaust valve of the cylinder is connected to an exhaust manifold directly connected to a after treatment device; and an EGR cylinder of which an exhaust valve of the cylinder is connected to an EGR line and which supplies the EGR gas to the diesel-gasoline dual fuel powered engine.
US09255549B1	Laser ignition for liquid propellant rocket engine injectors A laser ignition device is used for igniting propellants in a rocket engine. The laser ignition device has an injector housing with passages for flowing gaseous hydrogen and liquid oxygen to injector elements which mix the hydrogen and oxygen in a combustion chamber. A laser ignition system assembly is inserted through the housing. The propellants in the housing keep the housing and the laser ignition system assembly cool. A laser beam entering the laser ignition system assembly via a fiber optic cable passes though a lens for diverging the laser beam and a second lens for converging the beam. A portion of the laser ignition system assembly extends beyond the injector housing face plate into the combustion chamber of the rocket engine. A multi-faceted pyramid reflector at the tip of the laser ignition system assembly in the combustion chamber splits the converging laser beam into beamlets which emerge from the laser ignition system assembly parallel to the ignition face plate and ignite the propellant a plurality of points in the combustion chamber adjacent to the injector elements. A purging gas may be introduced inside of the laser ignition system assembly to help cool the laser optic therein and helps keep the laser optics clean. The purging gas exits the laser ignition system assembly into the combustion chamber.
US09255548B2	Sliding U-joint hanger for gas turbine engine nozzle A disclosed hanger assembly for supporting a liner within a gas turbine engine exhaust nozzle includes a first mount for attachment to a case and a second mount for attachment to the liner. A u-joint assembly is attached between the first and second mounts and includes a first yoke and a second yoke aligned transverse to the first yoke. A pivot block is includes a first set of pins received by the first yoke and a second set of pins received by the second yoke. The u-joint assembly accommodates relative movement between the liner and case.
US09255547B2	Turbine engine with access door to engine core A turbine engine includes an engine core bounded by a bypass duct, a first portion of the bypass duct defined by a fan casing having a radially inner wall and a radially outer wall, a second portion of the bypass duct defined by a radially inner wall and a radially outer wall, a third portion of the bypass duct provided as at least one access door comprising a flow guide structure; and a thrust reverser mechanism coupled to the fan casing.
US09255546B2	Cascade-style variable area fan duct nozzle An aircraft nacelle comprising an outer cowl having an inner wall and an outer wall surrounding the inner wall. The inner wall may have an inner opening formed therethrough and the outer wall may have an outer opening formed therethrough at an aft end of the nacelle. The nacelle may further comprise a translating panel configured to cover the inner and outer openings in a stowed position and to translate aft to a deployed position. The translating panel may be fixed to cascade guide vane panels which rest between the inner and outer wall in the stowed position and are exposed to airflow via the inner and outer openings when translated aft to the deployed position, thereby increasing a nozzle area of the nacelle. Guide vanes of the cascade guide vane panels are angled slightly aftward to direct the nacelle's airflow outward and aftward.
US09255543B2	Fuel injection amount compensating method Disclosed is a fuel injection amount compensating method that may include measuring a real pressure of a combustion chamber, calculating a real pressure level of the combustion chamber based on the real pressure, calculating a real combustion noise index based on the real pressure level of the combustion chamber, calculating a target combustion noise index based on a driving condition, calculating a difference between the real combustion noise index and the target combustion noise index, and increasing or reducing a pilot injection amount of a fuel injector in accordance with the difference. Also disclosed is a fuel injection amount compensating system.
US09255534B2	Control device for internal combustion engine with turbo-supercharger A control device for an internal combustion engine with a turbo-supercharger including a variable valve mechanism at least at either one of an intake side and an exhaust side includes a scavenging amount setting means for determining an upper limit value of a scavenging amount moving from an intake passage to an exhaust passage across the interior of a cylinder during a valve overlap period to satisfy a performance requirement for the internal combustion engine, and a variable valve control means for controlling the duration of the valve overlap period according to the scavenging amount.
US09255529B2	Longitudinal G adjusted throttle response A system and method for adjusting an engine throttle opening amount includes a slope-determining unit that determines an angle of inclination of a vehicle, a throttle request determining unit that determines a throttle request, and an engine control unit. The slope-determining unit may include a longitudinal g acceleration sensor. The engine control unit calculates a slope gain factor from the angle of inclination and compares the slope gain factor to a predetermined threshold. If the slope gain factor is greater than the predetermined threshold, the engine control unit generates a throttle command to increase the current throttle opening amount based on the throttle request and the slope gain factor. Alternatively, if the slope gain factor is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold, the engine control unit controls the throttle opening amount based on the throttle request and independently of the slope gain factor.
US09255527B2	Use of an emissions sensor to control fuel flow staging A fuel system comprises a fuel actuation arrangement 28 operable to split a metered flow of fuel into at least a first stream and a second stream, a control unit 25 controlling the operation of the fuel actuation arrangement 28, and wherein the control unit 25 controls the operation of the fuel actuation arrangement 28 in response to the output of a temperature sensor 34 sensitive to a gas temperature downstream of the high pressure compressor 14 of an associated engine and the output of a gas sensor 24 sensitive to at least one parameter of the composition of a gas downstream of a combustor 15 of the engine.
US09255524B2	Variable outer air seal fluid control An example turbomachine system includes a first variable outer air seal including at least one channel. The first variable outer air seal configured to selectively communicate a fluid in response to movement of a second variable outer air seal relative to the first variable outer air seal. An example fluid control method includes selectively covering a channel inlet using a variable outer air seal to control flow through the channel.
US09255519B2	Fuel management system for variable ethanol octane enhancement of gasoline engines Fuel management system for efficient operation of a spark ignition gasoline engine. Injectors inject an anti-knock agent such as ethanol directly into a cylinder of the engine. A fuel management microprocessor system controls injection of the anti-knock agent so as to control knock and minimize that amount of the anti-knock agent that is used in a drive cycle. It is preferred that the anti-knock agent is ethanol. The use of ethanol can be further minimized by injection in a non-uniform manner within a cylinder. The ethanol injection suppresses knock so that higher compression ratio and/or engine downsizing from increased turbocharging or supercharging can be used to increase the efficiency or the engine.
US09255517B2	Engine device An engine device in which an exhaust gas purification device can be assembled adjacent to an engine with high rigidity, and the exhaust gas purification device can be compactly installed. The engine device includes an exhaust gas recirculation device and a common rail disposed on the side on which an intake manifold of the engine is disposed, the exhaust gas purification device disposed on the side on which an exhaust manifold of the engine is disposed, an oil pan disposed on the bottom of the engine, and a support body for linking the exhaust gas purification device to the oil pan, so that the exhaust gas purification device is supported by the oil pan via the support body.
US09255516B2	System for injecting fuel into exhaust pipe In a system for injecting fuel into an exhaust pipe, an exhaust pipe is connected to an engine via an exhaust adaptor and the fuel is injected directly into the exhaust pipe through a fuel injection valve provided in the exhaust adaptor. A front end of the fuel injection valve is provided in an inner wall of an exhaust path located inside the exhaust adaptor. The inner wall provided with the front end of the fuel injection valve protrudes from the exhaust path of the exhaust adaptor in a direction in which the diameter of the inner wall expands. A coolant passage for cooling the periphery of the front end of the fuel injection valve is provided within the exhaust adaptor.
US09255514B2	Honeycomb structure A honeycomb structure includes a tubular bonded honeycomb segment assembly having a plurality of honeycomb segments and a bonding layer which bonds side surfaces of the plurality of honeycomb segments to each other; and a pair of electrode members disposed on a side surface of the bonded honeycomb segment assembly, a volume resistivity of each of the honeycomb segments is from 1 to 200 Ωcm, at least a part of the bonding layer is made of a bonding material having a conductivity, a volume resistivity of the bonding layer is from 2 to 2000 Ωcm, and each of the pair of electrode members is formed into a band-like shape extending in an extending direction of the cells of the bonded honeycomb segment assembly, and one electrode member is disposed on a side opposite to the other electrode member via a center of the bonded honeycomb segment assembly.
US09255513B2	Exhaust air injection Embodiments for controlling exhaust air-fuel ratio are provided. In one example, an engine method comprises adjusting upstream exhaust air-fuel ratio to maintain a first emission control device at or below a threshold temperature, and when the upstream exhaust air-fuel ratio is below a threshold, injecting air into an exhaust passage between the first emission control device and a second emission control device to maintain downstream exhaust at a different, higher air-fuel ratio. In this way, excess emissions may be converted while maintaining the emission control devices below a maximum temperature.
US09255507B2	Reagent injection system for exhaust of turbine system A reagent injection system for a catalytic emissions reduction assembly of a combustion turbine that includes an exhaust duct and at least one injector. The exhaust duct includes a first section including an entrance end and an exit end, wherein the entrance end is configured to be fluidly coupled to the combustion turbine to receive exhaust gases therefrom. The exhaust duct also includes and a second section having an entrance end that is fluidly coupled to the exit end of the first section. The at least one injector is operatively coupled to one of the first and second sections, and each injector is configured to inject a reagent into the exhaust gases flowing through the exhaust duct.
US09255505B2	Exhaust purification device for internal combustion engine A particulate filter arranged in an engine exhaust passage is provided with alternately arranged exhaust gas inflow and outflow passages and porous partition walls which separate these passages from each other. In each partition wall, a coated zone where a coated layer with an average pore size smaller than that of a partition wall substrate is used to cover the substrate surface and a non-coated zone downstream of the coated zone where the substrate surface is not covered by said coated layer, are defined, and the ash in the exhaust gas can pass through the partition wall in the non-coated zone. Judgment processing which judges if a particulate matter trapping rate of the particulate filter has fallen below an allowable lower limit value is performed. PM removal processing is performed when it is judged that the particulate matter trapping rate has fallen below the allowable lower limit value.
US09255503B2	Exhaust device for multicylinder engine An exhaust device includes a plurality of independent exhaust passages connected to an exhaust port of one cylinder or a plurality of cylinders that are non-sequential in exhaust order, and a mixing pipe into which exhaust that has passed through the respective independent exhaust passages flows. The downstream ends of the respective independent exhaust passages are connected in a bundled form to the upstream end of the mixing pipe. A cavity expansion chamber is disposed in an exhaust passage downstream from the mixing pipe. The cavity expansion chamber is disposed in a position (at a distance L2) such that, in the intermediate speed range, a negative pressure wave generated due to an exhaust pressure wave generated by opening an exhaust valve being reflected by the cavity expansion chamber reaches the exhaust port during an overlap period of the exhaust valve and an intake valve of the cylinder.
US09255501B2	Threadless magnetic oil drain plug A threadless oil plug is provided for threadlessly sealing a drain hole of an oil pan. The plug has a disc-shaped magnet and a cylindrical stem that projects outwardly from the magnet. A gasket is fastened around the stem in juxtaposition with a planar surface of the magnet. The stem is adapted for insertion into the drain hole of an oil pan, thereby centering the magnet and magnetically sealing the gasket around the drain hole. A removal tool has a hand grip with a splash guard. The hand grip and the splash guard are attached to a magnet. To remove the plug, the magnet of the removal tool is magnetically fastened to the magnet of the plug so that the plug may be safely removed from the drain hole in one motion. The plug is reinstalled in the drain hole in one motion, without the use of any tools.
US09255497B2	Camshaft to control valve timing A camshaft for a multiple cylinder four-stroke internal combustion engine is described wherein peak lift of a first exhaust lobe is angularly displaced relative to peak lift of a second exhaust lobe by an angle of cam rotation greater than an angle defined by a full revolution of the camshaft divided by the number of cylinders of the engine. By increasing the angle between peak lift of exhaust lobes associated with physically adjacent and successive firing cylinders, the exhaust port of an earlier firing cylinder begins to close earlier than a conventional symmetric arrangement and opening of the exhaust port of the subsequently firing cylinder may be delayed. As such the crossover or overlap period when two exhaust ports are open may be reduced, which thereby reduces the transfer of exhaust gas from one cylinder to another.
US09255496B2	Valve train of an internal combustion engine, an internal combustion engine, and a method for producing a corresponding valve train A valve train of an internal combustion engine includes at least one basic camshaft with a cam carrier provided thereupon in a rotationally fixed and axially displaceable manner. The cam carrier has at least one valve-actuating cam as well as a tubular basic element that receives the basic camshaft in at least some sections. At least one cam element of the cam carrier, in particular the valve-actuating cam, is arranged on the basic element. At least one torque-transmitting connecting element is located between the basic element and the cam element. An internal combustion engine having at least one valve train and a method for producing a valve train are also disclosed.
US09255495B2	Magnetically-coupled damper for turbomachinery A system, method, and apparatus for damping vibration in a rotor supported by primary bearings are provided. The system includes a magnetic coupling configured to magnetically engage a rotor supported by one or more primary bearings, and a piston coupled to the magnetic coupling. The system also includes a damper engaging the piston and configured to damp the rotor, wherein the damper is substantially non-load bearing.
US09255493B2	Clean energy generation system A clean energy generation system, comprising at least one energy generation unit, each of which comprises a wind tunnel, an air/gas turbine, a generator, at least one heating device and an air/gas compressor. The wind tunnel includes a contraction section, a test section and a diffuser section. The air/gas turbine is located in the test section or the diffuser section and is coupled to the generator. The at least one heating device is located in the contraction section for preheating the air/gas flowing through the at least one heating device. The air/gas compressor is for compressing the air/gas flowing through the air/gas compressor and is located in the diffuser section or in the contraction section between the at least one heating device and the air/gas turbine. The air/gas turbine is driven by the preheated and compressed air/gas such that the generator is driven to generate electricity.
US09255492B2	Gas turbine engine having a multi-variable closed loop controller for regulating tip clearance A gas turbine engine has, in flow series, a compressor section, a combustor, and a turbine section. The gas turbine engine further has a system (i) for cooling the turbine section and (ii) for providing tip clearance control between turbine blades of the turbine section and a plurality of circumferentially distributed segments which form an annular shroud surrounding the outer tips of the turbine blades. The system includes a turbine section cooling sub-system which diverts a first cooling air flow received from the compressor section to a heat exchanger and then to the turbine section to cool components thereof. The first cooling air flow by-passes the combustor and is cooled in the heat exchanger. The turbine section cooling subsystem has a first valve arrangement which regulates the first cooling air flow. The system further includes a tip clearance control sub-system which supplies a second cooling air flow to an engine case to which the segments are mounted. The second cooling air flow regulates thermal expansion of the case and thereby controls the clearance between the segments and the outer tips. The tip clearance control sub-system has a second valve arrangement which regulates the second cooling air flow. The system further includes a closed-loop controller which issues first and second demand signals to respectively the first and the second valve arrangements. Each of the first and second demand signals are determined on the basis of: (i) a value of the first demand signal at a previous time step, and a measurement or estimate of turbine section component temperature, and (ii) a value of the second demand signal at a previous time step, and a measurement or estimate of tip clearance.
US09255485B2	Turbine housing made of sheet metal In the neighborhood area X of the tongue part 27 forming the winding end part of the scroll part 3, the wall part members 31 are provided on both the sides of the welding part (the facing part) ‘a’ of the first scroll part 5 and the second scroll part 7, wherein: the wall part members 31 encloses the welding part (the facing part) ‘a’ and forms the gas-tight space 33; and, the outer circumference wall which enclose the facing part and forms a gas-tight space configure a double-wall structure.
US09255484B2	Aft frame and method for cooling aft frame An aft frame and a method for cooling an aft frame are disclosed. In one embodiment, an aft frame for a transition piece in a combustor is disclosed. The combustor includes the transition piece and an impingement sleeve at least partially defining a flow path therebetween. The aft frame includes a body and a generally radially extending cooling passage defined in the body, the cooling passage comprising a first end configured to accept a coolant. The aft frame further includes an exhaust passage defined in the body, the exhaust passage including a first end in communication with the cooling passage and a second end configured for communication with the flow path for flowing the coolant therethrough.
US09255483B2	Locking blade for a rotor A locking blade for a rotor can include an airfoil portion with a root from which a tongue extends. Opposed bucket segments can engage the tongue and can be retained in a longitudinal direction of the blade by a fastener, such as a pin, that can extend through holes in the segments and tongue. Tines parallel to and on opposite sides of the tongue can extend from the root and include holes through which the fastener can extend, the bucket segments extending between respective tines and the tongue. The structure can eliminate an assembly gate in a rotor.
US09255481B2	Turbine impeller comprising blade with squealer tip A turbine impeller including a rotor; a blade extending from the rotor from a first end of the blade; and a squealer tip provided at a second end opposite to the first end of the blade, wherein at least one perforated portion penetrates through the squealer tip.
US09255480B2	Turbine of a turbomachine A turbine of a turbomachine is provided and includes opposing endwalls defining a pathway for a fluid flow and a plurality of interleaved blade stages and nozzle stages arranged axially along the pathway. The plurality of the blade stages includes a last blade stage at a downstream end of the pathway and a next-to-last blade stage upstream from the last blade stage. The plurality of the nozzle stages includes a last nozzle stage between the last blade stage and the next-to-last blade stage and a next-to-last nozzle stage upstream from the next-to-last blade stage. At least one of the next-to-last blade stage and the next-to-last nozzle stage includes aerodynamic elements configured to interact with the fluid flow and to define a throat distribution producing a tip strong pressure profile in the fluid flow.
US09255478B2	Reaction turbine and hybrid impulse reaction turbine A reaction turbine has channels formed in the top surface of a disc to create nozzles. The channels can be covered by a membrane sealed to the disc or by the housing extended from a combustor. Each channel may have a first section extending radially outwardly from an inlet of the reaction turbine and a second curved section extending from the first section to a periphery of the disc. A reaction turbine may also receive input from an impulse turbine. Fluid flows through the impulse turbine and fluid from the impulse turbine enters an inlet of the reaction turbine. The reaction turbine may have cooling channels and cooling fins to lower the temperature of the disc during operation. In addition, magnets may provide bearing support and electricity generation. In addition, the reaction turbine may have a dual shaft construction, with each shaft connected to a reaction turbine. One reaction turbine powers a compressor, while the second reaction turbine powers a load through the second shaft.
US09255474B2	Flexibility of downhole fluid analyzer pump module An apparatus for pumping a downhole fluid includes a carrier configured to be conveyed through a borehole penetrating the earth and a pump disposed at the carrier and configured to pump the downhole fluid. A multi-phase electric motor is coupled to the pump and configured to receive multi-phase electrical energy from a power source in order to operate the pump. The multi-phase electrical motor includes multiple windings and a switch configured to connect the multiple windings in a configuration selected from a plurality of configurations. The plurality of configurations includes (i) a first configuration where one terminal of each winding of the multiple windings is uniquely connected to one terminal of another winding and (ii) a second configuration where one terminal of each winding of the multiple windings is commonly connected to one terminal of each of the other windings.
US09255472B2	Method for optimizing in-situ bioconversion of carbon-bearing formations A process for bioconverting a subterranean carbon-bearing subterranean formation deposit include the steps of injecting a fluid into the carbon bearing deposit with at least one injection well and removing injected fluid and product from the deposit through at least one production well, controlling fluid pressure within at least a portion of the deposit by use of the injected fluid such that the pressure causes a net effective stress decrease for the portion of the deposit and an increase in permeability of the deposit, bioconverting at least a portion of carbonaceous materials in the carbon bearing deposit to methane by a microbial consortium, and withdrawing the injected fluid and methane from the carbon bearing deposit. Cetane or butane may also be produced by the microbial consortium.
US09255470B2	Method of increasing productivity of oil, gas and water wells For increasing productivity of oil, gas and water wells, a horizontal or inclined well is excavated, a plurality of cavities are formed transversely to the direction of elongation of the well so as to provide partitions between them, and hydrocracking is carried out to act on the partitions between the cavities.
US09255469B2	Integral fracturing manifold A fracturing system can include an integral fracturing manifold. More particularly, a fracturing system can include a plurality of fracturing trees and an integral fracturing manifold may be directly coupled to each of the plurality of fracturing trees. The integral fracturing manifold may also include adjustment and pivot joints that accommodate spacing and elevation differences between the fracturing trees.
US09255468B2	Chelating agent-based self-diverting acidizing fluids and methods relating thereto Complexing-acidizing treatment fluids can be used in various subterranean treatment operations. Some methods include: providing or preparing a complexing-acidizing treatment fluid having an acid concentration of about 0.6 Molar, the complexing-acidizing treatment fluid including: an aminopolycarboxylic acid chelating agent, an aqueous base fluid, and an acid, placing the complexing-acidizing treatment fluid in a subterranean formation matrix penetrated by a well bore; allowing the acid to generate metal cations by dissolution of the subterranean formation matrix; reacting the aminopolycarboxylic acid chelating agent with the metal cations so as to form at least a plurality of aggregate blocking agents; and allowing the aggregate blocking agents to divert the complexing-acidizing treatment fluid to a main channel in the subterranean formation matrix that is distinct from a wormhole in the subterranean formation matrix.
US09255467B2	Expandable liner hanger and method of use The present invention generally relates to an expandable liner hanger capable of being expanded into a surrounding casing. In one aspect, an expandable tubular system is provided. The system includes an expandable tubular. The system further includes an expansion swage for expanding the expandable tubular, wherein the expansion swage is deformable from a compliant configuration to a smaller substantially non-compliant configuration. Additionally, the system includes a restriction member disposed on an exterior surface of the expandable tubular, wherein expansion of the expandable tubular in the location of the restriction member deforms the expansion swage from the compliant configuration to the smaller substantially non-compliant configuration. In another aspect, a method of expanding a liner hanger using a cone is provided.
US09255465B2	Method for autonomous control of a chemical injection system for oil and gas wells A control program for a positive displacement metering system measures the time required for the travel of a free piston in a cylinder of known volume to determine an average flow rate during a full stroke of the piston. The system may also measure and record the inlet and outlet pressures or the differential pressure between the fluid inlet and outlet. The control program positions a four-way valve which may function as an adjustable metering orifice in response to the measured average flow rate and/or changes in the inlet and outlet pressures to achieve the desired flow rate. At the end of each stroke, the four-way valve is repositioned to reverse fluid flow through the metering cylinder. The system may revise the valve position settings for both forward and reverse strokes based on the measured time required for a full stroke at a certain valve position. In this way, the system automatically and iteratively compensates for changes in fluid properties and fluid pressure. A cleaning cycle which progressively opens the valve stepwise and may culminate in full open valve travel in both fluid flow directions is provided in the event of an obstruction of the valve orifice.
US09255463B2	Flapper equalizer with integral spring A flapper equalizer plunger embodies a unitary coiled spring that is compressed by the flow tube to shift the plunger to equalize pressure across the flapper before the flow tube tries to move the flapper. The hydraulic control system then need only to overcome the force of a flapper pivot spring to swing the flapper 90 degrees to an open position behind the flow tube. The integral spring is produced with a wire EDM technique and can be symmetrical or asymmetrical around its periphery as a way of offsetting off-center impact from the bottom of the flow tube. The plunger can be rotationally locked if it is asymmetrical. The pitch can be constant or variable and the output force greatly exceeds the force provided by an independent coiled spring.
US09255458B2	Method and system for sealing and handling pipe In one aspect, the present invention relates to a friction-pin unit. The friction-pin unit includes a sleeve and a guide cone formed at a first end of the sleeve. A shaft is disposed coaxially within the sleeve and a plurality of friction pins extend radially outward from the shaft. The plurality of friction pins are adapted for interference-fit engagement with an inner surface of the pipe. A ring seal is circumferentially disposed around an inner surface of the sleeve. The ring seal adapted to circumferentially seal an outer surface of the pipe.
US09255457B2	Deep deployment system for electric submersible pumps A system for deep deployment of electric submersible pumps is described. In an implementation, an electric submersible pump (ESP) power cable has a strength member that enables the ESP power cable to support itself when lowered deep into a well inside a coiled tubing. The self-supporting ESP power cable frees the coiled tubing from having to carry the weight of the ESP power cable, thereby permitting longer runs of coiled tubing to be suspended into the well. The ESP power cable and the coiled tubing can be anchored independently to a wellhead, and a computing device can monitor the weight loads on the ESP power cable and on the coiled tubing.
US09255455B2	Drill cuttings treatment system Aspects of the present disclosure also involved a method of processing waste, such as drill cuttings, involving the operations of receiving a waste material comprising a liquid material and a solid material, the waste material received directly from a source wherein the waste material is warm. The source may be a drilling operation and the waste material may be drill cuttings from the drilling operation. The method further involving pumping the warm waste material to a separation mechanism, such as a dryer, that separates a portion of the solid material (e.g., cuttings) from a portion of the liquid material (e.g., drilling fluid). The method may further involve mixing the separated solid material with a bioremediation agent.
US09255453B1	Heavy duty riser connector assembly A heavy duty riser connector assembly for joining together and sealing sections of pipe, having an upper connector housing, a lower connector housing and grooves and ribs formed circumferentially on an outer diameter each housing. The assembly having a locking sliding sleeve to slide over and lock together the connector housing and a locking detent ring adapted to pop out and lock the locking sliding sleeve in place so the permanent locking sliding sleeve is not effected by vibration when the locking sliding sleeve has been slid over at least one flexible collet. The assembly can simultaneously seal a riser bore against internal and external pressure while additionally carrying heavy tensile and bending loads without deforming while engaging a riser for both drilling and production or any other application requiring rapid makeup of pipe.
US09255451B2	Tube locking mechanism for downhole components An apparatus for securing a transmission line in a downhole component includes: an element coupled to an exterior surface of the transmission line, the transmission line configured to be disposed in a communication conduit that extends through the downhole component, the element configured to restrict axial movement of the transmission line within the communication conduit.
US09255449B2	Drill bit with electrohydraulically adjustable pads for controlling depth of cut A drill bit is disclosed that in one embodiment includes a pad configured to extend and retract from a surface of the drill bit, a motor, a linearly movable member coupled to the motor, a hydraulic unit configured to apply force on the pad, and wherein motion of the motor in a first direction causes the linearly movable member in a first direction to cause the hydraulic unit to exert a force on the pad to extend the pad.
US09255448B2	Reaming shoe for increased borehole clearance and method of use An articulated reaming tool is provided in casing or liner drilling on or through the tubular wall with the articulation occurring from within the tubular. Outer limit travel stops are contemplated to optionally be used to retain the elements or blades to the tubular. In the case of liner drilling the drill string has an exterior protrusion to engage the movable components that ream and extend them to increase the clearance for the tubular as the tubular advances when more hole is made.
US09255441B2	Canopy system There is described a canopy system comprising two or more parallel elongated rods, one or more canopy pieces having two parallel edges, two or more elongated bars connected to each of the two or more parallel elongated rods and attached to each of the two parallel edges of the one or more canopy pieces, and at least one connection mechanism attached to each of the elongated rods having a connector that is capable of being suspended from a support. The elongated rods may include at least one lower cavity having two channels each configured to detachably and slidably receive each of the elongated bars. The lower cavity may have a groove that is configured to detachably and slidably receive an accessory. The elongated rods each may include at least one upper cavity configured to detachably and slidably receive each connection mechanism and a second accessory.
US09255440B2	Screen assembly A screen assembly includes a core having an edge and first and second opposite side surfaces. A retainer, or edge treatment, is coupled to the edge of the core and extends outwardly from the core. The retainer includes first and second resilient limbs having respective edge portions defining a mouth. First and second cover portions overly the core and exterior surfaces of the retainer. The first and second cover portions wrap around the first and second limbs and are disposed through the mouth such that the edges of the first and second cover portions are retained by the limbs. Various screen supports and accessory interface members also are provided.
US09255434B2	Vehicle power window apparatus A vehicle power window apparatus includes: a driver seat unit and a first non-driver seat switch which is a manual switch provided on a non-driver seat to open and close a non-driver seat window. The driver seat unit includes a switching circuit operated based on a predetermined operation of the first non-driver seat switch. When an extended operation of the first non-driver seat switch set by operating the first non-driver seat switch for a certain time period or more is detected, the control unit drives the switching circuit. After the extended operation of the first non-driver seat switch is released, the control unit fully opens or closes the non-driver seat window in an automatic operation mode by energizing the non-driver seat motor via the switching circuit and the first non-driver seat switch by the power supply.
US09255432B2	Seal structure for fixing window regulator to inner panel of vehicle An object of the present invention is to provide a seal structure being capable of preventing rain water and the like from entering the inside of a vehicle through a clearance between an engagement portion and an engagement hole portion. The seal structure S is for fixing a window regulator WR to an inner panel 1. The inner panel 1 is provided with an engagement hole portion 1H, and the window regulator WR comprises an engagement portion 7 being slidable with respect to the inner panel 1 and engaging with the engagement hole portion 1H, a sealing member 8 provided around the engagement portion 7, and a seal supporting portion 9 holding the sealing member 7 between the seal supporting member 9 and the portion of the inner panel 1 surrounding the engagement hole portion 1H.
US09255428B1	Method for inspecting lock set A method for inspecting a lock set is to utilize a reception unit for receiving the signals from a lock set mounted at a door to inspect whether the door is closed and whether the lock set is locked or being broken.
US09255424B1	Door jamb mounted door lock A lock mechanism for use with a swinging door on hinges with no outside key involved. A fixture is affixed to the door frame opposite the hinges. A through bore allows a rod with a handle at one end and threads at the opposite end to pass through the door and be threaded into a threaded aperture in the fixture to prevent hinged movement of the door. The parts may be cadmium plated for corrosion protection.
US09255421B2	Secure shelter with trapezoidal walls An above-ground secure shelter comprise multiple modular walls of trapezoidal shape allowing dimensional variation of structure size, supported on base beams placed and anchored into the ground in the pattern defined by the shape of polygon chosen for the floor, a door with locking mechanism remaining securely closed from inside during a storm event and preventing lock-out when shelter is not in use, a multitude of structural inserts and plates connectively placed between adjacent walls, and a roof affixed thereto, resulting in a cost-effective portable shelter in the shape of polygonal pyramid frustum for use during inclement weather and/or during armed assault alike.
US09255416B1	Construction hoist system This invention relates generally to a method for using a deck in construction. In one embodiment, a technique includes, but is not limited to, positioning a deck on a floor of a building, the deck including at least a stationary support structure and a slidable platform; and extending the slidable platform relative to the stationary support structure beyond an edge of the floor of the building at least partly using one or more wheels of the slidable platform that rest directly or indirectly on the floor of the building.
US09255415B2	Binding apparatus A binding apparatus for binding a wire around one or more objects is provided. The binding apparatus is adapted to bind the wire such that a predetermined tension in the wire is achieved. A method of binding a wire around one or more objects so as to achieve a desired tension of the wire in the binding is also provided.
US09255407B2	Truss system A truss system for roofing a building; a truss of said truss system including at least one truss segment; each said truss segment comprising a first elongate element and a second elongate element; said first and second elongate elements interconnected at intervals by a series of fish-plate assemblies; said fish-plate assemblies arranged in sliding engagement with respective extruded fish-plate channels of said first and second elongate elements.
US09255406B1	Insulating and venting assembly The present invention comprises an effective insulation and ventilating assembly that can insulate a structure, usually in roofing or exterior wall applications, from conductive, convective and radiant heat. The insulating and venting assembly is comprised of a rigid foam sheet and a rigid panel such as oriented strand board (OSB) or plywood attached one or both sides of the rigid foam sheet. The rigid foam sheet has air spacer columns and air spaces on one or both faces. Radiant barrier layers can be applied to either faces of the rigid panels and/or can be applied to the air spacer and air space surfaces allowing for radiant heat to be radiating back or radiant heat to not be reradiated by the radiant barrier low emissivity surface. The air spaces in the rigid foam face allows air and moisture to be vented though the insulating and venting assembly.
US09255392B2	Flush toilet device When a bowl 20d discharges waste with flush water after temporarily receiving the waste, before the waste is transported from at least the discharge trap conduit 40 by the flush water supplied from a flush water supply hole 30d as flush water supply means, the flush toilet device CSd drives a siphon pump 505d and then drives a return pump 506d before the supply of the flush water has been completed.
US09255391B2	Sink assembly having an enclosure formed from a tire A sink assembly includes a wash basin having a rim. The sink assembly further includes a tire having an opening therethrough to receive the wash basin. The rim of the wash basin engages the tire. A foam insert is disposed within the tire. A support assembly engages the tire and is configured for coupling the sink assembly to a supporting surface.
US09255390B2	Toilet purging device The present invention provides a toilet purging device that ejects gas, when a switch is operated. The toilet purging device includes a pipe body that has a gas channel through the pipe body, a firing unit that includes a firing pin disposed to be longitudinally movable and a switch for moving the firing pin to the pipe body when pushed. The firing pin is coupled to the upper end of the pipe body. The toilet purging device includes a tightening cap that is thread-fastened to the top of the firing unit with a gas container therebetween and moves the gas container to be in close contact with the firing pin when turned, and a connector that is coupled to the lower end of the pipe body and inserted into a drain pipe of a toilet.
US09255389B2	Food preparation sink Food preparation sinks are disclosed which have an integral raised work area that is rinsed by an automatic system. Food waste or the like present in that area can be washed into a sump above a drain, and the weight of the waste and water in the sump is enough to automatically drive them through a baffle to a food waste disposer, without requiring the baffle to be manually opened. An automatic controller system coordinates water flow and food waste disposer operation, and the water supply can be linked to the sink below the sink rim to save counter top space. In some forms multiple rinsing nozzles are provided which pulse in altering fashion.
US09255388B2	Switch structure of water outlet of wall-mounted faucet A water output switch structure of a faucet includes a water output switch structure of a faucet comprising a faucet main body, a water guiding duct, a switch valve, and a positioning unit including an adapter, a locking unit, a water-stopping pad and a water-stopping ring. The switch valve has a valve stick that moves horizontally, so a pulling head of the valve stick would not fall down unexpectedly due to gravity to change the status of water output.
US09255384B2	Construction machine with pilot hoses Provided is a construction machine where a pilot hose is easily routed. The construction machine includes a seat stand, an operator's seat provided on the seat stand, a remote control valve provided just above a front end of the seat stand at least one of right and left sides of the operator's seat; a hydraulic valve; and a pilot hose interconnecting the remote control valve and the hydraulic valve. The seat stand has an upper surface including a specific surface located beneath the remote control valve and a reference surface on which the operator's seat is installed. A step is provided between the specific surface and the reference surface to make the specific surface be lower than the reference surface, thus enlarging a space for routing the pilot hose beneath the remote control valve.
US09255383B2	Device for fixing the hydraulic piping of construction equipment Provided is a device for fixing hydraulic piping to prevent the hydraulic piping from sliding down even when the bolt for coupling a clamp which fixes the hydraulic piping is loosened by the vibration generated during operation. The device for fixing the hydraulic piping of construction equipment includes: a piping sheet fixed to a boom structure; upper and lower clamps constituted by a fixed part fixed to the piping sheet and a concave groove for supporting the hydraulic piping; a coupling member for fixing the fixed part to the piping sheet; a hydraulic pipe fixing plate mounted on the piping sheet; a connecting hole for connecting a main pipe, which is connected to a main control valve mounted on an upper rotating body, to the hydraulic pipe disposed on the boom structure; and a bolt and nut for fixing the connecting hole to the hydraulic pipe fixing plate.
US09255382B2	Construction machine Provided is a construction machine having a sufficient space for tool accommodation and allowing reducing agent to be supplied into a reducing-agent tank easily. The construction machine includes an engine, a reducing-agent tank having a tank body and a supply portion, and a tool box. The tool box includes a box body defining an accommodation space having an opening which opens the accommodation space outwards and allows a tool to be put into and taken from the accommodation space through the opening, and an opening/closing cover which opens and closes the opening. The tank body is outside the box body. The supply portion includes a basal end connected to the tank body and a distal end located in the accommodation space at a position making the distal end visible from the outside of the box body through the opening which is opened.
US09255379B2	Motor grader A motor grader includes a frame and a work implement. The frame is box-shaped. The work implement is configured to be supported by the frame. The frame includes a bracket, a first frame part and a second frame part. The bracket has left and right side surfaces with which a lifter guide is formed in an integrated manner. The first frame part is configured to extend forward from a front end part of the bracket and support the work implement. The second frame part is configured to extend rearward from a rear end part of the bracket.
US09255373B1	Systems and methods for removal of trunnion pin sleeve and for supporting tainter gate during said removal Methods and systems for use in the removal of trunnion pin sleeves and the supporting of lock and/or dam gate structures (e.g., tainter or roller gates) are disclosed herein. In one example embodiment, a method of trunnion pin sleeve removal includes causing either a constriction of at least one part of the sleeve or an application of a torque with respect to the at least one part of the sleeve, and subsequently applying a force to the at least one part of the sleeve so as to pull out the sleeve. Also, in another example embodiment, a system for supporting a lock and/or dam gate assembly includes a support assembly having a at least one pedestal assembly. The support assembly further includes a trunnion arm support structure, configured to be supported at least in part by the at least one pedestal assembly and to at least partially support a trunnion arm.
US09255370B2	Snow plow for adjusting to surface contours and obstacles A snow plow includes a plurality of surface-engaging sections movably carried by the moldboard and depending from the moldboard in side-by-side relationship with one another. The surface-engaging sections are each independently linearly movable relative to the moldboard between an extended position and a retracted position to adjust to the contour of the surface being plowed. Each surface-engaging section comprises a main body portion carried by the moldboard, and a surface-engaging trip blade portion carried by the main body portion and which can pivot between a surface-scraping position and a deflected position and is urged toward the surface-scraping position. The trip blade portion can deflect to accommodate obstacles, and can cooperate with the linear movement of the surface-engaging sections to accommodate larger obstacles than can be accommodated by deflection alone. The snow plow also includes adjustable wear shoes and an adjustable vehicle mounting assembly.
US09255366B2	Concrete screed with recycled rubber from discarded tyres It is disclosed a concrete screed with recycled rubber from discarded tyres (PFU), comprising cement, pre-treated recycled rubber from discarded tyres, with particle size comprised between 0.1 and 20 mm, preferably between 1 and 10 mm, still more preferably between 2 and 5 mm, pre-treated, inert materials, polymeric additives and water.
US09255365B1	Compaction system A compaction system for providing one or more compaction passes for each pass of the compaction system is provided. The compaction system includes a belt and a sun element having a first axis and positioned within the belt. The compaction system also includes a planet element engaged with the sun element and the belt. The planet element is configured to revolve around the sun element and the first axis. The belt also revolves around the sun element. Further, for every revolution of the belt around the sun element, the planet element completes one or more revolutions around the sun element.
US09255359B2	Rotatable-drum laundry drier and method of controlling a rotatable-drum laundry drier A method for controlling a rotatable-drum laundry drier to dry laundry in a drum is provided. The control method includes the steps of memorizing, in a memory device of the laundry drier, a comparison threshold variable in time according to a predetermined profile, and, at predetermined drying times in the laundry drying cycle, measuring an electric quantity indicating the moisture in the laundry at the drying time; comparing, at each drying time, the measured electric quantity with the memorized comparison threshold corresponding to the drying time; and determining the end of drying cycle time on the basis of this comparison.
US09255356B2	Supporting device and washing machine having the same A supporting device having improved assembly efficiency used to commonly support a washing machine and a drying machine with legs having different sizes, and a washing machine having the same. The supporting device includes a supporting device main body to support a washing machine main body, and supporters installed on the supporting device main body to receive and fix legs connected to the bottom of the washing machine main body, and each supporter includes a guide member to receive each leg, and at least one fixing member to fix each leg.
US09255351B2	Knitting with yarns of differing stretch properties A method of forming a circular knit fabric includes feeding a multi-filament non-elastomeric yarn from a first spool into an aperture defined in a yarn carrier plate that guides the non-elastomeric yarn sequentially to a series of knitting needles spaced about a circular needle array; while feeding an elastomeric yarn from a second spool to the yarn carrier plate, such that a fabric is knit to have a ground comprising both the non-elastomeric yarn and the elastomeric yarn. The non-elastomeric yarn and the elastomeric yarn are fed together into the carrier plate aperture in an untwisted, unwrapped relation, such that the fabric ground is knit to have a technical face in which portions of the non-elastomeric yarn are exposed in some areas and portions of the elastomeric yarn are exposed in some areas.
US09255346B2	Silicon wafers by epitaxial deposition A system for depositing thin single crystal silicon wafers by epitaxial deposition in a silicon precursor depletion mode with cross-flow deposition may include: a substrate carrier with low total heat capacity, high emissivity and small volume; a lamp module with rapid heat-up, efficient heat production, and spatial control over heating; and a manifold designed for cross-flow processing. Furthermore, the substrate carrier may include heat reflectors to control heat loss from the edges of the carrier and/or heat chokes to thermally isolate the carrier from the manifolds, allowing independent temperature control of the manifolds. The carrier and substrates may be configured for deposition on both sides of the substrates—the substrates having release layers on both sides and the carriers being configured to have equal process gas flow over both surfaces of the substrate. High volume may be addressed by a deposition system comprising multiple mini-batch reactors.
US09255344B2	Silicon carbide substrate and method of manufacturing the same A silicon carbide substrate capable of stably forming a device of excellent performance, and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. A silicon carbide substrate is made of a single crystal of silicon carbide, and has a width of not less than 100 mm, a micropipe density of not more than 7 cm−2, a threading screw dislocation density of not more than 1×104 cm−2, a threading edge dislocation density of not more than 1×104 cm−2, a basal plane dislocation density of not more than 1×104 cm−2, a stacking fault density of not more than 0.1 cm−1, a conductive impurity concentration of not less than 1×1018 cm−3, a residual impurity concentration of not more than 1×1016 cm−3, and a secondary phase inclusion density of not more than 1 cm−3.
US09255342B2	Bismuth-doped semi-insulating group III nitride wafer and its production method The present invention discloses a semi-insulating wafer of GaxAlyIn1-x-yN (0≦x≦1, 0≦x+y≦1) which is doped with bismuth (Bi). The semi-insulating wafer has the resistivity of 104 ohm-cm or more. Although it is very difficult to obtain a single crystal ingot of group III nitride, the ammonothermal method can grow highly-oriented poly or single crystal ingot of group III nitride having the density of dislocations/grain boundaries less than 105 cm−2. The invention also disclose the method of fabricating the semi-insulating group III nitride bulk crystals and wafers.
US09255339B2	Localized, in-vacuum modification of small structures A charge transfer mechanism is used to locally deposit or remove material for a small structure. A local electrochemical cell is created without having to immerse the entire work piece in a bath. The charge transfer mechanism can be used together with a charged particle beam or laser system to modify small structures, such as integrated circuits or microelectromechanical system. The charge transfer process can be performed in air or, in some embodiments, in a vacuum chamber.
US09255338B2	Permanent system for continuous detection of current distribution in interconnected electrolytic cells The invention relates to a current collecting bus-bar comprising electrode housings for accommodating a multiplicity of electrodes in electrical contact therewith. Probes for measuring the electric potential locally established in correspondence of the electrical contacts during the passage of electric current are also connected to the bus-bar. The invention further relates to a permanent monitoring system allowing the continuous evaluation of current distribution on each electrode of electrolysis cells of metal electrowinning or electrorefining plants, connected to an alerting system and to means for disconnecting individual electrodes in case on non-compliance with preset values.
US09255336B2	Method and apparatus for producing a stabilized antimicrobial non-toxic electrolyzed saline solution exhibiting potential as a therapeutic An improved method and apparatus for producing a stable, non-toxic, antimicrobial electrolyzed saline solution with a broad range of anti-infective and therapeutic applications. The resulting electrolyzed saline solution exhibits a marked lack of toxicity upon intravenous, aspired, oral or topical application in mammals for therapeutic applications providing a broad platform, including topical disinfection, antimicrobial application, wound treatment, oxidative stress reduction and enhancement of immune function to better detect malfunctioning cells.
US09255335B2	Catalysts for low temperature electrolytic CO2 reduction A method for electrochemically reducing CO2 is provided. A cathode is provided, wherein the cathode comprises a conductive substrate with a catalyst of a metal and a metal oxide based coating on a side of the cathode. An anode is spaced apart from the cathode. An ionic transport is provided between the anode and cathode. The cathode is exposed to CO2 and H2O. The anode is exposed to H2O. A voltage is provided between the cathode and anode.
US09255334B2	Hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst Systems and methods for a hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst are provided. Electrode material includes a plurality of clusters. The electrode exhibits bifunctionality with respect to the hydrogen evolution reaction. The electrode with clusters exhibits improved performance with respect to the intrinsic material of the electrode absent the clusters.
US09255331B2	Apparatus for plating process An apparatus for a plating process includes: an outer chamber; an inner chamber covered by the outer chamber; a rotatable holding mechanism configured to hold a substrate horizontally and installed in the inner chamber; a fluid supply unit configured to supply a plating solution to a preset position on the substrate; a gas supply device configured to generate a nonreactive gas and control a temperature of the nonreactive gas; a gas supply hole configured to supply the nonreactive gas into the outer chamber and provided in a top surface of the outer chamber; a plurality of gas inlet openings provided at a sidewall of the inner chamber and spaced apart at equal distances; and a rectifying plate disposed above the substrate and below the plurality of gas inlet openings inside the inner chamber, the rectifying plate having a plurality of rectifying holes uniformly disposed in the rectifying plate.
US09255330B2	Method and device for atmospheric pressure plasma treatment A continuous plasma treatment process is disclosed. The process may include providing at least one plasma treatment zone having a pair of electrodes with endless dielectric belts, each belt having a first and a second side that covers one of the electrodes. The process may include producing a non-thermal plasma in a space between the belts, and transporting a web material via the belts such that there is a width of exposed belt on either side of the web material. The process may include transporting the web material such that a side of the web material not in contact with the belts is treated in two passes through the at least one plasma treatment zone, while exposed parts of the belts transporting the web material are also treated. The process may include cleaning treated parts of the belts prior to the belts re-entering the at least one plasma treatment zone.
US09255329B2	Modulated ion-induced atomic layer deposition (MII-ALD) The present invention relates to a cyclic deposition process suitable for depositing an elemental film. The process employs an enhanced atomic layer deposition technique.
US09255327B2	Thermally stable volatile precursors A method of forming a thin film on a substrate which includes a step of contacting a surface with a precursor compound having a transition metal and one or more alkyl-1,3-diazabutadiene ligands is provided. The resulting modified surface is then contacted with an activating compound.
US09255324B2	Aluminum precursor composition The present disclosure is related to an aluminum-containing precursor composition, especially a precursor composition which is vaporized to be used for vapor phase deposition processes such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD).
US09255314B2	Hot-forging micro-alloyed steel and hot-rolled steel excellent in fracture-splitability and machinability, and component made of hot-forged microalloyed steel The invention provides a hot-forging micro-alloyed steel which achieves excellent fracture-splitability and machinability, without impairing productivity or mechanical properties and without the addition of Pb or the like. It also provides a component made of hot-forged micro-alloyed steel. The hot-forging micro-alloyed steel contains, in mass %, C: from 0.35 to 0.60%, Si: 0.50 to 2.50%, Mn: 0.20 to 2.00%, P: 0.010 to 0.150%, S: 0.040 to 0.150%, V: 0.10 to 0.50%, Zr: over 0.0023 to 0.0050%, Ca: 0.0005 to 0.0050% and N: 0.0069 to 0.0200%, Al being limited to less than 0.010%, and a balance substantially of Fe and unavoidable impurities.
US09255312B2	Cutting tool insert A polycrystalline diamond (PCD) compact and method for making the compact are provided. The method includes bringing a first PCD wafer and a second PCD wafer together at an interface in the presence of a bonding agent to form an unbonded assembly and bonding the wafers together at the interface at a pressure and temperature at which diamond is thermodynamically stable. The first PCD wafer is more thermally stable than the second PCD wafer.
US09255310B2	Cu—Mg—P based copper alloy material and method of producing the same A copper alloy material includes, by mass %, Mg of 0.3 to 2%, P of 0.001 to 0.1%, and the balance including Cu and inevitable impurities. An area fraction of such crystal grains that an average misorientation between all the pixels in each crystal grain is less than 4° is 45 to 55% of a measured area, when orientations of all the pixels in the measured area of the surface of the copper alloy material are measured by an EBSD method with a scanning electron microscope of an electron backscattered diffraction image system and a boundary in which a misorientation between adjacent pixels is 5° or more is considered as a crystal grain boundary, and a tensile strength is 641 to 708 N/mm2, and a bending elastic limit value is 472 to 503 N/mm2.
US09255309B2	Fine grain niobium sheet via ingot metallurgy In various embodiments, metallic products are formed by alloying niobium with at least one of yttrium, aluminum, hafnium, titanium, zirconium, thorium, lanthanum, or cerium and processing the alloy.
US09255307B2	Tantalum-material multilevel distillation crucible and distillation process A tantalum-material multilevel distillation crucible; the distillation crucible comprises a crucible body (1), an insulation plate (2), and a receiving hood (3); the insulation plate (2) is sheathed in the upper part of the crucible body (1), and the receiving cover is disposed on top of the crucible body (1) and above the insulation plate (2); the crucible body (1) is made of tantalum in a horn-shaped circular truncated cone increasing in size from top to bottom; and the insulation plate (2) is made of a high-temperature resistant refractory material with good insulation performance, characterized by: the insulation plate (2) comprises of a plurality of insulation plates that can be stacked and used (2); and a heating unit (6) provided with a plurality of pads (5) that can be stacked and used at the bottom of the crucible. According to the present invention, the height of a crucible buried in a heat source can be adjusted, enabling one crucible to be used for distillation of various kinds of rare earth metals.
US09255306B2	Steel wire rod and method of producing same A steel wire rod which is a material of steel wires includes, as a metallographic structure, by area %, 95% to 100% of a pearlite, wherein an average pearlite block size at a central portion of the steel wire rod is 1 μm to 25 μm, an average pearlite block size at a surface layer portion of the steel wire rod is 1 μm to 20 μm, and, when a minimum lamellar spacing of the pearlite at the central portion of the steel wire rod is S in unit of nm and when a distance from a peripheral surface of the steel wire rod to a center is r in unit of mm, S<12r+65 is satisfied.
US09255302B2	Method and device for reducing iron-oxide-containing feedstocks in a high-pressure reducing unit A method for reducing iron-oxide-containing feedstocks by introducing a reducing gas into a high-pressure reducing unit (1) where the reducing gas is consumed by reducing iron-oxide-containing feedstocks and then the reducing gas is withdrawn as top gas from the high-pressure reducing unit (1). At least one subportion of the top gas is admixed to a feed gas as recycle gas (15). The reducing gas is generated by CO2 being separated off from the gas mixture obtained from the addition of the recycle gas (15) to the feed gas after one or more compression steps. The recycle gas (15) is added to the feed gas in at least two recycle gas substreams that are separated from one another with recycle gas substream pressures at various distances from the high-pressure reducing unit (1).
US09255294B2	Hair shape susceptibility gene A genetic polymorphism and a hair shape susceptibility gene that are related to hair shape, and a method for determining the genetic susceptibility to hair shape in individual test subjects are provided. Disclosed is a hair shape susceptibility gene, which overlaps with a haplotype block in 1q21.3 region (D1S2696 to D1S2346) of human chromosome 1 and comprises a portion or the entirety of the base sequence of the haplotype block, wherein the haplotype block is determined by a linkage disequilibrium analysis conducted on a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker whose allele frequency differs statistically significantly between a group having a curly hair trait and a group having a non-curly hair trait, and consists of a base sequence set forth in any one of SEQ ID NO: 1 to NO: 5.
US09255292B2	Synthesis of four-color 3′-O-allyl modified photocleavable fluorescent nucleotides and related methods This invention provides a process for making 3′-O-allyl-dGTP-PC-Biodopy-FL-510, 3′-O-allyl-dATP-PC-ROX, 3′-O-allyl-dCTP-PC-Bodipy-650 and 3′-O-allyl-dUTP-PC-R6G, and related methods.
US09255283B2	Compositions and methods for bacterial lysis and neutral lipid production The present invention is directed to a cyanobacterium that produces neutral lipids or alkanes. Such neutral lipids or alkanes may be used for biofuel production.
US09255281B2	Bioconversion processes using water-insoluble liquids Processes are disclosed for bioconversion processes in which a ME biocatalyst is surrounded by water-insoluble liquid during the bioconversion to facilitate one or more of mass transfer of substrate to and bioproduct from the biocatalyst and the separation and recovery of bioproduct from the water-insoluble liquid. The ME biocatalyst irreversibly retains microorganizms for the bioconversion and has, in its interior, an aqueous environment.
US09255276B2	Method of transferring gene into algal cell involving utilizing multiple square-wave pulses in three steps A method of transferring an exogenous gene into a eukaryotic algal cell, the method including performing electroporation using multiple square-wave pulses to the solution containing a cell of a green alga with cell-wall, and a nucleic acid molecule by the following three steps: applying a square-wave electric pulse (first electric pulse) with a high voltage for a short period of time under the condition that its total electric energy falls within a predetermined range; then applying a square-wave electric pulse (second electric pulse) with a low voltage for a long period of time two or more times; and then applying a square-wave electric pulse (third electric pulse) that is opposite in polarity to the second electric pulse, with a low voltage for a long period of time, two or more times.
US09255271B2	Compositions and methods for treating tumors, fibrosis, and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis The present disclosure provides pharmaceutical compositions and methods useful for modulating angiogenesis and for inhibiting metastasis, tumors, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, and fibrosis in a mammalian tissue. Pharmaceutical compositions and methods include inhibitors of LOXL2 expression and activity, such as shRNA targeting LOXL2.
US09255270B2	Methods used in sensitizing invasive glioblastoma to therapeutic treatment The invention encompasses methods and kits used in the identification of invasive glioblastoma based upon the expression of Akt1, Akt2, and Akt3. The methods and kits also allow prediction of disease outcome and staging of patients with regard to therapy.
US09255267B2	Compositions and methods for modulating angiogenesis The invention generally features compositions and methods that are useful for modulating angiogenesis.
US09255266B2	RNA targeting in alpha-synucleinopathies Therapies and assays to screen for small molecules that can have therapeutic use in the control of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and other alpha-synucleinopathies.
US09255265B2	Methods for producing stranded cDNA libraries The present system provides novel methods and compositions for selecting a particular strand of RNA and/or producing a cDNA library that results in an unbiased representation of RNA in a sample.
US09255264B2	Hair shape susceptibility gene A genetic polymorphism and a hair shape susceptibility gene that are related to hair shape, and a method for determining the genetic susceptibility to hair shape in individual test subjects are provided. Disclosed is a hair shape susceptibility gene, which overlaps with a haplotype block in in the 11q12.2 to 11q13.2 region (D11S4191 and D11S987) of human chromosome 11 and comprises a portion or the entirety of the base sequence of the haplotype block, wherein the haplotype block is determined by a linkage disequilibrium analysis conducted on a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker whose allele frequency differs statistically significantly between a group having a curly hair trait and a group having a non-curly hair trait, and consists of a base sequence set forth in any one of SEQ ID NO: 1 to NO: 5.
US09255262B2	Albumin-binding arginine deminase and the use thereof The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition containing albumin-binding arginine deiminase fusion protein (AAD) for treating cancer or other arginine-dependent diseases. The AAD fusion protein can be purified from both soluble and insoluble fractions of crude proteins, it binds to human serum albumin (HSA) and has its high activity with longer half life for efficient depletion of arginine in cancer cells. The specific activities of wild-type ADI and AAD in the present invention are 8.4 and 9.2 U/mg (at physiological pH 7.4), respectively. The AAD used in the present invention can be used in the treatment of various cancers (e.g. pancreatic cancer, leukemia, head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer & brain cancer) and curing arginine-dependent diseases. The composition can be used alone or in combination with at least one chemotherapeutic agent to give a synergistic effect on cancer treatment and/or inhibiting metastasis.
US09255259B2	Targeted genomic modification with partially single-stranded donor molecules Disclosed herein are donor molecules comprising single-stranded complementary regions flanking one or more sequences of interest. The donor molecules and/or compositions comprising these molecules can be used in methods for targeted integration of an exogenous sequence into a specified region of interest in the genome of a cell.
US09255253B2	Multi plasmid system for the production of influenza virus Vectors and methods for the production of influenza viruses suitable as recombinant influenza vaccines in cell culture are provided. Bi-directional expression vectors for use in a multi-plasmid influenza virus expression system are provided. Additionally, the invention provides methods of producing influenza viruses with enhanced ability to replicate in embryonated chicken eggs and/or cells (e.g., Vero and/or MDCK) and further provides influenza viruses with enhanced replication characteristics. In addition, the present invention includes an improved method of rescue, wherein animal cells (e.g., SF Vero cells) are electroporated with plasmids and vectors of the invention.
US09255251B2	Purified bacteriophage, its preparation and application A method of preparation of purified bacteriophage with increased antibacterial activity, in which from bacterial lysate of phages is obtained, advantageously in the presence of lysozyme, chelating factor and detergent, in a continuous manner with ultrafiltration on membranes, the phage containing high molecular mass preparation, devoid of bacterial cell wall and other contaminants, free of toxins and endotoxins, active in tests of bacterial lysis, which is characterized by chromatography HPLC, In SDS-PAGE electrophoresis, immunoblotting, biological tests of bacterial lysis, and is dedicated for phage therapy of bacterial infections and tumors and for production of phage deriving pharmaceutical preparations.
US09255249B2	Isolation and purification of hematopoietic stem cells from post-liposuction lipoaspirates The present invention relates to a method of isolating hematopoietic stem cells from adipose tissue. The method yields a notably high number of CD34+, ALDHbr and/or ABCG2-expressing cells, comprising hematopoietic stem cells, permitting the use of the cells with no or minimal expansion.
US09255246B2	Use of lactobacilli inhibiting gas producing coliform bacterial isolated from infants affected by colic The present invention relates to a composition comprising two probiotic strains of bacteria capable of performing an antioxidant and/or antibacterial and competitive action against species of coliform bacteria that produce gas by fermentation of sugar, in particular lactose, isolated from infants affected by colic.
US09255245B2	Sample probes and methods for sampling intracellular material A sample probe includes a tip including a distal end for penetrating a cellular membrane, an opening located at or proximal to the distal end, and tip microchannels extending through the tip and communicating with the opening; and a body adjoining the tip and including body microchannels, wherein at least one of the body microchannels communicates with at least one of the tip microchannels. A method for sampling intracellular material includes inserting a probe tip through a cellular membrane; aspirating intracellular material from the cell, through an opening of the tip, and into a first microchannel of the tip; flowing isolator fluid from a second microchannel of the tip into the first microchannel to form a plug of intracellular material; and aspirating the plug and the isolator fluid through the first microchannel.
US09255244B2	Bioreactor A bioreactor (1) having a container (2), a shaft housing (3) for guiding a shaft (5) through a wall (7), a stirrer (6) connected to the shaft (5) in the interior (9) of the container (2), and a drive (4) arranged outside the container (2) and connectable to the shaft (5). The shaft (5) is mounted in the shaft housing (3) via at least one ball bearing (23) and is sealed in relation to the shaft housing (3) by at least one seal (11, 20). The seal (11, 20) is configured as a radial shaft seal (28) having two sealing lips (30, 31) that are arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the shaft (5) and are able to run on the shaft (5) without lubricant.
US09255240B2	Process of converting low and high free fatty acid containing oils into no free fatty acid containing oils A system and method for the conversion of high free fatty acid (HFFA) containing oils defined as oils containing 20-100% free fatty acids (FFA) and low free fatty acid (LFFA) containing oils defined as oils containing 1-20% free fatty acids (FFA) into oil with less than 0.5% FFA (defined as NFFA oil) includes a combination of partial glycerolysis of HFFA oils to produce LFFA oils and subsequent stripping of LFFA oils to produce NFFA oils via steam distillation.
US09255239B1	Formulation for corn oil recovery and method of use thereof Provided is a method for recovering oil from corn to ethanol production, the method comprising applying a formulation comprising (i) a compound of formula (I), in which R1-R3 are defined herein, (ii) an oil, and (iii) a metal oxide to a corn-based product from an ethanol production process. Also provided is a formulation effective for corn oil recovery comprising (i) a mixture of ethoxylated C14-18 mono- and diglycerides, (ii) an oil, and (iii) a metal oxide.
US09255238B2	Method to produce catalytically active nanocomposite coatings A nanocomposite coating and method of making and using the coating. The nanocomposite coating is disposed on a base material, such as a metal or ceramic; and the nanocomposite consists essentially of a matrix of an alloy selected from the group of Cu, Ni, Pd, Pt and Re which are catalytically active for cracking of carbon bonds in oils and greases and a grain structure selected from the group of borides, carbides and nitrides.
US09255237B2	Lubricating oil additive composition and method for improving storage stability of lubricating oil additive composition The purpose of the present invention is to provide a thiodicarboxylic acid ester which has high long-term storage stability without inhibiting antioxidant properties and wear-resistant properties of the thiodicarboxylic acid ester.In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a lubricating oil additive composition which is characterized by containing a compound (A) represented by general formula (1) and a compound (B) represented by general formula (2) and by having an acid value of 0.01-0.4 mgKOH/g. (in the formula, R1 and R4 each independently represent a hydrocarbon group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms and R2 and R3 each independently represent an alkylene group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms) (in the formula, R5 represents a hydrocarbon group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms and R6 and R7 each independently represent an alkylene group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms).
US09255227B2	Process for the synthesis of hydrocarbon constituents of gasoline Process for the synthesis of hydrocarbon constituents of gasoline comprising catalytic conversion in a gasoline synthesis step of an oxygenate-containing feed comprising methanol and/or dimethyl ether and a mixture of at least on a total oxygenate basis 0.05 wt % C3+ higher alcohols and/or their oxygenate equivalents to hydrocarbon constituents of gasoline.
US09255221B2	Composition containing borane compound and conjugated polymer compound, and element Provided is an organic material which can be employed for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device having a long luminance half-lifetime. The organic material is a composition containing: a borane compound represented by Formula (B1): wherein three ArB1 represent an arylene group or a divalent aromatic heterocyclic group; and three XB1 represent an aromatic amino group, a monovalent aromatic heterocyclic group, an alkyl group, or a hydrogen atom; and a conjugated polymer compound represented by Formula (P1): wherein Arp1 represents an arylene group, with the proviso that Arp1 is different from Flup1; Flup1 represents a fluorenediyl group; Hetp1 represents a divalent aromatic heterocyclic group; Amp1 represents a divalent aromatic amine residue; nAr, nFlu, nHet and nAm are numbers representing molar ratios of Arp1, Flup1, Hetp1 and Amp1, respectively, and numbers satisfying 0.4≦nFlu≦1, 0≦nAr≦0.6, 0≦nHet≦0.6 and 0≦nAm≦0.6 when defining nAr+nFlu+nHet+nAm=1.
US09255216B2	Adhesive agent composition, adhesive agent layer, polarizing plate provided with adhesive agent layer, and image formation device A pressure-sensitive adhesive composition, comprising: (A) a (meth)acryl-based polymer; and (B) an ionic compound comprising an anion component and a cation component, wherein the anion component is at least one of an anion component represented by the general formula (1): (CnF2n+1SO2)2N−, (1) wherein n is an integer of 3 to 10, and an anion component represented by the general formula (2): CF2(CmF2mSO2)2N−, (2) wherein m is an integer of 2 to 10.
US09255215B2	Sizing composition for fibers, in particular mineral fibers, comprising a non-reducing sugar and an inorganic acid ammonium salt, and resulting products A formaldehyde-free sizing composition for products based on fibers, in particular mineral fibers, such as fibers of glass or of rock, includes at least one non-reducing sugar, and at least one inorganic acid ammonium salt, preferably chosen from ammonium sulfates, phosphates, nitrates and carbonates. Another subject matter of the present invention is the products thus obtained, in particular thermal and/or acoustic insulators based on mineral wool and veils of nonwoven mineral fibers, and their process of manufacture.
US09255214B2	Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) composition comprising inorganic particles and polymer particles A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) composition, comprising (A) at least one type of inorganic particles which are dispersed in the liquid medium (C), (B) at least one type of polymer particles which are dispersed in the liquid medium (C), (C) a liquid medium, wherein the zeta-potential of the inorganic particles (A) in the liquid medium (C) and the zeta-potential of the polymer particles in the liquid medium (C) are of same signs.
US09255210B2	Olefin based polymer-combined organic-inorganic composite and composition for forming same It is an object of the present invention to provide an anchor coating agent that can be used in one layer as an anchor coating for a base material and an inorganic material. An organic-inorganic hybrid coating composition that can be used as the anchor coating agent of the present invention contains the following components. a) an organic silicon compound which is at least one represented by formula (I) RnSiX4-n . . . (I) (wherein R represents an organic group having a carbon atom directly bonded to Si, and X represents a hydroxyl group or a hydrolyzable group; and n represents 1 or 2, wherein when n is 2, each R is the same or different, and when (4-n) is 2, each X is the same or different), wherein a solubility parameter of Rn (SP1) obtained by Fedors' estimation method is smaller than a solubility parameter of an olefin-based polymer (SP2) obtained by Fedors' estimation method and a difference between the SP1 and the SP2 is 1.6 or more (Si1), and/or a condensate thereof; b) a photopolymerization initiator or a thermal polymerization initiator; and c) the olefin-based polymer.
US09255202B2	Method for treating surface of pigment microparticles The surface of fine pigment particles is efficiently treated using low energy without causing a cost increase. Provided is a method of treating the surface of fine pigment particles, characterized by maintaining a small gap of 1 mm or narrower between two treating surfaces which are able to get close to and apart from each other and relatively rotate and using the gap between the two treating surfaces which is kept so narrow, as a passage for a fluid to be treated, thereby forming a thin film of the fluid to be treated (forced thin film). Fine pigment particles are formed in this thin-film fluid (forced thin film). The method is further characterized by modifying the surface of the formed fine pigment particles within the thin-film fluid (forced thin film).
US09255199B2	Hydrophilic silicone monomers, process for their preparation and thin films containing the same There is provided new mono-(meth)acrylate functionalized hydrophilic silicone monomers containing a polyether with branched linking group, useful in making water absorbing silicone-hydrogel films for contact lens applications. This invention also provides homo-polymers and copolymers made from the mono-(meth)acrylate functionalized hydrophilic silicone monomers described herein. Also provided is a process for producing the monomers and polymers described herein and contact lenses produced from the same.
US09255196B2	Accelerator for curing resins Accelerator solution suitable for forming a redox system with peroxides, comprising a Cu(I) compound, a transition metal selected from cobalt and titanium, a phosphorous-containing compound, a nitrogen-containing base, and a hydroxy-functional solvent.
US09255189B2	Ethanol production with two stage continuous steam pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass Disclosed is a method of producing ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass, including a two stage steam pretreatment process. The first stage of the steam pretreatment is carried out by heating the biomass with high pressure steam to a first stage temperature of 140° C. to 180° C. for a first stage time of 30 minutes to 2 hours at a first stage pressure of 105 to 150 psig; and the second steam pretreatment stage is carried out by heating the biomass with high pressure steam to raise the biomass temperature to a second stage temperature of 190° C. to 210° C. for a second stage time of 2 to 10 minutes at a second stage pressure of 167 to 262 psig. Hemicellulose and inhibitors (inhibitory compounds) to downstream hydrolysis and fermentation are preferably removed between the first and second pretreating stages, more preferably after each pretreatment stage.
US09255181B2	Solventless process for the preparation of amine functional polyetherimide resins with improved melt flow The disclosure relates to a process that includes blending a polyimide resin and a primary alky amine organic compound to produce an aryl amine functionalized polyimide, having aryl amine functionality in excess of any anhydride functionality. The polyimide resin can have a weight average molecular weight (Mw) from 5,000 to 100,000 daltons. The organic compound can include at least one primary aliphatic amine without a direct linkage of a nitrogen to an aryl group and without a functionality selected from a halogen functionality, a hydroxyl functionality, a sulfonic acid functionality, a sulfonic acid salt functionality, and combinations thereof. The disclosure also relates to alkyl imide functionalized polyimides also with aryl amine functionalized polyimides, having aryl amine functionality in excess of any anhydride functionality and articles produced therefrom.
US09255180B2	Ultraviolet radiation absorbing polyethers A polymer composition comprising a linear ultraviolet radiation absorbing polyether that comprises a chemically bound UV-chromophore.
US09255176B2	Surface modification of polymers via surface active and reactive end groups Polymer surface modification method comprising the steps of first forming a surface of primary reactive end groups tethered to the polymer chain ends during fabrication of an article, and then modifying the reactive surface with bio-active molecules, hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomers, oligomers, or polymers to attain specific surface properties. Alternatively, a multifunctional coupling agent can be used to couple the primary reactive group to a second reactive group capable of reacting with a functional group associated with bio-active molecules, hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomers, oligomers, and polymers to attain specific surface properties. The invention involves bringing reactive endgroups to the surface with surface active spacer attached to the polymer chain end. The surface active spacer allows the migration and enrichment of reactive end groups to the surface during fabrication. The invention provides medical devices having a bio-interface with anti-thrombogenic properties, lubricity, selective adsorption, and antimicrobial properties.
US09255171B2	Polymer, process and composition There are described q oligomer-polymer composition [optionally substantially free of styrene (<1.5 wt-% of copolymer)] comprising oligomer composition O having a weight average molecular weight of from 1000 to 150,000 g/mol (measured by GPC) and polymer composition P having a weight average molecular weight of at least 80,000 g/mol (measured by GPC) the oligomer composition O and the polymer composition P each independently comprising a copolymer composition comprising: (a) at least 8.5 wt-% preferably >=20 wt-% of a higher itaconate diester (preferably dibutyl itaconate—DBI); (b) less than 23 wt-% acid monomer but also sufficient to have an acid value less than 150 mg KOH/g of polymer, (c) optionally with less than 50 wt-% of other itaconate monomers, and (d) optionally less than 77 wt-% of other monomers not (a) to (c). The DBI may be biorenewable. One embodiment is an aqueous dispersion of vinyl sequential polymer of two phases: A) 40 to 90 wt-% of a vinyl polymer A with Tg from −50 to 30° C.; and B) 10 to 60 wt-% of a vinyl polymer B with Tg from 50 to 130° C.; where DBI is used to prepare A and/or B and polymer A has from 0.1 to 10 wt-% of at least one acid-functional olefinically unsaturated monomer. Another embodiment is an aqueous polymer coating composition of a vinyl oligomer C of Mw from 1,000 to 150,000 g/mol and an acid value>5 mgKOH/g; and a vinyl polymer D of Mw>=80,000 g/mol and an acid value<10 mgKOH/g where D is obtained from DBI and the amount of monomers used to form C and D fall into the respective weight ratios 5 to 70 for polymer C and 95 to 30 for polymer D. A further embodiment is an aqueous suspension polymerization process for preparing vinyl polymer beads from olefinically unsaturated monomers and a free-radical initiator, where at least 10 wt-% of the monomer is DBI.
US09255169B2	Method for preparing biomass-based polymer emulsion A method for preparing biomass-based polymer emulsion. The method includes: 1) preparing cardanol-based polymerizable emulsifier; 2) preparing castor oil-based polyurethane prepolymer; and 3) preparing biomass-based polymer emulsion.
US09255168B2	Highly branched compositions and processes for the production thereof A highly branched polyolefin having olefin derived units; wherein the highly branched polyolefin has: (i) a branching index, g′(vis), of less than about 0.9; (ii) a phase angle, δ, of less than about 55 degrees at a complex modulus of 10 kPa, measured at 190° C.; (iii) a gel content of less than or equal to about 10%; and (iv) a melting point of less than about 135° C.; wherein the highly branched polyolefin is obtained by contacting one or more polyolefins with a free radical generator. The highly branched polyolefin may also comprise a modifying polymer, wherein the modifying polymer may be the similar or dissimilar to the polyolefin. Methods of producing these highly branched polyolefins and blends of these highly branched polyolefins are also disclosed.
US09255165B2	Poly (pentabromobenzyl acrylate) and its properties Poly (pentabromobenzyl acrylate) having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) in the range from 200,000 to 600,000 and a polydispersity index less than 15 based on high temperature gel permeation chromatography.
US09255164B2	Aqueous polymerization of perfluoromonomer using hydrocarbon surfactant A process is provided for the polymerization of fluoromonomer to an dispersion of fluoropolymer particles in an aqueous medium in a polymerization reactor, by (a) providing the aqueous medium in the reactor, (b) adding the fluoromonomer to the reactor, (c) adding initiator to the aqueous medium, the combination of steps (b) and (c) being carried out essentially free of hydrocarbon-containing surfactant and resulting in the kickoff of the polymerization of the fluoromonomer, and (d) metering hydrocarbon-containing surfactant into the aqueous medium after the kickoff of polymerization, e.g. after the concentration of the fluoropolymer in the aqueous medium is at least 0.6 wt %, the metering being at a rate reducing the telogenic activity of said surfactant while maintaining surface activity.
US09255158B2	Aminosilane initiators, functionalized polymers prepared therefrom and related processes Disclosed herein are metallated aminosilane compounds for use as functional initiators in anionic polymerizations and processes for producing an aminosilane-functionalized polymer using the metallated aminosilane compounds to initiate anionic polymerization of at least one type of anionically polymerizable monomer. Preferred use of the metallated aminosilane compounds results in rubber compositions for use in tires comprising an aminosilane functionalized polymer. A telechelic polymer may result from use of the metallated aminosilane compound and a functional terminator.
US09255156B2	Immunogenic synthetic glycoconjugate for the immunotherapy of melanoma A specific antibody against a compound of formula (I) wherein X is O, NH, S, CH2; L is a linker that is a divalent spacer; A is an adjuvant or carrier that is an immunogenic molecule or an immunogenic particle; and wherein bonds between linker and saccharide moiety and between linker and carrier are of covalent type; wherein the linker L presents a chemical structure suitable to space the saccharide moiety and the carrier by 7-30 atoms when the adjuvant/carrier A is a biomacromolecule or by 19-30 atoms when the adjuvant/carrier A is a metallic nanoparticle; wherein the carrier/adjuvant A can be selected among a macromolecule, a macrocycle, a dendrimer, a liposome, a nanoparticle, an oligosaccharide featuring from two to five monosaccharidic units or cells like dendritic cells.
US09255151B2	Antibody specifically recognizing an epitope for switching to TH1 cell The present invention relates to a novel epitope that converts T cell to type 1 helper T (TH1) cell. Specifically, the present invention relates to an epitope constituting the 56th to 65th amino acids (SEQ ID No. 2) of extracellular domain (ECD) of activation-inducible tumor necrosis factor receptor (AITR), an antibody recognizing the epitope, a polynucleotide encoding the epitope, a polynucleotide encoding the antibody, an expression vector comprising the polynucleotide encoding the epitope or antibody, a transformant introduced with the vector, a composition comprising the antibody for converting T cell to TH1 cell and a method for converting T cell to TH1 cell, a pharmaceutical composition comprising the antibody for preventing or treating cancer, a method for treating cancer using the antibody, a composition comprising the antibody for enhancing immunity, and a method for enhancing immunity using the antibody.
US09255150B2	Remedies for pemphigus containing anti-Fas ligand antibodies The present invention refers to the use of FasL antagonists, e.g. of humanized antibodies directed against human Fas ligands (also named CD95L or Apo1L and hereinafter abbreviated as FasL) for the prevention and/or treatment of skin diseases associated with keratinocytes acantholysis, particularly for the prevention and/or treatment of pemphigus.
US09255146B2	Neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against the Nogo-66 receptor (NgR) and uses thereof The subject invention relates to isolated proteins, particularly monoclonal antibodies, which bind to the Nogo-66 receptor. Specifically, these antibodies have the ability to inhibit the binding of the natural ligand of the Nogo-66 receptor and neutralize the Nogo-66 receptor. These antibodies or portions thereof of the invention are useful for detecting NgR and for inhibiting NgR activity, for example in a human suffering from a disorder in which NgR or Nogo-66 activity is detrimental.
US09255145B2	Therapeutic agent for chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases A therapeutic agent for chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases, for example chronic arthritides diseases of childhood, Still's disease and the like, comprising an interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonist as an active ingredient.
US09255142B2	Blood markers for diagnosing epithelium derived cancers and monoclonal antibodies thereof The present invention provides uses of cytokeratins as markers for diagnosing epithelium derived cancers. The present invention provides cancer-related epitopes of cytokeratins and monoclonal antibodies which specifically recognize the epitopes. The present invention also provides methods for the early screen, diagnosis or prognosis of epithelium derived cancers in subjects, methods for the evaluation of therapeutic effect of related medicaments or therapies, and kits for accomplishing the methods.
US09255141B2	Multimeric IL-15 soluble fusion molecules and methods of treating neoplasia and HIV using same The present invention features compositions and methods featuring ALT-803, a complex of an interleukin-15 (IL-15) superagonist mutant and a dimeric IL-15 receptor α/Fc fusion protein useful for enhancing an immune response against a neoplasia (e.g., multiple myeloma, melanoma, lymphoma) or a viral infection (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus).
US09255139B2	Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP) linked to glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchors for treatment of cancer and skin lesions The present invention relates to fusion constructs of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) and their use for the treatment of cancer and in regenerative medicine. By this approach, the GPI-anchored TIMP proteins are incorporated into the surface membrane of tumor cells and render tumor cells sensitive to FAS-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the fusion constructs of the present invention are effective agents useful in wound healing applications. In one embodiment, the TIMP is linked to mucin followed by GPI in order to enhance surface presentation. The use of GPI to link TIMP renders the resulting fusion protein particularly useful as an anti-cancer agent for the treatment of cancer, and, in particular, any residual cancer following an incomplete surgical resection of primary tumors in an individual.
US09255137B2	Methods of promoting fat loss comprising administering an ALK7 inhibitor The invention relates to ALK7 soluble receptors and their uses as antagonists of the function of certain ligands such as GDF-8 (Myostatin) and GDF-11. The ALK7 soluble receptor of the invention is useful as antagonists of GDF-8 and GDF-11 in the treatment of neuronal diseases or conditions such as stroke, spinal cord injury, and all peripheral nerve diseases. The ALK7 soluble receptor of the invention is also useful as GH (growth hormone) equivalent, and for increasing muscle mass.
US09255134B2	Lytic domain fusion constructs and methods of making and using same The invention relates to fusion constructs, methods of using fusion constructs and methods of treating undesirable or aberrant cell proliferation or hyperproliferative disorders, such as tumors, cancers, neoplasia and malignancies.
US09255128B2	Nucleic acid for determining actin structures in living cells The present invention relates to nucleic acids encoding peptides capable of binding to actin. The nucleic acids encoding the peptides are useful in methods for detecting actin in vitro or in living cells.
US09255126B2	Chimeric alphavirus replicon particles Chimeric alphavirus particles and alphavirus replicon RNAs are provided including methods of making and using same. The alphavirus replicon RNAs comprise deletions in one or more nonstructural proteins. Methods of making, using, and therapeutic preparations containing the chimeric alphavirus particle are disclosed.
US09255107B2	Heteroaryl alkyne compound and use thereof In the field of pharmaceutical chemistry compounds of general formula I having heteroaryl alkynyl moiety or pharmaceutically acceptable salts, isomers, solvates, crystals or prodrugs thereof, and pharmaceutical compositions including these compounds, as well as uses of these compounds and compositions thereof in the manufacture of a medicament. The compounds have a strong inhibitory effect on BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase and are useful for treating diseases, such as tumors.
US09255104B2	Cyclopropyl modulators of P2Y12 receptor The present invention relates to new cyclopropyl modulators of P2Y12 receptor activity, pharmaceutical compositions thereof, and methods of use thereof.
US09255085B2	Carboxamide compounds and methods for using the same Disclosed are carboxamide compounds, as well as pharmaceutical compositions and methods of use. One embodiment is a compound having the structure in which R1, R2, R3, R4, D, J, Z, T, p, q, w and x are as described herein. In certain embodiments, a compound disclosed herein activates the AMPK pathway, and can be used to treat metabolism-related disorders and conditions.
US09255081B1	Process for the preparation of 3-(3-chloro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine 3-(3-Chloro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine is prepared by cyclizing 3-hydrazinopyridine.dihydrochloride with commercially available 3-ethoxyacrylonitrile to provide 3-(3-amino-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine, and by converting the amino group to a chloro group by a Sandmeyer reaction.
US09255079B2	Photoacid generators and photoresists comprising same New methods are provided for synthesis of photoacid generator compounds (“PAGs”), new photoacid generator compounds and photoresist compositions that comprise such PAG compounds. In a particular aspect, sulfonium-containing (S+) photoacid generators and methods of synthesis of sulfonium photoacid generators are provided.
US09255077B2	Fluorine atom-containing mercapto compound A mercapto compound is represented by formula (1) (in formula (1), R1 and R2 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group; R3 and R4 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent; n represents 1 or 2; m represents an integer of 1 to 6; l represents an integer of 1 to 6; q represents 0 or 1; p represents 2 or 3; p+q represents 3; X represents a perfluoroalkyl group having 1 to 14 carbon atoms; when n is 2, structures of units represented by CR1R2 may be identical to or different from each other; and when m is 2 or more, structures of units represented by CR3R4 may be identical to or different from each other). The mercapto compound is novel and has excellent affinity for a fluorine-containing polymer and a fluorine-containing solvent.
US09255069B2	Process for purifying N-alkylpyrrolidones Process for purifying N-alkylpyrrolidones which due to a previous use comprise at least one of the impurities of the formula I or II where R is hydrogen or a C1-C20-alkyl group, wherein a basic compound is added to the N-alkylpyrrolidone to be purified and the temperature of the mixture is at least 80° C. not more than 20 minutes after addition of the basic compound and N-alkylpyrrolidone is distilled off from the mixture obtained.
US09255068B2	Crystalline salts of (4S,4AS,5AR,12AS)-4-dimethylamino-3,10,12,12A-tetrahydroxy-7-[methoxy(methyl)amino)-methyl] acid amide and methods of using the same A crystalline mono hydrochloride salt of (4S,4aS,5aR,12aS)-4-dimethylamino-3,10,12,12a-tetrahydroxy-7-[(methoxy(methyl)amino)-methyl]-1,11-dioxo-1,4,4a,5,5a,6,11,12a-octahydro-naphthacene-2-carboxylic acid amide is disclosed having improved stability. In addition, a crystalline mono mesylate salt and crystalline mono sulfate salt of (4S,4aS,5aR,12aS)-4-dimethylamino-3,10,12,12a-tetrahydroxy-7-[(methoxy(methyl)amino)-methyl]-1,11-dioxo-1,4,4a,5,5a,6,11,12a-octahydro-naphthacene-2-carboxylic acid amide are also disclosed having improved stability. A pharmaceutical composition containing the crystalline salts and methods of treating inflammatory skin disorders and bacterial infections comprising administering the crystalline salts are also disclosed.
US09255066B2	Pharmaceutical formulation for histone deacetylase inhibitors A pharmaceutical composition, comprising a therapeutically effective amount of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) compound represented by the following structural formula at least one acidifying agent; and a vehicle base comprising at least one pharmaceutically acceptable non-aqueous solvent. Values and preferred values of the variables in structural formula (I) are defined herein.
US09255059B2	Method for producing an alkyl 3-hydroxybutyrate A method for making an alkyl 3-hydroxybutyrate is provided. The method can include reacting an alkyl alcohol with diketene to form an alkyl acetoacetate and then hydrogenating the alkyl acetoacetate to form the alkyl 3-hydroxybutyrate. The method of the present invention may also include separating one or more impurities an alkyl acetoacetate stream and subjecting the purified acetoacetate mixture to hydrogenation to form the alkyl 3-hydroxybutyrate. Methods of the present invention can be carried out on a lab, pilot, or commercial scale.
US09255057B2	Apparatus and method for production of formate from carbon dioxide An apparatus for producing formate from carbon dioxide includes a reactor (115) that is configured to receive carbon dioxide from a separation device (109) and a first reagent to form a formate and a bicarbonate material. The bicarbonate material is sent to a regeneration device (123) that also receives a second reagent from a source of the second reagent to form the first reagent and a carbonate material. The first reagent is recycled back to the reactor (115). The carbonate material can be stored in a storage device (131) for subsequent sale or other use and/or sent to a process device (109) of a plant for processing flue gas to remove one or more acid gas elements from the flue gas by using the carbonate material received from the regeneration device (123). A method for producing formate from carbon dioxide can include use of the apparatus.
US09255054B2	High-yield synthesis of p-(benzyloxy)calix[6, 7,8]arenes The high-yield synthesis of p-(benzyloxy)calix[6,7,8]arenes by bringing caesium hydroxide into contact with p-(benzyloxy)phenol and paraformaldehyde, and composite materials including these p-(benzyloxy)calix[6,7,8]arenes.
US09255051B2	Efficiency, flexibility, and product value of a direct alkanes to oxygenates process A method for preparing oxygenated hydrocarbons includes steps of: reacting a first heated hydrocarbon-containing gas stream with an oxygen-containing gas stream in a reactor for form a first product blend, recovering the energy generated in the reactor in order to preheat incoming hydrocarbon feed to the reactor and/or to drive endothermic reactions that generate synthesis gas, separating and condensing one or more liquid oxygenated hydrocarbons from the product stream, separating a reject stream from a recycle stream, mixing remaining gaseous hydrocarbon product from the recycle stream with the first hydrocarbon-containing gas stream after one reaction cycle, converting the first reject stream to a synthesis gas mixture, and converting the synthesis gas mixture to light alkanes to be blended with one or with oxygenates in an output stream to optionally form higher molecular weight oxygenates.
US09255045B2	E-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene production process from 1,1,3,3-tetrachloropropene A production process for the production of E-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene, the process including at least one stage during which 1,1,3,3 -tetrachloropropene reacts with anhydrous hydrofluoric acid in the liquid phase, in the absence of a catalyst, with an HF/1,1,3,3-tetrachloropropene molar ratio between 3 and 20 inclusive, at a temperature between 50° C. and 150° C. inclusive and an absolute pressure of between 1 and 20 bar inclusive.
US09255043B2	Liquid crude hydrocarbon composition Disclosed is a liquid crude hydrocarbon composition containing (a) a liquid crude hydrocarbon having an API gravity of less than or equal to about 20; and (b) a minor amount of a blend comprising (i) one or more hydrocarbon-containing solvents having an aromatic content of at least about 10 wt. %; and (ii) one or more asphaltene modifiers selected from the group consisting of an aromatic sulfonic acid or salt thereof, an aliphatic sulfonic acid or salt thereof and an alkyl-substituted hydroxyaromatic carboxylic acid or salt thereof. Also disclosed is a method for transporting a liquid crude hydrocarbon having an API gravity of less than or equal to about 20.
US09255042B2	Producing method of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon production plant A producing method of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the oil feedstock having a 10 volume % distillation temperature of more than or equal to 140° C. and a 90 volume % distillation temperature of less than or equal to 380° C. by bringing into contact with an aromatic production catalyst includes the steps of: introducing the oil feedstock into a cracking and reforming reaction apparatus housing the aromatic production catalyst; bringing the oil feedstock and the aromatic production catalyst into contact with each other at the inside of the cracking and reforming reaction apparatus; heating the oil feedstock in advance before introducing the oil feedstock into the cracking and reforming reaction apparatus and forming a two-phase gas-liquid stream; separating the two-phase gas-liquid stream into a gas fraction and a liquid fraction; and introducing the gas fraction and the liquid fraction at different positions of the cracking and reforming reaction apparatus.
US09255041B2	Method for producing conjugated diolefin and apparatus for production A method for producing a conjugated diolefin that can suppress reaction byproducts with high boiling point from remaining in steps following a quenching step by a quenching tower, and producing a conjugated diolefin (e.g., 1,3-butadiene) that can be used as a raw material for synthetic rubber, resin and the like, even when using an industrial grade mixed hydrocarbon that may not necessarily have a high purity as a raw material to produce the conjugated diolefin (e.g., butadiene). The method includes a step of producing a product gas by reaction containing a conjugated diolefin by feeding a hydrocarbon containing a monoolefin having 4 or more carbon atoms and oxygen to a reactor accommodated with a catalyst containing a metal oxide and a carrier, and a step of sending the product gas by reaction to a quenching tower and washing with a quenching agent (e.g., an organic amine aqueous solution).
US09255040B1	Boron carbide pyrotechnic time delay A precise, slow burning, pyrotechnic delay composition composed of a ternary system of from about 8 to about 55 weight percent B4C fuel, 35 to about 82 weight percent NalO4 oxidizer, and PTFE which acts as a pyrotechnic oxidizer and lubricant—such that the resulting composition has surprisingly good mechanical properties, i.e. it can be pressed to a desirably high consolidated density with ordinary loading force, and with minimal wear on the tooling used for pressing.
US09255020B2	Device and method for sewage treatment using variable magnetic field A device for sewage treatment including a reactor and a magnetic field generator. The reactor includes a water inlet at the upper end, a water outlet on the side wall, and a sludge outlet at the lower end. A stirrer and an aeration device are disposed in the reactor. The reactor is filled with magnetic powder and activated sludge. The magnetic field generator includes a magnetic field tester, an iron cover, a power supply, a transformer, and a spiral coil. The spiral coil loops around the outer surface of the reactor. The transformer, the spiral coil, and the power supply are connected in sequence. The iron cover surrounds the periphery and the bottom of the reactor, and the magnetic field tester is disposed within the reactor. A method for sewage treatment using the device is also provided.
US09255016B2	Multiple separation filter and antioxidizing water produced using the same Disclosed is a multiple separation filter including a microfiltration membrane, an active carbon-based filter and a ceramic filter stacked in order, wherein the active carbon-based filter is obtained by mixing active carbon with at least one selected from zeolite, gold, silver and a mixture thereof, treating the mixture with plasma gas of 60,000° C. to 70,000° C., and then quenching the mixture to −200° C. to −273° C. under vacuum, and the ceramic filter is obtained by quenching plasma gas generated by heating magnesium at 60,000° C. to 70,000° C. to −200° C. to −273° C. under vacuum. Disclosed also is antioxidant water obtained by using the multiple separation filter. The antioxidant water has a negative oxidation reduction potential.
US09255014B2	Method for producing thermoelectric conversion material, thermoelectric conversion material, and production apparatus used in the method A method for producing a thermoelectric conversion material composed of a metal A having an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal, a transition metal M, and oxygen O, and represented by AxMyOz, where x, y, and z are valences of the respective elements, includes the steps of: using a massive metal oxide as the thermoelectric conversion material and a salt in a solid, liquid or gaseous state; causing a diffusion reaction between the oxide and the salt; and forming the thermoelectric conversion material having aligned crystal orientation. A production apparatus includes a reactor into which the oxide and the salt are introduced, and a heating means for heating the oxide and the salt within the reactor to promote the diffusion reaction. Thereby, the thermoelectric conversion material having efficiency is produced more simply and at lower cost than a production of the single crystal.
US09255013B2	Method for producing hematite for ironmaking Provided is a method for producing hematite for ironmaking, wherein high purity hematite, which can be used as an iron-making raw material, is cheaply and efficiently recovered from a leach residue containing iron oxide produced by a high pressure acid leach (HPAL) process. This method for producing (high purity) hematite for ironmaking in a process of adding a mineral acid and an oxidant to ore containing iron and valuable metals and then leaching the valuable metals under high pressure and high temperature includes (1) a neutralization step of adding a neutralizer to a leachate obtained under high pressure and high temperature to form a leach slurry, (2) a solid-liquid separation step of separating the leach slurry obtained in the neutralization step (1) into a leach residue and the leachate, and (3) a classification step of classifying the leach residue into the hematite and gangue components.
US09255012B2	Method for recovering lithium carbonate A method and arrangement for recovering lithium carbonate from a raw material containing lithium, which method comprises pulping (1) the raw material containing lithium in the presence of water and sodium carbonate for producing a slurry containing lithium from the raw material containing lithium. After pulping the lithium-containing slurry is leached (2) for dissolving the lithium in the solution thus producing a solution containing lithium carbonate. After pulping and leaching the method comprises carbonating (3) the solution containing lithium carbonate by using carbon dioxide under atmospheric conditions for producing a solution containing lithium bicarbonate and separating (4) the solids form the solution. The solution containing lithium bicarbonate is purified (5) to produce a purified solution containing lithium bicarbonate, and recovering by crystallizing (6) lithium carbonate from the purified lithium bicarbonate-containing solution.
US09255010B2	Boride having chemical composition Na—Si—B, and polycrystalline reaction sintered product of boride and process for production thereof Provided are: a novel bonds useful as a highly-functional material; and a novel production method for a polycrystalline sintered product of a bonds, of which the energy cost is low, which does not require a sintering promoter, which enables the product to be worked into complicated forms and which enables a development to a polynary boride.Provided are a boride having a composition Na—Si—B, and a polycrystalline reaction-sintered product thereof. A mixed compact of boron and an element, M (M means Si and/or C) is heated along with metal sodium to give a polycrystalline reaction-sintered product.
US09255006B2	Method for producing phosphoric acid The invention relates to a method for producing phosphoric acid, including: attacking phosphate rock by means of sulfuric acid between 70° and 90° C. with formation of a first calcium sulfate dihydrate crystal slurry, the aqueous acid phase of said slurry having free P2O5 content between 38 and 50 wt % and free SO3 content that is less than 0.5 wt % and greater than 0.05 wt %; converting said first slurry by means of heating at a temperature greater than 90° C., thus giving rise to a second slurry formed of calcium sulfate hemihydrate crystals; and, within the second slurry, separating a produced phosphoric acid, having a free SO3 content that is less than 2%, and a calcium sulfate hemihydrate filter cake.
US09255001B2	Micro device transfer head array with metal electrodes A monopolar and bipolar micro device transfer head array and method of forming a monopolar and bipolar micro device transfer array are described. In an embodiment, a micro device transfer head array includes a base substrate, a first insulating layer formed over the base substrate, and an array of mesa structures. A second insulating layer may be formed over the mesa structure, a patterned metal layer over the second insulating layer, and a dielectric layer covering the metal layer.
US09254997B2	CMOS-MEMS integrated flow for making a pressure sensitive transducer A sensor is made up of two substrates which are adhered together. A first substrate includes a pressure-sensitive micro-electrical-mechanical (MEMS) structure and a conductive contact structure that protrudes outwardly beyond a first face of the first substrate. A second substrate includes a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device and a receiving structure made up of sidewalls that meet a conductive surface which is recessed from a first face of the second substrate. A conductive bonding material physically adheres the conductive contact structure to the conductive surface and electrically couples the MEMS structure to the CMOS device.
US09254996B2	Vertical pressure sensitive structure Embodiments related to pressure sensitive structures are described and depicted.
US09254992B2	Method of making a MEMS gyroscope having a magnetic source and a magnetic sensing mechanism A MEMS gyro is provided, having a movable portion, a non-movable portion, and a magnetic sensing structure that comprises a magnetic source disposed at the movable portion, a magnetic sensing element positioned at the non-movable portion. The movable portion is capable of moving in response to external angular velocity or an external accelerator such that the magnetic field sensed by the magnetic sensing element is in relation to the movement of the movable portion, therefore, the angular velocity or the accelerator. A method of making the MEMS gyro device is disclosed herein.
US09254988B1	Hitch pull and lift assembly and method A lift and pull assembly and method of removal of a dock or boat lift including a hitch receiver component configured to insert within a standard hitch receiver of a vehicle, a drawbar component configured to connect to the dock and having a lift foot mechanism that hinges upon the drawbar, a lift component having a lift arm extending from a mast where a cable from a winch extends from the lift arm to the lift foot mechanism such that operation of the winch moves the cable in order to apply a lifting force upon the dock or in order to simultaneously apply a lifting force and a pulling force upon the dock.
US09254986B2	Passenger conveyor In a passenger conveyor, a supporting angle that is supported on a building beam is fixed to an end portion of a truss main body. A plurality of movement limiting members that come into contact with the supporting angle to limit horizontal movement of the supporting angle are disposed on the building beam. The supporting angle includes: a first supporting portion; and a pair of second supporting portions that are disposed on two sides of the first supporting portion in a width direction of the truss. A horizontal protruding dimension of the first supporting portion from the truss main body is different than horizontal protruding dimensions of the second supporting portions from the truss main body.
US09254984B2	Welding wire feeder with improved wire guide A wire guide for use in a welding wire feeder is provided. The wire guide includes two guide surfaces spaced from one another to define an opening through which welding wire is directed from a spool to a wire drive assembly of the wire feeder. The wire guide may also include a side flange extending from an outboard position of the wire guide to maintain the wire within a desired region of the wire drive assembly, such as a space formed by grooves along rollers of the wire drive assembly. The side flange may be formed integrally with an outboard guide surface of the wire guide. The guide surfaces and the side flange may be formed integrally into a one-piece wire guide structure.
US09254983B1	Easily attachable cable guide A tool which is positionable adjacent a relatively sharp edge around which or past which a sheathed cable is desired to be routed includes a pair of clamping members which are manipulable with the hand of a user and adapted to be clamped to an item disposed adjacent the relatively sharp edge. In addition, the tool includes a pair of guide members which are attached to the clamping members of the tool and which provide, when the tool is clamped about the item, a substantially enclosed, smooth-surfaced passageway through which the sheathed cable can be routed to eliminate any contact between the relatively sharp edge and the sheathed cable routed around or past the relatively sharp edge. The defined passageway reduces the likelihood that the relative sharp edge will damage the sheathing of the cable as the cable is routed around or past the relatively sharp edge.
US09254978B2	Seasoning apparatus and method A seasoning apparatus includes: a table on which a stack of paper sheets is loaded, each of the paper sheets having at least one face on which active light curable aqueous ink has been deposited; an air blowing device which blows air in an air blowing direction to a side of the stack loaded on the table; an active light emission device which emits the active light in an active light emitting direction to a side of the stack loaded on the table; and a control device which causes the air blowing device to blow the air to the stack to create gaps between faces of the paper sheets, and causes the active light emission device to emit the active light to the stack to cause the active light to enter the gaps.
US09254977B2	Image recording apparatus An image recording apparatus includes a recording section which is provided over a transport passage for transporting a sheet in a transport direction and which has nozzles for discharging an ink onto the sheet; a platen which is provided under the recording section with the transport passage intervening therebetween and which has a plurality of ribs provided to support the sheet while being separated from each other in a widthwise direction of the transport passage perpendicular to the transport direction, the respective ribs protruding upwardly and extending in the transport direction; and a plurality of holding members which are provided to be positioned between the plurality of ribs in the widthwise direction of the transport passage over the platen on an upstream side in the transport direction from the nozzles and which abut against an upper surface of the sheet and press the sheet toward the platen.
US09254976B2	Detection apparatus and image forming apparatus A detection apparatus includes a rotating member which rotates in a rotation direction from a standby posture by being pushed by a conveyed sheet, a sensor of which an output is changed as the rotating member rotates from the standby posture, an elastic member which elastically applies a force to the rotating member in a direction opposite to the rotation direction, a first abutting portion which abuts onto the rotating member applied by a force by the elastic member to maintain the rotating member in the standby posture, and a regulation unit which allows the rotating member to rotate in the rotation direction by being pushed by the conveyed sheet and regulates the rotating member not to rotate in the rotation direction by a repulsion force when the rotating member rotated in the opposite direction by an elastic force of the elastic member abuts onto the first abutting portion.
US09254975B2	Recording apparatus and medium feeding device A printer includes a lower tray and an upper tray disposed above the lower tray. An optical sensor which detects the presence or absence of a sheet is disposed above the upper tray. The optical sensor is disposed in a roller support member which supports a feeding roller and serves as a swingable swing member. A distance between the optical sensor and the sheet is adjusted by swing of the roller support member according to the number of sheets.
US09254971B1	Mobile loading dock with wheel assembly A mobile loading dock including a planar ramp member having an underside with a wheel assembly. The wheel assembly includes a tension spring, hydraulic member, a leg hingedly attached to the ramp underside and a wheel attached to the leg. The tension spring exerts a pulling force on the leg and wheel and the hydraulic member exerts a pushing force. The combined forces are directionally disposed to erect the wheel assembly when the lower end of the mobile loading dock is raised from a resting position in contact with the ground surface to a mobile position.
US09254970B2	Cover for slider of linear conveyer, linear conveyer, slider assembly, and method of detaching cover from slider of linear conveyer A cover for a linear conveyer. The linear conveyer including a stationary module having a rail extending linearly and a stator including armature coils that is fixed to the rail, and a slider including a mover component having magnetic poles arranged linearly and a rail guide that is fitted on the rail. The slider sliding from an end surface of the rail along an elongated direction of the rail to be arranged on the rail and moving on the rail by a linear motor. The cover is attached to the slider to cover a magnetic pole face of the mover component of the slider. The cover has a thickness so as to come in contact with an end portion of the stationary module when the slider is mounted on the rail. The cover is detached from the slider by the contact with the end portion of the stationary module.
US09254968B2	Inverting vacuum conveyor system A conveyor system includes an elongated vacuum plenum having an interior defined between upwardly and downwardly facing surfaces between opposing ends. A slot defining a portion of a conveyor path is formed in the plenum and extends from one end of the plenum at the upwardly facing surface toward the other end and the downwardly facing surface. A plurality of conveyor modules forming part of an endless loop are received in the slot and move along the conveyor path. At least some of the modules have at least one opening in fluid communication with the interior of the plenum. An object disposed on at least one of the modules is held against the at least one module by a vacuum in the interior of the plenum as the at least one module moves along the conveyor path from the upwardly facing surface toward the downwardly facing surface.
US09254966B2	Monitoring and control of a transport device for containers Method for monitoring and controlling a loading rate of a transport section with one or several individually speed-controlled consecutive partial sections (T1, T2, T3) in a filling line, including detecting a container loading over a certain region at an incoming region (E1) of the transport section; simulating a container flow in real time using the detected container loading in the incoming region of the transport section and a transport speed, the simulation including: entering the detected value for the container loading into a shift register (SR1); and synchronizing a shift register clock with the transport speed, so that the shift register content (DW0, DW1, . . . ) represents the container loading on the transport section.
US09254961B2	Apparatus for collecting dispensed drugs An apparatus for collecting drugs dispensed from drug dispensing boxes includes a main conveyor on which the dispensed drugs are placed and discharged to a first end thereof, and an auxiliary conveyor configured to be hidden at a lower portion of the first end of the main conveyor or to be expanded outside of the first end so as to increase a discharging path of the dispensed drugs. Due to the auxiliary conveyor, when the drugs are discharged or are redelivered to another apparatus, it is possible to control the drugs to fall down to a desired position.
US09254959B2	Storage rack A storage rack has a plurality of supporting brackets arranged one above the other for supporting storage product carriers conveyable by means of an automatic filling and withdrawal apparatus, and at least one filling and withdrawal opening for inserting and removing the storage product carriers. At a top side of the filling and withdrawal opening, an indicating means is arranged for indicating storage locations of a storage product in the storage product carrier, wherein the indicating means has a plurality of discrete lighting elements. The lighting elements are arranged in a two-dimensional grid in such a way that a light beam of the lighting elements is essentially vertically directed onto a storage surface of the storage product carrier.
US09254944B1	Assembly and method for pouring liquid from a container An assembly and method for pouring liquid from a container for ensuring that upon emptying the contents nothing will be left in the container. The assembly and method for pouring liquid from a container includes a pourer adapter including a tube portion having an open top, a bottom and a bore disposed therein through the open top and the bottom, and also configured to fasten to a container to facilitate emptying of liquid from the container; and a pourer member removably engaged to the pourer adapter for pouring the liquid from the container.
US09254943B2	Closure for a bottle A closure (10) for a bottle containing a carbonated beverage. The closure (10) including an inner part (40) and an outer part (5). The inner part (40) adapted to receive a portion of a finish of the bottle. The inner part (40) includes one or more outwardly extending raised portions (52). The outer part (5) is adapted to fit substantially over the inner part (40) and is movable relative to the inner part (40) between a closed position, in which at least a portion of the outer part (5) urges at least a portion of the inner part (40) against the neck of the bottle to resist disengagement of the inner part (40) from the finish and to resist rotational movement of the inner part (40) relative to the finish, and an open position, in which the inner part (40) allows disengagement from the finish. The outer part (5) includes one or more inwardly extending raised portions (17). The outwardly extending raised portions (52) and the inwardly extending raised portions (17) are configured to engage and prevent relative rotation between the inner part (40) and the outer part (5) in the closed position and the open position.
US09254942B2	Linerless closure A linerless closure for use on an associated container includes a unitary, one-piece closure body having a top wall portion, and an annular skirt portion depending from the top wall portion. The closure includes an annular, outer seal element which depends from the top wall portion for sealing engagement with a generally outwardly facing surface of the associated container. The closure includes an inner, plug seal element depending from the top wall portion for sealing engagement with a generally inwardly facing surface of the container. Notably, the closure includes a discontinuous pressure block in the form of a plurality of circumferentially spaced, seal reinforcement elements on the inside surface of the skirt portion, adjacent the top wall portion. The reinforcement elements are engageable by the outer seal element to limit outward deflection of the outer seal element, to enhance sealing cooperation with the associated container.
US09254940B2	Multi-compartment resealable storage bag and container The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a storage apparatus having multiple compartments. In one aspect, a multi-compartment bag can be formed of a flexible material, and each compartment of the multi-compartment bag can have two or more seams and one resealable opening edge. The seams in each compartment can include at least one tearable seam that can include at least a perforated seam configured to physically separate one of the compartments from the multi-compartment bag. In another aspect, a multi-compartment container can be formed of a rigid material having one or more removable lids, an upper portion, and a lower portion. The upper portion and the lower portion can each have a plurality of compartments. The upper portion can be separated from the lower portion by an intermediate layer.
US09254939B2	Apparatus for rotating articles on a pallet An apparatus and method for rotating articles stored on a pallet without rotating the entire pallet. The turntable of the present invention is located on the pallet or integrated into the top surface of the pallet. By rotating the pallet within the rack, the articles thereon may be loaded and unloaded from a position directly in front of the picker.
US09254938B2	Packaging container with opening and closing lid A packaging container with an opening and closing lid, an opening is cut in an edge of the lid-raising member of a rear-side plate on a side of a lid-raising member of the inner case. A stopper is formed on part of the incision opening. An upper end edge of the stopper is an incision edge of the opening arranged at the lowest position of descent of an outer-case locking member and lower than a height position of inner-case locking member. The stopper approaches the outer-case locking member as the inner case moves upward. The outer-case locking member has at least a part of a stopper-corresponding portion in contact against the incision edge being the stopper, so that the outer-case locking member, which moves downward relative to the upward movement of the inner case, is in contact against the part that is the lowest position of descent thereof.
US09254937B2	Deep grip mechanism for blow mold and related methods and bottles Disclosed is a mold for forming a deep grip container, the mold having drive mechanisms opposably to drive moveable inserts into the mold. The drive mechanisms may be located entirely within the mold and may include a slotted cam. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing a blow molded bottle with a deep pinch grip comprising: providing a mold hanger having an outer envelope and providing within the outer envelope a drive mechanism to drive moveable inserts into the mold after blowing molten plastic into contact with the mold. Further disclosed is a blow molded bottle with a deep pinch grip manufactured according to the disclosed methods.
US09254933B2	Method of inerting aseptic tanks The invention relates to a method for treating storage or product preparation tanks, tanks of the type which regularly undergo a hot aseptic washing step, followed by a cold water rinsing step, the method being characterized in that an inert gas is injected into the tank during all or part of the rinsing step.
US09254932B2	Strapping device with an electrical drive A mobile strapping device for strapping packaged goods with wrap-around strap, comprising a tensioner for applying a strap tension to a loop of a wrapping strap, and a connector for producing a connection in two areas of the loop of the wrapping strap disposed one on top of the other, and a chargeable energy storage means for storing energy that can be released as drive energy for motorized drive motions at least for the connector and/or for the tensioner, is intended to have high functional reliability and ease of handling despite the possibility of automated production of wrapped straps, at least to a large extent. In order to accomplish this, it is proposed that the strapping device be provided with a brushless DC motor as a drive for the tensioner and/or the connector.
US09254931B2	Pallet roping and wrapping apparatus Pallet roping and wrapping machines having a plurality of spools of stretch film supported on one or more spools and guides that form ropes of stretch film without cutting. Specific implementations of guides include guides formed or rings and rollers. Positions of guides may be adjustable. A primary roll of stretch film may be positionally coupled to a primary spool core, and a plurality of secondary rolls of stretch film may be positionally coupled to one or more secondary spool cores. The wrapping machines may include a plurality of guides positioned to narrow the stretch film from the plurality of secondary rolls to form a plurality of ropes fully overlapping a web of the primary roll of stretch film when wrapped around a palletized load.
US09254929B2	Reusable food container with re-sealable cap Provided is a reusable food storage container, comprising a vessel that can store a food and/or beverage and a removable cap that closes the vessel. The cap can have a tube or other through-passage formed therein to enable a user to squeeze or draw out the contents of the vessel. The cap can include a mouthpiece and a plug to close the mouthpiece. The cap can be configured to make at least one of a seal, e.g., an airtight and/or water tight-seal, with the vessel, by being press fit into the top of the vessel. And the plug can be configured to close and seal the mouthpiece.
US09254917B2	Display of passenger information for an airplane flight In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for generating a display of information regarding passengers of an airplane flight. The method includes displaying a graphical depiction of passenger seats for a particular airplane flight. The method includes identifying that multiple passengers booked to the particular airplane flight have a particular status. The method includes identifying that the multiple passengers that have been identified as having the particular status have been assigned to respective multiple passenger seats. The method includes displaying a graphical indication in association with each of the multiple passenger seats, concurrently with the display of the graphical depiction of the passenger seats.
US09254916B2	Vertical take-off and landing aircraft with tiltrotor power for use on land and in air A vertical take-off and landing aircraft with tiltable power for use on land and in the air includes: a body (3) provided with a drive device; wheels (8) being controlled to make the body move on the ground; and a front thruster (1) and a rear thruster (2) controlling the body to fly or take off/land, wherein transmission brace rods (5) are arranged on both sides of the body, and a first pivot (9) passes transversely through the body and is connected to the transmission brace rods on both sides of the body; wherein the front thruster is fixed on front ends of the transmission brace rods, and the rear thruster is fixed on rear ends of the transmission brace rods; wherein the central axes of the front and rear thrusters are perpendicular to the plane formed by the two transmission brace rods. By controlling a tilting angle of the front/rear thrusters, this aircraft has two basic functions of vertical take-off/landing and horizontal flight, so as to facilitate conversion between land travel and air flight. During flight in the air, the aircraft body always remains in horizontal state, thereby making the occupants feel comfortable and providing them with broad vision so as to operate the aircraft safely.
US09254911B2	Fault tolerant lateral waypoint sequencing system and method Fault-tolerant lateral waypoint sequencing is provided for a system that includes at least a first flight management computer and a second flight management computer. A processing operation associated with lateral leg sequencing of an aircraft flight plan is implemented in the flight management computers. A determination is made in the first flight management computer as to whether the first flight management computer has received, within a predetermined period of time from when the first flight management computer implemented the processing operation, a notification from the second flight management computer that the second flight has also implemented the processing operation. An action is initiated in the first flight management computer when the first flight management computer has not received the notification from the second flight management computer within the predetermined period of time.
US09254910B2	Method and device for assisting the mission tracking of an aircraft The device (1) comprises means (15) for computing deviations of a flight parameter with respect to a reference flight plan, by taking account of predictions, respectively for a plurality of flight data representing different origins, and display means (5) for simultaneously presenting the set of said deviations on a screen (6) of the flight deck of the aircraft, each time indicating the corresponding origin.
US09254907B2	Hoop load bearing aircraft transparency An aircraft transparency includes a first ply having a first major surface and a second major surface. A second ply is spaced from the first ply and has a third major surface and a fourth major surface. A polymeric interlayer is located between the first and second plies. At least one bore extends through the first and second plies and the interlayer. A high strength bushing is located in the bore, with an outer sidewall of the bushing in direct contact with the material of the first and second plies. In one embodiment, the bore is a tapered bore and the bushing has a tapered outer sidewall. In another embodiment, the bore is a cylindrical bore and the bushing has a cylindrical outer sidewall.
US09254904B2	Vessel A vessel includes an outboard motor including an upstream exhaust port that emits exhaust, a hull including a rear portion on which the outboard motor is mounted, a cabin disposed above the hull, a downstream exhaust port disposed farther to a lateral side than the outboard motor, and an exhaust passage extending from the upstream exhaust port to the downstream exhaust port and guiding the exhaust from the upstream exhaust port to the downstream exhaust port. The cabin includes a windshield disposed in front of the outboard motor in a plan view. The height of the cabin from a rearmost end of the outboard motor is not less than ½ or about ½ of a horizontal distance in a front/rear direction from a rear end edge of the windshield to the rearmost end of the outboard motor.
US09254902B2	Controlling buoyancy of an underwater vehicle using a dual-internal-reservoir configuration to enhance efficiency of inflating and deflating an external chamber An underwater vehicle may include a buoyancy control system configured to use a dual-internal-reservoir configuration to enhance efficiency of changing buoyancy of the underwater vehicle. The buoyancy control system may utilize an incompressible fluid (e.g., oil or water) that is transferred between a first internal reservoir and an external chamber to affect buoyancy of the underwater vehicle. In exemplary implementations, a compressible fluid (e.g., air) may be used to inflate or deflate a second internal reservoir. The second internal reservoir may be disposed within the buoyancy control system so that it can act on the first internal reservoir by applying a compressive force or a tensive force on the first internal reservoir, depending on the pressure differences between the two reservoirs.
US09254892B2	Fixation releasing device A fixation releasing device by which a buoyant body and a weight may be securely fixed and the fixed state between the buoyant body and the weight may be readily released, using a simple structure. The fixation releasing device is made from a buoyant body, a weight, and a connection designed to connect the buoyant body and weight. The connection device has a connection structure made from a closed loop member, rotation arms, and connection members. A connection member is engaged with each rotation arm, and rotation of each rotation arm is restrained by the closed loop member, thereby fixing the buoyant body. To release the buoyant body, a trigger mechanism provided at the closed loop member is operated to fusion cut the closed loop member. Then, each rotation arm is rotated, and then the connection member comes out of each rotation arm, thereby releasing the buoyant body.
US09254886B2	Foldable bicycle handlebar A foldable bicycle handlebar includes a fixing base having two holes on a hinge surface, two handlebar grips each having a joint with a hinge hole, an upper fastener fixed to the joints, two shafts passing through holes of the upper fastener, and a slider fixed to the hinge surface. At least one tenon is on a recess that is on a side of each handlebar grip. The hinge holes, and the two holes of the fixing base, and a gap is between the two joints. The slider has an inner surface, a protrusion is extended outwardly from the inner surface to the gap, and a mortise is formed on the inner surface, so that the tenon is inserted into or removed from the mortise. Whether the handlebar grips are unfolded for use or folded for storage, safety and reliability of the foldable bicycle handlebar are ensured.
US09254883B2	Scooter A scooter is described with a chassis which has a guide bearing for a steering column holding the front wheel and a supporting arm, which has a seat, for a pivotable footboard which is provided with a rear wheel. In order to achieve simple readjustment to a training bike, it is proposed that the supporting arm which is connected to the footboard is coupled to the guide bearing so as to be pivotable about an axis running through the center point of the rear wheel.
US09254882B2	Tandem bicycle A tandem bicycle is provided that have a shortened wheel base between the front and rear wheels that allows a rider to ride comfortably alone from either the front or rear seats, or with a passenger in the front seat. The frame length of the inventive tandem bicycle is comparable to a standard single seat bicycle. The reduced proximity between riders, and the ability to steer for both the front or rear seats on the inventive tandem bicycle improves the level of participation and interaction between the riders. The wheelbase is reduced by bringing the front wheel closer to the front seat position. A reduced diameter front wheel is provided to accommodate rotational clearance of the front pedals thereby allowing two riders to ride on bicycle frame with a length common to single rider bicycle.
US09254881B2	Beverage holder A beverage holder is provided. The beverage holder may include a strap assembly connected to a beverage assembly. The beverage assembly is adapted to retain beverage containers therein. The strap assembly may include a first strap member and a second strap member. The first strap member may terminate in an arm loop and an opposing clasp end. The clasp end may form a clasp loop for securing a strap clasp. The second strap member may terminate in an arm loop and an opposing return end. The return end may provide both of one half of a mating hook-and-loop combination. The hook portion and the loop portion may be securely engaged to form a return loop, whereby the overall desired length of the entire resulting strap assembly may be varied by adjusting the portion of the hook portion that overlaps the loop portion. A user may place each arm loop over each of a pair of armrests, whereby both strap members are routed around the backrest so as to slide the return end through the strap clasp. Then the user may fold the return end to form the return loop by mating the hook and the loop portion so as to define the desired length of the entire resulting strap assembly and tightness about the backrest.
US09254877B2	Modular vehicle The invention is a modular vehicle that is intended for a variety of operations including both military and civilian operations. The vehicle addresses the issue of performing special purpose tasks that the vehicle is asked to do. Such tasks can be accomplished by configuring the vehicle as an ambulance, as a fire-fighting vehicle, as a communications van, as a command and control vehicle, etc. Thus, the vehicle is readily adapted using standardized and customized modules that are readily attached to a standardized platform that includes an appropriate interconnection means.
US09254876B2	Apparatus for reducing vehicle aerodynamic drag In an apparatus for reducing vehicle aerodynamic drag equipped with an air jet device installed at upper and lower positions of a rear of a vehicle and each having a vibrator connected to a diaphragm disposed in an enclosed region and adapted to be driven based on a drive signal to vibrate the diaphragm to jet/suck air through an orifice formed in the region, a vehicle traveling condition is detected, the drive signals for the respective air jet devices are determined independently of each other based on the detected traveling condition, and the vibrators of the respective air jet devices are driven based on the determined drive signals to reduce aerodynamic drag acting on the vehicle.
US09254874B2	Rear floor module of a motor vehicle A rear floor module of a motor vehicle is provided that is arranged between two rear longitudinal beams of the vehicle body that essentially extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The floor module features a floor pan that essentially extends in a planar fashion between the longitudinal beams and at least one integrated cross member for separate connection to the longitudinal beams with its end sections that lie in the lateral direction of the vehicle in order to transmit mechanical forces.
US09254873B2	Impact element and supporting frame for a motor vehicle An impact element (10) for a motor vehicle (70) has a flat basic body (12) formed from a rigid material and has connecting sections (16) on one side (50) to fix the basic body (12) to a supporting frame (72) of the motor vehicle (70). The basic body (12) has a gas-tight chamber (24) in which at least one opening (26) is formed to fill the chamber (24) with compressed air.
US09254872B2	Front vehicle-body structure of vehicle A longitudinal member is configured to transmit a part of a collision load occurring in a vehicle head-on collision to a suspension cross member by way of a front portion, a bending portion, and a rear portion. A lower arm, a portion of which is co-fastened to a vehicle body together with a fastening portion, is configured to transmit another part of the collision load occurring in the vehicle head-on collision to the fastening portion from the front portion. Accordingly, the rear end of the sub frame can be properly detached from the vehicle body in the vehicle head-on collision even in a case in which any weak portion extending in a vehicle width direction may not be provided.
US09254871B2	Vehicular instrument-mounting structure The present invention comprises side members (15), which are vehicular skeleton members of a hybrid vehicle (10); a front cross member (18) for connecting the two side members (15); spring supports (16) connected to the side members (15); an auxiliary battery arranged further towards the vehicle front relative to a PCU (13) and attached to the front cross member (18) via a support platform (23) and a securing piece (22); a radiator (17) attached to the front cross member (18); a motor case (12) and an engine (11) connected to the vehicular skeleton member via an engine mount; an axle (25) extending from the motor case (12); and a PCU (13) connected to the motor case (12) via a guide plate (19) and a linkage bolt. Thus, there is provided a vehicular instrument-mounting structure capable of inhibiting collision of a power control device or other vehicle-mounted instrument with another member, and inhibiting damage caused to the power control device or other vehicle-mounted instrument during a vehicle collision.
US09254870B2	Method of generating optimum parking path of unmanned driving vehicle, and unmanned driving vehicle adopting the method A method of generating an optimum parking path of an unmanned driving vehicle which is performed by a controller in the unmanned driving vehicle, wherein the controller changes a moving distance for a plurality of operations in a reference parking path, finds a parking path in which an average obstacle distance, which is an average distance between at least one near-to-path obstacle and the unmanned driving vehicle, is longest among a plurality of candidate parking paths, and sets the parking path having the longest average obstacle distance, as an optimum parking path in response to the longest average obstacle distance being longer than a predetermined limited distance.
US09254869B2	Hand wheel position detection system A steering system for detecting a hand wheel position is provided and includes an input shaft connected to a hand wheel, a main gear disposed around the input shaft, a puck gear meshingly engaged with the main gear, and a control module. The control module receives an angular main position of the main gear and an angular puck position of the puck gear. The control module includes a rotational calculation module for calculating the hand wheel position based on at least the angular main position and the angular puck position.
US09254867B2	Dust cover for ball joint In a dust cover for a ball joint, a reinforcing ring is buries in a shaft side attaching portion closely fitted and fixed to an outer peripheral surface of a shaft portion of a ball stud in the ball joint, and an inner peripheral collar portion is formed in an inner peripheral portion of the reinforcing ring, the inner peripheral collar portion having a slightly larger inner diameter than an inner peripheral surface of the shaft side attaching portion. One sealing projection and the other sealing projection are alternately formed in the inner peripheral surface of the shaft side attaching portion, the one sealing projection being arranged at a position in an inner periphery of the inner peripheral collar portion of the reinforcing ring, and the other sealing projection being arranged at a position deviated from the inner periphery of the inner peripheral collar portion.
US09254866B2	Method of controlling steering of a ground vehicle A method of controlling steering of a vehicle through setting wheel angles of a plurality of modular electronic corner assemblies (eModules) is provided. The method includes receiving a driving mode selected from a mode selection menu. A position of a steering input device is determined in a master controller. A velocity of the vehicle is determined, in the master controller, when the determined position of the steering input device is near center. A drive mode request corresponding to the selected driving mode to the plurality of steering controllers is transmitted to the master controller. A required steering angle of each of the plurality of eModules is determined, in the master controller, as a function of the determined position of the steering input device, the determined velocity of the vehicle, and the selected first driving mode. The eModules are set to the respective determined steering angles.
US09254863B2	Torque detecting device and electric power steering device There is provided a torque detecting device for providing a highly accurate torque signal, and an electric power steering device using the torque detecting device. A torque sensor is provided with a first coil pair and a second coil pair, which detect a relative displacement between an input shaft and an output shaft by corresponding the relative displacement to a change in impedance. Magnetization signal generating units supply exciting currents with different magnetization frequencies to the first coil pair and a second coil pair, respectively. The magnetization frequency difference is set to 3.5 kHz or higher. Moreover, low-pass filters for intercepting passage of a frequency equivalent to the magnetization frequency difference are deployed in signal processing circuits respectively.
US09254857B2	Child seat carriage Systems and methods for transporting an object on a carriage in tandem with a wheeled case are presented. A carriage in one embodiment includes a generally planar platform supported by one or more rolling members, a fence strap for holding the seat against a fence that extends upwardly from the platform, and an anchor strap connecting the seat to the wheeled case. The carriage may be used to transport any object or seat, such as a child safety seat. In another embodiment, the platform includes a leading section connected to a trailing section. The trailing section may include an opening that is sized shaped to receive at least a portion of the rolling members therethrough when the two sections are folded together.
US09254856B2	Quick service cart A quick service cart is provided with multiple functionality including a conventional cabinet structure that allow the technician to store tools and instruments for use in servicing or repairing a vehicle. The drawers of the cabinet are configured to prevent the drawers from tipping the cart over when fully extended. The cart also includes features for connecting to electrical and pneumatic tools and instruments, as well as structure for supporting separate tools, instruments and accessories. The cart includes a pair of handles that are ergonomically configured and positioned to facilitate moving the cart with minimal effort and minimal risk of tipping the cart over.
US09254848B2	Drinking vessels and related systems and methods Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to systems configured to determine an amount of alcohol in an alcohol-containing liquid discharged from a drinking vessel or an amount of the alcohol-containing liquid discharged from the drinking vessel, drinking vessels configured to measure alcohol content or other property of an alcohol-containing liquid held therein, other related components such as mat devices that facilitate determining the amount, and related methods. The systems, drinking vessels, and methods disclosed herein facilitate determination of an amount of alcohol in an alcohol-containing liquid discharged from a drinking vessel or an amount of alcohol-containing liquid discharged from the drinking vessel, which may be indicative of an amount of alcohol consumed by a drinker.
US09254847B2	Speed ratio control device and speed ratio control method A speed ratio control device for an automatic transmission of a vehicle calculate a minimum engine rotation speed based on a travel load, and sets a target speed ratio such that the engine rotation speed does not fall below the minimum engine rotation speed. If the travel load of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a higher value is used for the minimum engine rotation speed compared to a case when the travel load of the vehicle is smaller than the predetermined value. Re-acceleration performance of the vehicle under a high travel load as in a case when the vehicle travels uphill while towing another vehicle is thereby improved.
US09254846B2	Predictive reasoning for controlling speed of a vehicle Methods and systems for predictive reasoning for controlling speed of a vehicle are described. A computing device may be configured to identify a first and second vehicle travelling ahead of an autonomous vehicle and in a same lane as the autonomous vehicle. The computing device may also be configured to determine a first buffer distance behind the first vehicle at which the autonomous vehicle will substantially reach a speed of the first vehicle and a second buffer distance behind the second vehicle at which the first vehicle will substantially reach a speed of the second vehicle. The computing device may further be configured to determine a distance at which to adjust a speed of the autonomous vehicle based on the first and second buffer distances and the speed of the autonomous vehicle, and then provide instructions to adjust the speed of the autonomous vehicle based on the distance.
US09254844B2	Apparatus and method for driving control of vehicle An apparatus and a method for driving control of a vehicle include a sensor including a laser sensor disposed in front of the vehicle A controller is configured to calculate a defile width in front of the vehicle based on an angle between a reference segment and an inference segment by recognizing sensing data passing through a reference point at which a virtual standard segment is in contact with the inference segment and a reference segment after confirming a position of an obstacle positioning in front of the vehicle using the sensing data received from the sensor. The controller generates the virtual standard segment for the obstacle based on the confirmed position and generates the inference segment which is perpendicular to the virtual standard segment. An output outputs a driving guide to the calculated defile under control of the controller.
US09254842B2	Driving support device The driving support device includes: a recognition section configured to recognize each positions of a specific object and a road marking with reference to peripheral information of a own vehicle acquired by a sensor section configured to acquire the peripheral information; and a control section configured to perform different controls on the own vehicle, with reference to recognition results of the recognition section, depending on whether the specific object is present in a first state or a second state, the first state being a state where the specific object is present in a region more outside than a traveling lane with respect to an imaginary line that extends along a traveling direction of the own vehicle, the second state being a state where the specific object is present in a region on a more central side of the traveling lane with respect to the imaginary line.
US09254841B2	Method and control unit for activating actuators of a vehicle during emergency operation A method includes determining failure of a drive energy store of a vehicle and activating generator operation of a electric main engine as a result of the failure. The method includes determining a current driving condition of the vehicle, what actuators are necessary in order to put the vehicle into a safe operating condition, and what each of the necessary actuator dynamics are based on the current driving condition of the vehicle. The method includes determining a demand for electrical energy that is necessary for a particular necessary actuator to attain the safe operating condition, and regulating a proportionate generator operation of the electric main engine, taking into consideration electrical energy of the necessary actuators required for carrying out each of the necessary actuator dynamics. The method includes activating the actuators necessary for achieving the safe operating condition with the determined actuator dynamics until the safe operating condition is achieved.
US09254839B2	Control device A control device for a vehicle. While subject control is performed, a second engagement control unit controls the engagement pressure of the second engagement device to a mid-control set pressure that has been set to be equal to or more than a first engagement pressure and equal to or less than a second engagement pressure. The first engagement pressure is a lower limit engagement pressure capable of maintaining the second engagement device in the directly coupled engaged state, in a state in which requested torque that is torque required to be transmitted to the wheels is transmitted to the wheels. The second engagement pressure is a lower limit engagement pressure capable of maintaining the second engagement device in the directly coupled engaged state, in a state in which maximum output torque of the rotary electric machine is transmitted to the wheels.
US09254826B2	Purge control method of air tank A purge control method of an air tank may include compressing air in an air compressor, removing moisture from the air through a cartridge, storing the air in the air tank, measuring and determining an internal pressure of the air tank after storing the air in the air tank, operating a first solenoid valve if the internal pressure exceeds a first predetermined pressure, determining whether a second solenoid valve is operable and operating the second solenoid valve if operable, operating a purge valve to improve performance of the cartridge, thereby removing the moisture in the air tank, measuring and determining the internal pressure again, and turning off the first and second solenoid valves if the internal pressure is less than a second predetermined pressure.
US09254824B2	Adaptive anti-collision method for vehicle An adaptive anti-collision method for vehicles has steps of creating multiple driving patterns with each driving pattern corresponding to a vehicle speed, a safe distance and a braking distance parameter, such as longer safe distance configured for faster vehicle speed, and higher vehicle speed or shorter safe distance for different road condition, acquiring dynamic information, such as vehicle speed or acceleration, of the vehicle using sensors on the vehicle, combining the dynamic information and drivers' driving behavior to determine a driving pattern through a statistical analysis and a neural network, adjusting control parameters of the vehicle according to the driving pattern for an electronic control unit of the vehicle to issue an alert or activate a braking action according to the driving pattern. Accordingly, the anti-collision method can be adapted to different vehicle speed, road condition and drivers' driving habits for adjusting the safe distance and the braking system.
US09254815B1	System for securing a rider to a recreational vehicle A system for removably securing a person to a recreational vehicle may comprise a vehicle seat having an upper support surface, and a garment configured to be worn by the rider with a torso portion configured to cover at least the lower torso portion and a pair of leg portions configured to cover at least the upper leg portions. The garment may include a crotch section located to be positioned adjacent to the crotch and a portion of the buttocks of the rider. The system may also include a rider attachment structure configured to attach the garment to the vehicle seat in a manner that permits release of the attachment therebetween, and may include a first component and a second component releasably attachable together with the first component being secured to the upper support surface and the second component being secured to the crotch section of the garment.
US09254814B2	Elastic structure for use in an energy absorption system of a motor vehicle as well as energy absorption system as occupant protection and/or pedestrian protection An elastic structure for use in an energy absorption system of a motor vehicle is provided. The elastic structure includes a structure configured as occupant protection and/or pedestrian protection expandable by a medium. An elastic function structure at least partially covers the structure and acts as a gas barrier. An energy absorption system for a motor vehicle as occupant protection and/or pedestrian protection and a motor vehicle having at least one such energy absorption system are also provided.
US09254812B2	Front structure of vehicle A vehicle comprises a bumper reinforcement extending in a vehicle width direction and a shock absorbing member fixed to a front face of the bumper reinforcement and extending in the vehicle width direction along the bumper reinforcement. The shock absorbing member comprises a base portion extending vertically along the front face of the bumper reinforcement and a projection portion extending forward from a lower end portion of the base portion and being resiliently-downward deformable relative to the base portion. Thus, the vehicle comprising the shock absorbing member provided in front of the bumper reinforcement with the leg-flicking function for the pedestrian protection can be provided.
US09254811B2	Vehicle side-airbag device In an inflated and deployed state of a side-airbag, a shoulder bag section is disposed to extend from the side of a shoulder of a seated occupant toward the vehicle front side, above a main bag section. The vehicle width direction dimension of the shoulder bag section is set smaller than that of the main bag section, and a vehicle width direction inner side face at an upper end side of the main bag section slopes or curves so as to rise on progression toward the vehicle width direction outer side. An upper arm is pushed upward by making sliding contact with this face. Moreover, the shoulder can be restrained by the shoulder bag section, even when the seated occupant moves under inertia obliquely toward the vehicle front.
US09254807B1	Active bolster with pitted weld track An active bolster for an automotive vehicle has a outer trim panel with a welding track. An expandable bladder member has a central section configured to attach to a support structure of a vehicle, a welding flange along a peripheral edge, and a pleated region between the central section and the welding flange. The welding track and the welding flange are joined by a hot weld to form a sealed chamber. The welding track includes a plurality of radially-spaced stepped pits. Each pit has an upper section defining a first opening with a respective first cross-sectional area and a lower section defining a second opening with a respective second cross-sectional area smaller than the respective first area. A perimeter of each upper section is melted by the hot weld and a perimeter of each lower section is not melted by the hot weld.

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