最新美国发明专利第2016-03-15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
US09287481B2	Vertical nitride semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same Disclosed is a vertical nitride semiconductor device including a conductive substrate; a semiconductor layer bonded to the conductive substrate via a second electrode; a metal layer formed on the conductive substrate; a first electrode formed on the semiconductor layer; and a bonding layer formed between the conductive substrate and the second electrode. The conductive substrate has a flange part, which extends from a side surface of the conductive substrate, on a side of the other front surface thereof. The flange part is formed in a manner in which the conductive substrate and the semiconductor layer are bonded together and then a remaining part of the conductive substrate is divided, the remaining part being formed by cutting off the semiconductor layer and part of the conductive substrate in a thickness direction so as to expose a side surface of the semiconductor layer and the side surface of the conductive substrate.
US09287480B2	Light emitting device mount and light emitting apparatus A light emitting device mount includes a positive lead terminal, a negative lead terminal, and a resin portion. Each of the positive lead terminal and the negative lead terminal includes a first main surface, a second main surface opposite to the first main surface in a thickness direction of each of the positive lead terminal and the negative lead terminal, and an end surface which is provided between the first main surface and the second main surface and which includes a first recessed surface area and a second recessed surface area. The first recessed surface area extends from the first main surface. The second recessed surface area extends from the second main surface, includes a closest point closest to the first main surface, and includes an extension part that extends outward of the closest point and toward the second main surface.
US09287471B2	Polycarbonate compositions containing conversion material chemistry and having enhanced optical properties, methods of making and articles comprising the same In some embodiments, a composition comprises a bisphenol-A polycarbonate, wherein a molded article of the bisphenol-A polycarbonate has transmission level greater than or equal to 90.0% at 2.5 mm thickness as measured by ASTM D1003-00 and a yellow index (YI) less than or equal to 1.5 as measured by ASTM D1925. In some embodiments, light emitting device comprises: a lighting element located in a housing. The housing is formed from a plastic composition comprising: the polycarbonate composition and a conversion material. After the conversion material has been exposed to an excitation source, the conversion material has a luminescence lifetime of less than 10−4 seconds when the excitation source is removed.
US09287470B2	Wavelength-converting light emitting diode (LED) chip and LED device equipped with chip A wavelength-converted light emitting diode (LED) chip is provided. The wavelength-converted LED chip includes an LED chip and a wavelength-converted layer. The LED chip emits light in a predetermined wavelength region. The wavelength-converted layer is formed of a resin containing phosphor bodies of at least one kind which convert a portion of the light emitted from the LED chip into light in a different wavelength region. The wavelength-converted layer is formed on an upper surface of the LED chip, and has a convex meniscus-shaped upper surface.
US09287463B2	Method of manufacturing a light generating device and light generating device manufactured through the same A method of manufacturing a light generating device and a light generating device manufactured through the method are disclosed. The method of manufacturing a light generating device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, includes preparing a semiconductor stacking structure including a p-type semiconductor layer, an n-type semiconductor layer and an active layer disposed between the p-type semiconductor layer and the n-type semiconductor layer; forming a metal thin film on the n-type semiconductor layer or on the p-type semiconductor layer; annealing the metal thin film to form a grain boundary at the metal thin film; applying liquid with graphite powder to the metal thin film with the grain boundary; thermally treating the semiconductor stacking structure to which the liquid with graphite powder is applied; and removing the metal thin film with the grain boundary.
US09287456B2	Silicon-germanium light-emitting element Provided is an element structure whereby it is possible to produce a silicon-germanium light-emitting element enclosing an injected carrier within a light-emitting region. Also provided is a method of manufacturing the structure. Between the light-emitting region and an electrode there is produced a narrow passage for the carrier, specifically, a one-dimensional or two-dimensional quantum confinement region. A band gap opens up in this section due to the quantum confinement, thereby forming an energy barrier for both electrons and positive holes, and affording an effect analogous to a double hetero structure in an ordinary Group III-V semiconductor laser. Because no chemical elements other than those used in ordinary silicon processes are employed, the element can be manufactured inexpensively, simply by controlling the shape of the element.
US09287454B2	Nitride semiconductor light-emitting device with a layer containing In and Mg and method for producing the same A method for producing a light-emitting device includes the steps of: forming a layer containing In on a substrate in a reactor in which a Mg-containing raw material has been used; and forming an active layer including a nitride semiconductor on the layer containing In.
US09287447B2	Light emitting element and light emitting device A light emitting element has a semiconductor layer, a pair of positive and negative electrodes, and a reinforcing portion. The pair of positive and negative electrodes is disposed on a lower face side of the semiconductor layer. The pair of electrodes is connected to the substrate. The reinforcing portion is disposed on an outer edge part of an upper face of the semiconductor layer. The reinforcing portion is made from a light-transmissive material. The upper face includes an exposed portion exposed from the reinforcing portion.
US09287443B2	Nanostructured device A nanostructured device according to the invention comprises a first group of nanowires protruding from a substrate where each nanowire of the first group of nanowires comprises at least one pn- or p-i-n-junction. A first contact, at least partially encloses and is electrically connected to a first side of the pn- or p-i-n-junction of each nanowire in the first group of nanowires. A second contacting means comprises a second group of nanowires that protrudes from the substrate, and is arranged to provide an electrical connection to a second side of the pn- or p-i-n-junction.
US09287438B1	Method for forming ohmic N-contacts at low temperature in inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells with contaminant isolation A method of manufacturing a solar cell assembly by providing a first substrate; depositing on the first substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; mounting a supporting member on top of the sequence of layers using a temporary adhesive bonding material to form a processing assembly; removing the first substrate; and depositing a contact layer including germanium and palladium on the top surface of the solar cell at a relatively low temperature so that the temporary adhesive allows the processing assembly to remain attached.
US09287437B2	Apparatus and method for monitoring the process of fabricating solar cells A method for monitoring the process of fabricating solar cells generally comprises performing a reaction process in a chamber for a solar cell substructure, wherein the chamber includes a reaction solution that includes at least one chemical component. A concentration value is detected for the chemical component during the reaction process, via a detection assembly that is coupled to the chamber. The method further includes determining whether the detected concentration value is at a predefined threshold concentration level or within a predefined concentration range for the chemical component, via a control assembly that is coupled to the detection assembly. The concentration of the chemical component within the reaction solution is modified, during the reaction process, when the detected concentration value is different from the predefined threshold concentration level or different from the predefined concentration range.
US09287435B2	Method of making photovoltaic devices incorporating improved pnictide semiconductor films The present invention uses a treatment that involves an etching treatment that forms a pnictogen-rich region on the surface of a pnictide semiconductor film The region is very thin in many modes of practice, often being on the order of only 2 to 3 nm thick in many embodiments. Previous investigators have left the region in place without appreciating the fact of its presence and/or that its presence, if known, can compromise electronic performance of resultant devices. The present invention appreciates that the formation and removal of the region advantageously renders the pnictide film surface highly smooth with reduced electronic defects. The surface is well-prepared for further device fabrication.
US09287433B2	Radiation detector A radiation detector is provided. The radiation detection comprises a semiconductor crystal for detecting radiation. The semiconductor crystal comprises a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface. At least one anode is arranged on at least one of the top surface, the bottom surface, and the at least one side surface. At least one cathode is arranged on at least another one of the top surface, the bottom surface, and the at least one side surface. The at least one anode each has a stripe shape, the at least one cathode each has a planar or curved shape, and the at least one cathode and the at least one anode extend in parallel with respect to each other to a length substantially equal to that of the anode. Such an electrode structure can improve energy resolution and detection efficiency of the radiation detector effectively.
US09287430B1	Photovoltaic solar concentrator A photovoltaic solar concentrator is disclosed with one or more transverse-junction solar cells (also termed point contact solar cells) and a lens located above each solar cell to concentrate sunlight onto the solar cell to generate electricity. Piezoelectric actuators tilt or translate each lens to track the sun using a feedback-control circuit which senses the electricity generated by one or more of the solar cells. The piezoelectric actuators can be coupled through a displacement-multiplier linkage to provide an increased range of movement of each lens. Each lens in the solar concentrator can be supported on a frame (also termed a tilt plate) having three legs, with the movement of the legs being controlled by the piezoelectric actuators.
US09287429B2	Solar cell sealing film and solar cell using the same The present invention provides a solar cell sealing film in which the shrinkage is prevented when heated. The solar cell sealing film 13A, 13B comprises a resin mixture of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and polyethylene, and an organic peroxide. The mass ratio (EVA:PE) of the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) to the polyethylene (PE) is 8:2 to 3:7 and the melting point of the resin mixture (temperature at a viscosity of 30,000 Pa·s) is 80 to 105° C.
US09287421B2	Solar cell module and method of fabricating the same Disclosed are a solar cell module and a method of fabricating the same. The solar cell module includes a support substrate and a plurality of solar cells on the support substrate. Each of the solar cells includes a back electrode layer on the support substrate; a light absorbing layer on the back electrode layer; a buffer layer on the light absorbing layer; a conductive layer on the buffer layer; and a front electrode layer on the conductive layer.
US09287419B2	Wavelength conversion perylene diester chromophores and luminescent films This invention is related to novel perylene diester derivatives represented by the general formula (I) or general formula (II) as described herein. The derivatives are useful in various applications, such as luminescent dyes for optical light collection systems, fluorescence-based solar collectors, fluorescence-activated displays, and/or single-molecule spectroscopy. The invention also relates to a luminescent medium, such as a luminescent film, that can significantly enhance the solar harvesting efficiency of thin film CdS/CdTe or CIGS solar cells. The luminescent medium comprises an optically transparent polymer matrix and at least one luminescent dye that comprises a perylene diester derivative. Over 16% of an efficiency enhancement to a CdS/CdTe solar cell and over 12% of an efficiency enhancement to a CIGS solar cell can be achieved.
US09287416B2	Schottky diode A semiconductor system of a Schottky diode is described having an integrated PN diode as a clamping element, which is suitable in particular as a Zener diode having a breakdown voltage of approximately 20 V for use in motor vehicle generator systems. The semiconductor system of the Schottky diode includes a combination of a Schottky diode and a PN diode. The breakdown voltage of the PN diode is much lower than the breakdown voltage of the Schottky diode, the semiconductor system being able to be operated using high currents during breakdown operation.
US09287412B2	Quantum dot channel (QDC) quantum dot gate transistors, memories and other devices This invention describes a field-effect transistor in which the channel is formed in an array of quantum dots. In one embodiment the quantum dots are cladded with a thin layer serving as an energy barrier. The quantum dot channel (QDC) may consist of one or more layers of cladded dots. These dots are realized on a single or polycrystalline substrate. When QDC FETs are realized on polycrystalline or nanocrystalline thin films they may yield higher mobility than in conventional nano- or microcrystalline thin films. These FETs can be used as thin film transistors (TFTs) in a variety of applications. In another embodiment QDC-FETs are combined with: (a) coupled quantum well SWS channels, (b) quantum dot gate 3-state like FETs, and (c) quantum dot gate nonvolatile memories.
US09287405B2	Semiconductor device comprising oxide semiconductor A miniaturized transistor having excellent electrical characteristics is provided with high yield. Further, a semiconductor device including the transistor and having high performance and high reliability is manufactured with high productivity. In a semiconductor device including a transistor in which an oxide semiconductor film including a channel formation region and low-resistance regions between which the channel formation region is sandwiched, a gate insulating film, and a gate electrode layer whose top surface and side surface are covered with an insulating film including an aluminum oxide film are stacked, a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer are in contact with part of the oxide semiconductor film and the top surface and a side surface of the insulating film including an aluminum oxide film.
US09287404B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing a semiconductor device with lateral FET cells and field plates A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes providing dielectric stripe structures extending from a first surface into a semiconductor substrate between semiconductor fins. A first mask is provided that covers a first area including first stripe sections of the dielectric stripe structures and first fin sections of the semiconductor fins. The first mask exposes a second area including second stripe and second fin sections. A channel/body zone is formed in the second fin sections by introducing impurities, wherein the first mask is used as an implant mask. Using an etch mask that is based on the first mask, recess grooves are formed at least in the second stripe sections.
US09287401B2	Semiconductor device having fin-type field effect transistor and method of manufacturing the same A field effect transistor includes a fin structure, having a sidewall, protruding from a substrate, and a device isolation structure on the substrate, the device isolation structure defining the sidewall of the fin structure, wherein the fin structure includes a buffer semiconductor pattern disposed on the substrate and a channel pattern disposed on the buffer semiconductor pattern, wherein the buffer semiconductor pattern has a lattice constant different from that of the channel pattern, and wherein the device isolation structure includes a gap-fill insulating layer, and includes an oxidation blocking layer pattern disposed between the buffer semiconductor pattern and the gap-fill insulating layer.
US09287400B2	Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device having a fin-type transistor that is excellent in characteristics by forming a fin-shaped semiconductor portion and a gate electrode with high precision or by making improvement regarding variations in characteristics among elements. The present invention is a semiconductor device including a fin-shaped semiconductor portion having a source region formed on one side thereof and a drain region formed on the other side thereof, and a gate electrode formed between the source region and the drain region to surround the fin-shaped semiconductor portion with a gate insulating film interposed therebetween. One solution for solving the problem according to the invention is that the gate electrode uses a metal material or a silicide material that is wet etchable.
US09287399B2	Faceted intrinsic epitaxial buffer layer for reducing short channel effects while maximizing channel stress levels A faceted intrinsic buffer semiconductor material is deposited on sidewalls of a source trench and a drain trench by selective epitaxy. A facet adjoins each edge at which an outer sidewall of a gate spacer adjoins a sidewall of the source trench or the drain trench. A doped semiconductor material is subsequently deposited to fill the source trench and the drain trench. The doped semiconductor material can be deposited such that the facets of the intrinsic buffer semiconductor material are extended and inner sidewalls of the deposited doped semiconductor material merges in each of the source trench and the drain trench. The doped semiconductor material can subsequently grow upward. Faceted intrinsic buffer semiconductor material portions allow greater outdiffusion of dopants near faceted corners while suppressing diffusion of dopants in regions of uniform width, thereby suppressing short channel effects.
US09287395B2	Semiconductor device and a bit line and the whole of a bit line contact plug having a vertically uniform profile A semiconductor device comprises: a semiconductor substrate including a cell region and a peripheral region; an insulating film formed on the top portion of the semiconductor substrate of the cell region; a bit line contact hole including the etched insulating film to expose the semiconductor substrate; a bit line contact plug buried in the bit line contact plug; and a bit line formed on the top portion of the bit line contact plug to have the same width as that of the bit line contact plug. The thickness of the insulating film around a cell bit line is minimized so as to vertically form a profile of the cell bit line, thereby improving an overlay margin of a storage node contact and an active region.
US09287393B2	Semiconductor device In a semiconductor device provided with a MOSFET part and a gate pad part, the gate pad part includes: a low resistance semiconductor layer; a drift layer; a poly-silicon layer constituting a conductor layer and a gate pad electrode formed above the drift layer over the whole area of the gate pad part with a field insulation layer interposed therebetween; and a gate oscillation suppressing structure, wherein the gate oscillation suppressing structure includes a p+-type diffusion region which is disposed along an outer peripheral portion of the gate pad part and is electrically connected with the a source electrode layer, and a p+-type diffusion region in a floating state and the p-type impurity non-diffusion regions which are alternately formed in the region surrounded by the p+-type diffusion region.
US09287392B2	Semiconductor device and fabrication method for the same The semiconductor device includes: a transistor having a gate electrode formed on a semiconductor substrate and first and second source/drain regions formed in portions of the semiconductor substrate on both sides of the gate electrode; a gate interconnect formed at a position opposite to the gate electrode with respect to the first source/drain region; and a first silicon-germanium layer formed on the first source/drain region to protrude above the top surface of the semiconductor substrate. The gate interconnect and the first source/drain region are connected via a local interconnect structure that includes the first silicon-germanium layer.
US09287391B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate in which an active region and an edge termination region are defined, a semiconductor element formed in the active region, and first to fourth P layers formed in a region spanning from an edge portion of the active region to the edge termination region in the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The first to fourth P layers respectively have surface concentrations P(1) to P(4) that decrease in this order, bottom-end distances D(1) to D(4) that increase in this order, and distances B(1) to B(4) to the edge of the semiconductor substrate that increase in this order. The surface concentration P(4) is 10 to 1000 times the impurity concentration of the semiconductor substrate, and the bottom-end distance D(4) is in the range of 15 to 30 μm.
US09287389B2	Method and system for doping control in gallium nitride based devices A method of growing a III-nitride-based epitaxial structure is disclosed. The method includes forming a GaN-based drift layer coupled to the GaN-based substrate, where forming the GaN-based drift layer comprises doping the drift layer with indium to cause the indium concentration of the drift layer to be less than about 1×1016 cm−3 and to cause the carbon concentration of the drift layer to be less than about 1×1016 cm−3. The method also includes forming an n-type channel layer coupled to the GaN-based drift layer, forming an n-contact layer coupled to the GaN-based drift layer, and forming a second electrical contact electrically coupled to the n-contact layer.
US09287388B2	Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and method for manufacturing same According to one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of U-shaped memory strings, each of the plurality of U-shaped memory strings including a first columnar body, a second columnar body, and a conductive connection body. The conductive connection body connects the first columnar body and the second columnar body. A plurality of first memory cells are connected in series in the first columnar body and are composed of a plurality of first conductive layers, a first inter-gate insulating film, a plurality of first floating electrodes, a first tunnel insulating film, and a first memory channel layer. The plurality of first floating electrodes are separated from the plurality of first conductive layers by the first inter-gate insulating film. A plurality of second memory cells are connected in series in the second columnar body, similally to the plurality of first memory cells.
US09287370B2	Memory device comprising a transistor including an oxide semiconductor and semiconductor device including the same A memory device consumes low power, has high capacity, and is shared by a plurality of processors. A data write transistor of a memory device is manufactured with a material capable of achieving a sufficiently low off-state current of a transistor (e.g., an oxide semiconductor material that is a wide band gap semiconductor). The memory device has a memory cell including at least one data write transistor, at least one data storage transistor, and at least two data read transistors.
US09287366B2	III nitride semiconductor device and method of producing the same Provided are a III nitride semiconductor device which can be operated at a lower voltage can be provided, in which device a good ohmic contact is achieved between the (000-1) plane side of the III nitride semiconductor layer and the electrode and a method of producing the III nitride semiconductor device. A III nitride semiconductor device of the present invention includes a plurality of protrusions rounded like domes in a predetermined region on the (000-1) plane side of the III nitride semiconductor layer; and an electrode on the upper surface of the predetermined region.
US09287365B2	Method of manufacturing semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer, an insulating film of silicon nitride on the semiconductor layer, source and drain electrodes formed in openings of the insulating film and in contact with the semiconductor layer, and a gate electrode formed in an opening in the insulating film that is located between the source electrode and the drain electrode and formed in contact with the semiconductor layer. The insulating film has an Si content that is uniform in a direction of thickness of the insulating film, an upper region, and a lower region. The upper region can have an oxygen concentration that is greater than that of the lower region. The upper region can be formed by exposing the surface of the insulating film to ozone or an oxygen plasma.
US09287364B2	Active regions with compatible dielectric layers A method to form a semiconductor structure with an active region and a compatible dielectric layer is described. In one embodiment, a semiconductor structure has a dielectric layer comprised of an oxide of a first semiconductor material, wherein a second (and compositionally different) semiconductor material is formed between the dielectric layer and the first semiconductor material. In another embodiment, a portion of the second semiconductor material is replaced with a third semiconductor material in order to impart uniaxial strain to the lattice structure of the second semiconductor material.
US09287361B2	Junction-less transistor having reverse polarity structure A junction-less transistor having an reverse polarity structure includes a substrate, a semiconductor body, a gate and a gate insulation layer. The substrate has a first polarity. The semiconductor body is disposed on the substrate, and includes a drain, a source and a channel section connected between the drain and the source. The gate covers one side of the channel section away from the substrate. The semiconductor body has a second polarity opposite to the first polarity. With the semiconductor body and the substrate respectively having the opposite second polarity and first polarity, a leakage current can be reduced while also lowering element production costs.
US09287354B2	Semiconductor component and method for producing it A semiconductor component having differently structured cell regions, and a method for producing it. For this purpose, the semiconductor component includes a semiconductor body. A first electrode on the top side of the semiconductor body is electrically connected to a first zone near the surface of the semiconductor body. A second electrode is electrically connected to a second zone of the semiconductor body. Furthermore, the semiconductor body has a drift path region, which is arranged in the semiconductor body between the first electrode and the second electrode. A cell region of the semiconductor component is subdivided into a main cell region and an auxiliary cell region, wherein the breakdown voltage of the auxiliary cells is greater than the breakdown voltage of the main cells.
US09287350B2	Metal-insulator-metal capacitor A metal-insulator-metal capacitor includes a bottom metal line and a top metal line disposed above the bottom metal line. An insulating material layer is between the bottom metal line and the top metal line, which the insulating material layer is an inter-metal-dielectric layer.
US09287345B2	Semiconductor structure with thin film resistor and terminal bond pad Disclosed are methods for forming a thin film resistor and terminal bond pad simultaneously. A method includes simultaneously forming a terminal bond pad on a terminal wire and a thin film resistor on two other wires.
US09287342B2	Flexible organic light emitting display and method of manufacturing the same Provided is a flexible organic light-emitting display device. The flexible display device includes a flexible substrate having a display area, a non-display area, and a bending area. On the flexible substrate, a first insulation layer is formed in a part of the non-display area. The first insulation layer includes a zigzag pattern. A plurality of wirings are electrically connected to the display area and are extended to traverse the non-display area and the bending area and are disposed on the first insulation layer. On the first insulation layer and the plurality of wirings, a passivation layer is formed. By virtue of a zigzag pattern of the first insulation layer, the frequency of occurrence of cracks in the passivation layer is reduced.
US09287341B2	Flexible display device including folding section A flexible display device includes a folding section formed on a flexible substrate, a flat section connected to the folding section, and a display area for displaying an image, wherein the display area is formed on the folding section and the flat section, wherein each of the display areas of the folding section and the flat section includes a plurality of pixels and a plurality of wires for supplying electrical signals to the pixels, and wherein the wires in the display area of the folding section include a winding wire extending in a winding configuration on the flexible substrate.
US09287340B2	Display device Provided is a display device (1a), including: a substrate on which a plurality of pixels are arranged in a display region; a plurality of connection pads (C) provided on one surface of the substrate; and wires connecting the plurality of pixels and the plurality of connection pads to each other, the substrate including: a panel portion in which the plurality of pixels are arranged; and a terminal portion (30) in which the plurality of connection pads are arranged, the terminal portion including: a first portion (32) continuing to a first direction side of the panel portion; and a second portion (34) opposing the first portion, the second portion being formed by bending a portion of the terminal portion, the plurality of connection pads being arranged in the first portion and the second portion.
US09287326B2	Distortion tolerant processing An integrated circuit (IC) for driving a flexible display includes a first layer including spatially non-repetitive features, the first layer deposited on a flexible substrate, the spatially non-repetitive features not substantially regularly repeating in both of two orthogonal directions (x,y) in the plane of the substrate. The IC further includes a second layer including spatially repetitive features with the second layer being deposited on said first layer. The first and second layers are aligned to one another so as to allow electrical coupling between said non-repetitive and said repetitive features, and wherein distortion compensation is applied during deposition of said repetitive features to enable said alignment.
US09287320B2	Semiconductor device and operating method thereof A substrate including a plurality of transistors, and a piezoelectric formed to be contacted with the substrate. The piezoelectric is formed heat-expendably in a direction parallel to a gate direction of the transistors.
US09287317B2	Image sensor module and method of manufacturing the same There is provided an image sensor module, including: an image sensor having a small thickness of 175 μm or less and having a first coefficient of thermal expansion; a substrate having the image sensor mounted thereon and having a second coefficient of thermal expansion higher than the first coefficient of thermal expansion; and an adhesive layer disposed between the image sensor and the substrate and including an adhesive having a third coefficient of thermal expansion of 130 ppm/° C. or more at a glass transition temperature Tg or more.
US09287312B2	Imaging sensor structure and method The present disclosure provides an embodiment of a method for fabricating a three dimensional (3D) image sensor structure. The method includes providing to an image sensor substrate having image sensors formed therein and a first interconnect structure formed thereon, and a logic substrate having a logic circuit formed therein and a second interconnect structure formed thereon; bonding the logic substrate to the image sensor substrate in a configuration that the first interconnect structure and second interconnect structure are sandwiched between the logic substrate and the image sensor substrate; and forming a conductive feature extending from the logic substrate to the first interconnect structure, thereby electrically coupling the logic circuit to the image sensors.
US09287311B2	Semiconductor device and semiconductor-device manufacturing method It is possible to reduce resistance variations of a member connecting a through-silicon via to a line and improve wiring reliability. A hole through which the through-silicon via is to be stretched is created and an over-etching process is carried out on a wiring layer including the line. Then, by embedding copper in the hole, the through-silicon via made of the copper can be created. After the through-silicon via has been connected to the line made of aluminum through the member which is a connection area, the connection area is alloyed in a thermal treatment in order to electrically connect the through-silicon via to the line. Thus, it is possible to reduce variations of a resistance between the through-silicon via and the line and also improve wiring reliability as well. The present technology can be applied to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device.
US09287305B2	Global shutter bulk charge modulated device The invention describes image sensor array pixels with global and rolling shutter capabilities that utilize multiple BCMD transistors for storing and sensing charge for a single photodiode. This configuration improves the Dynamic Range (DR) of the sensor, by allowing sensing different image signals from a single pixel without saturation, a low level signal with long integration time followed by a high level signal with short integration time. Signal processing circuits can process these signals into a single Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) output. Further disclosed are pixels that use multiple-gate BCMD transistors for charge storage and sensing having multiple concentric gates, which allows changing the conversion gain of the BCMD transistors. Variable conversion gain is a useful feature when building WDR sensors since low conversion gain and high well capacity allows detection of high level signals and, at the same time, low level signals with high conversion gain and low noise.
US09287303B1	CMOS image sensor structure A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a logic gate structure, a photosensitive gate structure, a hard mask layer, a first spacer, a first source, a first drain, a second spacer, a second source and a second drain. The logic gate structure and the photosensitive gate structure are disposed on a surface of the substrate. The hard mask layer covers the logic gate structure, the photosensitive gate structure and the surface of the substrate. The first spacer overlies the hard mask layer conformal to a sidewall of the logic gate structure. The first source and drain are respectively disposed in the substrate at two opposite sides of the logic gate structure. The second spacer overlies the hard mask layer conformal to a sidewall of the photosensitive gate structure. The second source and drain are respectively disposed in the substrate at two opposite sides of the photosensitive gate structure.
US09287302B2	Solid-state imaging device According to one embodiment, pixels are divided by a grid set diagonally to a column direction, a green photoelectric conversion film is provided for each of the pixels and arranged to overlap a red photoelectric conversion layer in a depth direction, and a blue photoelectric conversion layer is arranged to be overlapped by the green photoelectric conversion film in a depth direction.
US09287300B2	Methods for fabricating semiconductor devices The present inventive concepts provide methods for fabricating semiconductor devices. The method may comprise providing a substrate, stacking a conductive layer and a lower mask layer on the substrate, forming a plurality of hardmask layers each having an island shape on the lower mask layer, forming a plurality of upper mask patterns having island shapes arranged to expose portions of the lower mask layer, etching the exposed portions of the lower mask layer to expose portions of the conductive layer, and etching the exposed portions of the conductive layer to form a plurality of contact holes each exposing a portion of the substrate.
US09287297B2	Thin film transistor array panel and method of manufacturing the panel A thin film transistor array panel includes: a gate line disposed on a substrate and including a first connection member of a gate driver region and a gate electrode of a display area, a gate insulating layer disposed on the substrate and having a first contact hole exposing the first connection member, a semiconductor layer disposed on a region of the gate insulating layer, a data line disposed on the gate insulating layer and the semiconductor layer and including a drain electrode, a source electrode, and a second connection member connected to the first connection member through the first contact hole, a passivation layer disposed on the data line, the source electrode, the drain electrode, and the second connection member, and a pixel electrode disposed on the passivation layer and electrically connected to the drain electrode. A horizontal width of the first contact hole ranges from 1 to 2 μm.
US09287296B2	Display device Provided is a display device, in which: a plurality of spacers placed between a first substrate and a second substrate include a first spacer placed between a first thin film transistor and a second thin film transistor and a second spacer placed between the first thin film transistor and a third thin film transistor; and a distance between a center of the first spacer and a center of a line width of a first data line is smaller than a distance between a center of the second spacer and a center of a line width of a second data line.
US09287284B2	Semiconductor field-effect transistor, memory cell and memory device Semiconductor device formed by a first conductive strip of semiconductor material; a control gate region of semiconductor material, facing a channel portion of the first conductive strip, and an insulation region arranged between the first conductive strip and the control gate region. The first conductive strip includes a conduction line having a first conductivity type and a control line having a second conductivity type, arranged adjacent and in electrical contact with each other, and the conduction line forms the channel portion, a first conduction portion and a second conduction portion arranged on opposite sides of the channel portion.
US09287278B2	Non-volatile push-pull non-volatile memory cell having reduced operation disturb and process for manufacturing same A non-volatile memory cell includes a p-channel non-volatile transistor having a source and a drain defining a channel and a gate overlying the channel and an n-channel non-volatile transistor having a source and a drain defining a channel and a gate overlying the channel. In at least one of the p-channel non-volatile transistor and the n-channel non-volatile transistor, a lightly-doped drain region extends from the drain into the channel.
US09287274B2	Antifuse of semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same An antifuse of a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same capable of causing an antifuse to stably operate by rupturing the antifuse at a specific point and stabilizing a current level when rupturing the antifuse are provided. The antifuse may include: a device isolation layer defining a first active region in a semiconductor substrate; a first and second junction regions provided in the first active region; a second active region formed over the first junction region; a gate insulating layer formed over the first active region and the second active region; and a gate electrode formed over the gate insulating layer.
US09287273B2	Method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising transistors each having a different effective work function The disclosed technology generally relates a semiconductor device comprising transistors, and more particularly to a semiconductor device comprising transistors each having a gate stack with a different effective work function, and methods of fabricating such a device. In one aspect, the method of fabricating the semiconductor comprises providing at least two channel regions in the substrate and providing a dielectric layer on the substrate. The method additionally includes forming a plurality of gate regions by providing openings in the dielectric layer. The method further includes providing a gate dielectric layer in the openings and providing on the gate dielectric layer of each of the gate regions a barrier layer stack having different thickness along the different gate regions.
US09287271B2	Vertical transistor devices, memory arrays, and methods of forming vertical transistor devices A vertical transistor device includes a line of active area adjacent a line of dielectric isolation. A buried data/sense line obliquely angles relative to the line of active area and the line of dielectric isolation. A pair of gate lines is outward of the buried data/sense line and obliquely angle relative to the line of active area and the line of dielectric isolation. A vertical transistor channel region is within the active area between the pair of gate lines. An outer source/drain region is in the active area above the channel region and an inner source/drain region is in the active area below the channel region. The inner source/drain region is electrically coupled to the buried data/sense line. Other devices and structures are contemplated, as are methods of forming a plurality of vertical transistor devices.
US09287266B2	Semiconductor device A nonvolatile memory is provided. A semiconductor device (a nonvolatile memory) has a circuit configuration similar to that of a general SRAM. By providing a transistor whose off-state current is small between a stored data holding portion and a power supply line of the SRAM, leakage of electric charge from the stored data holding portion is prevented. As the transistor whose off-state current is small provided for preventing leakage of electric charge from the stored data holding portion, a transistor including an oxide semiconductor film is preferably used. Such a configuration can also be applied to a shift register, whereby a shift register with low power consumption can be obtained.
US09287264B1	Epitaxially grown silicon germanium channel FinFET with silicon underlayer Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for epitaxially growing a FinFET. One method may include providing a semiconductor substrate including an insulator and an underlayer; forming a channel layer on the semiconductor substrate using epitaxial growth; etching a recess into the channel layer and epitaxially regrowing a portion on the channel layer; etching the channel layer and the underlayer to form fins; forming a gate structure and a set of spacers; etching a source drain region into the channel layer; and forming a source drain material in the source drain region.
US09287263B1	Semiconductor device having a metal gate The present invention provides a method for forming a semiconductor device having a metal gate. The method includes firstly, a substrate is provided, and a first semiconductor device and a second semiconductor device are formed on the substrate, having a first gate trench and a second trench respectively. Next, a bottom barrier layer is formed in the first gate trench and a second trench. Afterwards, a first pull back step is performed, to remove parts of the bottom barrier layer, and a first work function metal layer is then formed in the first gate trench. Next, a second pull back step is performed, to remove parts of the first work function metal layer, wherein the topmost portion of the first work function metal layer is lower than the openings of the first gate trench and the second gate trench.
US09287261B2	Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof Disclosed is a semiconductor device manufacturing method comprising: forming an element isolation region in one principal face of a semiconductor substrate of one conductivity type; forming a gate electrode extending from an element region to the element isolation region at both sides of the element region in a first direction, both end portions of the gate electrode in the first direction being on the element isolation region and respectively including a concave portion and protruding portions at both sides of the concave portion; carrying out ion implantation of impurities of the one conductivity type from a direction tilted from a direction perpendicular to the one principal face toward the first direction so that first and second impurity implantation regions of the one conductivity type are formed in the one principal face in two end regions of the element region in the first direction.
US09287252B2	Semiconductor mismatch reduction A system and method for reducing density mismatch is disclosed. An embodiment comprises determining a conductor density and an active area density in a high density area and a low density area of a semiconductor device. Dummy material may be added to the low density area in order to raise the conductor density and the active area density, thereby reducing the internal density mismatches between the high density area and the low density area. Additionally, a similar process may be used to reduce external mismatches between different regions on the semiconductor substrate. Once these mismatches have been reduced, empty regions surrounding the different regions may additionally be filled in order to reduce the conductor density mismatch and the active area density mismatches.
US09287251B2	Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device In a method, a first opening is formed in a first insulating interlayer on a first substrate. A first conductive pattern structure contacting a first diffusion prevention insulation pattern and having a planarized top surface is formed in the first opening. Likewise, a second conductive pattern structure contacting a second diffusion prevention insulation pattern is formed in a second insulating interlayer on a second substrate. A plasma treatment process is performed on at least one of the first and second substrates having the first and second conductive pattern structures thereon, respectively. The first and second conductive pattern structures are contacted to each other to bond the first and second substrates.
US09287249B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device comprises a first semiconductor chip; and a second semiconductor chip provided on the first semiconductor chip with having chip-on-chip connection to the first semiconductor chip, wherein when seen from a direction perpendicular to an upper surface of the second semiconductor chip, an outline of the second semiconductor chip is larger than an outline of the first semiconductor chip, a plurality of electrode terminals for the first semiconductor chip are provided on an upper surface of the first semiconductor chip, the plurality of electrode terminals for the first semiconductor chip comprise one or more first covered terminals which are covered with the second semiconductor chip and one or more first uncovered terminals which are not covered with the second semiconductor chip.
US09287248B2	Embedded memory and power management subpackage Embodiment of the present disclosure describe integrated circuit package assemblies that allow for relatively short connections between devices such as a processor and memory. In one embodiment, a package assembly includes a die embedded in a subpackage directly coupled to another die attached to the subpackage. In some embodiments the subpackage may also contain power management devices. In some embodiments the die embedded in the subpackage and/or the power management device may overlap, or be located in, a region defined by the die coupled to the subpackage such that they are located between the die coupled to the subpackage and a substrate underlying the subpackage. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
US09287245B2	Contoured package-on-package joint A contoured package on package joint and a method for making the same are disclosed herein. A method for forming a device comprises providing a substrate having a package land and forming a mounting stud on the package land. A molded underfill is applied to the substrate and in contact with the mounting stud. A contoured stud surface is formed on the mounting stud is contoured and connecting member attached to the contoured stud surface with a second package attached to the connecting member. The connecting member may be solder and have a spherical shape. The contoured stud surface may be etched or mechanically formed to have a hemispherical shape conforming to the connecting member shape.
US09287242B2	Light emitting device, method for manufacturing light emitting device, illuminating device, and backlight In a light emitting device, one hundred or more bar-like structured light emitting elements (210) each having a light emitting area of 2,500π μm2 or less are placed on a mounting surface of one insulating substrate (200), so that the light emitting device fulfills little variation in luminance, long life, and high efficiency by dispersion of light emission with suppression of increase in temperatures in light emitting operations.
US09287241B2	Light emitting device and LCD backlight using the same The present invention provides a light emitting device which comprises blue and red light emitting diode (LED) chips and at least one phosphor for emitting green light by means of light emitted from the blue LED chip, and an LCD backlight including the light emitting device. According to the light emitting device of the present invention, uniform white light can be implemented and both high luminance and wider color reproduction range can also be obtained. Accordingly, an LCD backlight for uniform light distribution on an LCD as well as low power consumption and high durability can be manufactured using the light emitting device.
US09287240B2	Stacked semiconductor die assemblies with thermal spacers and associated systems and methods Stacked semiconductor die assemblies with thermal spacers and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a semiconductor die assembly can include a thermally conductive casing defining a cavity, a stack of first semiconductor dies within the cavity, and a second semiconductor die stacked relative to the stack of first dies and carried by a package substrate. The semiconductor die assembly further includes a thermal spacer disposed between the package substrate and the thermally conductive casing. The thermal spacer can include a semiconductor substrate and plurality of conductive vias extending through the semiconductor substrate and electrically coupled to the stack of first semiconductor dies, the second semiconductor die, and the package substrate.
US09287239B2	Techniques for interconnecting stacked dies using connection sites An integrated circuit die includes conductive connection sites located at least on a surface of the integrated circuit die within a contiguous region thereof. The integrated circuit also includes a core circuit located outside the contiguous region. The core circuit is coupled to at least one of the connection sites.
US09287234B2	Dummy flip chip bumps for reducing stress A device includes a metal pad over a substrate. A passivation layer includes a portion over the metal pad. A post-passivation interconnect (PPI) is electrically coupled to the metal pad, wherein the PPI comprises a portion over the metal pad and the passivation layer. A polymer layer is over the PPI. A dummy bump is over the polymer layer, wherein the dummy bump is electrically insulated from conductive features underlying the polymer layer.
US09287232B2	Method for producing a high-temperature and temperature-change resistant connection between a semiconductor module and a connection partner The invention relates to a method for producing a connection between a semiconductor component and semiconductor component and semiconductor module resistant to high temperatures and temperature changes by means of a temperature impinging process, wherein a metal powder suspension is applied to the areas of the semiconductor module to be connected later; the suspension layer is dried, outgassing the volatile components and generating a porous layer; the porous layer is pre-sealed without complete sintering taking place throughout the suspension layer; and, in order to obtain a solid electrically and thermally conductive connection of a semiconductor module to a connection partner from the group of: substrate, further semiconductor or interconnect device, the connection is a sintered connection generated without compression by increasing the temperature and made of a dried metal powder suspension that has undergone a first transport-safe contact with the connection partner in a pre-compression step and has been solidified at zero pressure using temperature sintering.
US09287230B2	Thermocompression for semiconductor chip assembly An assembly of a semiconductor chip having pads to a substrate having pads aligned to receive the semiconductor chip is provided, whereby at least one of the semiconductor chip pads and substrate pads include solder bumps. The solder bumps are deformed against the substrate pads and the semiconductor chip pads, whereby an underfill material is applied to fill the gap between the semiconductor chip and substrate such that the underfill material envelopes both the deformed solder bumps and the substrate pads. The underfill material does not penetrate between the deformed solder bumps, the semiconductor chip pads, and the substrate pads based on a compression force causing the solder bumps to be deformed against the substrate pads and the semiconductor chip pads. At least one of the solder bumps have not been melted or reflowed to make a metallurgical bond between the semiconductor chip pads and the substrate pads.
US09287229B2	Semiconductor device with redistribution layers on partial encapsulation and non-photosensitive passivation layers A semiconductor device with redistribution layers on partial encapsulation is disclosed and may include providing a carrier with a non-photosensitive protection layer, forming a pattern in the non-photosensitive protection layer, providing a semiconductor die with a contact pad on a first surface, and bonding the semiconductor die to the non-photosensitive protection layer such that the contact pad aligns with the pattern formed in the non-photosensitive protection layer. A second surface opposite to the first surface of the semiconductor die, side surfaces between the first and second surfaces of the semiconductor die, and a portion of a first surface of the non-photosensitive protection layer may be encapsulated with an encapsulant. The carrier may be removed leaving the non-photosensitive protection layer bonded to the semiconductor die. A redistribution layer may be formed on the contact pad and a second surface of the non-photosensitive protection layer opposite to the first surface.
US09287227B2	Electronic device with first and second contact pads and related methods An electronic device may include leads, an IC having first and second bond pads, and an encapsulation material adjacent the leads and the IC so the leads extend to a bottom surface of the encapsulation material defining first contact pads. The electronic device may include bond wires between the first bond pads and corresponding ones of the leads, and conductors extending from corresponding ones of the second bond pads to the bottom surface of the encapsulation material defining second contact pads.
US09287220B2	Semiconductor package Disclosed herein is a semiconductor package. The semiconductor package according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a first substrate having an electronic device mounted on both surfaces thereof; and a second substrate bonded to one surface of the first substrate and including an insertion part in which the electronic device mounted on one surface of the first substrate is inserted, wherein the second substrate includes a ground and a shielding wall which is formed along an inner wall or an outer wall of the second substrate.
US09287213B2	Integrated circuits with improved contact structures Integrated circuits with improved contact structures are provided. In an exemplary embodiment, an integrated circuit includes a semiconductor substrate disposed with a device therein and/or thereon. The integrated circuit includes a contact structure in electrical contact with the device. The contact structure includes a plug metal and a barrier layer, and the barrier layer is selected from fluorine-free tungsten (FFW), tungsten carbide, and tungsten nitride. The integrated circuit further includes a dielectric material overlying the semiconductor substrate. Also, the integrated circuit includes an interconnect formed within the dielectric material and in electrical contact with the contact structure.
US09287211B2	Semiconductor device comprising metal-based eFuses of enhanced programming efficiency by enhancing heat generation In sophisticated semiconductor devices, electronic fuses may be provided in the metallization system, wherein a superior two-dimensional configuration of the metal line, for instance as a helix-like configuration, may provide superior thermal conditions in a central line portion, which in turn may result in a more pronounced electromigration effect for a given programming current. Consequently, the size of the electronic fuse, at least in one lateral direction, and also the width of corresponding transistors connected to the electronic fuse, may be reduced.
US09287210B2	Semiconductor device having a switch that expands and contracts by temperature change A semiconductor device includes: a first semiconductor-chip including a first electrode; a second semiconductor-chip including a second electrode; and a switch including a core element configured to contract and expand by a temperature change, a heat generation unit configured to heat the core element, a first metal element configured to cover the core element and connected to the first electrode, and a second metal element configured to cover the core element and connected to the second electrode, wherein, when the core element contracts, the first metal element and the second metal element come in contact with each other so that the first semiconductor-chip and the second semiconductor-chip are electrically connected with each other, and when the core element expands, the first metal element and the second metal element become in non-contact with each other so that the first semiconductor-chip and the second semiconductor-chip are electrically separated from each other.
US09287204B2	Semiconductor device and method of bonding semiconductor die to substrate in reconstituted wafer form A semiconductor device has a plurality of semiconductor die disposed over a carrier. An electrical interconnect, such as a stud bump, is formed over the semiconductor die. The stud bumps are trimmed to a uniform height. A substrate includes a bump over the substrate. The electrical interconnect of the semiconductor die is bonded to the bumps of the substrate while the semiconductor die is disposed over the carrier. An underfill material is deposited between the semiconductor die and substrate. Alternatively, an encapsulant is deposited over the semiconductor die and substrate using a chase mold. The bonding of stud bumps of the semiconductor die to bumps of the substrate is performed using gang reflow or thermocompression while the semiconductor die are in reconstituted wafer form and attached to the carrier to provide a high throughput of the flipchip type interconnect to the substrate.
US09287203B2	Package-on-package structure and method of forming same A device comprises a bottom package comprising interconnect structures, first bumps on a first side and metal bumps on a second side, a semiconductor die bonded on the bottom package, wherein the semiconductor die is electrically coupled to the first bumps through the interconnect structures. The device further comprises a top package bonded on the second side of the bottom package, wherein the top package comprises second bumps, and wherein each second bump and a corresponding metal bump form a joint structure between the top package and the bottom package and an underfill layer formed between the top package and the bottom package, wherein the metal bumps are embedded in the underfill layer.
US09287202B2	Resin-encapsulated semiconductor device and its manufacturing method A resin-encapsulated semiconductor device having a semiconductor chip which is prevented from being damaged. The resin-encapsulated semiconductor device (100) comprises a semiconductor chip (1) including a silicon substrate, a die pad (10) to which the semiconductor chip (1) is secured through a first solder layer (2), a resin-encapsulating layer (30) encapsulating the semiconductor chip (1), and lead terminals (21) electrically connected to the semiconductor chip (1) and including inner lead portion (21b) covered with the resin-encapsulating layer (30). The lead terminals (21) are made of copper or a copper alloy. The die pad (10) is made of 42 alloy or a cover alloy and has a thickness (about 0.125 mm) less than the thickness (about 0.15 mm) of the lead terminals (21).
US09287201B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device including: a semiconductor element; a lead frame connected to the semiconductor element; a metal base plate mounted on the lead frame via a first insulation layer; and a second insulation layer disposed on the opposite side of the metal base plate face on which the first insulation layer is disposed; wherein the first insulation layer is an insulation layer whose heat-dissipation performance is higher than that of the second insulation layer, and the second insulation layer is an insulation layer whose insulation performance is the same as that of the first insulation layer or higher than that of the first insulation layer.
US09287200B2	Packaged semiconductor device A packaged semiconductor device includes a lead frame having a plurality of leads; a semiconductor die mounted onto the lead frame; and an encapsulant surrounding the semiconductor die. At least a portion of each of the leads is surrounded by the encapsulant, wherein, each lead includes a thin portion external to the encapsulant and a thick portion that is surrounded by the encapsulant, wherein the thin portion is thinner than the thick portion.
US09287195B2	Stub minimization using duplicate sets of terminals having modulo-x symmetry for wirebond assemblies without windows A microelectronic assembly can include a microelectronic package connected with a circuit panel. The package has a microelectronic element having a front face facing away from a substrate of the package, and electrically connected with the substrate through conductive structure extending above the front face. First terminals provided in first and second parallel grids or in first and second individual columns can be configured to carry address information usable to determine an addressable memory location from among all the available addressable memory locations of the memory storage array. The first terminals in the first grid can have signal assignments which are a mirror image of the signal assignments of the first terminals in the second grid.
US09287188B2	Method and apparatus for a seal ring structure A wafer seal ring may be formed on a first and/or a second wafer. One or both of the first and/or second wafers may have one or more dies formed thereon. The wafer seal ring may be formed to surround the dies of a corresponding wafer. One or more die seal rings may be formed around the one or more dies. The wafer seal ring may be formed to a height that may be approximately equal to a height of one or more die seal rings formed on the first and/or second wafer. The wafer seal ring may be formed to provide for eutectic or fusion bonding processes. The first and second wafers may be bonded together to form a seal ring structure between the first and second wafers. The seal ring structure may provide a hermetic seal between the first and second wafers.
US09287187B2	Power semiconductor module A power semiconductor module has an insulating layer; a copper base substrate having first and second copper blocks, either the first or the second copper block being fixed on one side and the other being fixed on the other side of the insulating layer; a plurality of power semiconductor elements using silicon carbide, and having one side fixed onto the first copper block with a conductive bond layer; a plurality of implant pins fixed to the other side of each of the plurality of power semiconductor elements with a conductive bond layer; a printed circuit board fixed to the implant pins and disposed to face the power semiconductor elements; a first sealing material containing no flame retardant, and disposed at least between the power semiconductor elements and the printed circuit board; and a second sealing material containing a flame retardant, and disposed to cover the first sealing material.
US09287176B2	Optical device and manufacturing method therefor An optical device including a substrate formed of a light transmitting material and a light emitting layer formed on the front surface of the substrate. Both the front surface and the back surface of the substrate are parallel to each other and have substantially the same rectangular shape. The substrate has four side surfaces connecting the front surface and the back surface of the substrate. Each side surface of the substrate has a corrugated sectional shape such that a plurality of concave portions and convex portions are alternately formed.
US09287175B2	Fabrication method for dicing of semiconductor wafers using laser cutting techniques A fabrication method for dicing semiconductor wafers using laser cutting techniques, which can effectively prevent the devices on semiconductor die units from the phenomenon of etching undercut caused by the sequential steps after laser cutting, comprises following steps: covering the wafer surface with a protection layer; dicing the wafer by laser and separating the die units from each other; removing the laser cutting residues on the devices on the die units via wet etching by an acidic water solution; removing the protection layer by a non-acidic water solution and cleaning the devices on the die units. The selection of materials for the protection layer must consider the following factors: where (1) the materials for the protection layer must have relatively good properties for adhering and covering on the wafer; (2) the materials for the protection layer must be corrosion-resistant to the acidic water solution for etching residues.
US09287173B2	Through silicon via and process thereof A through silicon via includes a substrate and a conductive plug. The substrate has a hole in a side. The conductive plug is disposed in the hole, and the conductive plug having an upper part protruding from the side, wherein the upper part has a top part and a bottom part, and the top part is finer than the bottom part. Moreover, a through silicon via process formed said through silicon via is also provided, which includes the following step. A hole is formed in a substrate from a side. A first conductive material is formed to cover the hole and the side. A patterned photoresist is formed to cover the side but exposing the hole. A second conductive material is formed on the exposed first conductive material. The patterned photoresist is removed. The first conductive material on the side is removed to form a conductive plug in the hole.
US09287172B2	Interposer-on-glass package method A method comprises providing an interposer comprising a substrate and a first through-substrate via (TSV) penetrating through the substrate, forming a first oxide layer on a surface of the interposer, bonding a glass substrate to the interposer through a fusion bonding, with the first oxide layer being between the interposer and the glass substrate and forming a second TSV in the glass substrate and electrically coupled to the first TSV.
US09287169B2	Method for fabricating a semiconductor device having buried bit lines A semiconductor device includes body lines, formed substantially perpendicular to a substrate, and having recessed sidewalls, buried bit lines, buried in the recessed sidewalls, and including a metal silicide, and a barrier layer interposed between each of the buried bit lines and the body lines corresponding thereto, and containing germanium.
US09287167B2	Vertical type memory device A method of fabricating a semiconductor device, comprising: forming a plurality of memory cell strings; coupling an interconnection to at least two of the memory cell strings; and coupling a bitline to the interconnection. The interconnection includes a body extending along a first direction and a protrusion protruding from the body along a second direction.
US09287165B2	Semiconductor device and method for producing the same A power semiconductor device includes a semiconductor body, having an active zone and a high voltage peripheral zone laterally adjacent to each other, the high voltage peripheral zone laterally surrounding the active zone. The device further includes a metallization layer on a front surface of the semiconductor body and connected to the active zone, a first barrier layer, comprising a high-melting metal or a high-melting alloy, between the active zone and the metallization layer, and a second barrier layer covering at least a part of the peripheral zone, the second barrier layer comprising an amorphous semi-isolating material. The first barrier layer and the second barrier layer partially overlap and form an overlap zone. The overlap zone extends over an entire circumference of the active zone. A method for producing such a power semiconductor device is also provided.
US09287161B2	Method of forming wirings A method of manufacturing a wiring includes sequentially forming a first insulation layer, a first layer, and a second layer on a substrate, etching an upper portion of the second layer a plurality of times to form a second layer pattern including a first recess having a shape of a staircase, etching a portion of the second layer pattern and a portion of the first layer under the first recess to form a first layer pattern including a second recess having a shape of a staircase similar to the first recess, etching a portion of the first layer pattern under the second recess to form a first opening exposing a portion of a top surface of the first insulation layer, etching the exposed portion of the first insulation layer to form a second opening through the first insulation layer, and forming a wiring filling the second opening.
US09287159B2	Memory device and method of manufacturing the same A device isolation layer of the memory device includes a first insulation layer in a lower portion of a device isolation trench, a second insulation layer in an upper portion of the device isolation trench and a separation layer between the first insulation layer and the second insulation layer. First and second conductive fillers are in the first and second insulation layers and are separated by the separation layer.
US09287156B2	Electrostatic chucking device The electrostatic chucking device 1 of the invention includes an electrostatic chucking portion 2 which includes a plate-like body 11, a top surface 11a of which is used as a mounting surface that mounts a plate-like specimen W, an electrostatic adsorption electrode 12 provided in the plate-like body 11 and a power-feeding terminal 13 that applies a direct-current voltage to the electrostatic adsorption electrode 12; and a base portion 31 that supports the electrostatic chucking portion 2, in which the plate-like body 11 is a corrosion-resistant ceramic, a circular insulation member 21 is provided in a circumferential edge portion between the electrostatic chucking portion 2 and the base portion 31, and a heat radiation plate 34 is provided on the top surface 31a of the base portion 31.
US09287155B2	Apparatus and method of controlling chuck, and exposure apparatus and control method thereof Exemplary embodiments of the invention disclose an exposure apparatus and a method of tuning parameters of a chuck, which may reduce a time taken to level the chuck by previously tuning parameters of the chuck. The method of tuning parameters of a chuck includes detecting a tilt component of the chuck, performing chuck tilt adjustment to minimize the tilt component of the chuck, and tuning the parameters of the chuck if a residual tilt component is present after performing the chuck tilt adjustment.
US09287152B2	Auto-sequencing multi-directional inline processing method A method for auto-sequencing of plasma processing system for concurrent processing of several substrates. The method autonomously sequence processing and move substrates in different directions as necessary. The method moves two substrate trays together into the processing chamber for substrate exchange, and remove the trays from the chamber one at a time. When needed, the method moves one tray into the processing chamber for removal of the susceptor without exposing the chamber to atmospheric environment.
US09287149B2	Wafer Handling Robot A wafer handling robot includes a body and an arm having a plurality of links. A wafer holder is provided on one end of the arm. A base of the arm serves as a drive link and is rotatably connected to the body. The arm is configured such that, when the drive link is rotated by a motor, the arm end is constrained to move along a straight or curved trajectory. A starting point and an end point of the trajectory are located equal distantly from a center of rotation of the drive link. Further, the direction of the arm end at the starting point is a mirror image of the direction of the arm end at the end point with respect to a straight reference line passing through the center of rotation and a middle point between the starting and the end points.
US09287148B1	Dynamic heating method and system for wafer processing A system and method for dynamic heating of a workpiece during processing is disclosed. The system includes an ion source and a plurality of LEDs arranged in an array, which are directed at a portion of the surface of the workpiece. The LEDs are selected so that they emit light in a frequency range that is readily absorbed by the workpiece, thus heating the workpiece. In some embodiments, the LEDs heat a portion of the workpiece just before that portion is processed by an ion beam. In another embodiment, the LEDs heat a portion of the workpiece as it is being processed. The LEDs may be arranged in an array, which may have a width that is at least as wide as the width of the ion beam. The array also has a length, perpendicular to its width, having one or more rows of LEDs.
US09287146B2	Induction heating apparatus and induction heating method To provide an induction heating apparatus that employs a batch-type heating system for heating a large-diameter wafer and can perform uniform heating with a high precision, an induction heating apparatus (10) that heats an inductive-heating target member using a magnetic flux generated from a solenoid-type induction heating coil (18) and heats a wafer (40) using the heat generated from the inductive-heating target member, wherein a plurality of inductive-heating target members 14 (14a, 14b, and 14c) of which principal surface is arranged perpendicularly to a core axis direction of the induction heating coil (18) are interspersed. In the induction heating apparatus (10) described above, a susceptor (12) may be configured by housing the inductive-heating target member (14) in a single holder (16) made of a member having magnetic permeability and heat conductivity.
US09287145B2	Substrate treatment system, substrate transfer method, and a non-transitory computer storage medium In a coating and developing treatment system including a treatment station and an interface station, the interface station has: a cleaning unit cleaning a rear surface of a wafer before the wafer is transferred into an exposure apparatus; an inspection unit inspecting whether the cleaned wafer is in an exposable state; and a wafer transfer mechanism including an arm transferring the wafer between the cleaning unit and the inspection unit. Each of the cleaning unit and the inspection unit is provided at multiple tiers in an up and down direction on the front side in the interface station, and the wafer transfer mechanism is provided in a region adjacent to the cleaning units and the inspection units.
US09287143B2	Apparatus for package reinforcement using molding underfill A method and apparatus for a reinforced package are provided. A package component may be electrically coupled to a device through a plurality of electrical connections. A molding underfill may be interposed between the package component and the device and may encapsulate the plurality of electrical connections or a subset of the plurality of electrical connections between the package component and the device. The package component may also include a molding compound. The plurality of the electrical connections may extend through the molding compound with the molding underfill interposed between the molding compound and the device to encapsulate the plurality of electrical connections or a subset of the plurality of electrical connections between the package component and the device. The molding underfill may extend up one or more sides of the package component.
US09287141B2	Phase changing on-chip thermal heat sink A method of forming an on-chip heat sink includes forming a device on a substrate. The method also includes forming a plurality of insulator layers over the device. The method further includes forming a heat sink in at least one of the plurality of insulator layers and proximate to the device. The heat sink includes a reservoir of phase change material having a melting point temperature that is less than an upper limit of a design operating temperature of the chip.
US09287139B2	Re-crystallization for boosting stress in MOS device A method includes forming a dummy gate stack over a semiconductor substrate, removing the dummy gate stack to form a recess, and implanting a portion of the semiconductor substrate through the recess. During the implantation, an amorphous region is formed from the portion of the semiconductor substrate. The method further includes forming a strained capping layer, wherein the strained capping layer extends into the recess. An annealing is performed on the amorphous region to re-crystallize the amorphous region. The strained capping layer is then removed.
US09287138B2	FinFET low resistivity contact formation method The invention relates to a contact structure of a semiconductor device. An exemplary structure for a contact structure for a semiconductor device comprises a substrate comprising a major surface and a trench below the major surface; a strained material filling the trench, wherein a lattice constant of the strained material is different from a lattice constant of the substrate, and wherein a surface of the strained material has received a passivation treatment; an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer having an opening over the strained material, wherein the opening comprises dielectric sidewalls and a strained material bottom; a dielectric layer coating the sidewalls and bottom of the opening, wherein the dielectric layer has a thickness ranging from 1 nm to 10 nm; a metal barrier coating an opening of the dielectric layer; and a metal layer filling a coated opening of the dielectric layer.
US09287137B2	Methods for depositing a silicon containing layer with argon gas dilution Embodiments of the disclosure generally provide methods of forming a silicon containing layers in TFT devices. The silicon can be used to form the active channel in a LTPS TFT or be utilized as an element in a gate dielectric layer, a passivation layer or even an etch stop layer. The silicon containing layer is deposited by a vapor deposition process whereby an inert gas, such as argon, is introduced along with the silicon precursor. The inert gas functions to drive out weak, dangling silicon-hydrogen bonds or silicon-silicon bonds so that strong silicon-silicon or silicon-oxygen bonds remain to form a substantially hydrogen free silicon containing layer.
US09287136B2	FinFET field-effect transistors with atomic layer doping Field effect transistors fabricated using atomic layer doping processes are disclosed. In accordance with an embodiment of an atomic layer doping method, a semiconducting surface and a dopant gas mixture are prepared. Further, a dopant layer is grown on the semiconducting surface by applying the dopant gas mixture to the semiconducting surface under a pressure that is less than 500 Torr and a temperature that is between 300° C. and 750° C. The dopant layer includes at least 4×1020 active dopant atoms per cm3 that react with atoms on the semiconducting surface such that the reacted atoms increase the conductivity of the semiconducting surface.
US09287130B1	Method for single fin cuts using selective ion implants A method includes forming a plurality of fin elements above a substrate. A mask is formed above the substrate. The mask has an opening defined above at least one selected fin element of the plurality of fin elements. An ion species is implanted into the at least one selected fin element through the opening to increase its etch characteristics relative to the other fin elements. The at least one selected fin element is removed selectively relative to the other fin elements.
US09287128B2	Polishing of small composite semiconductor materials A device includes a crystalline material within an area confined by an insulator. A surface of the crystalline material has a reduced roughness. One example includes obtaining a surface with reduced roughness by using a planarization process configured with a selectivity of the crystalline material to the insulator greater than one. In a preferred embodiment, the planarization process uses a composition including abrasive spherical silica, H2O2 and water. In a preferred embodiment, the area confined by the insulator is an opening in the insulator having an aspect ratio sufficient to trap defects using an ART technique.
US09287126B2	Multi-wafer pair anodic bonding apparatus and method An electric field concurrently anodically bonds together wafers of each of a plurality of independent wafer pairs.
US09287123B2	Techniques for forming angled structures for reduced defects in heteroepitaxy of semiconductor films In one embodiment, a method for etching a substrate includes providing a reactive ambient around the substrate when a non-crystalline layer is disposed over a first crystalline material in the substrate; generating a plasma in a plasma chamber; modifying a shape of a plasma sheath boundary of the plasma; extracting ions from the plasma; and directing the ions to the substrate at a non-zero angle of incidence with respect to a perpendicular to a plane of the substrate, wherein the ions and reactive ambient are effective to form an angled cavity through the non-crystalline layer to expose a portion of the first crystalline material at a bottom of the angled cavity, and the angled cavity forms a non-zero angle of inclination with respect to the perpendicular.
US09287121B2	SIC epitaxial wafer and method for manufacturing same A method of manufacturing a SiC epitaxial wafer wherein a SiC epitaxial layer is provided on a SiC single crystal substrate having an off angle. The method includes determining a ratio of basal plane dislocations (BPD) which cause stacking faults in a SiC epitaxial film of a prescribed thickness, to basal plane dislocations which are present on a growth surface of the SiC single crystal substrate, determining an upper limit of surface density of basal plane dislocations, preparing a SiC single crystal substrate which has surface density equal to or less than the above upper limit, and forming a SiC epitaxial film on the SiC single crystal substrate under the same conditions as the growth conditions of the epitaxial film used in the step of determining the ratio.
US09287118B2	Manufacturing method of semiconductor substrate and semiconductor device Provided is a highly integrated semiconductor device, a semiconductor device with large storage capacitance with respect to an area occupied by a capacitor, a semiconductor device capable of high-speed writing or reading, a semiconductor device with low power consumption, or a highly reliable semiconductor device. Provided are steps of forming a first oxide semiconductor over a first substrate, forming a first insulator over the first oxide semiconductor, injecting an ion into a region of the first oxide semiconductor through the first insulator, bonding a surface of the first insulator provided with the first substrate to a surface of a second insulator over a second substrate, performing a heat treatment in a state where the surfaces are bonded, separating the first substrate from the second substrate along the region of the first oxide semiconductor, and forming a second oxide semiconductor over the second substrate.
US09287110B2	Method and apparatus for wafer electroless plating A semiconductor wafer electroless plating apparatus includes a platen and a fluid bowl. The platen has a top surface defined to support a wafer, and an outer surface extending downward from a periphery of the top surface to a lower surface of the platen. The fluid bowl has an inner volume defined by an interior surface so as to receive the platen, and wafer to be supported thereon, within the inner volume. A seal is disposed around the interior surface of the fluid bowl so as to form a liquid tight barrier when engaged between the interior surface of the fluid bowl and the outer surface of the platen. A number of fluid dispense nozzles are positioned to dispense electroplating solution within the fluid bowl above the seal so as to rise up and flow over the platen, thereby flowing over the wafer when present on the platen.
US09287109B2	Methods of forming a protection layer to protect a metal hard mask layer during lithography reworking processes One method disclosed herein includes forming a layer of insulating material above a semiconductor substrate, forming a hard mask layer comprised of a metal-containing material above the layer of insulating material, forming a blanket protection layer on the hard mask layer, forming a masking layer above the protection layer, performing at least one etching process on the masking layer to form a patterned masking layer having an opening that stops on and exposes a portion of the blanket protection layer, confirming that the patterned masking layer is properly positioned relative to at least one underlying structure or layer and, after confirming that the patterned masking layer is properly positioned, performing at least one etching process through the patterned masking layer to pattern at least the blanket protection layer.
US09287108B2	Pre-cleaning method and preparation method of low-temperature polysilicon thin film, liquid crystal display device, and manufacturing system thereof The present invention relates to the field of liquid crystal displaying techniques, and in particular to a preparation method of low-temperature polysilicon thin film, including: growing a buffer layer and then an amorphous silicon layer on the substrate; heating up an amorphous silicon layer to reach a temperature higher than room temperature, and performing pre-cleaning on the amorphous silicon layer; and using excimer laser annealing (ELA) to radiate on the pre-cleaned amorphous silicon layer in previous step to transform the amorphous silicon into polysilicon. The present invention further provides a manufacturing system of low-temperature polysilicon thin film. By improving the manufacturing system of the low-temperature polysilicon thin film and pre-cleaning method, the present invention improves thickness non-uniformity of the amorphous silicon layer and the uniformity of the polysilicon layer transformed in the subsequent step of ELA radiation.
US09287107B2	Light bulb storage and testing assembly A light bulb storage and testing assembly incorporating a flexible sheet having upper and lower ends, and having front and rear sides; a support frame having upper and lower ends, and having front and rear sides, the flexible sheet's upper end being fixedly attached to the support frame's lower end; a hanger fixedly attached to the support frame's upper end; first and second pluralities of light bulb receptacles respectively fixedly attached to the flexible sheet's front and rear sides; an electronic bulb tester; and mounting brackets adapted for alternatively positioning the electronic bulb tester on either side of the support frame.
US09287106B1	Translucent alumina filaments and tape cast methods for making A translucent alumina substrates, as defined herein, are disclosed along with methods of making translucent alumina substrates via such methods as tape casting. The translucent alumina substrates have advantages over prior filaments due to their quality, including total transmittance, and surface qualities, along with the simplicity of making these materials via scalable processes, such as tape casting.
US09287103B2	Ion guide for mass spectrometry An ion guide is provided having an enclosure extending longitudinally around a central axis from a proximal inlet end to a distal outlet end. The proximal inlet end receives a plurality of ions entrained in a gas flow through an inlet orifice. A deflection plate is disposed within the enclosure between the proximal and distal ends and deflects at least a portion of the gas flow away from a central direction of the gas flow. A plurality of electrically conductive, elongate elements extend from the proximal end to the distal end within the enclosure and generate an electric field via a combination of RF and DC electric potentials. The electric field deflects the entrained ions away from the central direction of the gas flow proximal to the deflection plate and confines the deflected ions in proximity of the elongated elements as the ions travel downstream.
US09287101B2	Targeted analysis for tandem mass spectrometry A tandem mass spectrometer and method are described. Precursor ions are generated in an ion source and an ion injector injects ions towards a downstream ion guide via a single or multi reflection TOF device that separates ions into packets in accordance with their m/z. A single pass ion page in the path of the precursor ions between the ion injector and the ion guide is controlled so that only a subset of precursor ion packets, containing precursor ions of interest, is allowed onward transmission to the ion guide. A high resolution mass spectrometer is provided for analysis of those ions, or their fragments, which have been allowed passage through the ion gate. The technique permits multiple m/z ranges to be selected from a wise mass range of precursors, with optional fragmentation of one or more of the chosen ion species.
US09287099B2	Ionization method, mass spectrometry method, extraction method, and purification method To achieve soft ionization more easily when a slight amount of substance is ionized under an atmosphere pressure. An ionization method for a substance contained in a liquid, including: supplying the liquid to a substrate from a probe and forming a liquid bridge made of the liquid containing the substance dissolved therein, between the probe and the substrate; oscillating the probe; and generating an electric field between an electrically conductive portion of the probe in contact with the liquid and an ion extraction electrode.
US09287097B2	Predicting ultraviolet ray damage with visible wavelength spectroscopy during a semiconductor manufacturing process The simulation method is for predicting a damage amount due to ultraviolet rays in manufacturing a semiconductor device. The method includes: calculating particle density by performing simulation based on a differential equation for the particle density; calculating emission intensity at each wavelength in a visible wavelength region based on the calculated particle density; obtaining an electron energy distribution function by comparing the calculated emission intensity at each wavelength in the visible wavelength region with an actually detected emission spectrum in the visible wavelength region with reference to information on emission species and an emission wavelength in a target manufacturing process; predicting an emission spectrum in an ultraviolet wavelength region by using the electron energy distribution function and a reaction cross-sectional area relating to the emission species; and predicting a damage amount due to the ultraviolet rays based on the predicted emission spectrum in the ultraviolet wavelength region.
US09287090B2	Multi charged particle beam writing apparatus, and multi charged particle beam writing method A multi charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a divided shot data generation unit to generate, for each shot of multi beams of charged particle beams, data for plural times of divided shots such that irradiation for one shot of each beam is divided into plural times of divided shots each having a different irradiation time, an individual blanking system to provide blanking control individually for each of multi beams, based on the data for plural times of divided shots, an elastic rate correction value acquisition unit to acquire, for each of plural times of divided shots, an elastic rate correction value for correcting an elastic rate of an image of the whole multi beams, depending upon the number of ON-beams of the multi beams, and a lens to correct, for each divided shot, the elastic rate of the image of the whole multi beams by using the correction value.
US09287088B2	Semiconductor circuit An inspection device includes first and second electro-optical systems, a first detector, and a shape calculation unit. The first electro-optical system irradiates an object to be inspected with a first electron beam to cause an irradiation mark to be placed on the object to be inspected. The second electro-optical system irradiates the object to be inspected with a second electron beam. The first detector detects a secondary electron generated from the object to be inspected in response to the irradiation by the second electron beam, and outputs a first signal based on the irradiation mark. The shape calculation unit calculates a three-dimensional shape of the object to be inspected based on the first signal, an irradiation direction of the first electron beam, and an irradiation direction of the second electron beam.
US09287087B2	Sample observation method, sample preparation method, and charged particle beam apparatus In a sample observation method, a sample stage is placed at a first tilt angle with respect to a charged particle beam, and an observation surface of a sample is irradiated with the charged particle beam to acquire a first charged particle image. The sample stage is then tilted to a second tilt angle different from the first tilt angle about a first sample stage axis, and the observation surface is again irradiated with the charged particle beam to acquire a second charged particle image. The sample stage is tilted to a tilt angle at which an area of the observation surface in the acquired charged particle image is the larger of the first charged particle image and the second charged particle image. The observation surface is then irradiated with the charged particle beam to observe the observation surface.
US09287085B2	Processing apparatus and method of treating a substrate A processing apparatus including a process chamber, a plasma source disposed within the process chamber, wherein the plasma source is movable in a first direction and is configured to emit an ion beam along a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction. The apparatus may further include a platen disposed within the process chamber for supporting a substrate, and an ion beam current sensor that is disposed adjacent to the platen.
US09287082B2	Charged particle beam apparatus A charged particle beam apparatus includes a charged particle beam source which irradiates a sample with a charged particle beam, an electromagnetic lens, a lens control electric source for controlling strength of a convergence effect of the electromagnetic lens; and a phase compensation circuit which is connected to the lens control electric source in parallel with the electromagnetic lens, and controls a lens current at the time of switching the strength of the convergence effect of the electromagnetic lens such that the lens current monotonically increases or monotonically decreases.
US09287078B2	Display sealing apparatus and method of manufacturing display apparatus by using the same A method of manufacturing a display apparatus includes forming a display device on a display area of a rear substrate, aligning the rear substrate and an encapsulation substrate, such that the display device is between the rear substrate and the encapsulation substrate, disposing a sealant between the rear substrate and the encapsulation substrate, such that the sealant is outside the display area and surrounds the display area; and rotating a laser beam along a closed curve while irradiating the laser beam onto an outer surface of the rear substrate or the encapsulation substrate, such that the rear substrate and the encapsulation substrate are sealed.
US09287075B2	MEMS switches with reduced switching voltage and methods of manufacture MEMS switches and methods of manufacturing MEMS switches is provided. The MEMS switch having at least two cantilevered electrodes having ends which overlap and which are structured and operable to contact one another upon an application of a voltage by at least one fixed electrode.
US09287074B2	Relay for automatically selecting a monitoring range A relay for automatically selecting a monitoring range for monitoring a parameter of an input source and a method for monitoring a parameter of an input source can be provided whereby the relay comprises one or more terminals for coupling to the input source; a plurality of switchable circuits coupled to the one or more terminals; a processing module coupled to the plurality of switchable circuits for automatically selecting a monitoring range from a plurality of monitoring ranges based on a value of the parameter of the input source, each monitoring range associated with one or more of said switchable circuits; and a relay switch being configured to provide or disrupt electrical communication to a circuit, based on a trigger signal provided by the processing module. A signal conditioning module may also be provided for e.g. conditioning signals prior to selection of the monitoring range.
US09287069B2	Switch structure The switch structure is configured to have a switch knob, a lens for transmitting the light of a bulb in the interior of a vehicle, a bus bar connected between the bulb side and the power source side (not shown), and a convex portion protruding toward the switch knob. A conductive element is formed to have a bulb-side abutment portion that abuts on a bulb-side bus bar and is connected thereto and a power source side abutment portion that abuts on a power source side bus bar and is connected thereto. When attached to an operating element, the conductive element is configured to be retractable in a push direction and to be rotatable in a rotational direction relative to the operating element and slidably contacts with the bus bar upon rotation of the switch knob.
US09287066B2	Key structure for electronic product A key structure in an electronic product includes a housing. The key structure includes a pressing portion, a printed circuit board (PCB), a key, and a sensor. The key and the sensor are both located on the PCB and electronically connected with each other. When the pressing portion is pressed, the key structure acts as a mechanical key. When the pressing portion is simply touched, the key structure acts as a touch key.
US09287063B2	Bicycle handle system A bicycle handlebar system comprises a control element for controlling an electric auxiliary motor, said element being adapted to be fastened to the handlebar. The control element has a housing, wherein a plurality of switching elements is arranged in recesses in the housing, one membrane button is arranged in the housing per switching element, the switching element acting on said membrane button, and the membrane buttons are interconnected through a common flexibly conductor path.
US09287058B2	Accumulator device An accumulator device which provides a high energy density and high output power is provided. The accumulator device (D) includes a positive electrode in which a positive electrode layer (A) is formed, a negative electrode in which a negative electrode layer (B) is formed, and an electrolytic solution (C). The accumulator device is characterized by satisfying that 1.02≦WA/WB≦2.08 and that 390 μm≦TA≦750 μm, where WA is the weight of the positive electrode layer (A), WB is the weight of the negative electrode layer (B), and TA is the thickness of the positive electrode in which the positive electrode layer (A) is formed.
US09287057B2	Plasmonic enhanced tandem dye-sensitized solar cell with metallic nanostructures The present invention is concerned with a plasmonic enhanced tandem dye sensitized solar cell system. The system has plasmonic nanostructures integrated to both a photoanode and a photocathode for enhancing respective electron and hole carrier transfer.
US09287056B2	Electrolyte for photoelectric conversion element, photoelectric conversion element using the electrolyte, and dye-sensitized solar cell using the electrolyte An object of the present invention is to provide an electrolyte for a photoelectric conversion element that can achieve superior moisture resistance. The electrolyte for a photoelectric conversion element of the present invention is an electrolyte for a photoelectric conversion element which contains an organic salt compound (A) and a lamellar clay mineral (B), wherein the above-mentioned organic salt compound (A) contains more than 50 mass %, in terms of cationic weight, of an organic salt compound (a1) having a specific cation.
US09287055B2	Solid electrolytic capacitor and method for manufacturing same A solid electrolytic capacitor includes: an anode body; a first dielectric layer formed on the anode body and including metal oxide; a second dielectric layer formed on the first dielectric layer and including an insulating polymer; a third dielectric layer formed on the second dielectric layer and including a dielectric substance having a higher dielectric constant than that of the metal oxide; and a solid electrolyte layer formed on third dielectric layer.
US09287052B2	Additives for dye-sensitized solar cells The present invention relates to the use of at least one tertiary amine-N-oxide of formula I as additive in dye-sensitized solar cells and to special electrolyte formulations and a dye-sensitized solar cell comprising at least one compound of formula I.
US09287050B2	MEMS and method of manufacturing the same According to one embodiment, a MEMS includes a first electrode, a first auxiliary structure and a second electrode. The first electrode is provided on a substrate. The first auxiliary structure is provided on the substrate and adjacent to the first electrode. The first auxiliary structure is in an electrically floating state. The second electrode is provided above the first electrode and the first auxiliary structure, and is driven in a direction of the first electrode.
US09287049B2	Low acoustic noise capacitors The described embodiments relate generally to a capacitor assembly for mounting on a printed circuit board (PCB) and more specifically to designs for mechanically isolating the capacitor assembly from the PCB to reduce an acoustic noise produced when the capacitor imparts a piezoelectric force on the PCB. Termination elements in the capacitor assembly, including a porous conductive layer in the capacitor assembly may reduce an amount of vibrational energy transferred from the capacitor to the PCB. Termination elements including a soft contact layer may also reduce the amount of vibrational energy transferred to the PCB. Further, capacitor assemblies having thickened dielectric material may reduce the amount of vibrational energy transferred to the PCB.
US09287048B2	Capacitor including first, second, third, and fourth terminal electrodes A capacitor includes a capacitor main body with first and second primary surfaces and first through fourth side surfaces, internal electrodes, and first through fourth terminal electrodes, wherein the third terminal electrode includes a first electrode layer provided on the third side surface and a second electrode layer provided on the first electrode layer, the fourth terminal electrode includes a third electrode layer provided on the fourth side surface and a fourth electrode layer provided on the third electrode layer, the first electrode layer includes a conductive material and Si, the second electrode layer includes a conductive material and Si, and a ratio by weight of Si in the first electrode layer is greater than a ratio by weight of Si in the second electrode layer.
US09287043B2	Multilayer ceramic electronic component having controlled difference in continuity between internal electrodes and method of manufacturing the same There is provided a multilayer ceramic electronic component, including: a ceramic body including dielectric layers; first and second internal electrodes disposed to face each other within the ceramic body with the dielectric layer interposed therebetween; and first and second external electrodes electrically connected to the first and second internal electrodes, wherein the ceramic body includes a capacitance forming part contributing to capacitance formation and a non-capacitance forming part provided on at least one of upper and lower surfaces of the capacitance forming part, and when the capacitance forming part is divided into three areas in a thickness direction of the ceramic body, a difference in continuity between internal electrodes in a middle area of the three areas and internal electrodes in upper and lower areas thereof is 1% to 5%.
US09287041B2	Coil device, and wireless power transmitter and wireless power receiver having the same A coil device may be capable of varying the gap of a coil so that several devices may be wirelessly charged simultaneously or a single device may be wirelessly charged with concentrated power. The coil device may include: a case having a reception space and varying a charging area upon a user's selection; and a coil part, having, in the reception space of the case, a coil body formed of a wound conductor having a predetermined length. A gap of the wound conductor of the coil body varies as the charging area of the case varies.
US09287034B2	Printed wiring board, inductor component, and method for manufacturing inductor component A printed wiring board has a core base having an opening portion, an inductor component accommodated in the opening portion, and a filler resin filling gap between the component and a side wall of the opening portion. The component has a support layer, a first conductive pattern on the support, an interlayer insulation layer on the support and first pattern, a second conductive pattern on the insulation layer, and a via conductor in the insulation layer and connecting the first and second patterns, the insulation layer includes a magnetic layer and a resin layer covering the magnetic layer, the magnetic layer includes magnetic material and resin material and has a first hole, the insulation layer has a second hole penetrating through the resin layer such that the second hole passes through the first hole and extends to the first pattern, and the via conductor is formed in the second hole.
US09287030B2	Multi gap inductor core A multi-gap inductor core includes magnetic lamination sheets made of magnetic core material arranged in a stack, and fixing layers made of a fixing material. Each fixing layer is arranged between a corresponding pair of adjacent magnetic lamination sheets. Each fixing layer also includes an embedded mechanical spacer that defines a gap having a predetermined thickness between a corresponding pair of adjacent magnetic lamination sheets.
US09287027B2	Rare earth metal-based permanent magnet An objective of the present invention is to provide a rare earth metal-based permanent magnet with improved adhesion properties. A rare earth metal-based permanent magnet of the present invention as a means for achieving the objective has a laminated plating film, and is characterized in that the plating film comprises as an outermost surface layer a SnCu alloy plating film having a film thickness in a range from 0.1 μm to 2 μm, the composition of the SnCu alloy plating film is 35 mass % or more but less than 55 mass % of Sn and the rest being Cu, and a base plating film having two or more layers including at least a Ni plating film and a Cu plating film which are formed as the lower layer under the SnCu alloy plating film, and among the base plating film, the Ni plating film is located just below the SnCu alloy plating film. A joined structure fabricated using the rare earth metal-based permanent magnet of the present invention exhibits favorable initial adhesion strength when combined with a silicone-based adhesive, and is less deteriorated in adhesion strength even after a moisture resistance test.
US09287019B2	Composition for wire protective member, wire protective member, and wiring harness A composition for a wire protective member with heat resistance, flame retardancy, and resistance against both a calcium chloride and a braided wire; a wire protective member and a wire harness using the composition. The composition for a wire protective member is produced by including a polypropylene having a propylene monomer constituting 50 to 95 percent by mass of monomers forming a polymer, a melt flow rate of 0.5 to 5 g/10 min, and a melting point of 150 degrees C. or more; a bromine-based flame retardant and an antimony trioxide as a flame retarder; a phenol-based antioxidant as a heat resistance life improving agent; and a metal deactivator, wherein the propylene has a tensile strength of 20 to 35 MPa and a Charpy impact strength of 10 kJ/m2 or more at 23 degrees C.
US09287014B2	Thermo-acoustic nuclear power distribution measurement assembly A nuclear power distribution measurement assembly that is sized to fit within an instrumentation thimble of a nuclear fuel assembly, that employs a spaced tandem arrangement of thermo-acoustic engines, each of which has a heat source side that is insulated from the reactor coolant traversing the nuclear core in which the fuel assembly is to be placed and a cold side housing a resonator chamber with enhanced thermal conductance to the coolant. The resonator chamber of each of the thermo-acoustic engines is of a different length to generate a different frequency whose amplitude is proportional to the neutron activity at the axial and radial position of the thermo-acoustic engine. The frequency identifies the measurement assembly's position. Acoustic telemetry is employed to monitor the acoustic waves generated by the individual thermo-acoustic engines to provide a remote reading of the axial and radial power distribution of a reactor core.
US09287012B2	Optimized fuel assembly channels and methods of creating the same Fuel assemblies include an outer channel having a physical configuration optimized for a position of the fuel assembly within a core of a nuclear reactor. The position of the fuel assembly with respect to an employed control blade in the nuclear reactor determines if the outer channel may be thickened, reinforced, and/or fabricated of Zircaloy-4 or similar distortion-resistant material, so as to reduce or prevent distortion of the channel against the control blade, or thinned so as to increase water volume and enhance reactivity in the assembly. Reactor cores having configured fuel assemblies include fuel assemblies having different outer channels. Methods include determining operational characteristics of the fuel assembly, including likelihood of being placed directly adjacent to an employed control blade, and physically selecting or modifying the outer channel of the fuel assembly based thereon.
US09287007B2	Fail address storage circuit, redundancy control circuit, method for storing fail address and method for controlling redundancy A redundancy control circuit includes: a fail address storage unit configured to store a fail address; a shared storage unit configured to store data as to whether a value stored in the fail address storage unit corresponds to both of a first address and a second address; an address comparator configured to compare a value stored in the fail address storage unit with a first input address and a second input address, respectively; and a redundancy controller configured to control a redundancy operation in response to a value stored in the shared storage unit and comparison results of the address comparator.
US09287005B2	Detecting missing write to cache/memory operations Using an “optimized” test case for testing hardware and/or software of a computer. The optimized test case is designed to be run on a data storage device including multiple read locations and multiple write locations. Initialization data is written, on the data storage device, only to the write locations of the data storage device. The optimized test case is run on the data storage device in a manner so that the optimized test case will only write data to each write location after that write location has had initialization data written to that write location. The optimized test case defines read locations and write locations so that, during running of the optimized test case, all read locations which are also write locations will be written by a write instruction of the test case before being read by a read instruction of the test case.
US09287004B2	Semiconductor memory device and system having redundancy cells In one embodiment, the memory device includes a memory cell array having at least a first memory cell group, a second memory cell group and a redundancy memory cell group. The first memory cell group includes a plurality of first memory cells associated with a first data line, the second memory cell group includes a plurality of second memory cells associated with a second data line, and the redundancy memory cell group includes a plurality of redundancy memory cells associated with a redundancy data line. A data line selection circuit is configured to provide a data path between an input/output node and one of the first data line, the second data and the redundancy data line.
US09286997B2	Read only memory array architecture and methods of operation An encoded ROM array structure couples a first one of a first set of bitlines to a second one of a second set of bitlines through a transistor when the wordline connected to the gate terminal of that transistor is asserted. This encoded arrangement can be extended to any number of encoded bitlines, e.g., 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on. Each of the first plurality and second sets of bit lines are coupled to circuits for charging and discharging the bitlines. To read data from the first set of bit lines, the second set of bitlines is discharged, and vice versa.
US09286995B2	Memory system and control method A memory system according to embodiments comprises a memory chip that includes a memory cell array having a plurality of memory cells, a first writing unit that writes first data in a first memory cell in the memory cell array, and a second writing unit that writes second data in a second memory cell which is adjacent to the first memory cell. The second data is used in adjusting a threshold value of the first memory cell.
US09286977B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device including: a resistive memory element; a data line electrically coupled to the resistive memory element; a control line; a power supply line; and a control circuit including a first constant current element, a first transistor, and a second transistor. In the control circuit, the first transistor has a gate coupled to the data line, one of a source and a drain coupled to the first constant current element, and the other one of the source and the drain coupled to the power supply line. The second transistor has a gate coupled to one of the source and the drain of the first transistor, one of a source and a drain coupled to the data line, and the other one of the source and the drain coupled to the control line.
US09286971B1	Method and circuits for low latency initialization of static random access memory A method and various circuit embodiments for low latency initialization of an SRAM are disclosed. In one embodiment, an IC includes an SRAM coupled to at least one functional circuit block. The SRAM includes a number of storage location arranged in rows and columns. The functional circuit block and the SRAM may be in different power domains. Upon initially powering up or a restoration of power, the functional circuit block may assert an initialization signal to begin an initialization process. Responsive to the initialization signal, level shifters may force assertion of various select/enable signals in a decoder associated with the SRAM. Thereafter, initialization data may be written to the SRAM. Writing initialization data may be performed on a row-by-row basis, with all columns in a row being written to substantially simultaneously.
US09286970B2	Memory circuit for pre-charging and write driving A memory includes a word line, a bit line and a complementary bit line. A memory cell has a data node coupled to the bit line and a complementary data node coupled to the complementary bit line. The word line controls access to the memory cell. A circuit is coupled to the bit line and the complementary bit line. The circuit is configured to pull up to a high voltage, pull down to a low voltage, or float the bit line and the complementary bit line based on a first timing of pre-charging and a second timing of write driving. The first timing and the second timing are synchronized.
US09286969B2	Low power sense amplifier for static random access memory A low power sense amplifier for an SRAM is described. A first pass gate transistor is driven by bit line true and a second pass gate transistor is driven by bit line complement. A first pull down transistor driven by the bit line complement is coupled to the first pass gate transistor, and a second pull down transistor driven by the bit line true is coupled to the second pass gate transistor. A data line true is coupled to a node coupling the first pass gate transistor with the first pull down transistor and a data line complement is coupled to a node coupling the second pass gate transistor with the second pull down transistor. A current cut-off device cuts off parasitic current from flowing through the first pass gate transistor and the first pull down transistor and through the second pass gate transistor and the second pull down transistor.
US09286968B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit device including SRAM cell array and a wiring layer for supplying voltage to well regions of SRAM cells provided on a region exterior of SRAM cell array Prior known static random access memory (SRAM) cells required that a diffusion layer be bent into a key-like shape in order to make electrical contact with a substrate with a P-type well region formed therein, which would result in a decrease in asymmetry leading to difficulty in micro-patterning. To avoid this problem, the P-type well region in which an inverter making up an SRAM cell is formed is subdivided into two portions, which are disposed on the opposite sides of an N-type well region NW1 and are formed so that a diffusion layer forming a transistor has no curvature while causing the layout direction to run in a direction parallel to well boundary lines and bit lines. At intermediate locations of an array, regions for use in supply power to the substrate are formed in parallel to word lines.
US09286964B2	Method, apparatus and system for responding to a row hammer event Techniques and mechanisms to facilitate an operational mode of a memory device to prepare for a targeted refresh of a row in memory. In an embodiment, the memory device performs one or more operations while in the mode to prepare for a future command from a memory controller, the command to implement, at least in part, a targeted refresh of a row in a first bank of the memory device. Prior to such a command, the memory device services another command from the memory controller. In another embodiment, servicing the other command includes the memory device accessing a second bank of the memory device while the memory device operates in the mode, and before completion of an expected future targeted row refresh.
US09286960B2	Memory system and assembling method of memory system According to one embodiment, each memory chip included in a memory package includes a first storage unit that stores therein first information that is n-bit information and is a comparison target of a chip address, and is used for identifying its own memory chip, a second storage unit that stores therein second information for determining an effective bit of the n-bit first information, and a control unit that determines an effective bit of the n-bit first information and an effective bit of the chip address based on the second information.
US09286957B2	Semiconductor memory device and erasure verification method for semiconductor memory device A semiconductor memory device including a plurality of memory blocks each including a bit line to which a plurality of memory cells are connected, and a dummy bit line to which a plurality of dummy cells are connected; a reference cell; and a sense amplifier including a first input terminal to which selected memory cell of the plurality of memory cells is to be electrically connected via the bit line, and a second input terminal to which the reference cell is to be electrically connected, the dummy bit line of one memory block of the plurality of memory blocks different from another memory block of the plurality of memory blocks including the selected memory cell being to be electrically connected to the second input terminal of the sense amplifier.
US09286954B2	Buffer circuit of semiconductor apparatus A buffer circuit of a semiconductor apparatus includes a sensing circuit configured to sense input signals according to a data strobe signal, generate latch control signals, provide the latch control signals at nodes, and remove parasitic components of the nodes in response to a clock signal; and a latch circuit configured to generate and latch output data in response to the latch control signals.
US09286953B2	Semiconductor device and electronic device To provide a semiconductor device with such a new structure that the effect of variation in transistor characteristics can be reduced to achieve less variation in the output voltage of a memory cell. A memory cell includes a source follower (common drain) transistor for reading data held in a gate. A voltage applied to a transistor generating a reference current flowing through the memory cell is determined so that a gate-source voltage is approximately equal to the threshold voltage of the transistor. With such a structure, data stored in the memory cell can be read as a voltage that is less influenced by variation of transistors such as the field-effect mobility and the size.
US09286945B2	Disk information display device A disk information display device capable of displaying display data responding to the operation of operating part in a complete and in real time, the disk information display device includes: a disk information acquiring unit for acquiring information recorded on a disk; an operating part for making a request to display data recorded on the disk in response to an operation; a control part that acquires display data responding to a final display request among display requests made during a period, in which display data responding to a former display request is acquired from the disk information acquiring unit, from the disk information acquiring unit when display requests are made in succession by the operation of operating part; and a display that displays the display data acquired by the control part after the display data responding to the former display request is displayed.
US09286942B1	Automatic calculation of digital media content durations optimized for overlapping or adjoined transitions A unified digital media player control apparatus automatically reproduces (i.e., renders) gapless transitions, as suitably adjoined or concurrently-overlapping events, between a discrete first media file (e.g., sound recording) and a discrete second media file. One embodiment is implemented on a computing device with a graphical user interface and access to a library of digital media files. Logic can distinguish between the production sound design of recordings which have a desirable “creative content” duration (i.e., interval) that will resolve either abruptly or with a gradual fade. Responsive to media file content assessments, and without operator actions or media file preparation, the invention can use at least one programmatically-addressable event timer object to robotically assign discrete player reproduction timing instructions enabled to cause the system's associated media player objects to consistently interoperate with natural, optimally-timed transitions.
US09286941B2	Image sequence enhancement and motion picture project management system The system enables conversion of black and white images to color images and/or two-dimensional images into three-dimensional images based on adding color and/or depth to images using masks for regions in the images, as well as reshaping of masks to cover objects that have moved and changed shape as the objects move in a sequence of images. Also, includes motion picture project management system for reviewers, coordinators and artists. Artists utilize image analysis and image enhancement and computer graphics processing for example to convert two-dimensional images into three-dimensional images or otherwise create or alter motion pictures. Enables the efficient management of projects related to motion pictures to enable enterprises to manage assets, control costs, predict budgets and profit margins, reduce archival storage and otherwise provide displays tailored to specific roles to increase worker efficiency.
US09286938B1	Generating and providing different length versions of a video Systems and methods for generating and presenting different length versions of a video are presented. In one or more aspects, a system is provided that includes an analysis component configured to analyze a video and generate summaries of content included in respective segments of the video, and a summary component configured to generate shortened versions of the video having durations less than the duration of the video based in part on the summaries of the content included in the respective segments of the video, wherein the video is made available for streaming in association with an option to select the video or one of the shortened versions.
US09286937B2	Method and apparatus for dynamic media streaming The invention can be a computerized method for creating a composite media program. The method can include receiving from a first user over a network at least a first media segment, wherein the first media segment includes a first plurality of media frames. The method can also include receiving from a second user over the network at least a second media segment, wherein the second media segment includes a second plurality of media frames. Finally, the method includes automatically combining at least the first media segment and the second media segment into the composite media program including a series of media segments, wherein the composite media program is available for viewing by at least a set of members of a social network.
US09286936B1	Zone based band mapping Systems and methods for zone-based band mapping in a data storage device are disclosed. In one embodiment, a device may comprise a first data storage medium including a first band of tracks and a second band of tracks, each band of tracks including multiple adjacent tracks that are at least partially overlapped. The device may further comprise a processor configured to receive a write command to store received data to the first band of tracks, read previously stored data from the first band of tracks, modify the previously stored data with the received data to generate first modified data, write the first modified data to the second band of tracks, and assign a first data storage location indicator previously associated with the first band of tracks to the second band of tracks.
US09286933B2	Systems and methods for controlled data processor operational marginalization Systems, methods, devices, circuits for data processing, and more particularly to data processing including operational marginalization capability. In one case a data processing system is disclosed that includes a loop detector circuit and a sample based noise injection circuit. The loop detector circuit applies a loop detection algorithm to a data input to yield a loop detected output, and the sample based noise injection circuit generates a noise component based at least in part on the loop detected output.
US09286932B2	Hard disk drive having regions corresponding to different speeds at which storage surface rotates A hard disk drive includes a storage surface, a motor, a read/write had, and a number of regions into which the storage surface is divisible. Data is writable to and data is readable from the storage surface. The motor is to rotate the storage surface at a variable speed. The read/write head is to write data to and read data from the storage surface while the storage surface is rotated by the motor. Each region corresponds to a different speed at which the storage surface is rotated for the read/write head to write data to and read data from the region.
US09286931B2	Materials for near field transducers and near field transducers containing same A method of forming a near field transducer (NFT) layer, the method including depositing a film of a primary element, the film having a film thickness and a film expanse; and implanting at least one secondary element into the primary element, wherein the NFT layer includes the film of the primary element doped with the at least one secondary element.
US09286930B2	In-situ lapping plate mapping device A device and associated method of use can have at least an object with a work surface that contacts a lapping surface of a tool. Topography of the lapping surface can be mapped in-situ by an adjacent sensor array and the topography stored in a memory. The sensor array may be configured with a plurality of sensors positioned on opposite sides of the object.
US09286929B2	Multilayered optical disk and its recording method A method for performing recording on a multilayered optical disk which has three or more recordable or rewritable information recording layers with a first recording layer and a second recording layer located nearer to a light incident surface than the first recording layer, and which respectively has a first test area configured by a plurality of segments in the first recording layer and in the second recording layer, wherein a predetermined radial distance L is defined beforehand. When an arbitrary segment in the second test area is test-recorded, a segment in the first test area, the radial distance of which from the recorded test area in the second test area is within the range of the predetermined radial distance L, is set as a segment in which test recording is not performed.
US09286925B1	Data storage device writing multiple burst correction values at the same radial location A data storage device is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk comprising a plurality of servo tracks defined by servo bursts. The head is positioned at a first radial location over the disk and a first burst correction value is generated by reading at least one of the servo bursts. The head is positioned at a second radial location over the disk and a second burst correction value is generated by reading at least one of the servo bursts. The head is positioned at a third radial location over the disk and the first burst correction value and the second burst correction value are written at the third radial location. The head is servoed over the disk by reading the first and second burst correction values.
US09286924B1	Flexible printed circuit assembly and disk drive including the same A flexible printed circuit assembly includes a flexible printed circuit board including a base portion and a relay portion extending from a first edge of the base portion and capable of being bent relative to the base portion, a first reinforcing member disposed at the relay portion, and a second reinforcing member attached to a first region of the base portion that includes a second edge opposite to the first edge and having an engaging portion. The first region of the base portion is capable of being folded back towards a second region of the base portion that includes the first edge, and the engaging portion of the second reinforcing member is capable of being engaged with the first reinforcing member.
US09286920B1	Method for compensating for phase variations in an interferometric tapered waveguide in a heat assisted magnetic recording head A method fabricates an interferometric tapered waveguide (ITWG) for a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) transducer. The ITWG is defined from at least one waveguide layer. The waveguide layer(s) include an energy sensitive core layer. The energy sensitive core layer has an index of refraction that varies in response to exposure to energy having a particular wavelength range. The step of defining the ITWG includes defining a plurality of arms for the ITWG. At least one phase difference between the arms is determined. At least one of the arms is exposed to the energy such that the index of refraction of the energy sensitive core layer in the arm(s) is changed and such that the phase difference(s) between the arms is changed.
US09286915B1	Systems and methods for format efficient sector fragment processing Embodiments are related to systems and methods for data processing, and more particularly to systems and methods for format efficient processing of data fragments.
US09286913B2	Atmosphere expression word selection system, atmosphere expression word selection method, and program Disclosed is an information display system provided with: a signal analyzing unit which analyzes the audio signals obtained from a predetermined location and which generates ambient sound information regarding the sound generated at the predetermined location; and an ambient expression selection unit which selects an ambient expression which expresses the content of what a person is feeling from the sound generated at the predetermined location on the basis of the ambient sound information.
US09286910B1	System for resolving ambiguous queries based on user context A system for resolving a user's question regarding media at the user's location where the question includes ambiguity as to the context of the question. Context information is acquired from a device or devices at the user's location, and if multiple possible contexts are identified, the system may attempt to resolve the question for more than one of the possible contexts. The system for answering questions and the source of the media may be different and independent.
US09286909B2	Method and system for robust audio hashing Method and system for channel-invariant robust audio hashing is provided with a robust hash extraction step where a robust hash is extracted from audio content dividing the audio content in frames; applying a transformation procedure on the frames to compute, for each frame, transformed coefficients; applying a normalization procedure on the transformed coefficients to obtain normalized coefficients, where the normalization procedure computes the product of the sign of each coefficient of the transformed coefficients by an amplitude-scaling-invariant function of any combination of the transformed coefficients; applying a quantization procedure on the normalized coefficients to obtain the robust hash of the audio content; and a comparison step where the robust hash is compared with reference hashes to find a match.
US09286907B2	Smart rejecter for keyboard click noise According to various embodiments of the invention, a new and effective keyboard click noise reduction scheme is presented. The keyboard click noise reduction scheme may have various processing units including: Dynamic Signal Modeler, Smart Model Selector, Adaptive Filtering Module, Keyboard/Impulse Noise and Voice Activity Detectors, and a Post-Processing Unit. By adaptively changing the coefficients of the proposed adaptive filter through minimizing the output energy, the scheme can provide the target signal/voice with nearly zero keyboard click noise. The scheme could be used in real-time to minimize keyboard click noise or any kind of unwanted noise, especially noise having transient impulse characteristics.
US09286906B2	Voice processing apparatus In a voice processing apparatus, a processor is configured to adjust, a fundamental frequency of a first voice signal corresponding to a voice having target voice characteristics to a fundamental frequency of a second voice signal corresponding to a voice having initial voice characteristics different from the target voice characteristics. The processor is further configured to sequentially generate a processed spectrum based on a spectrum of the first voice signal and a spectrum of the second voice signal by: dividing the spectrum of the first voice signal into a plurality of harmonic band components after the fundamental frequency of the first voice signal has been adjusted; allocating each harmonic band component of the first voice signal to each harmonic frequency associated with the fundamental frequency of the second voice signal; and adjusting an envelope and phase of each harmonic band component according to the spectrum of the second voice signal.
US09286902B2	Audio fingerprinting A machine may be configured to generate one or more audio fingerprints of one or more segments of audio data. The machine may access audio data to be fingerprinted and divide the audio data into segments. For any given segment, the machine may generate a spectral representation from the segment; generate a vector from the spectral representation; generate an ordered set of permutations of the vector; generate an ordered set of numbers from the permutations of the vector; and generate a fingerprint of the segment of the audio data, which may be considered a sub-fingerprint of the audio data. In addition, the machine or a separate device may be configured to determine a likelihood that candidate audio data matches reference audio data.
US09286897B2	Speech recognizer with multi-directional decoding In an automatic speech recognition (ASR) processing system, ASR processing may be configured to process speech based on multiple channels of audio received from a beamformer. The ASR processing system may include a microphone array and the beamformer to output multiple channels of audio such that each channel isolates audio in a particular direction. The multichannel audio signals may include spoken utterances/speech from one or more speakers as well as undesired audio, such as noise from a household appliance. The ASR device may simultaneously perform speech recognition on the multi-channel audio to provide more accurate speech recognition results.
US09286896B2	Document transcription system training A system is provided for training an acoustic model for use in speech recognition. In particular, such a system may be used to perform training based on a spoken audio stream and a non-literal transcript of the spoken audio stream. Such a system may identify text in the non-literal transcript which represents concepts having multiple spoken forms. The system may attempt to identify the actual spoken form in the audio stream which produced the corresponding text in the non-literal transcript, and thereby produce a revised transcript which more accurately represents the spoken audio stream. The revised, and more accurate, transcript may be used to train the acoustic model, thereby producing a better acoustic model than that which would be produced using conventional techniques, which perform training based directly on the original non-literal transcript.
US09286895B2	Method and apparatus for processing multiple inputs A method of processing multiple inputs in an apparatus having interfaces for interaction with an outside is provided. The method includes detecting a first user input from one of the interfaces, performing a function in response to the first user input, detecting a second user input or a system input from another one of the interfaces, and changing attributes of the function in response to the second user input or the system input.
US09286892B2	Language modeling in speech recognition Some implementations include a computer-implemented method. The method can include providing a training set of text samples to a semantic parser that associates text samples with actions. The method can include obtaining, for each of one or more of the text samples of the training set, data that indicates one or more domains that the semantic parser has associated with the text sample. For each of one or more domains, a subset of the text samples of the training set can be generated that the semantic parser has associated with the domain. Using the subset of text samples associated with the domain, a language model can be generated for one or more of the domain. Speech recognition can be performed on an utterance using the one or more language models that are generated for the one or more of the domains.
US09286887B2	Concise dynamic grammars using N-best selection A method and apparatus derive a dynamic grammar composed of a subset of a plurality of data elements that are each associated with one of a plurality of reference identifiers. The present invention generates a set of selection identifiers on the basis of a user-provided first input identifier and determines which of these selection identifiers are present in a set of pre-stored reference identifiers. The present invention creates a dynamic grammar that includes those data elements that are associated with those reference identifiers that are matched to any of the selection identifiers. Based on a user-provided second identifier and on the data elements of the dynamic grammar, the present invention selects one of the reference identifiers in the dynamic grammar.
US09286879B2	Localization of a wireless user equipment (UE) device based on out-of-hearing band audio signatures for ranging A scheme for localizing a wireless user equipment (UE) device's relative position with respect to a spatial configuration based on audio signatures received via a multi-channel audio system, e.g., an audio system of a vehicle or home entertainment system. The wireless UE device is configured to capture the audio signatures received from a head unit that are placed in an out-of-hearing band of a captured signal. The wireless UE device includes a persistent memory module having program instructions for processing the captured signal including the out-of-band signatures, which may comprise either channel-specific pseudo-random noise (PN) sequences or single-frequency tones, in order to compute time delays or power levels associated with the speaker channels. A localization module is configured to estimate the wireless UE device's relative position based on the time delays or power levels.
US09286878B2	Transducer device having coupled resonant elements A transducer device includes first and second resonant elements and a common coupling cavity. The first resonant element includes a first membrane arranged over a first cavity in a substrate and a first transducer structure stacked on the first membrane. The second resonant element includes a second membrane arranged over a second cavity in the substrate. The common coupling cavity is configured to couple acoustic signals from the first and second resonant elements.
US09286872B2	Portable recording, looping, and playback system for acoustic instruments Embodiments of the present invention provide an electronic looping, recording, and playback apparatus. The apparatus may comprise a clamp, enabling the apparatus to be positioned in or on an acoustic instrument, such as an acoustic guitar. The clamp may be used to attach the apparatus to a portion of the acoustic instrument. The apparatus may further comprise, but not be limited to, for example, a speaker, a rechargeable battery, a microphone, a volume knob, an LED indicator light, a switch, and a processing module. The switch may be used to activate the electronic recording, looping, and playback system, much like a pedal in a stompbox configuration.
US09286871B2	System for calculating the tempo of music A music tempo calculation system includes an amplitude adjuster for receiving an electrical signal of the music and outputting an amplitude-adjusted electrical signal; a detector for receiving said amplitude-adjusted electrical signal and outputting a beat signal when an amplitude of said amplitude-adjusted electrical signal exceeds a threshold value; and a computer for receiving said beat signal and calculating the tempo of the music.
US09286865B2	String instruemnt bow and method of using same The present invention provides an assembly and method for playing music, whereby the assembly includes a bow spline, string stretched with tension along a portion of said spline, a frame having an apex, said frame positioned between said spline and said string, at least one string retaining member disposed on said apex, and a lower frame portion configured to contact said spline.
US09286863B2	Apparatus and method for a celeste in an electronically-orbited speaker Exemplary embodiments are directed to a sound modification system and loud speaker system. The system may impose amplitude, frequency and delay modulation on a signal representing the output of an musical instrument or other sound source while also imposing a sense of movement of the sound to the listener and a periodic variation of the harmonic content of the sound. Further, the system may simultaneously amplify sound signals without the amplitude, frequency, delay and spatial sense of modulation or a different sense of modulation. The system combines a plurality of sound transducers, a plurality of amplifiers and signal processors to provide a flexible, portable and practical sound modification and amplification system.
US09286862B2	System and method for detecting a scrolling event during a client display update An apparatus including a first computer for detecting a scrolling event is provided. The first computer is configured to store a destination array including pixels corresponding to a present set of data for a second computer and to store a source array including pixels corresponding to an expected set of data for a display on the second computer after a scrolling event. The first computer is configured to determine hash values of pixel pairs for the pixels of the destination array and to determine hash values of pixel pairs for the pixels of the source array. The first computer is configured to determine a final scroll offset between the pixels in the destination array and the source array based on the hash values. The first computer is configured to transmit pixels indicative of the expected set of data to the second computer based on the final scroll offset for display.
US09286861B2	System and method for providing digital content A method of electronically displaying glyphs. The method includes receiving a glyph spacing, moving a first glyph toward a second glyph along an axis, identifying an intersection of a first axis coordinate of the first glyph with a second axis coordinate of the second glyph, and moving at least one of the glyphs along the axis to separate the first and second axis coordinates of the respective first and second glyphs by the glyph spacing.
US09286860B2	Image display device An image display apparatus includes a light source device, a light source control unit which controls power supplied to the light source device and an image light emission unit which, utilizing a source light emitted from the light source device, emits an image light. A light quantity measurement unit measures a quantity of the source light. A power/light quantity characteristic derivation unit derives a power/light quantity characteristic. A light quantity adjustment unit, based on the power/light quantity characteristic, adjusts the quantity of the source light or the image light. The light source control unit controls the supplied power to gradually change the light quantity of the source light. The light quantity measurement unit measures the light quantity of the gradually changing source light and acquires light quantity data. The power/light quantity characteristic derivation unit, based on the light quantity data and the supplied power, derives the power/light quantity characteristic.
US09286859B2	Brightness measurement method and brightness adjustment device for display elements In a state in which a reference light source emits light, display elements of a display device are caused to light up in each of lighting patterns for causing any adjacent display elements not to light up simultaneously. A captured image acquirer acquires image data about an image captured in each of the lighting patterns, a display element position calculator determines the position of each of the display elements and the position of the reference light source on each of the images, a display element brightness calculator calculates brightnesses from the pixel values at the determined positions, a relative brightness calculator calculates a relative brightness of each of the display elements with respect to the brightness of the reference light source, and a display element output coefficient calculator calculates coefficients for making the brightnesses of the display elements uniform.
US09286855B2	Display panel self-refresh entry and exit Embodiments of an apparatus for implementing a display port interface are disclosed. The apparatus may include a source processor and a sink processor coupled through an interface. The sink processor may be operable to send a synchronization signal to the source processor through the interface. The source processor may be operable, dependent upon the synchronization signal, to send data to the sink processor.
US09286854B2	Multi-interface streaming media system A streaming media device includes a printed circuit board hosting components configured to access internet data. An audio/visual connector is linked to the printed circuit board, wherein the audio/visual connector is adapted for connection to an audio/visual device, wherein the audio/visual connector is adapted to operate with a first audio/visual interface having sufficient power to fully operate the printed circuit board and a second audio/visual interface having insufficient power to fully operate the printed circuit board. A power connector is linked to the printed circuit board, wherein the power connector selectively receives power based on the audio/visual connector utilizing one of the first audio/visual interface and the second audio/visual interface.
US09286853B2	Methods, systems and apparatus for displaying the multimedia information from wireless communication networks Video signals for a mobile terminal are converted to accommodate reproduction by an alternative display terminal. The video signal is processed to provide a converted video signal appropriate for an alternative display terminal that is separate from the mobile terminal. This converted video signal is then provided for the alternative display terminal to accommodate the corresponding video display on a screen provided by the alternative (e.g., external) display terminal.
US09286852B2	System and method for a wireless display low power managed adapter A method for managing wireless data communication links includes establishing first and second wireless data communication links between a host system and a wireless display adapter. The first wireless data communication link is associated with a high data rate of data traffic between the host system and the wireless display adapter, and the second wireless data communication link is associated with a low data rate of data traffic. The method further includes determining that information is to be transmitted between the host system and the wireless display adapter using the low data rate, turning off a first data radio associated with the first wireless data communication link, and transmitting the information over the second wireless data communication link.
US09286849B2	Display unit, method of driving the same, and electronic apparatus A display unit includes: a pixel array section configured of pixels arranged in a matrix form, each of the pixels including an electro-optical device, a drive transistor, and a write transistor, the drive transistor configured to drive the electro-optical device, and the write transistor connected between a signal line and a gate electrode of the drive transistor and configured of a plurality of transistor devices connected to one another in series; and a drive circuit section configured to drive each of the pixels of the pixel array section, in which a potential of an intermediate node between two transistor devices selected from the plurality of transistor devices configuring the write transistor is turned to an intermediate potential between a potential of the signal line and a potential of the gate electrode of the drive transistor after completion of signal writing by the write transistor.
US09286848B2	Method for driving liquid crystal display device In a field-sequential liquid crystal display device, image quality and detection accuracy in image capture are improved by increasing the frequency of input of image signals and securing a sufficient imaging period. Image signals are concurrently supplied to pixels provided in a plurality of rows among pixels arranged in matrix. Further, image capture is concurrently performed in pixels provided in a plurality of rows among pixels arranged in matrix. Thus, the frequency of input of an image signal to each pixel of the liquid crystal display device can be increased and a sufficient imaging period can be secured. As a result, in the liquid crystal display device, display deterioration such as color break which is caused in a field-sequential liquid crystal display device can be suppressed and improvements in image quality and detection accuracy in image capture can be realized.
US09286846B2	Liquid crystal display and bidirectional shift register apparatus thereof An LCD and bidirectional shift register apparatuses thereof are provided. One of the bidirectional shift register apparatuses includes Nth shift registers. An ith shift register includes a pre-charge unit, a pull-up unit and a pull-down unit. When i is greater than or equal to 3 and less than or equal to N−2, the pre-charge unit receives outputs of an (i−2)th and an (i+2)th shift register. When i is equal to 1 or 2, the pre-charge unit receives a first start pulse signal and the output of the (i+2)th shift register. When i is equal to (N−1) or N, the pre-charge unit receives a second start pulse signal and the output of the (i−2)th shift register. The pre-charge unit outputs a pre-charge signal. The pull-up unit outputs a scan signal. The pull-down unit receives the pre-charge signal to control a level of the scan signal.
US09286845B2	Liquid crystal display device and method of driving the same An adjacent gradation correcting unit 11 performs processing for correcting gradations of sub-pixels to a video signal X2 after overshoot processing. When determining that a gradation of a target sub-pixel corresponds to a higher liquid crystal application voltage than that of a gradation of an adjacent sub-pixel, and that a gradation difference between the target sub-pixel and the adjacent sub-pixel is large, the adjacent gradation correcting unit 11 corrects the gradation of the adjacent sub-pixel so as to make the gradation difference smaller. In driving a liquid crystal panel 1, a video signal X3 after correction obtained by the adjacent gradation correcting unit 11 is used. With this, when displaying a specific color, such as red, green, or blue, it is possible to suppress a lateral electric field occurring between two sub-pixels that are adjacent to each other, and to improve response speed of the liquid crystal panel 1.
US09286835B2	Driving circuit and driving method for light emitting diode and display apparatus using the same The present invention provides a driving circuit and a driving method for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and a display apparatus using the same. The driving circuit comprises a power switch and a dimmer circuit. The method comprising: providing a pulse width modulation (PWM) dimming signal and a high frequency dimming signal; and multiplying the PWM dimming signal and the high frequency dimming signal for providing a driving signal to the power switch. The present invention can improve a dimming effect of the LEDs.
US09286834B2	Organic light emitting diode display device with threshold voltage compensation An organic light emitting diode display device comprises: a plurality of pixels, wherein each of the pixels comprising: a driving TFT including a gate electrode coupled to a first node, a source electrode coupled to a second node, and a drain electrode coupled to a high-potential voltage source; an organic light emitting diode including an anode coupled to the second node and a cathode coupled to a low-potential voltage source; a first TFT in response to a first scan signal to connect the first node to a data line; a second TFT in response to a second scan signal to connect the first node to a first reference voltage source; a third TFT in response to an emission signal to connect the second node to the third node; and capacitors.
US09286830B2	Display apparatus A pixel circuit has a first capacitor having a first terminal connected with a gate of a driving transistor; a second capacitor connected between a second terminal of the first capacitor and a source of the driving transistor; a first switch applying a reference voltage to a node at which the first capacitor and the second capacitor are connected; a second switch supplying an image signal voltage to the gate of the driving transistor; a third switch supplying an initialization voltage to a drain of the driving transistor and a fourth switch supplying current to the drain of the transistor for emitting light from the current light emitting device.
US09286828B2	Display apparatus, driving method for display apparatus and electronic apparatus A plurality of scanning periods are combined to form a composite period (2H). Within the first period of the front half, threshold value (Vth) correction is carried out all at once, and within the second period of the latter half, signal (Vsig) writing operation is carried out. High speed writing can be carried out even where the scanning period is shortened.
US09286826B2	Display with vias for concealed printed circuit and component attachment An electronic device may include a display. The display may be an organic light-emitting diode display. The organic light-emitting diode display may have a substrate layer, a layer of organic light-emitting diode structures, and a layer of sealant. Vias may be formed in the substrate layer by laser drilling. The vias may be filled with metal using electroplating or other metal deposition techniques. The vias may be connected to contacts on the rear surface of the display. Components such as flexible printed circuits, integrated circuits, connectors, and other circuitry may be mounted to the contacts on the rear surface of the display.
US09286825B2	Apparatus and method for driving LED display The apparatus for driving LED display includes a system control unit having a synchronization signal generator configured to generate a synchronization start signal and a plurality of phase locked loop circuits. Each of the phase locked loop circuits includes a divider coupled to the voltage controlled oscillator and configured to change the sequence of dividing ratios over a modulation period, a sigma delta modulator configured to generate a sequence of random numbers to the divider, and a spread spectrum modulation depth controller coupled to the sigma delta modulator and configured to receive the synchronization start signal from the synchronization signal generator. Upon receipt of the synchronization start signal, the spread spectrum modulation depth controller starts a spread spectrum modulation.
US09286824B2	Display apparatus and control method thereof A display apparatus includes a display unit which includes a plurality of pixels having an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a power supply which supplies power to the display unit, an image processor which processes an input image to display an image on the display unit, and a controller which determines whether an average picture level (APL) of the input image is a predetermined value or more. Based on the APL value, the controller controls the image processor to compensate for a gray scale of the input image to thereby increase a brightness of the input image, and controls the power supply to reduce the power supply corresponding to the brightness increased as a result of the compensated gray scale.
US09286818B2	Calibration apparatus and method for controlling the same The present invention is a calibration apparatus comprising a calibration unit configured to perform calibration for an image display apparatus; an acquiring unit configured to acquire a color deviation direction that represents a direction of deviation in a color space between a color measurement value and a theoretical value, for each of color patches of a plurality of colors after executing the calibration; and a control unit configured to determine degrees of similarity of the color deviation directions in relation to the color patches of at least some of the plurality of colors included in the plurality of colors and control whether or not the calibration unit is allowed to perform the calibration for the image display apparatus again, on the basis of a result of the determination.
US09286817B2	Picture reproducing method and picture reproducing apparatus A picture-dimensionality check unit checks whether or not a picture to be reproduced is a three-dimensional picture containing a first parallax image and a second parallax image, which are images of an object from different points of view in a three-dimensional space. A display panel check unit configured acquires, from a display apparatus by which the picture is displayed on a display panel, information including the type of the display panel on the condition that the picture to be reproduced is a three-dimensional picture. A picture adjusting unit retrieves from a database a picture output condition that provides suitable display of the picture on the display panel, on the basis of the information acquired by the display panel check unit, and to adjust the picture in accordance with the retrieved picture output condition.
US09286814B1	Portable sign assembly The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to a sign assembly. In one embodiment, a sign assembly includes a first panel and a second panel. The first panel extends between an upper portion and an opposite lower portion. The second panel extends between an upper portion and an opposite lower portion. The first and second panels are pivotably coupled to one another about a pivot axis such that the sign assembly is positionable in an open configuration and a closed configuration. Further forms, embodiments, features, and aspects are disclosed herein.
US09286811B2	Selectively concealable indicator systems and assemblies Selectively concealable indicator assemblies configured to mount behind a wall plate, which provides an interface to interior wiring and is operatively mounted to a wall with a mounting fits tenet. The indicator assembly includes an elongate member and an indicator. The elongate member is disposed between the wall and the wall plate and configured to move between a first position substantially concealed by the wall plate and a second position where at least a portion of the elongate member extends beyond the wall plate. The indicator is disposed on the portion of the elongate member that extends beyond the wall plate when the elongate indicator is in the second position.
US09286810B2	Systems and methods for VSLAM optimization The invention is related to methods and apparatus that use a visual sensor and dead reckoning sensors to process Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). These techniques can be used in robot navigation. Advantageously, such visual techniques can be used to autonomously generate and update a map. Unlike with laser rangefinders, the visual techniques are economically practical in a wide range of applications and can be used in relatively dynamic environments, such as environments in which people move. Certain embodiments contemplate improvements to the front-end processing in a SLAM-based system. Particularly, certain of these embodiments contemplate a novel landmark matching process. Certain of these embodiments also contemplate a novel landmark creation process. Certain embodiments contemplate improvements to the back-end processing in a SLAM-based system. Particularly, certain of these embodiments contemplate algorithms for modifying the SLAM graph in real-time to achieve a more efficient structure.
US09286809B2	Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) simulator enabling repeated defibrillation training There is provided a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) simulator enabling repeated defibrillation training to allow a user to practice CPR and use of a defibrillator, and the CPR simulator includes a dummy in a body shape similar to a human body shape; a first magnet installed on a upper right part of a chest of a body of the dummy; a second magnet installed on a bottom left side of the chest of the body of the dummy; a first training pad having a first metal sheet formed on one side thereof and a first electrode pad formed on the other side thereof; and a second training pad having a second metal sheet formed on one side thereof and a second electrode pad formed on the other side thereof.
US09286808B1	Electronic method for guidance and feedback on musical instrumental technique The invention provides an electronic method for assessing student skills on a stringed musical instrument, based on comparing the digital signature of an expert template sound to the digital signature of a student's attempt to replicate the template on the stringed instrument. In particular the method employs in sequential series an audio input device, an analog-to-digital converter, an audio correlation decoder, a digital-to-analog converter, and an audio output device; in certain embodiments they are all under the control of the same central control processor, which also has access to a first addressable data memory including unprocessed emulations from a student, a logic filter circuit element, a second addressable data memory including emulations from the student that have been filtered to remove background noise and other extraneous elements, and an addressable data memory including expert templates for incremental components of stringed musical performance.
US09286803B2	Directional parking availability visualization system An in-vehicle system and method for presenting an abstraction of available parking spaces proximate the vehicle, including information conveying the quantity and heading of the available spaces. The available parking information is presented in a format that can be understood at a glance, for use in making navigation decisions while cruising for an available parking space.
US09286799B2	Vehicle barrier control with performance data A method and system include a switch to provide power to a vehicle barrier, A logic based controller is coupled to the switch, and an input device coupled to the logic based controller. A sensor is coupled to the vehicle barrier to provide vehicle barrier performance and maintenance data. The maintenance data may be used to identify maintenance activities to be performed prior to failure of the vehicle barrier.
US09286795B2	System for transmitting, processing, receiving, and displaying traffic information A system for sharing and processing road condition information includes a number of road condition information computer systems within individual vehicles or devices and a virtual road condition information server on a mobile network. The road condition information computer systems are each connected through a peer-to-peer radio, cellular, Wi-Fi, or other similar communications network, and which each operate with a database for displaying road maps, with a database storing average speed data for directions of travel along roadways, and with a location sensor used to determine the location and average speed of the vehicle or device, which are transmitted to other vehicles. The virtual server returns average speed data for road segments, which is displayed on the road maps. The system includes sharing average speed data calculated as well average speed data received from the plurality of vehicles to other vehicles, thereby enhancing the real-time communication of road condition data.
US09286794B2	Pedestrian warning system A pedestrian warning system monitors an attention level of a pedestrian and alerts the pedestrian of traffic areas or detected vehicles.
US09286792B2	Wireless portable activity-monitoring device syncing A notification signal, intended to be received by a wireless communication device, is repetitively broadcast by a portable activity-monitoring device that generates user-activity data corresponding to activity of an individual bearing the portable activity-monitoring device. The notification signal conveys information that identifies the portable activity-monitoring device and indicates whether or not the portable activity-monitoring device seeks establishment of a wireless communication link to enable transmission of the user-activity data to the wireless communication device.
US09286790B2	Lockdown apparatus for initiation of lockdown procedures at a facility during an emergency Some embodiments are directed to a lockdown apparatus for facilitating initiation of lockdown procedures at a facility that is configured for occupation by facility occupants and that includes a fire alarm. The fire alarm can include a fire alarm actuator and a fire alarm communicator configured to produce a fire alarm communication for communicating actuation of the fire alarm actuator. The lockdown apparatus can include a manually operated lockdown actuator disposed at the facility and configured to transmit a lockdown initiation signal upon being manually actuated, the manually operated actuator being configured to be recognizably distinguishable from the fire alarm actuator. The lockdown apparatus can include a lockdown communicator configured to produce a lockdown communication for communicating initiation of lockdown procedures to the facility occupants and individuals not disposed proximate the facility upon transmission of the lockdown initiation signal, the lockdown communication being recognizably distinguishable from the fire alarm communication.
US09286788B2	Traffic collision avoidance in wireless communication systems A low cost, robust, wireless sensor that provides an extended period of operability without maintenance is described. The wireless sensors are configured to communicate with a base unit or repeater. When the sensor unit detects an anomalous ambient condition (e.g., smoke, fire, water, etc.) the sensor communicates with the base unit and provides data regarding the anomalous condition. The sensor unit receives instructions to change operating parameters and/or control external devices.
US09286781B2	Dynamic distributed-sensor thermostat network for forecasting external events using smart-home devices Systems and methods for forecasting events can be provided. A measurement database can store sensor measurements, each having been provided by a non-portable electronic device with a primary purpose unrelated to collecting measurements from a type of sensor that collected the measurement. A measurement set identifier can select a set of measurements. The electronic devices associated with the set of measurements can be in close geographical proximity relative to their geographical proximity to other devices. An inter-device correlator can access the set and collectively analyze the measurements. An event detector can determine whether an event occurred. An event forecaster can forecast a future event property. An alert engine can identify one or more entities to be alerted of the future event property, generate at least one alert identifying the future event property, and transmit the at least one alert to the identified one or more entities.
US09286780B2	Smoke detector A smoke detector includes a drift chamber and an ionization chamber formed by a first electrode and a second electrode. Electric charges are generated by ionization of the air. The drift chamber separated from the ionization chamber by the second electrode. The smoke particles penetrates from the environment to a detector inside the drift chamber. The electrical potential of first electrode exceeds a critical electric potential value for generating a corona discharge in the vicinity of the first electrode. The second electrode has openings for the electric charges generated in the ionization chamber to move to the drift chamber. The electric potential of the second electrode allows the electric charges in the drift chamber to move from the second electrode to the third electrode. The electric field between the second and third electrodes is at least 100 times weaker than the electric field between the first and second electrodes.
US09286779B2	Detector devices A detector includes a component having a surface. The surface includes, or is at least partially coated with, a contaminant-resistant or self-cleaning material. This allows the detector to remain clean without manual cleaning.
US09286778B2	Method and system for security system tampering detection A method and system for detecting tampering of a security system component is provided. An analytic alarm indicative of potential tampering with a security system component is received. Data from at least one sensor is received. A computing device is used to analyze the analytic alarm and the data from the at least one sensor to determine whether tampering of the security system component has occurred. A qualified alarm signal is generated when the analysis of the analytic alarm and the data from the at least one sensor is indicative of tampering.
US09286774B2	Tactile sensation providing apparatus A tactile sensation providing apparatus includes a tactile output unit configured to contact a part of a human body; a connection unit including a wire connected to the tactile output unit and made of a flexible and elastic material, and a tube enclosing the wire; and a driving unit to supply a driving force to the connection unit.
US09286773B2	Alert systems and methods for a vehicle with improved actuator installation A vehicle seat assembly is provided. The vehicle seat assembly includes a bottom seat member with a seat pan with a first side and a second side, a first bolster positioned on the first side of the seat pan, and a second bolster positioned on the second side of the seat pan. The first bolster defines a first depression. The vehicle seat assembly further includes a haptic alert assembly with a first actuator having a first housing and a first motor within the first housing. The first housing is mounted within the first depression.
US09286762B2	System and method for operating a matching game in conjunction with a transaction on a gaming machine A matching game is triggered for play by a plurality of players while the players are performing a transaction. A matching rule is established for playing the matching game and a jackpot pool is established for awarding prizes to the players. The players are allowed to initiate a session by logging onto a gaming machine to perform the transaction and the players are identified. A selected set of symbols are established for each player and a match set of symbols are generated. The matching game is triggered in response to a predetermined trigger where only the players in the current session are eligible for the matching game. The match set of symbols are compared against each selected set of symbols. The prize is responsively awarded from the jackpot pool to each player whose selected set of symbols satisfies the matching rule.
US09286757B2	Wagering game with dynamic prize offering A wagering game system and its operations are described herein. In some embodiments, the operations can include detecting a trigger for a bonus game associated with presentation of a wagering game. The operations can further include, in response to the trigger, providing, for presentation, an option to select either a prize or play of the bonus game. The operations can further include detecting a selection of either the prize or the play of the bonus game, and providing either the prize or the play of the bonus game based on the selection.
US09286756B2	Method of gaming, a game controller and a gaming system A method of gaming comprising: receiving an input indicative that a player accepts deferred payment in respect of at least one award awardable during play of a game; conducting the play to determine whether the at least one award is made; and providing an entitlement to the player to enable the player to obtain the award after a deferment period when the award is made to the player.
US09286750B2	Wagering game with game enhancement window A gaming system includes instructions that cause the gaming system to receive an input indicative of a wager, display a plurality of reels defining a symbol array, and display a symbol-alteration region including at least two symbol positions and extending through a subset of the symbol array at a predefined position. The plurality of reels includes a plurality of symbols moving through the symbol array. The plurality of symbols includes a special symbol that has a first function for evaluating a game outcome. The symbol-alteration region is positioned such that at least some of the symbols move between a first position outside the symbol-alteration region and a second position within the symbol-alteration region. The instructions further cause the gaming system to, in response to the special symbol stopping within the symbol-alteration region, alter a functionality of the special symbol to include a second function for evaluating the game outcome.
US09286749B2	Gaming machine A gaming machine with more gaming excitement is provided. The gaming machine includes; a cabinet; an upper image display panel which is provided on the cabinet and is a display displaying an effect image regarding a game; a lamp body which is three-dimensionally formed and is a formed object provided on the cabinet to protrude toward the front surface as compared to at least the lower end of the upper image display panel; a sensor configured to detect the player' gesture with respect to the lamp body; a controller used to start the game, and the controller detects the player's gesture by the sensor at a timing corresponding to the state of the game and displays an effect image corresponding to the detected player's gesture on the upper image display panel.
US09286747B2	Skill based games of chance Described are casino games that incorporate a player's physical dexterity into gameplay, thus adding a physical skill component to a game, beyond any mental skill components the underlying games already posses. Similarly to the manner in which a player's knowledge of a game's rules and strategies allows the player to increase their chance of winning traditional casino games, the dexterity, or skill based games allow the player to increase their chance of winning by performing game-oriented physical tasks. Examples of games with this feature are a poker game where a player shoots a game gun at a display device to add cards to their hand in hopes of forming a winning hand, and a three dimensional mahjong game where a player rotates a tile structure to find and removing matching tiles in order to increase their score.
US09286746B2	Gaming system and method having a partial selectable symbol matrix A gaming device including a plurality of symbol generators adapted to generate a plurality of symbols at a plurality of symbol positions. In one embodiment, a player selects a first symbol position, the selected symbol position is activated and the gaming device reveals whether a terminator is associated with the selected symbol position. In this embodiment, the player continues selecting symbol positions (and the gaming device continues activating the selected symbol positions) until a terminator is revealed to be associated with a selected symbol position. After a terminator is revealed, the gaming device randomly generating a symbol at each of the activated symbol positions. The gaming device determines an outcome based on the symbols or combinations of symbols generated at the activated symbol positions and provides the player the determined outcome.
US09286741B2	Apparatus and method for access control A method and apparatus for controlling access from a first area to a second area includes receiving an identity signal from an identifier input device, and checking for stored data indicating that the identity represented by the identity signal is registered as present in the first area. If a predetermined access requirement is fulfilled, then a pass signal at the first access controller is generated. To control access from the second area to a third area, an enter message is sent to a second controller with at least the identity and data indicating that the identity is present in an access area of the second controller. An exit message is sent to a third controller controlling access to the first area, including at least the identity and data indicating that the identity is not present in an access area of the third controller.
US09286740B2	Method for displaying information The invention relates to a method for displaying information, using a mobile identification provider (10) and an independent display unit (20), wherein said mobile identification provider (10) serves for an activation of a security system, said mobile identification provider (10) has an electronic unit (11), and said electronic unit (11) is used for data communication (30) with a vehicle-side part, vehicle-side information is transmitted from the vehicle-side part to the electronic unit (11) via the data communication (30), said vehicle-side information is stored in a data memory (12), said electronic unit (11) communicates with the independent display unit (20) via a communication connection (40), and said vehicle-side information is transmitted to said independent display unit (20) via said communication connection (40) and displayed thereon.
US09286738B2	Distributed data storage and recovery A data recording and recovery system includes a plurality of data storage modules distributed among a respective plurality of physical locations about a structural platform. Each module comprises a first electronic interface for receiving data from the platform and for data communication among the plurality of modules during operation of the platform. A data storage device stores at least a portion of the received data. A second electronic interface communicates with another of the plurality of modules. Tracking is enabled upon occurrence of a catastrophic event associated with the platform.
US09286736B2	Methods and systems of vehicle telematics enabled customer experience An automobile including a self-diagnostic monitoring server and healing can be implemented. The vehicle monitoring system can include an automobile system comprising a self-powered motor vehicle used for transportation. The vehicle system can include a sensor system arranged on a set of components of the automobile system and coupled to an energy providing system in the automobile system to be provided with energy by said energy providing system, said sensor system obtaining data about at least one property for each component of the set of components of the automobile system and converting the data into signals. The vehicle system can include a communication system in the automobile system. The vehicle system can include an analytics system to receive the data and determine a state of each component of the automobile system based on the at least one property of each component.
US09286734B2	System and method of calibrating a system The system measures time of at least one object on the basis of passing a finish line and includes a camera with a photosensitive sensor and a lens for registering an image of the line. The image is sent to a processor for processing. Timing means deliver a timing signal to the processor. The system is at least partially automatically aligned. It thereto comprises a first active optical indicator that is located at a predefined location with reference to the line of passage, which indicator is detected as part of the image registered by the camera so as to obtain detection data. The system further includes a camera adjustment arrangement for adjustment of the orientation of a center axis of the camera, said adjustment being specified by the processor on the basis of the detection data.
US09286732B2	Nuclear image system and method for updating an original nuclear image A nuclear image system for updating an original nuclear image, the nuclear image system comprising: a data memory for storing the original three-dimensional nuclear image; a nuclear radiation detector, which is movable along a freely variable path, for measuring nuclear radiation, in order to obtain nuclear radiation values; a tracking system for tracking the nuclear radiation detector while measuring the nuclear radiation, so that detector coordinates are obtained which indicate a posture of the tracked nuclear radiation detector in relation to an image coordinate system of the nuclear image; a nuclear data input configured to receive the nuclear radiation values from the nuclear radiation detector and the detector coordinates from the tracking system, and to associate the nuclear radiation values with the respective detector coordinates; and an image updating module including an updating rule for changing the original nuclear image on the basis of the nuclear radiation values and the detector coordinates, wherein the image updating module is configured to generate an updated three-dimensional nuclear image by applying the updating rule to the original nuclear image.
US09286728B2	Spatial location presentation in head worn computing Aspects of the present invention relate presentation of digital content, in a see-through display, representing a known location in an environment proximate to a head worn computer.
US09286722B2	Information processing apparatus, display control method, and program There is provided an information processing apparatus including a comparing unit comparing a size of at least one of virtual clothing or accessories based on dimensions set in advance and a size of a subject that has been captured; and a display control unit reshaping at least one of the virtual clothing or accessories in accordance with a comparison result produced by the comparing unit and displaying at least one of the reshaped virtual clothing or accessories overlaid on the subject.
US09286720B2	Locative video for situation awareness An exemplary system and method are disclosed for providing a combined video stream with geospatial information. Embodiments use a visualization tool to synchronize information in a virtual camera with attributes, such as video frames, from a physical camera. Once the camera position information is supplied to the visualization tool, the visualization tool retrieves geospatial data, such as terrain features, man made features, and time sensitive event data, and transforms the camera position information into a coordinate system of the virtual camera. The visualization tool uses the coordinate system of the virtual camera to generate geospatial snapshots. Embodiments use locative video software to combine the video frames from the physical camera with the geospatial snapshots from the virtual camera to generate a combined video stream, which provides a single view of multiple types of data to enhance an operator's ability to conduct surveillance and analysis missions.
US09286716B2	3D graphics UI affordances based on behind-the-scenes simulation A static model is populated with graphics objects by identifying a first graphics object that is associated with the static model, creating a first plurality of graphics objects where each graphics object in the first plurality of graphics objects comprises an instance of the first graphics object, placing each graphics object in the first plurality of graphics objects into a respective first position, and simulating a motion path for each graphics object in the first plurality of graphics objects from their respective first position to a respective second position.
US09286711B2	Representing a location at a previous time period using an augmented reality display Technology is described for representing a physical location at a previous time period with three dimensional (3D) virtual data displayed by a near-eye, augmented reality display of a personal audiovisual (A/V) apparatus. The personal A/V apparatus is identified as being within the physical location, and one or more objects in a display field of view of the near-eye, augmented reality display are automatically identified based on a three dimensional mapping of objects in the physical location. User input, which may be natural user interface (NUI) input, indicates a previous time period, and one or more 3D virtual objects associated with the previous time period are displayed from a user perspective associated with the display field of view. An object may be erased from the display field of view, and a camera effect may be applied when changing between display fields of view.
US09286708B2	Information device, image combining method, and computer-readable recording medium An information device includes an image receiving unit receiving an information terminal image having a specific region composed of pixels having a same feature value from an information terminal, the feature value being luminance or chromaticity; a specific region detecting unit detecting the specific region within the information terminal image, based on feature values of pixels composing the information terminal image received by the image receiving unit; an information device image creating unit creating an information device image related to a function provided to the information device; a composite image creating unit creating a composite image where the information device image created by the information device image creating unit is embedded in the specific region detected by the specific region detecting unit within the information terminal image; and a display control unit displaying the composite image created by the composite image creating unit on a display apparatus.
US09286706B1	Editing image regions based on previous user edits Implementations relate to editing image regions based on previous user edits. In some implementations, a method includes detecting a region depicting an identified subject in a target image and determining an identity of the identified subject. The method retrieves one or more stored user edits associated with the identity of the identified subject, where the user edits were previously made by a user to one or more other regions in one or more source images, and the other regions depict the identified subject having the identity. The method applies the one or more user edits to the region in the target image.
US09286699B2	Method for producing an iridescent image, image obtained and device including same, associated program The invention relates to a method for producing a series of modified images intended for forming an iridescent image, using at least one reference image, characterised by including steps of creating a color pallet (P); creating a series of at least two modified reference images (IRM0, IRM1, IRM2, IRMn, etc.), in which the colors of said at least one reference image (IR) are replaced with the colors of the pallet by applying, before or between each new modified reference image (IRM), a circular shift to the colors of the pallet. The invention also relates to the inter-laced, iridescent, 3-D images obtained using such a method, as well as to a device including such an interlaced image and an associated program.
US09286696B2	Compression within a set of images The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for file compression. More specifically, the disclosure introduces to a method for file compression wherein a group of files is identified by comparing a plurality of similarity characteristics. The group of files may then be compressed relative to at least one base file to improve compression efficiency.
US09286695B2	Systems and methods for tracking points within an encasement Systems and methods for tracking points within an encasement are provided. According to an aspect of the invention, a processor designates an encasement at a first location within a first image acquired at a first time; identifies points to track within the encasement; determines characteristics of the points to track; tracks the points over time based on the characteristics; and determines a second location of the encasement within a second image acquired at a second time based on positions of the tracked points at the second time. Identifying the points to track may include identifying points within the encasement that are significant and persistent.
US09286691B2	Motion estimation and compensation of feature-motion decorrelation The subject disclosure relates to motion estimation and compensation of feature-motion decorrelation. In an aspect, coupled filtering can be employed to solve feature-motion decorrelation problems. In further aspects, a linear convolution model can be employed to model image variation caused by motion, and an image before motion and a warped image after motion can be filtered with a pair of filters having motion parameters shared with a tissue motion model. Compensation of feature-motion decorrelation in ultrasound images demonstrates various aspects of the subject disclosure.
US09286689B2	Method and device for detecting the gait of a pedestrian for a portable terminal A method and system for recognizing a pedestrian's step is provided for a portable terminal. The portable terminal has an acquisition unit. In an image of a sequence of images acquired by the acquisition unit, an object is, in each case, detected which represents at least a part of a foot, a shoe, and/or a leg. The position of the object is determined in the respective image, and a pedestrian's step is recognized as a function of a position change of the object between at least two images of the sequence of images.
US09286688B2	Automatic segmentation of articulated structures Disclosed herein is a framework for segmenting articulated structures. In accordance with one aspect, the framework receives a target image, a reference image, statistical shape models, local appearance models and a learned landmark detector. The framework may automatically detect first centerline landmarks along centerlines of articulated structures in the target image using the learned landmark detector. The framework may then determine a non-rigid transformation function that registers second centerline landmarks along centerlines of articulated structures in the reference image with the first centerline landmarks. Mean shapes of the statistical shape models may then be deformed to the target image space by applying the non-rigid transformation function on the mean shapes. The framework may further search for candidate points in the mean shapes using the local appearance models. The mean shapes may be fitted to the candidate points to generate a segmentation mask.
US09286680B1	Computational multi-camera adjustment for smooth view switching and zooming An embodiment method for computationally adjusting images from a multi-camera system includes receiving calibrated image sequences, with each of the calibrated image sequences corresponding to a camera in a camera array and having one or more image frames. A target camera model is computed for each camera in the camera array and according to target camera poses or target camera intrinsic matrices for the respective camera. The computing generates a transformation matrix for each of the one or more first cameras. The transformation matrix for each of the one or more first cameras is applied to the calibrated image sequence corresponding to the respective camera. The transformation matrix warps each image frame of the calibrated image sequence and generates target image sequences.
US09286675B1	Iterative defect filtering process A method for classifying defects of a wafer, the method is executed by a computerized system, the method may include obtaining defect candidate information about a group of defect candidates, wherein the defect candidate information comprises values of attributes per each defect candidate of the group; selecting, by a processor of the computerized system, a selected sub-group of defect candidates in response to values of attributes of defect candidates that belong to at least the selected sub-group; classifying defect candidates of the selected sub-group to provide selected sub-group classification results; repeating, until fulfilling a stop condition: selecting an additional selected sub-group of defect candidates in response to (a) values of attributes of defect candidates that belong to at least the additional selected sub-group; and (b) classification results obtained from classifying at least one other selected sub-group; and classifying defect candidates of the additional selected sub-group to provide additional selected sub-group classification results.
US09286667B2	Method of eliminating spurious echoes in SAR imaging A method of eliminating spurious echoes in SAR imaging comprises a step Etp1 of defining the SAR imaging parameters, a step Etp2 of calculating the spectrum of the signal received, in each distance bin, of a zone of interest 51, a step Etp3 of filtering the spectra in each distance bin, a step Etp4 of SAR imagette 51 formation and a step Etp5 of concatenating the SAR imagettes 51 to form the final SAR image.
US09286666B2	Image processing apparatus and method, and program to generate high-quality image using normalized image There is provided an image processing apparatus that includes an ambient-light image obtaining section, a cumulative image generation section, and a high-quality image generation section. The ambient-light image obtaining section obtains an ambient-light image in a first time range, the ambient-light image being an image of an object captured with a predetermined exposure time. The cumulative image generation section generates a cumulative image in a second time range, the cumulative image being obtained by cumulative addition of each pixel value in a plurality of images, the plurality of images being of the object sequentially captured with the predetermined exposure time. The high-quality image generation section generates a high-quality image, the high-quality image being obtained by subtracting a pixel value in the ambient-light image from a corresponding pixel value in a normalized image, the normalized image being the cumulative image normalized based on a total sum of the exposure time.
US09286661B2	Method, apparatus, and computer program product for processing an image to reduce image deterioration A method for processing an image includes: detecting and outputting an attributed of each pixel of input image data; performing a filtering process in which smoothing is performed on the input image data; detecting an edge amount being N value (where N>2) information from the data subjected to the smoothing; removing a chromatic color in a first removal amount according to the detected edge amount from all of the pixels; and removing a chromatic color in a second removal amount according to the detected edge amount from the pixel that has been determined to have a text attribute and an achromatic attribute at the detecting, wherein the second removal amount is determined on the basis of a discrete M value (where M>2) corresponding to the edge amount.
US09286660B2	Filtering method and device in image processing Embodiments provide a filtering method and device in image processing. The device includes: a dividing unit to divide a first filtering window into blocks; a determining unit to determine a filtering window area according to relevance between a central block and other non-central blocks in the blocks; and a filtering unit to perform filtering processing on an image in the determined filtering window area. With the method and device of the embodiments, a boundary of an object will not be crossed in filtering, and in removing noise, information on other objects will not be introduced to affect the result of filtering. A filtering window size may be determined while filtering is performing, which may be carried out in one path, avoiding time delay resulting from execution of two paths of a conventional method where an edge is detected and then the size of a filtering window is determined.
US09286657B1	Efficient image processing using dynamically sized tiles Systems and methods for processing an image through an ordered series of image filters (i.e., an image filter chain) to produce an output image. The systems and methods of the present disclosure function to partition or break-up an image into dynamically sized tiles which are processed efficiently (e.g., using minimal memory), quickly and on-demand. The systems and methods allow tile sizes to be calculated dynamically based on what each image filter in an image filter chain needs. By processing each tile on-demand, significant memory and time savings are achieved because only the parts of an image required for display are processed. Further, such functionality allows for decoding of only a portion of the image, which requires less memory and operates much faster than if the entire image was decoded.
US09286656B2	Homography estimation apparatus and method Disclosed are a homography estimation apparatus and method. A down-sampling unit reduces the reference image and the target image to the same size to generate down-sampled images. A feature point extraction unit extracts feature points from the reference image and the target image down-sampled to the same size, respectively. An outlier removal unit matches the feature points extracted from the reference image with the feature points extracted from the target image, and detects and removes outliers, which are feature points that do not match, from the matched feature points. A homography estimation unit estimates a homography using feature points from which outliers are removed. A reference image correction unit corrects the reference image using the estimated homography.
US09286654B2	Image scaling processor and image scaling processing method An image scaling processor includes: a coefficient computing circuit that calculates interpolation coefficients to be used in an image scaling process; a multiplier that multiplies input image data by the interpolation coefficients provided from the coefficient computing circuit such that the interpolation coefficients respectively correspond to input pixels constituting the input image data; an adder that iteratively adds pieces of multiplied data output from the multiplier and obtains a total sum of the pieces of multiplied data for a predetermined number of the input pixels; a selector that outputs a total sum of the multiplied data at a timing at which the total sum of the pieces of multiplied data is obtained for the predetermined number of the input pixels; and a shift circuit that shifts an output of the selector to adjust a bit count of the output image data to a bit count of the input image data.
US09286653B2	System and method for increasing the bit depth of images A method for processing an image having a first bit depth includes performing two or more iterations of a bit depth enhancement operation that increases the bit depth of the image to a second bit depth that is higher than the first bit depth. The bit depth enhancement operation includes dividing the image into a plurality of areas, performing an edge detection operation to identify one or more areas from the plurality of areas that do not contain edge features, and applying a blur to the one or more areas from the plurality of areas that do not contain edge features. In a first iteration of the of the bit depth enhancement operation, the plurality of areas includes a first number of areas, and the number of areas included in the plurality of areas decreases with each subsequent iteration of the bit depth enhancement operation.
US09286650B2	Video processing apparatus, display apparatus, and video processing method A video input section acquires a video signal formed of a plurality of frames. A frame separator separates the video signal acquired by the video input section on a frame basis and distributes the separated video signals. A plurality of parallel processors perform video processing in parallel on the separated video signals corresponding to the frames separated and distributed by the frame separator. A frame combiner combines the separated video signals on which the plurality of parallel processors have performed the video processing.
US09286647B2	Pixel shader bypass for low power graphics rendering A computer-implemented method for drawing graphical objects within a graphics processing pipeline is disclosed. The method includes determining that a bypass mode for a first primitive is a no-bypass mode. The method further includes rasterizing the first primitive to generate a first set of rasterization results. The method further includes generating a first set of colors for the first set of rasterization results via a pixel shader unit. The method further includes rasterizing a second primitive to generate a second set of rasterization results. The method further includes generating a second set of colors for the second set of rasterization results without the pixel shader unit performing any processing operations on the second set of rasterization results. The method further includes transmitting the first set of pixel colors and the second set of pixel colors to a raster operations (ROP) unit for further processing.
US09286643B2	Personalized memory compilation for members of a group and collaborative method to build a memory compilation The present invention may provide a method and apparatus for building a personalized memory compilation for members of a group: providing digitally encoded images, text and other data; analyzing data; eliciting a characteristic of data; selecting a plurality of the provided data; arranging the provided data, to generate a personalized memory compilation; wherein at least one of a selecting or an arranging step is performed in response to elicited characteristics. The invention may comprise a collaborative method and apparatus for gathering, enriching, preserving, and sharing memories for members of a group using the combination of 1) collaboration through nominal group recall and 2) recording of personal preferences to produce a digital asset that contains a unique blend of selected profiles, images, stories, personalized notes, and other relevant content from more than one group member to constitute a more complete and accurate rendering of an important occasion experienced by the group.
US09286637B1	Adaptive and customizable account interface system and method The invention is directed to a method and system for providing an interface including modular customizable elements for implementation by a system user. The method and system have particular application for financial accounts, such as credit card accounts. The interface may adapt in response to user behaviors. However, the user may also customize features of the interface. Thus, a behavioral monitoring and analysis system is provided for monitoring account holder spending behaviors and analyzing the spending behaviors. Account holder customization tools may be presented to the account holders through a user interface, the account holder customization tools allowing account holders to modify a user interface display of account related parameters by inputting parameters into a computing system. An experience customization engine may be implemented by a processor for receiving input from both the behavioral monitoring and analysis system and the account holder customization tools.
US09286636B2	Mobile terminal with user identification card including personal finance-related information and method of using a value-added mobile service through said mobile terminal The present invention enables a user to receive a financial service anywhere through a mobile terminal equipped with a UIM (User Identification Module) electronic card. In the present invention, a user enters his or her password to a mobile terminal with a UIM card including subscriber telephone number, finance, authorization, and personal information, then, if the entered password is correct, authorization is processed with a remote authorizing server based on the authorization information. After authorization, user's requesting service, e.g., payment service, transaction particulars inquiry service, prepaid card recharging service is conducted through a mobile network.
US09286634B2	Financial systems A method and system (1) for incorporating legacy systems in a service oriented architecture (SOA) includes decoupling legacy system business services from legacy system data services by creating, from the legacy system business services and data services, a set of (e.g. Java WebSphere®) SOA business services (5a-5c) for transactions and (e.g. DB2) stored procedures (7a-7d) for SOA data services. The business services are constructed from one or more data services and the transactional integrity of the transaction is maintained, in use. The stored procedures may be written to a transaction log and a check made to verify that all of the stored procedures from which the business service is constructed have been written to the log.
US09286632B1	Capturing and publishing product imagery Disclosed are various embodiments for capturing item imagery and generating corresponding content pages. A plurality of images is captured from an image capture apparatus that includes a plurality of image capture devices positioned at various angles relative to an item. The images are associated with an item identifier and/or image identifier. A content page based on a page template is then generated that includes references to at least a subset of the images.
US09286631B2	Identity verification and data management system A system for management of age verification using an internet enabled mobile device. The system provides ID verification using identification information comparison. The system further optionally provides display of completed and pending orders, routing to delivery destination, and prioritizing of deliveries.
US09286626B2	Systems and methods to provide alternative connections for real time communications Methods and apparatuses to provide options for alternative connections in response to customer requesting for connections to advertisers for real time communications. One embodiment includes: providing an advertisement of a first advertiser for presentation to a customer, the advertisement including a reference to be used to request a connection server to provide a telephonic connection between the first advertiser and the customer; receiving a request made via the reference included in the advertisement for a telephonic connection between the first advertiser and the customer; determining a status of the first advertiser at a time of the request; and presenting an option to make an alternative connection for the customer based on the determined status.
US09286621B2	Independent targeted sponsored content management system and method A system may include a database configured with individual partitions, one of the partitions corresponding to a sponsored content campaign of a social network. The system may further include multiple servers each communicatively coupled to the database, and each configured to implement a campaign having a campaign termination criterion. Each of the servers may include a processor configured to track sponsored content event data received from a user device based on the campaign and transmit the event data to the database and terminate the campaign based on a comparison of the event data as received from a partition of the database corresponding to the campaign and an estimation of event data not received from the database. The database may be configured to store the event data as received from the servers in the partition corresponding to the campaign upon receipt of the event data.
US09286619B2	System and method for generating social summaries The described implementations relate to communication platforms that are provided over computer networks. One implementation provides a system that can include a storage component configured to store a plurality of communications having a common connector. The system can also include a score computation component that is configured to compute scores reflecting semantic relationships between individual communications from the plurality of communications. The system can also include a summary generation component that is configured to select one or more of the individual communications, based on the scores, and generate a summary of the common connector. The summary can represent the selected individual communications. The system can also include at least one processor configured to execute one or more of the components.
US09286616B2	Method and apparatus for providing directed advertising based on user preferences A method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and a memory structure for providing advertisements with a media program transmitted to a user device are described. The method permits the user to control the presentation of advertisements. In one embodiment, the method receives an identification of the media program to be sent to the user device, transmits metadata defining an advertising break having at least one advertisement opportunity within the media program, at the advertisement opportunity, transmits advertising control options, receives a user selection for the advertising control options, sends the advertisement to the user device according to the user selection for the advertising control options, receives advertising viewing data describing the streaming of the advertisement to the user device, and stores the advertisement viewing data.
US09286615B2	Devices and methods for recording information on a subject's body Embodiments disclosed herein relate to methods, devices, and computer systems thereof for visibly or non-visibly indicating a subject has received a medical treatment. In certain embodiments, a subject receives an information mark in conjunction with a medical treatment. In certain embodiments, the information mark includes unique information relating to the subject. In certain embodiments, devices, computer systems, and methods relate to reading an information mark on a subject, and optionally determining if further medical treatment of the subject is warranted. In certain embodiments, receipt of an information mark entitles a subject to a reward.
US09286610B2	Method and apparatus for a principal / agent based mobile commerce According to one embodiment of the present invention, a principal/agent method for mobile commerce is presented wherein mobile users receive indicia that agent equipment is in proximity wherein said indication is conditional to preferences and settings contained in a data structure determined, at least in part, by a principal.
US09286605B2	Secure credit card with near field communications A near field communication device included in a secure transaction card provides an addition and/or transitional communication link for communicating secure transaction information. The near field communication device may be selectively engaged or disengaged and, when engaged, either active or passive modes of operation of the near field communication device can be selected. In the active mode, secure transaction information is transmitted upon establishment of a communication link with a complementary near field communication device. In the passive mode, secure transaction information is transmitted upon interrogation from a complementary near field communication device. Secure transaction information is generated and stored for transmission in a memory and at least a portion of the memory is erased or nulled upon transmission or upon expiration of a selected period of time.
US09286604B2	Over the air management of payment application installed in mobile device Systems, apparatus, and methods for managing a payment application installed on a mobile device, such as a mobile phone are provided. An Issuer of a payment device can remotely control the payment application by instructing a wireless network carrier or operator to transmit a message to the mobile phone, where the message contains an instruction to perform an operation related to the payment application. The Issuer can remotely reset a counter or a password associated with the payment application, lock or unlock a payment application, and set the access control data to a predetermined value, to prevent unauthorized use of the payment application in the situation in which the mobile phone is lost or stolen, or the Issuer desires to limit access to the payment application for other reasons, such as limiting its exposure to unauthorized uses of the payment device.
US09286600B2	Methods, systems, and products for calendaring applications Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for managing events in an electronic calendar. One such method associates an event with a rule, with the rule comprising a reminder and a date and a time of expiration. A calendar entry corresponding to the event is stored. After the date and time of the expiration, the electronic calendar ceases to present the reminder when launched. That is, when the electronic calendar is initialized, no reminders of expired events are visually/audibly presented by the electronic calendar.
US09286598B2	Seamless upload and ingest of release forms from a mobile device to a digital media system Embodiments are directed towards providing a method, a system and a network device for applying a form to a media item in a media library, including enabling, by a mobile device, a contributor of media items to prepare a form, uploading, by the mobile device, the form to a server computer that manages a media library, the media library being a collection of media items and forms associated with one more of the media items, enabling a contributor to upload, from a client computer, different than said mobile device, media items to the media library and enabling, by a client computer that communicates with the server computer, the contributor to associate the form with one or more media items uploaded by the contributor.
US09286595B2	System and method for collecting and normalizing entitlement data within an enterprise A compliance manager system automates monitoring, reporting, certification and remediation of user entitlements and roles, making it possible for organizations to easily establish a sustainable access governance model. The system enables organizations to gain enterprise-wide visibility into all user entitlements and roles and, in particular, to monitor who has access to what application, how they got access, and who approved such access. In one embodiment, a discovery and aggregation mechanism acquires identity, entitlement and role information together with associated metadata from enterprise infrastructure and applications. This information is normalized producing a unified view that is complete and correlated across users, entitlements, roles and resources.
US09286593B1	System and method for product delivery A system and method for delivering a product such as a pharmacy bottle from a conveyor system to a delivery container via a delivery chute. A control system in communication with the components of the system detects when a product is ready for release into the chute for delivery based on information obtained by a scanner on the conveyor system.
US09286591B2	System and method for shipping, delivery, manifesting, and returns A preferred embodiment of a version of the invention is directed to a system that streamlines and manages the process of managing shipments, deliveries, returns, customers and manifesting. A preferred implementation comprises a system that is based on user's being grouped with specific customers and each specific customer's information being grouped separately from other customers in the system. Preferably, the system comprises permission levels for granting user's access to specific customer information. Permission levels may grant users access to customer specific or system wide information. A preferred implementation further comprises a system for creating manifests and a mobile manifest application.
US09286590B2	Picking and assorting system In a picking and assorting system, a control unit makes, based on a volume of buckets, a picking schedule for one batch to be picked from article racks into the buckets. If there are articles that have been loaded into the buckets based on the picking schedule for one batch but remain in trays after sorting, then a warehouse control unit causes carriers to move work-in-progress trays from work shelves to a third tray storage space.
US09286589B2	Method and system for customizing a project A method, system, and computer readable media for managing a project over a computer network is disclosed. A project selection is received. Data associated with the project is retrieved in response to the selection. Data associated with a user profile is also retrieved, and compared to the data associated with the project to detect inconsistencies between the project and the user profile. In an embodiment, substitutions are determined based on the inconsistencies and automatically incorporated into the project. Data associated with the project including the substitutions is then delivered to the user over a computer network. In another embodiment, data associated with the project and the inconsistencies is delivered to the user over a computer network. In some embodiments, data associated with alternative project inputs and/or project actions consistent with the user profile is delivered to the user for substitution into the project. In some implementations, a selection of one or more alternative project inputs and/or project actions may be received from the user over a computer network.
US09286586B2	Information governance crowd sourcing A method, computer program product, and system for information governance crowd sourcing by, responsive to receiving a data quality exception identifying one or more data quality errors in a data store, identifying a performance level required to correct the data quality errors, selecting, from a crowd hierarchy, a first one or more crowds meeting the defined performance level, wherein the crowd hierarchy ranks the performance of one or more crowds, and routing, by operation of one or more computer processors, the one or more data quality errors to the selected crowds for correction.
US09286581B2	User interface with inbox mode and document mode for single input work flow routing A user interface for a portable computing device provides two modes of operation. In a first mode, an inbox of all documents accessible by the portable computing device are presented. Each of the items in the inbox is selectable, and if selected, the user interface transitions to a second document presentation mode. In the document presentation mode, the user may annotate the document and upon providing a single input (selecting a submit button), the system automatically forwards the document (including the annotations) to the next state in the workflow. If the user transitions back to the inbox mode from the document presentation mode, no action is taken on the document but the strokes are stored with the document on the portable computing device.
US09286579B2	Reservation system with graphical user interface Techniques for providing a reservation system are provided. The techniques include displaying a scalable visualization object, wherein the scalable visualization object comprises an expanded view element of the reservation system depicting information in connection with a selected interval of time and a compressed view element of the reservation system depicting information in connection with one or more additional intervals of time, maintaining a visual context between the expanded view and the compressed view within the visualization object, and enabling a user to switch between the expanded view and the compressed view to facilitate use of the reservation system.
US09286573B2	Cost-aware non-stationary online learning Online learning of an ensemble of classifiers or regressors is performed to predict a non-stationary time-varying parameter over a time series of episodes. For an episode, an ensemble action is selected from a set of ensemble actions based on ensemble action quality values (Q values) at an error state for the episode. The selected ensemble action is executed to update the ensemble. A cost of executing the selected ensemble action is computed or retrieved, and a reward is computed indicating how well the updated ensemble predicts the non-stationary time-varying parameter over the episode. The Q value for the selected ensemble action at the error state for the episode is updated based on both the reward and the cost of executing the selected ensemble action. The cost may be based on the ensemble action alone, or on both the ensemble action and the error state for the episode.
US09286572B2	Pseudo-genetic meta-knowledge artificial intelligence systems and methods Systems and methods for artificially intelligent physical and virtual actors including pseudo-genetic information and configured to retain meta-knowledge are described. The actors are adapted with unique behavioral and physical attributes which may independently evolve over time. The attributes may include reproduction based attributes which direct how, when, and with whom the actor reproduces and may be subject to mutation and reproductive forces. The attributes may include evaluation attributes which dictate when and how each actor evaluates their performance. The evaluation attributes may also be subject to mutation and reproductive forces. The attributes may consider meta-knowledge which is a reflection of information gathered by an actor. What and how much meta-knowledge is collected may also be expressed as one or more evolvable attributes.
US09286569B2	Behavioral targeting system A behavioral targeting system determines user profiles from online activity. The system includes a plurality of models that define parameters for determining a user profile score. Event information, which comprises on-line activity of the user, is received at an entity. To generate a user profile score, a model is selected. The model comprises recency, intensity and frequency dimension parameters. The behavioral targeting system generates a user profile score for a target objective, such as brand advertising or direct response advertising. The parameters from the model are applied to generate the user profile score in a category. The behavioral targeting system has application for use in ad serving to on-line users.
US09286567B1	Systems, methods and articles for providing support information for a software application Systems, methods and articles of manufacture for providing support information for a software application and generating a knowledge database of support information. A computer system generates a page of the software application displayable on a display. The page has a support button selectable by a user. In response to selection of the support button, the computer accesses support information regarding the page from a knowledge database that is separate from the software application. The computer generates a support page displayable on the display which includes the support information from the knowledge database. The knowledge database is updated at least partly based on analytical data regarding user access of the support information.
US09286566B2	Visual cortical circuit apparatus, visual cortical imitation system and object search system using visual cortical circuit apparatus Provided us a visual cortical circuit apparatus comprising: a current mirror unit which uses a transistor as a current source to generate a current having the same size as that of a reaction; a transconductance unit which takes, as an input, the current generated by the current mirror unit and outputs a voltage using a transconductance; and a buffer unit for converting the voltage output from the transconductance unit into a current and buffering the current.
US09286565B2	Composite container lid with IC tag A composite container lid which includes an inner cap fitted onto the container mouth portion by screw engagement, an over-cap fitted onto the inner cap, and an IC tag. The over-cap has a top panel and a skirt descending from the circumferential edge of the top panel. The inner cap has a top plate and a cylindrical wall descending from the circumferential edge of the top plate and has a thread formed in the inner surface thereof to come into screw engagement with the outer surface of the container mouth portion. An engaging means is provided between the inner surface of the skirt of the over-cap and the outer surface of the cylindrical wall of the inner cap to transmit the turn of the over-cap fitted onto the inner cap to the inner cap.
US09286558B1	Apparatus, system and method of transmitting multimedia communications using printed stamps An interactive postage stamp displayable on a mail item 102 evidencing payment of postage, and represented by an encoded image framed by an interactive frame that includes at least one embedded icon activated by scanning the interactive frame causing the activation of the at least one embedded icon, where upon activation the at least one embedded icon may be engaged for accessing the multimedia content linked to the interactive postage stamp, and for controlling the review of the multimedia content using control commands represented by the activated at least one embedded icon or at least one hyperlink within the activated interactive frame.
US09286557B2	Optimizing quick response code capacity using gray luminance A system and methods are provided. A method includes determining a set of Grayscale bands providing an increase in a Quick Response Code data capacity that is an integer multiple of the Quick Response Code data capacity provided by a Black and White Quick Response Code that uses only Black and White to represent data. The method further includes generating, using a processor, a Grayscale Quick Response Code using the determined set of Grayscale bands to represent the data.
US09286555B2	Information processing device, information processing method, and image processing device An information processing device includes a computing unit and a display unit. The computing unit computes a power consumption per a predetermined time during a power saving mode that reduces power consumption, on the basis of a count per type of an interrupt signal produced during the power saving mode, and a power consumption pre-estimated per type of the interrupt signal. The display unit displays a power consumption computed by the computing unit using generated or stored electric power.
US09286554B1	System and method for halftone printing in a three-dimensional object printer A method of forming halftone printed images in a three-dimensional printer includes generating halftone coverage data for a region of an image receiving surface including at least one color marking agent and a color neutral marking agent. The method further includes generating halftone image data with reference to the halftone coverage data and operating a plurality of ejectors to form a printed halftone image having a uniform thickness. A first pixel location receives a first color marking agent and at least a second pixel location receives the color neutral marking agent.
US09286553B2	Image forming method, non-transitory computer readable storage medium stored with program for image forming system, and image forming system There is provided an image forming method using an image forming system that includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses. A print setting using attribute information that is necessary for image formation performed by a first image forming apparatus is registered in a second image forming apparatus in advance, it is determined whether a print setting of print data coincides with the registered print setting when a rasterization process of image data is performed by the second image forming apparatus, when the print settings coincide with each other, the attribute information is generated by the second image forming apparatus and is transmitted from the processing unit of the second image forming apparatus to an image forming unit of the first image forming apparatus together with the image data and the print setting, whereby the image formation is performed.
US09286551B2	Image capturing device that images a region including a reference chart and a subject An image capturing unit includes a sensor section that images a predetermined range including a subject; a reference chart section that is imaged by the sensor section with the subject; and an illumination light source that illuminates the subject and the reference chart section. The illumination light source is arranged at a position where a mirror reflection region that mirror reflects light entering from the illumination light source to the sensor section is outside a region of the subject and the reference chart section.
US09286547B2	Quality control and assurance of images Applicants have discovered a multi-layer quality control/quality assurance system that provides higher quality data, without human intervention, by rejecting images that do not achieve a pre-determined quality threshold. In some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a new method of processing an image from a data set through a pipeline wherein quality control/assurance allows to determine a quality of the image processing, the method comprising; receiving a test image; pre-processing the test image; registering the test image to a reference image; calculating a test image quality using a correlation of image intensity values between corresponding locations of the test image and the reference image; providing a plurality of training images and calculating training image quality distribution statistics for the training images with respect to the reference image; and relating the test image quality to the training image quality distribution.
US09286544B2	Methods and apparatuses for facilitating object recognition Methods and apparatuses are provided for facilitating object recognition. A method may include accessing data for a first object and data for a second object. The method may additionally include comparing the first and second objects based at least in part upon a reference set and training results generated based at least in part upon the reference set and training data. The method may further include determining whether the first object and the second object are the same object based at least in part upon the comparison. Corresponding apparatuses are also provided.
US09286538B1	Adaptive 3D to 2D projection for different height slices and extraction of robust morphological features for 3D object recognition Described is a system for adaptive three-dimensional (3D) to two-dimensional (2D) projection for different height slices and extraction of morphological features. Initially, the system receives 3D point cloud data. Next, an image pixel number to point cloud number ratio is selected. Thereafter, an image row and image column are selected to identify desired height slices. The 3D point cloud is then accumulated on the desired height slices to generate a plurality of 2D height slices.
US09286537B2	System and method for classifying a skin infection A system and computer-implemented method for classifying skin disorders using an image of a skin portion is provided. The system comprises a server configured to receive the image of the skin portion from an electronic communication device and process the received image of the skin portion, wherein the processing comprises at least one of: resizing, removing artifacts and noise, applying new color space, sharpening the image and correcting background. Furthermore, the server is configured to segment the processed image to identify the region of interest within the processed image and extract one or more features from the identified region of interest. The system further comprises a trained learning module configured to classify the skin disorder by mapping the extracted features with pre-stored images, wherein the pre-stored images that map with the extracted features are associated with a particular category of skin disorder.
US09286535B2	Image processing device, image processing method, and imaging device An image processing device includes an extended region sum of absolute differences (SAD) calculation unit configured to define each of an extended target region obtained by combining a plurality of predetermined target regions for each target pixel and an extended reference region obtained by combining a plurality of predetermined reference regions for each corresponding reference pixel and output an extended SAD calculation result obtained by performing SAD calculation based on values represented by pixel signals of pixels included in the extended target region and the extended reference region, and subtraction processing units equal in number to the target pixels to be simultaneously correlated and configured to correspond to the plurality of target pixels and output SAD calculation results obtained by performing subtraction processes based on the extended SAD calculation result and an SAD calculation result of a region which is not included in a target region.
US09286532B2	Image processing apparatus and control method thereof An image processing apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a processor configured to process an image according to a preset process in response to receiving the image; and a controller configured to control the processor in order to detect a figure of a human within a video frame based on a feature vector data value according to histograms of oriented gradients (HOG) algorithm of the video frame of the image input to the processor, wherein the controller divides the video frame into a foreground corresponding to a region which includes a moving object and a background corresponding to a region which excludes the foreground, removes the background, converts a target region having a preset area including at least a part of the foreground without the background into a binary image, and derives the feature vector data value from the binary image using a lookup table.
US09286531B2	Log-image extracting apparatus for high security An image forming system includes a target-log-image extracting unit and a relevant-log-image extracting unit. The target-log-image extracting unit is configured to extract a log image as a target log image likely to have been generated by use for a specific purpose of an image forming apparatus when text information extracted from the log image of the image forming apparatus by optical character recognition includes a specific phrase. The relevant-log-image extracting unit is configured to extract a log image similar to the target log image as a relevant log image based on a specific feature of the target log image extracted by the target-log-image extracting unit.
US09286530B2	Handheld apparatus for quantifying component features A handheld device and method using the device, the device comprising a sensor receiving light from within a field of view (FOV) to generate a plurality of consecutive images of the FOV, a structured light source that is controllable to generate a plurality of light patterns, the source arranged to project at least one light patterns into the FOV where at least a portion of a pattern reflects from an object and is captured by the sensor and a processor to receive images, the processor programmed to control the source to project a pattern into the FOV, locate the pattern in at least one of the generated images, locate discontinuities in the pattern and use the discontinuities to measure at least one dimension.
US09286520B1	Real-time road flare detection using templates and appropriate color spaces Methods and systems for real-time road flare detection using templates and appropriate color spaces are described. A computing device of a vehicle may be configured to receive an image of an environment of the vehicle. The computing device may be configured to identify a given pixels in the plurality of pixels having one or more of: (i) a red color value greater than a green color value, and (ii) the red color value greater than a blue color value. Further, the computing device may be configured to make a comparison between one or more characteristics of a shape of an object represented by the given pixels in the image and corresponding one or more characteristics of a predetermined shape of a road flare; and determine a likelihood that the object represents the road flare.
US09286518B2	Motion-validating remote monitoring system A method of autonomously monitoring a remote site, including the steps of locating a primary detector at a site to be monitored; creating one or more geospatial maps of the site using an overhead image of the site; calibrating the primary detector to the geospatial map using a detector-specific model; detecting an object in motion at the site; tracking the moving object on the geospatial map; and alerting a user to the presence of motion at the site. In addition thermal image data from a infrared cameras, rather than optical/visual image data, is used to create detector-specific models and geospatial maps in substantially the same way that optical cameras and optical image data would be used.
US09286512B2	Method for detecting pedestrians based on far infrared ray camera at night The present invention relates to a method for detecting a pedestrian based on a far infrared ray (IR) camera at night, which provides a method of receiving a thermal image of a pedestrian from a far IR camera, setting a candidate using a DoG filter having a robust characteristic against image noise, and accurately detecting the pedestrian using a classifier based on a behavioral characteristic of the pedestrian.
US09286510B2	Systems and methods for redeeming user activity level for virtual currency Systems, electronic devices, and methods for redeeming user activity level or other desired user behaviors for virtual currency are disclosed. In some implementations, a method includes: at a computer system, obtaining user activity information indicating an activity level of a user; and computing an in-application credit based on the activity level. The in-application credit can be redeemed by the user in an associated application. The in-application credit can be redeemed by the user for a coupon that can be applied towards out-of-application purchases. In some implementations, the activity level is determined in accordance with (i) a motion parameter reported by an activity sensor of an electronic device associated with the user, (ii) information obtained from a cell phone tower or a GPS device (e.g., using cell tower triangulation techniques); and (iii) self-reported user activity information. In some implementations, the method also includes converting the in-application credit for out-of-application purchases.
US09286507B2	Online identity verification A method for verifying an identity attribute of a remote user includes providing pose instructions to a remote client from a host during an authentication session. The pose instructions may reference a specific physical token associated with the user, for example a government ID card, credit card, household object or printed or displayed image provided from an authentication host. The host receives an image from the client and may analyze the image to determine if the pose instructions were followed and if the physical token appears in the image. Based on this determination, and optionally using other factors, the host verifies an identity attribute of the user.
US09286505B2	Systems and methods for segmentation and processing of tissue images and feature extraction from same for treating, diagnosing, or predicting medical conditions Apparatus, methods, and computer-readable media are provided for segmentation, processing (e.g., preprocessing and/or postprocessing), and/or feature extraction from tissue images such as, for example, images of nuclei and/or cytoplasm. Tissue images processed by various embodiments described herein may be generated by Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining, immunofluorescence (IF) detection, immunohistochemistry (IHC), similar and/or related staining processes, and/or other processes. Predictive features described herein may be provided for use in, for example, one or more predictive models for treating, diagnosing, and/or predicting the occurrence (e.g., recurrence) of one or more medical conditions such as, for example, cancer or other types of disease.
US09286501B2	Method and device for identifying a two-dimensional barcode A method of identifying a two-dimensional bar code in digital image data of the bar code, the bar code comprising first and second type elements arranged in an ordered grid and having an outline that comprises an L-shape clock line with transitions between the first and second type elements and an L-shape solid line without transitions between the first and second type elements, wherein approximate corners in the digital image data determine a first and a second pair of opposite edge segments along the outline, the method comprising scanning in the digital image data a first edge segment of the first pair and counting transitions between the first and second type elements along the first edge segment of the first pair; if no transitions were counted along the first edge segment of the first pair, then scanning in the digital image data the second edge segment of the first pair and counting transitions between the first and second type elements along the second edge segment of the first pair; scanning in the digital image data a first edge segment of the second pair and counting transitions between the first and second type elements along the first edge segment of the second pair; if no transitions were counted along the first edge segment of the second pair, then scanning in the digital image data the second edge segment of the second pair and counting transitions between the first and second type elements along the second edge segment of the second pair; identifying the edge segment of the first pair and the edge segment of the second pair along which transitions were counted as the L-shape clock line of the bar code, and identifying the edge segment of the first pair and the edge segment of the second pair along which no transitions were counted as the L-shape solid line of the bar code.
US09286499B1	Scan engine with configurable communication interface A system, apparatus, and methods for interfacing a scan engine for scanning optical code symbols and a decoder. The system employs a configurable communication interface configured to generate a relaxed DBP signal that is independent of the scanning distance or the scan rate used in a scanning operation using a DBP signal from the scan engine. A relaxed DBP signal may be generated by scaling a narrowest pulse in a pulse sequence to a fixed minimum pulse width. A relaxed DBP signal having transmission slots of a fixed duration may be generated by calculating a minimum pulse duration that enables transmission of a pulse sequence within the fixed duration. Upon scaling the narrowest pulse in a pulse sequence to the minimum pulse width, either fixed or calculated, the remaining pulses are scaled so as to maintain a relative proportionality of each pulse width in the pulse sequence.
US09286495B2	Systems and methods for estimation of a population of passive RFID sensors Systems and methods for providing an estimate of a population of passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sensors in a coverage area of an RFID reader system are disclosed. In accordance with embodiments of this invention, the contention resolutions or results of each slot in an interrogation receive frame are determined. The contention resolutions are then used to determine the probabilities of different population estimates. A population estimate is then selected as the population based on the probability of the estimate meeting predetermined criteria.
US09286492B2	Public/private non-volatile memory battery with root key index, identity key Systems and methods for providing a battery module 110 with secure identity information and authentication of the identity of the battery 110 by a host 120. In one embodiment, the system for providing a battery module with secure identity information includes: (1) a tamper resistant processing environment 200 located within the battery module 110 and (2) a key generator configured to generate a key based on an identity of the battery module 110 and cause the key to be stored within the tamper resistant processing environment 200.
US09286491B2	Virtual service provider zones A service proxy services as an application programming interface proxy to a service, which may involve data storage. When a request to store data is received by the service proxy, the service proxy encrypts the data and stores the data in encrypted form at the service. Similarly, when a request to retrieve data is received by the service proxy, the service proxy obtains encrypted data from the service and decrypts the data. The data may be encrypted using a key that is kept inaccessible to the service.
US09286486B2	System and method for copying files between encrypted and unencrypted data storage devices Disclosed are systems, methods and computer program products for copying encrypted and unencrypted files between data storage devices. In one aspect, the system detects a request to copy a file from a first data storage device to a second data storage device, determines one or more parameters of the copied file, the first data storage device and the second data storage device, selects, based on the one or more parameters, a file encryption policy for the copies file, and applies the selected encryption policy to the copied file.
US09286484B2	Method and system for providing document retention using cryptography Techniques for utilizing security criteria to implement document retention for electronic documents are disclosed. The security criteria can also limit when, how and where access to the electronic documents is permitted. The security criteria can pertain to keys (or ciphers) used to secure (e.g., encrypt) electronic files (namely, electronic documents), or to unsecure (e.g., decrypt) electronic files already secured. At least a portion of the security criteria can be used to implement document retention, namely, a document retention policy. After a secured electronic document has been retained for the duration of the document retention policy, the associated security criteria becomes no longer available, thus preventing subsequent access to the secured electronic document. In other words, access restrictions on electronic documents can be used to prevent access to electronic documents which are no longer to be retained.
US09286481B2	System and method for secure and distributed physical access control using smart cards A first code is read from a user carried device useable in an access control system. The first code is an encoded form of at least an ID of a user carrying the device and at least one privilege. The privilege defines the user's access to a resource. The first code is compared to a second code, and access is permitted only if the first code compares favorably to the second code. A reader of the access control system computes the second code based on the user ID and the privilege. The first and second codes may be also based on a secret key applicable only to the user.
US09286469B2	Methods and apparatus providing computer and network security utilizing probabilistic signature generation A system receives information from at least one security interceptor associated with at least one computer system. The information identifies details associated with a traffic flow in a computer system of the computer networking environment. The system determines a probability that an attack on the computer system is in progress based on a probabilistic link provided by the information. The probabilistic link is determined by attack information associated with previous attacks. Based on the information provided by the at least one security interceptor, the system generates a signature utilized to prevent a similar attack on the computer system.
US09286462B2	Apparatus and method for automatic login There is provided an information processing apparatus including a non-contact communication section that performs non-contact communication with a communication device which stores at least two pieces of software outputting information necessary for enjoying a predetermined service provided by a server, an obtaining section that obtains connection target information for connecting to the server and identification information indicating the software corresponding to the connection target information, and a control section that performs control of, via the non-contact communication section, issuing an instruction to the communication device to execute the software indicated by the identification information, obtaining an execution result of the software executed in accordance with the instruction, and transmitting the execution result to the server.
US09286458B2	Systems and methods for online identity verification A system controlling online access to a study course verifies the identity of an individual taking a study course over a global computer network from a first computer at a node of the network. The first computer has a biometric identification program and communicates over the network with a second computer that is at a network node other than a node of the first computer. The second computer includes study program material. The first computer operates a biometric reader, which obtains a first set of biometric data from the individual and a second set of biometric data from the individual while access is granted to course material. The biometric identification program compares the first set of data with the second set of data to make a verification of the identity of the individual and communicates the verification to the second computer.
US09286453B2	Dynamic adjustment of authentication policy Embodiments relate to managing authentication policies for users on a network of an organization. A computer-implemented method for managing an authentication policy for a user on a network of an organization is provided. The method maintains a current risk assessment score of the user based on an organizational role of the user within the organization and a history of security violations on the network. The method determines the authentication policy for the user based on the current risk assessment score.
US09286450B2	Self-selected user access based on specific authentication types Embodiments of the invention are directed to a system, method, and a computer program product self-selected user access based on specific authentication types. The system typically including a memory, a processor, and a module configured to receive from a user, a user-selected preference, wherein the user-selected preference comprises one or more authentication types desired by the user; determine a level of authentication from a plurality of levels of authentication are associated with the one or more authentication types associated with the user-selected preference; initiate the presentation of a user interface that enables the user to select one or more application functions, wherein the one or more application functions are associated with the determined level of authentication; receive from a user, a selection of one or more application functions.
US09286448B2	Enhanced software license management Systems, methods, computer program product embodiments are provided for enhanced license management. An embodiment includes providing an asset management module for managing software license utilization in a computer processing environment, and allowing configuration of the asset management module to designate software license utilization based upon a containment level associated with virtualization capabilities of one or more computer processing systems within the computer processing environment.
US09286441B2	Hospital bed computer system having direct caregiver messaging A point-of-care computer system is provided, including a display positioned in a point-of-care location. The point-of-care computer includes hardware coupled to a frame of a hospital bed.
US09286437B2	Systems and methods for positioning horizontal wells within boundaries Systems and methods for positioning horizontal wells within a limited-pre-defined boundary. The systems and methods include an automated process for creating jointed target pairs or horizontal laterals to be utilized for planning horizontal wells in order to position the horizontal laterals within limited pre-defined boundary(ies).
US09286432B1	Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for implementing correct-by-construction physical designs with multiple-patterning-awareness Disclosed are methods, systems, and articles of manufactures for implementing correct-by-construction physical designs with multiple-patterning-awareness by identifying a first set of grids for a layer based at least in part upon characteristics of other layer(s), identifying a set of tracks for the layer to implement the physical design for the layer, and implementing a shape in the physical design by at least terminating an end of the shape at a grid of the identified first set of grids. The end of the shape may be extended or contracted from its as-design location to the grid. The physical design thus implemented is correct-by-construction and is free of violations of one or more directional design rules.
US09286427B1	System and method for netlist extraction and circuit simulation Described herein are systems and methods for a partitioned extraction-simulation technique that efficiently combines a partitioned extraction technique and a partitioned simulation technique by removing and not performing particular steps of the techniques to provide a more efficient netlist extraction and circuit simulation process. In some embodiments, a plurality of circuit simulators directly receive and process a plurality of sub-region netlists that are based on a spatial partitioning of the IC layout. In further embodiments, an EDA hybrid cloud system is implemented using pipelining and serializing of memory data. In these embodiments, an overall EDA process is divided into a plurality of pipelined stages to accelerate the computational speed of the overall EDA process. In further embodiments, EDA data is transferred, over a network, from a memory of one computer system directly to a memory of another computer system by serializing the EDA data.
US09286422B2	Gravity loading phase of a deep drawing manufacturing simulation including effects of sheet metal blank in contact with guide pins Methods used in gravity loading phase of a deep drawing manufacturing simulation including effects of sheet metal blank in contact with guide pins are disclosed. Computerized models of sheet metal blank and guide pins are created. A subset of the nodes in the first computerized model is defined as parent nodes. First and second characteristic lengths are then determined. One or more child nodes are created between each pair of the parent nodes using a formula based on the ratio between the first and second characteristic lengths. Deformed configuration of the sheet metal blank is obtained under its own weight subject to the lateral constraints by conducting computer simulation of gravity loading phase, lateral constraints are created and added to at the child node's parents, when a contact between a child node and a particular finite element representing portion of outer surface of one of the guide pins is detected.
US09286419B2	Computer simulation of electromagnetic fields A method and system is provided for solving for electromagnetic fields by approximating an electromagnetic function as a sum of basis functions multiplied by coefficients to be determined. The set of equations used to determine the coefficients results from taking derivatives of the action integral with respect to the coefficients (and/or other parameters) and setting the derivative equal to zero, thereby extremizing the action integral.
US09286417B2	Computer-implemented method for digitally designing a dental restoration and a computer-readable medium Computer-implemented method for digitally designing a dental restoration for a rest tooth, wherein the rest tooth is described by data of the rest tooth and wherein a tooth template is described by data of the tooth template, wherein the method comprises the step of: automatically deforming the tooth template by means of Laplacian surface deformation such that a prepared part of the rest tooth is covered by a portion of the tooth template; obtaining axis data defining an axis; based on the obtained axis data, automatically generating a line going through a point, such as a vertex or a point inside a polygonal mesh, on the surface of the rest tooth or the tooth template, wherein the line orthogonally intersects the axis; and when the line intersects with the tooth template and with the surface of the rest tooth, automatically choosing the intersection point of the line with the tooth template as handle and the intersection point with the surface of the rest tooth as target; and automatically deforming the tooth template.
US09286415B2	Method, a system and a computer program for monitoring the progress of the design of a product A computer-implemented method for monitoring the progress of the implementation of a product design. A status representing the progress of the implementation is determined for each component of a first tree associated with the product design by first analyzing the components belonging to the lowest hierarchy level, the analysis being then conducted recursively on other components up to the highest hierarchy level, a component being analyzed by checking if an implementation link has been set up with a component belonging to a second tree associated with the product design and by checking the progress status of the children of the analyzed component.
US09286412B2	Search results with uniformly distributed categories A service provider presents results from a search query with dynamic category ranges, with each category range having approximately the same number of items within the category range.
US09286411B2	Retrieval of relevant objects in a similarity Techniques for retrieval of one or more relevant multi-attribute structured objects with respect to a query are provided. The techniques include receiving a query, grouping one or more attributes of one or more objects in a database into one or more groups according to how each bears a relation to the query, and using the one or more attribute groups to produce an output of one or more relevant multi-attribute structured objects in response to the query.
US09286405B2	Index-side synonym generation Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for index-side synonym expansion are disclosed. Some implementations include actions of obtaining a token sequence for a resource, wherein each token in the token sequence comprises one or more characters. The actions also include selecting a token from the token sequence, wherein the selected token comprises at least one numeric portion having one or more contiguous numeric characters, and at least one non-numeric portion having one or more non-numeric characters. Further actions include generating a new token corresponding to each of the at least one numeric portions of the selected token and storing data associating the selected token and each of the new tokens corresponding to the at least one numeric portion of the selected token as index terms for the resource, wherein the search engine index is accessed to augment search queries.
US09286396B2	Query expansion and query-document matching using path-constrained random walks Various technologies described herein pertain to use of path-constrained random walks for query expansion and/or query document matching. Clickthrough data from search logs is represented as a labeled and directed graph. Path-constrained random walks are executed over the graph based upon an input query. The graph includes a first set of nodes that represent queries included in the clickthrough data from search logs, a second set of nodes that represent documents included in the clickthrough data from the search logs, a third set of nodes that represent words from the queries and the documents, and edges between nodes that represent relationships between queries, documents, and words. The path-constrained random walks include traversals over edges of the graph between nodes. Further, a score for a relationship between a target node and a source node representative of the input query is computed based at least in part upon the path-constrained random walks.
US09286392B2	Enhanced search engine The present invention provides methods, devices, and systems for displaying results of a search engine query in a graphic, rather than, or in addition to, textual format. The search results are provided to a user such that the user is able to see the context of the words and phrases in the format of the original source document. Presentation of graphic fragments from the source document help to improve a user's ability to select among documents provided in the search results more efficiently.
US09286389B2	Semiotic square search and/or sentiment analysis system and method A semiotic square search and/or sentiment analysis system and method are provided. In one implementation, a software implemented document search system and method are disclosed. The system and method may be used to analyze sentiments in various types of data including documents, blogs, text strings, posts, etc. . . . .
US09286384B2	Methods and systems to share media Methods and apparatus to share file(s)/recommendation(s) are disclosed. An example method includes verifying a first service used by a first user recommending a file and encoding a first service identification code with the file based on the first service, verifying a second service used by a second user upon receipt of a file request by the second user and/or detection of a mention of the second user in the file recommendation, searching for a second service identification code associated with the file based on the second service and encoding the second service identification code with the file, and providing the file recommendation with the first service identification code to the second user where the second service and the first service are the same or providing the file recommendation with the second service identification code to the second user where the second service and the first service are different.
US09286383B1	System and method for synchronization of data and audio The present disclosure relates to a method for synchronization of audio data, such as music, with events that occur in interactive media, such as computer games. In particular, a user can define choreography data that an interactive computer application can use to synchronize to audio, such as music, one or more aspects of the application, such as the GUI, animations, rendering, sound effects, etc.
US09286382B2	Method and system for simultaneous playback of audio tracks from a plurality of digital devices A method for simultaneous playback of audio tracks from digital transceiver devices, which are adapted to define a communication network. The digital devices store audio tracks to be played. One of the digital devices is actuated as a Master device (M) and the remaining N digital devices as Slave devices. The master device generates a pilot signal by selecting a pilot audio track to be played from among stored audio tracks and by adding a synchronization frequency (fS) to the pilot audio track, having an assigned value that falls out of the sound wave frequency range. The Slave devices receive a pilot portion of the pilot signal and extract the synchronization frequency and the received part of the pilot audio track. The slave devices use the pilot to identify a stored track to be played using the synchronization frequency as a sampling frequency.
US09286381B2	Disjoint partial-area based taxonomy abstraction network A disjoint partial-area taxonomy abstraction network and methods of producing same for a hierarchy, which partitions overlapping concepts into singly-rooted disjoint groups that are more manageable to work with and comprehend. This provides abstract models for summarizing overlapping concepts which permit enhanced, high-level display for users at a user interface.
US09286379B2	Document quality measurement Systems and methods are disclosed herein for ranking the quality of documents, such as documents shared or referenced in postings by users. For a first set of documents quality attributes that are indicative of quality or lack of quality are identified. Ratings of the quality of the first set of documents are received. Classifiers are associated with each document and the ratings and quality attributes for each attribute used to train class-specific models corresponding to the classifiers. Subsequently received documents are then classified and corresponding quality attributes are evaluated using the corresponding class-specific model in order to rank the quality of the document.
US09286376B2	Apparatus and method for processing a multidimensional string query Provided are an apparatus and method for processing a multidimensional string query. Using the apparatus and method, a search of a multidimensional multi-attribute string may be rapidly processed on the basis of a multidimensional n-gram index.
US09286375B2	Linked lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) attributes Information to link two attributes in a database is stored, and when one of the attributes is updated, a new value for the second attribute is computed and stored. Related systems and applications are also described.
US09286374B2	Method and system for indexing, relating and managing information about entities Systems and methods for use in association with a master entity index system may allow data records to be grouped together into various entities, where each of the entities may represent a logical or physical item. These entities may also be associated with one another in a manner such that relationships between entities may likewise be represented. In one embodiment, an interface may be provided for use in conjunction with the master entity index system such that these various entities and relationships may be better managed, manipulated or visualized. This interface may allow a user to search for or otherwise obtain an entity, where a representation of this entity and one or more associated entities may be presented to the user along with representations of the relationships between these entities.
US09286372B2	Content management with RDBMS According to some embodiments, a method and an apparatus of using a relational database as an underlying structure of file storage are provided to receive a file and store non-content information associated with the file in a row of a first relational database table. If the content associated with the file is binary content then the content associated with the file is stored in a second relational database table else the content associated with the file is stored in a third relational database table.
US09286369B2	Data replication across enterprise boundaries Systems and methods for synchronizing verification data in a distributed database including client and server databases. The server database may exchange verification data regarding one-time passwords to multiple client databases. An update to the server database may be initiated based on information stored in the client database by pushing updated verification information from the client database to the server database via an SSL tunnel. An update to the client database may be initiated based on information stored in the server database by pulling updated verification data from the server database to the client database via an SSL tunnel. The client database and the server database may include a two-dimensional data field including the verification data and an associated key identifier, and a site ID. The site ID may include a unique identifier to identify the respective database in which it is included. The data field may include a sequence number assigned to each row of data that increases every time the row of information is updated. The client database and the server database may also include a replication tracking table including a record of the last known update to a remote database. Data fields that require updating may be determined based on the site ID and a comparison of the sequence numbers from the replication tracking table and the server's database.
US09286367B2	Gathering statistics based on container exchange A method of tracking statistics related to a container of data is disclosed. A container created by an author may be stored on a network. Other users aside from the author may be permitted to search for containers. The other users may be permitted to obtain a copy of a selected container and statistics related to a number of copies of the container obtained may be stored.
US09286364B2	Methods and systems for sharing information in a supply chain Method and systems for sharing product data involved in a supply chain among a plurality of subscribers to an on-demand database is described. Data related to a product is received from a first subscriber and stored into a first section of the on-demand database reserved for the first subscriber. The first subscriber then communicates a request to share the product data with one or more second subscribers. Once the first subscriber receives an acceptance from the one or more second subscribers, the product data is stored in a second section of the on-demand database reserved for the second subscriber. Changes made to the data associated with the product are synchronized between the two subscribers.
US09286358B2	Dimensionally constrained synthetic context objects database A processor-implemented method, system, and/or computer program product generates and utilizes a dimensionally constrained hierarchical synthetic context-based object library for multiple synthetic context-based objects. A non-contextual data object is associated with a context object to define a synthetic context-based object, where the non-contextual data object ambiguously relates to multiple subject-matters, and where the context object provides a context that identifies a specific subject-matter, from the multiple subject-matters, of the non-contextual data object. The synthetic context-based object is associated with at least one specific data store, which includes data that is associated with data contained in the non-contextual data object and the context object. A dimensionally constrained hierarchical synthetic context-based object library for multiple synthetic context-based objects is constructed for handling requests for data stores. Synthetic context-based objects within a same dimension of the object library share data from a same context object and disparate data from different non-contextual data objects.
US09286357B1	Blending content in an output Techniques include obtaining ranges of content relevance scores for different collections of content; generating a normalized range based on the ranges of content relevance scores; and normalizing a particular range of a particular collection of content including: generating a distribution of content relevance scores for the collection of content; identifying portions in the distribution; and generating a mapping of portions from the distribution to portions in the normalized range.
US09286355B2	Method and system for human joint treatment plan and personalized surgery planning using 3-D kinematics, fusion imaging and simulation The present document describes a method for producing a knee joint treatment plan and/or surgery plan for a patient, the method comprising: obtaining 3D kinematic data of the knee joint in movement; determining, from the 3D kinematic data, scores characterizing the joint function of the patient, the one or more scores being relative to one or more criteria; and comparing the scores to data in a database which characterize a plurality of treatment plans and/or surgery plans to generate the list of one or more treatment plans and/or surgery plans which match the scores.
US09286351B2	System and method for patent and prior art analysis Various embodiments of the present disclosure include systems and methods for analyzing patents and prior art in a patent management system. In an example embodiment, a computer-implemented method of determining a potential point of novelty for an identified patent comprises retrieving at least one independent claim of the patent in the claim form as issued; retrieving at least one independent claim of the patent in the claim form as published; and automatically comparing the issued claim to the published claim by identifying unique keywords present in the issued claim but not present in the published claim and flagging the unique keywords to a user.
US09286348B2	Dynamic search system A method is described of dynamically searching a search domain. A first result set of data objects is presented. The first result set is obtained from a first search of a search domain having active and inactive data objects for first search features obtained from a source data object. An update is detected in the search domain. Key features are extracted from the source data object to be included in second search features when the update in the search domain is in the source data object. A second search of the updated search domain is performed for data objects having the second search features.
US09286343B2	Statistics mechanisms in multitenant database environments Statistics mechanisms in multitenant database environments. A master statistics file is maintained in a multitenant database system. The master statistics file has statistics corresponding to multiple tenants within the multitenant database system. Statistics for a selected table within the multitenant database system are generated. The selected table corresponding to a selected tenant of the multitenant database system. The master statistics file is updated based on the generated statistics for the selected table.
US09286341B2	Conditional commit for data in a database A database comprises a database interface and a database updater. The database interface enables a reading of a first set of information from the database. The database updater updates a second set of information in the database based at least in part on one or more conditions. The one or more conditions limit changes allowable to the first set of information from the database that occurred after the reading of the first set of information from the database.
US09286340B2	Systems and methods for collecting information from digital media files Systems and methods for collecting information from digital media files. More specifically, a collection module may be used to communicate with a social networking system and analyze the digital media files associated with a user profile. The collection module may generate media-based profile information based on media content and/or location, time and date data extracted from the digital media files. The media-based profile information may be incorporated into the user profile information and used by the social networking system for various purposes.
US09286338B2	Indexing content and source code of a software application In a method for generating a searchable index from an analysis of a software application, receiving a first software application. The one or more processors determine that a first source code of the first software application is inaccessible. The one or more processors stimulate the first software application. The one or more processors analyze textual data resulting from the stimulation of the first software application. The one or more processors classify one or more images resulting from the stimulation of the first software application. The one or more processors index the analyzed textual data and the classified one or more images resulting from the stimulation of the first software application.
US09286334B2	Versioning of metadata, including presentation of provenance and lineage for versioned metadata Metadata associated with content is versioned by receiving updated values for the metadata and storing the updated values and also previous values for metadata separately from the content, comparing the updated values to the previous values of the metadata, and determining a modification indicator for the metadata based upon the comparison of the updated values to the previous values of the metadata, where the modification indicator provides an indication of extent of differences between the updated and previous values. The modification indicator for the metadata can further be displayed to provide version information for the metadata to a user.
US09286332B1	Method and system for identifying entities and obtaining financial profile data for the entities using de-duplicated data from two or more types of financial management systems Financial data is obtained from two or more types of financial management systems and analyzed to obtain potential entities data identifying potential entities and attributes associated with the potential entities. Duplicate potential entity data is then identified and eliminated to generate a master entity list. The financial data is also analyzed to identify potential commercial transaction data and one or more attributes associated with the commercial transaction data, including data indicating commercial transactions and the parties associated with the commercial transactions. The commercial transaction data is then analyzed using the master entity list to match entities listed in the master entity list with the parties associated with the commercial transactions. The matched entities are then substituted for the respectively matched parties associated with the commercial transactions to create a master commercial transaction list. The master entity list and the master commercial transaction list data is then stored.
US09286331B2	Verifying and balancing server resources via stored usage data Systems and methods of the present invention provide for a user uploading a file and a customized metadata about the file to a file storage system. This information may be forwarded to an application, possibly an API, which may divide the file into a plurality of file chunks if the file is greater than a predetermined file size. One or more tracker servers may check a database to locate optimal file locations for the file or file chunks to be stored within the file storage system. These optimal locations may be returned from the tracker servers to the application/API which may perform an HTTP request to write the file to the file storage system. The file write may be validated and finalized, and the successful write may be displayed to the user on a user interface on a client.
US09286330B2	Migration of data objects A system for migrating first data objects from a first repository product to a second repository product exports the first data objects from the first repository product into a schema. The schema describes a logical model of the first data objects. The system maps the first data objects to second data objects of the second repository product. The system trims the first data objects. Trimming comprises performing data modification on the first data objects so that the first data objects can be migrated to the second repository product. The system also creates placeholders for the first data objects for later deployment binding.
US09286328B2	Producing an image copy of a database object based on information within database buffer pools According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system includes a processor to copy an object of a database system. The system determines one or more portions of the object that are active and reside within a buffer pool of the database system, and copies the determined portions of the object from the buffer pool. Remaining portions of the object that are non-active are copied from database storage. A copy of the object is created from the copied object portions. Embodiments of the present invention further include a method and program product for copying an object of a database system in substantially the same manner described above.
US09286327B2	Data storage recovery automation According to certain aspects, systems and methods are provided for automating recovery of a networked data storage environment. For instance, a system can generate a data recovery package configured to automatically carry out a process for recovering a data storage environment and/or associated data. The content of the particular workflow depends on the data storage environment, and can be defined by a user.
US09286324B2	Method for operating a geolocation database and a geolocation database system A method and a system for the operation of a geolocation database comprising a spatiotemporal spectrum map comprising of white space spectrum occupancy and/or white space spectrum underutilization data, wherein a) at least one white space spectrum sensor takes measurement data remote from the geolocation database; b) the measurement data are transmitted to the geolocation database; c) the spatio-temporal spectrum map and/or its parameters and/or decisions based on this spectrum map are modified in dependence of the measurements received by the geolocation database.
US09286323B2	Context-aware tagging for augmented reality environments A method for tag-based search includes capturing an image, extracting a tag from the image, identifying a location associated with the captured image, and querying stored content for information that matches the location and the tag. Local storage is checked for the information first, and remote storage may be checked subsequently. Any located information may be used to augment the image. Information located in the remote storage may be saved in the local storage until it reaches a certain age, until it fails to be accessed for a threshold period of time, or until the location moves outside a threshold radius associated with a location of the information located in the remote storage.
US09286319B2	Method, system and serving node for data backup and restoration Disclosed is a method, a system and a serving node for data backup and restoration, in which a serving node generates a backup schedule after receiving a data backup request, uploads the schedule to a cluster public storage block, each serving node sends a copy to be backed up to a target node for consolidation; a client sends a data record in a consolidated copy to the serving node through a data writing request, generates a data distribution table according to a load balancing principle, sends the request to other serving nodes according to the table to perform a write operation, the client sends the data writing request for a next data record after the write operation, until the copy is completely restored. The backup and restoration is performed in a complex cluster network accounting for performance differences among serving nodes, data consistency, data integrity and data uniform distribution.
US09286318B2	Edge server and storage control method A first edge server which is configured to provide a first home directory performs preventive processing of preventing a first file in a first home directory from overwriting a second file in a core space prior to coping an update of the first home directory to the core space. The second file is a file that has been updated in a second home directory and copied to the core space. The first file is a file that corresponds to the second file and that has been updated in the first home directory and has not been copied to the core space.
US09286316B2	Enterprise level data collection systems and methodologies An enterprise data collection system including at least one database for receiving over a network and storing data collected from data resources at a plurality of physical sites located at disparate locations, a plurality of remotely synchronizable probes (RSPs) located at the plurality of physical sites, the remotely synchronizable probes (RSPs) performing at least one of the following data collection functions: real time event collection, file system crawling for data structure and permissions, data content analysis, data indexing, data tagging and event triggered alerts, and at least one RSP manager located remotely from at least one of the plurality of remotely synchronizable probes and being operative to govern the operation of and orchestrate data collection and transmission by the plurality of remotely synchronizable probes (RSPs).
US09286315B2	Resolving synchronization conflicts based on state information Techniques are described for resolving document change conflicts based on state information. A document management system records, at a client device, changes that a user made to a root client-side instance of a document bundle to create a modified client-side instance of the document bundle, wherein the changes were made while the client device was not connected to a remote storage service. After the changes are recorded, the client device is connected to the remote storage service. In response to determining that a conflict has occurred, the document management system selects a particular resolution action, based, at least in part, on state information associated with at least one of: a user that made the changes, an instance of the document bundle, or the client device on which the changes were made. The document management system then resolves the conflict by performing the particular resolution action.
US09286312B2	Data coreset compression An approach to compression of a large (n point or samples) data set has a combination of one or more desirable technical properties: for a desired level of accuracy (ε), the number of compressed points (a “coreset”) representing the original data is O(log n); the level of accuracy comprises a guaranteed bound expressed as multiple of error of an associated line simplification of the data set; for a desired level of accuracy and a complexity (e.g., number k of optimal line segments) of the associated line simplification, the computation time is O(n); and for a desired level of accuracy (c) and a complexity of the associated line simplification, the storage required for the computation is O(log n).
US09286310B1	Common file caching for virtual private servers A host runs an operating system kernel. A plurality of virtual private servers (containers) is supported within the kernel. The containers use the same files. A template cache has pre-calculated file checksums. The checksum is calculated each time the file is created and/or modified. Each file has an inode containing an attribute indicating whether the checksum is calculated and stored along with the file. If the checksum is present, the process is redirected to access the file with the same inode in the shared disk cache.
US09286307B2	Document management apparatus improved in efficiency of deletion of files, method of controlling the same, and storage medium A document management apparatus which, when an instruction for collective deletion of files and folders is given, is not required to wait until a user terminates manipulation of a file or a folder, thereby making it possible to enhance working efficiency of the system administrator. A file management system manages a plurality of files. A main controller and a user interface receive an instruction for collectively deleting the files managed by the file management system. The file management system deletes the files according to the instruction. When the instruction is received, a CPU controls the file management system such that out of the plurality of files, files being accessed are deleted after files not being accessed are deleted.
US09286300B2	Archiving data in database management systems At least a portion of data from a first processing system is archived onto a second processing system based on partitions of the data. A query received at the first processing system is processed at the second processing system to retrieve archived data satisfying the received query in response to determining at the first processing system that the received query encompasses archived data. Embodiments of the present invention further include methods, systems, and computer program products for archiving and accessing data in substantially the same manner described above.
US09286297B1	System and method for flexible path handling A method for a computer system includes receiving a mapping schema between a plurality of asset-types within an asset-type hierarchy and a plurality of paths within an on-disk storage structure, receiving an asset-type definition list from a user, wherein the asset-type definition list comprises an asset-type from the plurality of asset types, and determining at least one path from the plurality of paths for providing access to assets of the asset-type in response to the mapping schema and the asset-type definition list.
US09286294B2	Video and digital multimedia aggregator content suggestion engine To allow a user to maximize use of a video and digital multimedia aggregator, a search suggestion engine and corresponding method may be used to provide suggestions of available content. The search suggestion engine starts by constructing a database of metadata elements or word items. The metadata element database may be constructed by using a crawler that periodically or continually crawls a content metadata database and extracts word items from the content metadata database. The word items are then processed according to a number of factors, including part-of-speech, entries in dictionaries and thesaurus and other factors. The thus-processed word items are indexed, and may be provided with a vector value. A subsequent search request submitted by the user may include search criteria that may be provided vector values. A processor within the search suggestion engine compares the vector values to determine if an indexed word item should be considered for retrieving the indexed word item's associated content. A list of suggested content is then generated. The list of suggested items may be ranked and filtered before being provided to the user.
US09286293B2	Populating and using caches in client-side caching Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to client-side caching. In aspects, when a client receives a request for data that is located on a remote server, the client first checks a local cache to see if the data is stored in the local cache. If the data is not stored in the local cache, the client may check a peer cache to see if the data is stored in the peer cache. If the data is not stored in the peer cache, the client obtains the data from the remote server, caches it locally, and publishes to the peer cache that the client has a copy of the data.
US09286292B2	Real-time jargon translation in a communication system A computer retrieves profile information of a participant of a multi-party communication. The computer identifies an original jargon included in the multi-party communication based, at least in part, on the profile information. The computer generates a translated jargon by translating the original translated jargon, wherein the translated jargon can be understood by the participant of the multi-party communication. The computer sends the translated jargon to the participant of the multi-party communication.
US09286290B2	Producing insight information from tables using natural language processing Mechanisms for generating insight statements from table data are provided. A portion of content comprising a table data structure and text associated with the table data structure is received and at least one of key terms or semantic relationships in the table data structure and the associated text are identified. Fields of an insight statement template are populated with information obtained from the key terms and semantic relationships to generate an insight statement data structure. The insight statement data structure is then output. The insight statement data structure is a natural language statement describing an aspect of the table data structure.
US09286289B2	Ordering a lexicon network for automatic disambiguation Described systems and methods allow a computer system to employ a lexicon network for word sense disambiguation (WSD). In an exemplary embodiment, each node of the lexicon network represents a gloss of a lexicon entry, while an edge represents a lexical definition relationship between two glosses. The lexicon network is ordered prior to WSD, wherein ordering the lexicon network comprises arranging the nodes of the lexicon network in an ordered sequence, and removing a set of edges to eliminate loops. In some embodiments, the position of each node within the ordered sequence is determined according to a direction and a weight of an edge connected to the respective node. The weight may represent a semantic importance of the respective edge relative to other edges of the network.
US09286285B1	Formula editor A computer-implemented method for editing a formula includes receiving a text string including formula information. The method further includes parsing the received text string and analyzing the parsed text string for a formula and formula errors while the text string is being received. In response to a formula error being detected in the analyzed text string, the method can include generating a message pertaining to the formula error. In response to a formula detected in the analyzed text string, the method can include calculating at least one sub-value for the formula and generating a message pertaining to the at least one sub-value of the formula.
US09286284B2	Data filtering based on a cell entry A data filtering system includes a display device and a data filtering engine coupled to the display device. The data filtering engine is configured to display a cell set containing data of a common data type on a display device with at least one cell containing a cell entry. The data filtering engine is further configured to display a filter icon within at least one cell of the cell set and apply a filter to the cell set in response to selection of the filter icon by a user.
US09286283B1	Feedback validation of electronically generated forms A method and apparatus for form processing is provided, requiring little to no data entry. Upon receiving an electronic notification containing a form, a validation server extracts an electronic contact address from the electronic notification. The validation server then applies a template associated with the sender's electronic contact address to an OCRed document to extract information necessary to generate an electronic form comprising machine parsable data. The sender is then granted access and prompted to validate the electronic form. The sender entity validates the electronic form by making any necessary changes or revisions and by submitting the editable web form. The form's parsable content is then stored directly as data in a database. In some embodiments, the validation server may accept the electronic validation with additional revision information. In these embodiments, the revision information may be applied to future forms received from the sender. Optionally, the revision information may also be used to create a new version of the template specifically associated with the sender's electronic contact address.
US09286282B2	Obtaining data from abandoned electronic forms Visitors that abandon electronic or computer-generated forms before completing and submitting the form are lost to business entities. Data obtained from abandoned electronic or computer-generated forms is used to identify these lost visitors. Sometimes a unique script embedded on the webpages scrapes the data from the forms. The obtained data is further utilized to market or remarket to the lost consumers by sending personalized messages via a preferred communication medium.
US09286281B2	Computer form action zone summary system and method A system and method for facilitating the entry by a signer user of information into a scaffold electronic document having multiple information entry fields, over the internet or similar network. The system includes a document summary server, in communication with a document execution server, and associated with a scaffold electronic document via network. The document summary server facilitates the entry by a signer user of information into one or more information entry fields in a scaffold document.
US09286279B2	Bookmark setting method of e-book, and apparatus thereof The present invention relates to a bookmark setting method of an e-book, an apparatus thereof, and a medium storing program source thereof. The bookmark setting method includes: recognizing a user's operation performed on a touch screen while displaying the e-book; determining whether the recognized user's operation is an operation of folding a currently displayed subject page; and when the recognized user's operation is an operation of folding the subject page, setting the bookmark on the subject page according to predetermined criteria which in turn provides a realistic bookmarking experience as in the paper book.
US09286276B2	System and method of document embedding in collaborative editors A device embeds a first frame in a second frame. A first mutation defining a first change made to a document within the first frame is generated. A second mutation defining a second change made to the document within the second frame is generated. The first mutation and a first embed identifier assigned to the first mutation and the second mutation and a second embed identifier assigned to the second mutation are transmitted to a remote server. A first instruction relating to the document and including the first embed identifier and a second instruction relating to the document and including the second embed identifier are received from the remote server. The first instruction, based on the first embed identifier, is transmitted by the device to the first frame. The second instruction, based on the second embed identifier, is transmitted by the device to the second frame.
US09286274B2	Adaptive content management Methods and systems for enabling a user to define a webpage and webpage layout without knowing a programming language are disclosed. A library of modules is provided usable to configure a layout and look of a webpage. The user may add modules from the library to a webpage layout design area. The user may configure a given module so as to control the look and feel of the content accessed and displayed by the module. Different instantiations of the same module may be used to access content from different sources, including sources using different file and data formats. Content from the different sources may be accessed and stored in a schema-less database.
US09286271B2	Providing an electronic document collection In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes receiving a request to access an electronic document collection that integrates a plurality of electronic sub-documents that are each of one of a plurality of defined document types. The method also includes retrieving information that is associated with the document collection, wherein the retrieved information identifies a first sub-document of the plurality of sub-documents using a first non-address identifier, and identifying a first software application that is configured to provide access to the first sub-document. The method additionally includes initiating a first connection with a first server that causes execution of the identified first software application and that, using the first non-address identifier, provides access to the first sub-document. The method further includes integrating access to the first sub-document into the document collection through the initiated first connection with the first server that causes execution of the first software application.
US09286270B2	Simultaneously displaying multiple related documents in a logically hierarchical manner In some example embodiments, a computerized method includes receiving multiple documents from at least one machine-readable media. The multiple documents have a hierarchical relationship relative to each other. The multiple documents include a first document, wherein a second document of the multiple documents comprises an enhancement to first document. The enhancement is at least one of a replacement of part of the first document or an addition to the first document. The computerized method includes displaying the multiple documents on a display screen such that the multiple documents are arranged according to the hierarchical relationship.
US09286269B2	Information processing device and method for correcting linear segment information An information processing device includes: a receiving unit; a discriminating unit; a plotting unit; a determining unit; a correcting unit; and a linear segment plotting unit.
US09286267B2	Performing rounding operations responsive to an instruction In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for receiving a rounding instruction and an immediate value in a processor, determining if a rounding mode override indicator of the immediate value is active, and if so executing a rounding operation on a source operand in a floating point unit of the processor responsive to the rounding instruction and according to a rounding mode set forth in the immediate operand. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09286266B1	Cloud computed data service for automated reporting of vehicle trip data and analysis This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods to receiving onboard diagnostic data associated with an operational state of a vehicle of a user and pushing a message to the user, the message including information associated with the onboard diagnostic data.
US09286263B1	System and method for providing information regarding posts on social networking sites A system and method is disclosed for providing information regarding posts on social networking sites. The system receives, using one or more computing devices, an identifier for a content item to post in a message of a user on a social networking site, where the identifier is received before a request to post the message. The system also identifies, using the one or more computing devices and based on the received identifier, one or more messages including the content item previously posted on the social networking site. The system also provides for display to the user, using the one or more computing devices, information about the one or more messages including the content item previously posted on the social networking site to the user, where the information is provided for display before the request to post the message is received.
US09286262B2	Scheduling in a multicore architecture The disclosure relates to scheduling threads in a multicore processor. Executable transactions may be scheduled using at least one distribution queue, which lists executable transactions in order of eligibility for execution, and multilevel scheduler which comprises a plurality of linked individual executable transaction schedulers. Each of these includes a scheduling algorithm for determining the most eligible executable transaction for execution. The most eligible executable transaction is outputted from the multilevel scheduler to the at least one distribution queue.
US09286261B1	Architecture and method for a burst buffer using flash technology A parallel supercomputing cluster includes compute nodes interconnected in a mesh of data links for executing an MPI job, and solid-state storage nodes each linked to a respective group of the compute nodes for receiving checkpoint data from the respective compute nodes, and magnetic disk storage linked to each of the solid-state storage nodes for asynchronous migration of the checkpoint data from the solid-state storage nodes to the magnetic disk storage. Each solid-state storage node presents a file system interface to the MPI job, and multiple MPI processes of the MPI job write the checkpoint data to a shared file in the solid-state storage in a strided fashion, and the solid-state storage node asynchronously migrates the checkpoint data from the shared file in the solid-state storage to the magnetic disk storage and writes the checkpoint data to the magnetic disk storage in a sequential fashion.
US09286259B2	Method and apparatus for lowering I/O power of a computer system and computer system The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for lowering I/O power of a computer system and a computer system. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for lowering I/O power of a computer system, comprising: buffering a plurality of ways of data to be sent to a bus; encoding each of the plurality of ways of data buffered from n bits to n+m bits based on an encoding rule, wherein n and m are both an integer larger than or equal to 1, the encoding rule is used to lower code switching frequency; and sending the plurality of ways of data encoded to the bus.
US09286253B2	System and method for presenting devices through an SAS initiator-connected device A method, system and computer readable medium for presenting unique Serial Attached Small computer system interface (SAS) target devices through a single target device. The method includes embedding a SAS protocol chip within an initiator-connectable device, the SAS protocol chip having storage for at least two SAS addresses and configured to select a single address, loading two or more SAS addresses into the SAS protocol chip, and mapping a respective SAS address to one of the unique target devices. The system includes a SAS protocol chip having storage for at least two SAS addresses and a method for selecting a single SAS address, and a processor unit connected to the SAS protocol chip by an interface bus, the processor configured to load two or more identifier addresses into the SAS protocol chip. The computer readable medium contains instructions that cause a processor to perform the described methods.
US09286252B2	Off-network content sharing for near field communication devices An exemplary system and method enables direct transfers of content between devices to be evaluated by service providers in support of marketing services and the like to those devices (and their users). The system and method utilizes cards and records during the direct transfers to capture user activity information and then provides those cards and records to the service providers. Thus, even though the direct transfer is off-network or outside of the service provider system, the use of cards and records by the system and method provides the user activity information to the service provider for enhancing marketing services.
US09286246B2	System for managing task that is for processing to computer system and that is based on user operation and method for displaying information related to task of that type The display computer displays a management screen having a first area and a second area. In the first area, information related to a computer system, and an input object for a work operation that is a user operation for registering a task of a processing to a computer system into a management computer or an object for displaying the input object are displayed. In the second area, a summary view related to at least one task registered into the management computer is displayed. The summary view has a status object for each status of task, the status object includes an object indicating a status and a value indicating a number of tasks of the status. When the management computer detects a modification of a status of each task that has been registered, the display computer updates a value of a number of tasks in the second area.
US09286239B2	Writing adjacent tracks to a stride, based on a comparison of a destaging of tracks to a defragmentation of the stride Compressed data is maintained in a plurality of strides of a redundant array of independent disks, wherein a stride is configurable to store a plurality of tracks. A request is received to write one or more tracks. The one or more tracks are written to a selected stride of the plurality of strides, based on comparing the number of operations required to destage selected tracks from the selected stride to the number of operations required to defragment the compressed data in the selected stride.
US09286238B1	System, apparatus, and method of cache management A computer-executable method, system, and computer program product of managing a data storage system, wherein the data storage system includes a cache and a data storage array, the computer-executable method, system, and computer program product comprising initializing the cache, wherein the initializing comprises creating a first list related to data stored on the cache, and creating a second list related to data stored on the data storage array, updating the first list based on received I/O requests, updating the second list based on received I/O requests, and managing data on the cache based on the first list and the second list.
US09286236B2	I/O controller and method for operating an I/O controller An I/O controller, coupled to a processing unit and to a memory, includes an I/O link interface configured to receive data packets having virtual addresses; an address translation unit having an address translator to translate received virtual addresses into real addresses by translation control entries and a cache allocated to the address translator to cache a number of the translation control entries; an I/O packet processing unit for checking the data packets received at the I/O link interface and for forwarding the checked data packets to the address translation unit; and a prefetcher to forward address translation prefetch information from a data packet received to the address translation unit; the address translator configured to fetch the translation control entry for the data packet by the address translation prefetch information from the allocated cache or, if the translation control entry is not available in the allocated cache, from the memory.
US09286235B2	Virtual memory address range register Embodiments of apparatuses and methods including virtual address memory range registers are disclosed. In one embodiment, a processor includes a memory interface, address translation hardware, and virtual memory address comparison hardware. The memory interface is to access a system memory using a physical memory address. The address translation hardware is to support translation of a virtual memory address to the physical memory address. The virtual memory address is used by software to access a virtual memory location in the virtual memory address space of the processor. The virtual memory address comparison hardware is to determine whether the virtual memory address is within a virtual memory address range.
US09286231B2	Apparatus, a system, a method and a computer program for erasing data stored on a storage device An approach for erasing data being stored in a data storage apparatus is provided. The approach may be provided e.g. as an apparatus, as a method, as a system or as a computer program. The approach comprises obtaining a sequence of uncompressible data fulfilling predetermined criteria, which predetermined criteria comprises a statistical measure indicative of compressibility or uncompressibility of the sequence of uncompressible data meeting a predetermined criterion, wherein the sequence of uncompressible data is divided into one or more blocks of uncompressible data, the sum of the sizes of the one or more blocks of uncompressible data being larger than or equal to the storage capacity of the data storage apparatus, and providing, to the data storage apparatus, the one or more blocks of uncompressible data for storage therein to overwrite the data being currently stored in the data storage apparatus.
US09286225B2	Flash-based storage system including reconfigurable circuitry Apparatus and method for accelerating processing operations of flash based storage systems are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, an IC component disposed between I/O circuitry and flash storage devices is configured to optimize fulfillment of data read and write requests originating from a network or device external to the flash based storage system using cache memory before involving the flash storage devices.
US09286220B2	Provision of early data from a lower level cache memory In response to snooping a read-type memory access request of a requestor on a system fabric of a data processing system, a memory channel interface forwards the request to a memory buffer and starts a timer. In response to the forwarded request, the memory buffer performs a lookup of a target address of the request in a memory controller cache. In response to the target address hitting in a coherence state permitting provision of early data, the memory buffer provides a response indicating early data and provides a copy of a target memory block of the request to the memory channel interface. The memory channel interface, responsive to receipt prior to expiration of the timer of the response indicating early data, transmits the copy of the target memory block to the requestor via the system fabric prior to receiving a combined response of the data processing system to the request.
US09286218B2	Word line auto-booting in a spin-torque magnetic memory having local source lines In a spin-torque magnetic random access memory (MRAM) that includes local source lines, auto-booting of the word line is used to conserve power consumption by reusing charge already present from driving a plurality of bit lines during writing operations. Auto-booting is accomplished by first driving the word line to a first word line voltage. After such driving, the word line isolated. Subsequent driving of the plurality of bit lines that are capacitively coupled to the word line causes the word line voltage to be increased to a level desired to allow sufficient current to flow through a selected memory cell to write information into the selected memory cell. Additional embodiments include the use of a supplemental voltage provider that is able to further boost or hold the isolated word line at the needed voltage level.
US09286217B2	Systems and methods for memory utilization for object detection A method for memory utilization by an electronic device is described. The method includes transferring a first portion of a first decision tree and a second portion of a second decision tree from a first memory to a cache memory. The first portion and second portion of each decision tree are stored contiguously in the first memory. The first decision tree and second decision tree are each associated with a different feature of an object detection algorithm. The method also includes reducing cache misses by traversing the first portion of the first decision tree and the second portion of the second decision tree in the cache memory based on an order of execution of the object detection algorithm.
US09286215B2	Method and apparatus for controlling cache memory areas According to an aspect of the embodiment, a cache controller sets, when power supply capacity information is acquired at an update period, a size of a permitted area in which the writing of dirty data is permitted and a size of an inhibited area in which the writing of the dirty data is inhibited in a cache memory, according to the power supply capacity information. The cache controller stores the dirty data or read data read out from a disk array in the permitted area, or stores only the read data in the inhibited area.
US09286214B2	Content distribution and switching amongst data streams In lieu of merely forwarding different selected content including originally received decoder information (e.g., timing information) to a respective user for a newly selected data stream, a server modifies decoder information of a newly transmitted data stream in accordance with a previously transmitted stream (or a master clock associated with the user) such that respective decoder state information used to decode a first stream of content can also be used to decode a second stream of content. That is, the server encodes and transmits newly selected content to a requestor in accordance with current decoder state information already used by the requestor to decode previously received content. This enables splicing of content together from two or more asynchronous data streams into a single, contiguous data stream even though the data streams originate with different sets of timing information.
US09286213B2	Method and apparatus for managing file system A file management system for managing a file using a logical erase block (LEB) corresponding to a physical erase block (PEB). The file management system includes a free LEB list storing a free LEB allowing writing on all pages; a dirty LEB list storing a dirty LEB that is not the free LEB; and an obsolete area determining module determining an obsolete area in at least one dirty LEB, by referring to a block table storing information about whether or not at least one block is being used and according to whether or not the at least one dirty LEB is mapped to a PEB.
US09286210B2	System executes wear-leveling among flash memory modules A system including flash memory modules and a system controller. Each flash memory module includes flash memory chips and a memory controller to manage a plurality of blocks in the plurality of flash memory chips. The blocks are units for erasing data stored in the flash memory chips. The system controller performs wear leveling by exchanging data between a first flash memory module and a second flash memory module of the flash memory modules.
US09286209B2	System, method and computer-readable medium using map tables in a cache to manage write requests to a raid storage array A RAID storage system serializes data blocks to be stored in a RAID storage array and uses a primary map table and a number of secondary map tables to relate host addresses to logical block addresses in the storage array. Secondary map tables and other metadata can be cached from the storage array. The dual or two-tier map scheme and metadata caching promote scalability.
US09286208B2	Controller controlling an interleave operation, solid-state drive including the controller, and control method controlling an interleave operation According to one embodiment, a controller includes a first command queuing part corresponding to a first bank, the first command queuing part queuing a first command, a second command queuing part corresponding to a second bank, the second command queuing part queuing a second command, and a command execution control part which is configured to generate a first sub-command sequence based on a group of commands in the first command, generate a second sub-command sequence based on a group of commands in the second command, and determine whether or not to execute the first and second sub-command sequences in parallel as an interleave operation between the first and second banks, by comparing an additional value of a first numeric converted parameter of the first sub-command sequence and a second numeric converted parameter of the second sub-command sequence with a threshold data.
US09286204B2	Memory controller A microcomputer retains a group definition table associating the sector sections created by dividing all sectors into multiple sections under a given condition with different memory regions on a flash memory, respectively. A memory control section makes reference to the group definition table to identify a memory region corresponding to a specified sector, and searches the identified memory region range for a physical address corresponding to the specified sector. Furthermore, the memory control section moves a specified sector within the identified memory region range for rewriting data corresponding to the specified sector.
US09286203B2	Control logic design to support USB cache offload A redundant array of independent drives controller and board controlled cache off-loading during a power failure is described. Methods associated with the use of the redundant array of independent drives controller and board for controlled cache off-loading during a power failure are also described.
US09286200B2	Tiered storage pool management and control for loosely coupled multiple storage environment A system comprises a first storage system including a first storage controller, which receives input/output commands from host computers and provides first storage volumes to the host computers; and a second storage system including a second storage controller which receives input/output commands from host computers and provides second storage volumes to the host computers. A first data storing region of one of the first storage volumes is allocated from a first pool by the first storage controller. A second data storing region of another one of the first storage volumes is allocated from a second pool by the first storage controller. A third data storing region of one of the second storage volumes is allocated from the first pool by the second storage controller. A fourth data storing region of another one of the second storage volumes is allocated from the second pool by the second storage controller.
US09286199B2	Modifying memory space allocation for inactive tasks Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for modifying memory space allocation for inactive tasks. Information is maintained on computational resources consumed by tasks running in the computer system allocated memory space in the memory. The information on the computational resources consumed by the tasks is used to determine inactive tasks of the tasks. The allocation of the memory space allocated to at least one of the determined inactive tasks is modified.
US09286198B2	Method and system for storage of data in non-volatile media A system and method for managing the storage of data in non-volatile memory is described. In an aspect, the data may be described by metadata and a transaction log file that are checkpointed from a volatile memory into the non-volatile memory. Actions that take place between the last checkpointing of a metadata segment and log file segment are discovered by scanning the non-volatile memory blocks, taking account of a record of the highest sector in each block that is known to have been recorded. Any later transactions are discovered and used to update the recovered metadata so that the metadata correctly represents the stored data.
US09286196B1	Program execution optimization using uniform variable identification A method, apparatus and computer program, each for optimizing execution of a computer program is disclosed in which a topology-based control flow analysis of basic blocks of the computer program is performed and a data flow analysis of the instructions within the basic blocks is performed to determine if each instruction of said computer program is uniform or non-uniform (variant or invariant). Subsequently, when the computer program is executed, storage of a copy of a variable dependent on a uniform instruction is suppressed.
US09286195B2	Derivation of generalized test cases A first computer receives one or more pre-defined equivalence classes, wherein a pre-defined equivalence class comprises of one or more substantially equivalent values. The first computer receives a plurality of messages transmitted between a second computer and a third computer, wherein each message has at least one parameter and each parameter has at least one corresponding value. The first computer determines one or more parameters have one or more values that match one or more values of a pre-defined equivalence class. The first computer creates one or more value driven equivalence classes, wherein each value driven equivalence class comprises of one or more parameters and wherein each of the one or more parameters in each value driven equivalence class has the same corresponding value. The first computer creates a generalized test case, wherein the generalized test case includes at least the one or more value driven equivalence classes.
US09286194B2	Data processing system Embodiments relate to a method, system and computer program product for operating a data processing system. The data processing system includes a display device, a processing device connected to the display device, and one or more user input devices connected to the processing device. The display device is configured to display a Gantt chart comprising a plurality of tasks and a plurality of constraints. Each constraint connects two tasks. A method comprises highlighting a task in the Gantt chart. In response to receiving a forward user input, the method further comprises highlighting a constraint exiting a previously highlighted task in the Gantt chart, or in response to receiving a back user input, highlighting a constraint entering the previously highlighted task in the Gantt chart.
US09286192B2	Modifying run-time-instrumentation controls from a lesser-privileged state Embodiments of the invention relate to modifying run-time-instrumentation controls (MRIC) from a lesser-privileged state. The MRIC instruction is fetched. The MRIC instruction includes the address of a run-time-instrumentation control block (RICCB). The RICCB is fetched based on the address included in the MRIC instruction. The RICCB includes values for modifying a subset of the processor's run-time-instrumentation controls. The subset of run-time-instrumentation controls includes a runtime instrumentation program buffer current address (RCA) of a runtime instrumentation program buffer (RIB) location. The RIB holds run-time-instrumentation information of the events recognized by the processor during program execution. The values of the RICCB are loaded into the run-time-instrumentation controls. Event information is provided to the RIB based on the values that were loaded in the run-time-instrumentation control.
US09286191B2	Logging code generation and distribution A method for diagnosing an error associated with a software is provided. The method may include receiving a stack trace associated with the error. The method may also include fetching a source code associated with the received stack trace. The method may further include parsing the fetched source code associated with the received stack trace. The method may also include generating an abstract syntax tree (AST) based on the parsed fetched source code. Additionally, the method may include inserting at least one logging call into the generated abstract tree. The method may include recompiling the captured code based on the generated abstract tree with the at least one inserted logging call. The method may also include uploading the recompiled code onto at least one deployment server.
US09286190B2	Inserting implicit sequence points into computer program code to support debug operations Arrangements described herein relate to inserting implicit sequence points into computer program code to support debug operations. Optimization of the computer program code can be performed during compilation of the computer program code and, during the optimization, implicit sequence points can be inserted into the computer program code. The implicit sequence points can be configured to provide virtual reads of symbols contained in the computer program code when the implicit sequence points are reached during execution of the computer program code during a debug operation performed on the computer program code after the computer program code is optimized and compiled.
US09286185B2	Monitoring a performance of a computing device Technologies are generally described for systems, methods and devices configured to monitor a performance of a resource of a device. In some examples, a processor may receive an application code. The application code may include at least one application thread configured to implement at least one task for the application code. The application code may be configured to spawn a performance thread. The processor may execute the application thread on the computing device. The application thread may be configured to use at least one resource of the computing device. The processor may further execute the performance thread on the computing device. The performance thread may be configured to calculate a value relating to the resource.
US09286183B2	Monitoring and diagnostic system for a fluid energy machine system and fluid energy machine system A monitoring and diagnostic system for a fluid energy machine system includes a central processing unit to which each sub-system and each system component of the fluid energy machine system is connected via standardized bi-directional interfaces and via one or more data lines, for data communication. Each sub-system and system component has a sensor element for determining status information thereof. The sensor elements are controlled by a control device. A memory device stores the status information determined for the respective sub-system and the respective system component and the comparison data for operating the fluid energy machine system. A comparator unit compares the status information with defined threshold values for each sub-system and system component. A display device displays the status information as well as an alarm in the event of an undershoot or overshoot of a threshold value in the case of a sub-system or a system component.
US09286182B2	Virtual machine snapshotting and analysis Described are techniques for capturing and analyzing snapshots of virtual machines. One or more computers may automatically obtain snapshots of virtual machines as they are executing to form a pool of virtual machine snapshots. The virtual machine snapshots are then read to obtain a set of features properties of the virtual machine snapshots, including information about a running guest operating system, software installed on the virtual machine, metadata about the virtual machine itself, and others. The features or properties are analyzed, in one embodiment using a machine learning algorithm, to automatically compute and store information about the virtual machines.
US09286181B2	Apparatus for capturing results of memory testing A method to produce a description file of Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) capture-shift test data registers to be used to interpret a test result of a memory included in an integrated circuit structure that is configured for testing integrated circuit memory. A computer extracts, from a first data file, the names a memory built in self test instance, a memory built in self test port name, and a name of a first memory. The first data file controls the hierarchical and architectural arrangement of components of an integrated circuit. The first data file describes a hierarchical order of an architectural arrangement of the components, electrical pathways, and connections between the components and the electrical pathways of an integrated circuit design. The computer adds the extracted names into the description file such that the description file is configured to interpret a test result of a memory.
US09286176B1	Selective skipping of blocks in an SSD A solid state drive (SSD), includes: a plurality of solid state memory devices, each solid state memory device including a plurality of memory blocks arranged in a plurality of planes; a storage; and an SSD controller configured to: write data to memory blocks in a predefined sequence, detect a defective memory block in the plurality of solid state memory devices, mark the detected memory block as defective and store an address of a next non-defective memory block, and in response to data to be written to the marked memory block, the controller skips the marked memory block and writes the data to the next non-marked memory block.
US09286174B2	Disk array having mirror configuration and rebuilding method therefor One aspect includes a disk array having a mirror configuration to rebuild. The disk array includes a buffer to temporarily store data (data X) in a read or write request from a host (read/write request), a redundant first disk and second disk having a mirror configuration, and an auxiliary disk. A redundancy management table logs disk locations of data stored in the first disk and copied to the auxiliary disk. A controller controls reading and writing of data X between the buffer and two redundant disks in response to a request. The controller is configured to: (a) copy to the auxiliary disk, data X stored in the buffer for rebuilding, in parallel with reading and writing data X, when the second disk fails; (b) log, in the redundancy management table, copied disk locations of data X copied in (a); and (c) return a response to the host after copying completion.
US09286173B2	Dynamic use of RAID levels responsive to predicted failure of a data storage device Data associated with a workload is stored in a first composite array of data storage devices, and is automatically stored in a second composite array in response to predicting failure of one of the data storage devices in the first composite array. The data may be stored in the second composite array by either converting the first composite array or migrating the data to the second composite array. One of the data storage devices may predict its own failure and issue a predictive failure alert.
US09286172B2	Fault-aware mapping for shared last level cache (LLC) Embodiments of systems, apparatuses, and methods for utilizing a faulty cache line in a cache are described. In some embodiments, a graphics processing unit is allowed to access a faulty cache line in the cache. A cache access request to access a faulty cache line from a central processing unit core is remapped to access a fault-free cache line.
US09286168B2	Sparing method and apparatus A device and method for routing separate data flows to subscribers on a content distribution network are provided. The device includes a group of access modules having signal processing circuitry each coupled to a corresponding interface unit. The interface units are coupled in a daisy chain configuration. The access modules include at least first and second active access modules and a spare access module. The group being configured for normal mode operation in which the first active access module processes a first data flow and the second active access module processes a second data flow, and the group being configured for sparing event mode operation in which the first data flow is automatically switched to the second active access module and the second data flow is automatically switched to the spare access module.
US09286167B2	Communication device and management method for identification information item using communication device In a case where an identification information item determination section (411) determines that a first identification information item indicates a non-replacement part, a first backup section (412) backs up the first identification information item in a backup memory (420). In a case where a confirmation section (413) determines that the first identification information item is not backed up in the backup memory (420), a second backup section (414) backs up the first identification information item in the backup memory (420). In a case where the confirmation section (413) determines that the first identification information item is backed up in the backup memory (420), a storage process section (415) updates the first identification information item stored in a communication section-side memory (430) with a second identification information item stored in the backup memory (420).
US09286164B2	Electronic device to restore MBR, method thereof, and computer-readable medium An electronic device includes a storage unit to store a master boot record (MBR) and an operating system, a control unit to boot the electronic device using the stored MBR and operating system, to generate and store backup data of the MBR in the storage unit when the electronic device is booted, a validity determination unit to determine validity of the MBR when a predetermined event has occurred, and a restoration unit to restore the MBR using the backup data stored in the storage unit if the MBR is not valid.
US09286163B2	Data recovery scheme based on data backup status Machines, systems and methods for increasing data resiliency in a computing system, the method comprising distinguishing between first data and second data stored in one or more data storage mediums, wherein the first data is more vulnerable than the second data for the purpose of recovering lost data; and recovering the first data before recovering the second data. Increasing redundancy protection for the first data to increase chances for data recovery by way of data reconstruction; and decreasing redundancy protection for the first data, after the first data has been backed up at least once.
US09286160B2	System and method for phase change memory with erase flag cells According to embodiments, a phase change memory (PCM) array includes a plurality of memory cells grouped into memory blocks. In the PCM array, each memory cell is a PCM cell. The PCM array also includes a plurality of erase flag cells. Each erase flag cell of the plurality of erase flag cells is associated with a memory block and indicates whether the memory block stores valid data or erased data.
US09286159B2	Track-band squeezed-sector error correction in magnetic data storage devices Data storage devices using a two-level ECC scheme are described. Embodiments of the invention allow the recovery of sectors in a squeezed group of tracks in a that includes both a single track level ECC scheme and a track band ECC scheme that functions across the set of tracks in the band. The track band ECC scheme uses additional parity information calculated using input data from multiple tracks to allow correction across tracks.
US09286158B2	Programming method, reading method and operating system for memory A programming method, a reading method and an operating system for a memory are provided. The programming method includes the following steps. A data is provided. A parity generation is performed to obtain an error-correcting code (ECC). The memory is programmed to record the data and the error-correcting code. The data is transformed before performing the parity generation, such that a hamming distance between two codes corresponding to two adjacent threshold voltage states in the data to be performed the parity generation is 1.
US09286154B2	Error correction for entangled quantum states A memory system comprising a qubit array configured to store therein and read one or more entangled qubit states encoded using a quantum stabilizer code. The quantum-memory system further comprises a quantum-state-refresh module configured to change an entangled qubit state in the qubit array when an error is detected therein. The quantum-state-refresh module is configured to detect an error by performing a redundant measurement of a set of syndrome values corresponding to the quantum stabilizer code, with the redundant measurement being based on a block error-correction code. In one embodiment, the block error-correction code is a low-density generator-matrix code or a low-density parity-check code constructed using an EXIT-function optimization method.
US09286153B2	Monitoring the health of a question/answer computing system An approach is provided for monitoring the health of a Question/Answer (QA) Computing System. In the approach, performed by an information handling system, a number of static questions are periodically submitted to the QA system, wherein each of the static questions corresponds to a previously established verified answer. Responses are received from the QA system, with the responses including answers corresponding to the submitted static questions. Monitoring the performance of the QA system based on the received responses. When the monitoring detects a problem with the QA system, a user is notified of the detected problem.
US09286139B2	Automatic mutual exclusion An automatic mutual exclusion computer programming system is disclosed which allows a programmer to produce concurrent programming code that is synchronized by default without the need to write any synchronization code. The programmer creates asynchronous methods which are not permitted make changes to shared memory that they cannot reverse, and can execute concurrently with other asynchronous methods. Changes to shared memory are committed if no other thread has accessed shared memory while the asynchronous method executed. Changes are reversed and the asynchronous method is re-executed if another thread has made changes to shared memory. The resulting program executes in a serialized order. A blocking system method is disclosed which causes the asynchronous method to re-execute until the blocking method's predicate results in an appropriate value. A yield system call is disclosed which divides asynchronous methods into atomic fragments. When a yield method call is made, shared memory changes are committed if possible or reversed and the atomic fragment is re-executed.
US09286134B2	Virtual machine placement in a cloud-based network Methods and apparatuses for real-time adaptive placement of a virtual machine are provided. In an embodiment, a virtual machine is received at a routing component, the routing component having a processor in communication with a memory. By the processor in communication with the memory, a target data center is determined from a plurality of data centers based on a data center index, and the virtual machine is routed to the target data center. A physical machine is chosen within the target data center for placing the virtual machine.
US09286133B2	Verification of dynamic logical partitioning Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, computer program product, and system for verifying transitions between logical partition configurations. A computer system divides the physical resources of a processing core into logical partitions, each of which has at least one processing subcore. The computer system loads the contexts of the logical partitions and assigns test cases to each processing subcore. The processing subcore executes the test case, verifying the context of the logical partition. The computer system reassigns the test cases to different processing cores in anticipation of reconfiguring the number of logical partitions on the processing core. The computing system reconfigures the number of logical partitions on the processing core and executes the test cases as assigned on the reconfigured logical partitions.
US09286131B2	Processor unplug in virtualized computer system A system and method for withdrawing virtual processors from virtual machines (VMs) are disclosed. In accordance with one embodiment, a hypervisor executed by a computer system detects when a measure of system load for a virtual machine falls below a threshold. In response, the hypervisor withdraws a virtual processor from the virtual machine.
US09286130B2	Optimizing virtual machine deployment time by temporarily allocating more processing resources during the initial deployment time of the virtual machine A method, system and computer program product for optimizing virtual machine deployment time. A cloud controller receives a request from a user to configure a virtual machine with a designated CPU capacity. If the designated CPU capacity is less than or equal to a threshold, then the cloud controller determines if there are additional cloud resources available to be allocated to deploy the virtual machine. If so, then the cloud controller allocates additional CPU capacity to the designated CPU capacity to be used to provision the virtual machine thereby enabling a multithreaded startup to initialize the operating system and middleware tiers so as to reduce the deployment time of the virtual machine. The additional resources would only be available during the initial deployment time of the virtual machine and removed before the user is granted access to the system when it comes online.
US09286127B2	Method for allocating processor resources precisely by means of predictive scheduling based on current credits The present invention discloses a method for allocating processor resources precisely by means of predictive scheduling based on current credits, wherein the run queue of the Credit scheduler comprises virtual central processing units (VCPUs) with UNDER priority located at the head of the queue, VCPUs with OVER priority, VCPUs with IDLE priority located at the end of the queue and a wait queue for saving all VCPUs with overdrawn credits. Based on credit values of VCPUs, the method predicts the time of the credit overdrawing, and sets a timer which is triggered after the time to notify the Credit scheduler to stop scheduling corresponding VCPU. Thus the method effectively controls credit consumption and achieves the object of precise allocation of processor resources. The method is suitable to multi-core environment, and is also capable of reserving the advantages of the existing Credit scheduler, which are quick response for small task loads and load balancing.
US09286125B2	Processing engine implementing job arbitration with ordering status A processing engine implementing job arbitration with ordering status is disclosed. A method of the disclosure includes receiving, by a job assigner communicably coupled to a plurality of processors, availability status from a plurality of job rings, availability status from the plurality of processors, and job entry completion status from an order manager, identifying, based on the received job entry completion status, a set of job rings from the plurality of job rings that do not exceed threshold conditions maintained by the job assigner, selecting, from the identified set of job rings, a job ring from which to pull a job entry for assignment, wherein the selecting is based on the received availability status of the plurality of job rings, and selecting, based on the received availability status of the plurality of processors, a processor to receive the assignment of the job entry for processing.
US09286124B2	Simulating the performance of medical-engineering procedures in a client-server environment Embodiments of the invention relate to a method, system, computer-program product, and/or storage medium for simulating the performance of a medical-engineering procedure which includes performing a multiplicity of applications, with its being intended for the applications to be performed in a multi-client environment in parallel on a plurality of clients. Simulating is based on performing the application in a single-client environment. Runtime and resource requirements are therein measured and fed to the simulating process as input variables. A latency for the runtime and the resource requirements for running in the multi-client environment are fed out as the result of simulating.
US09286123B2	Apparatus and method for managing stream processing tasks An apparatus and method for managing stream processing tasks are disclosed. The apparatus includes a task management unit and a task execution unit. The task management unit controls and manages the execution of assigned tasks. The task execution unit executes the tasks in response to a request from the task management unit, collects a memory load state and task execution frequency characteristics based on the execution of the tasks, detects low-frequency tasks based on the execution frequency characteristics if it is determined that a shortage of memory has occurred based on the memory load state, assigns rearrangement priorities to the low-frequency tasks, and rearranges the tasks based on the assigned rearrangement priorities.
US09286120B2	Resource management with dynamic resource budgeting A method for resource management of a data processing system is described. According to one embodiment, a request is received via a programming interface from a program to modify a resource budget assigned to the program, where the resource budget specifies an amount of resources of the data processing system the program can utilize during an execution of the program. It is determined whether the program is entitled to modify the resource budget based on entitlement associated with the program. The resource budget for the program is modified if it is determined the program is entitled to modify the resource budget and the modified resource budget is enforced against the program during the execution of the program.
US09286119B2	System, method, and computer program product for management of dependency between tasks A system, method, and computer program product for management of dynamic task-dependency graphs. The method includes the steps of generating a first task data structure in a memory for a first task, generating a second task data structure in the memory, storing a pointer to the second task data structure in a first output dependence field of the first task data structure, setting a reference counter field of the second task data structure to a threshold value that indicates a number of dependent events associated with the second task, and launching the second task when the reference counter field stores a particular value. The second task data structure is a placeholder for a second task that is dependent on the first task.
US09286118B2	System and method for improved job processing to reduce contention for shared resources A method of processing a job is presented. A packet selector determines a candidate job list including an ordered listing of candidate jobs. Each candidate job in the ordered listing belongs to a communication stream. One or more shared resources required for execution of a first job in the candidate job list are identified. Whether the first job is eligible for execution is determined by determining an availability of the one or more shared resources required for the first job, and, when the one or more shared resource required for the first job are unavailable and no jobs executing within the data processor are from the same communication stream as the first job, determining that the first job is not eligible for execution.
US09286113B2	Method, apparatus, and system for issuing partition balancing subtask A method, an apparatus, and a system for issuing a partition balancing subtask, which are applied to a controller and may be used to implement migration of a partition between nodes. After receiving a second partition balancing task, the controller generates a second partition balancing subtask set, where the second partition balancing subtask set includes at least one partition balancing subtask, and each partition balancing subtask records: a migration partition, a node to which the migration partition belongs, and a destination node; searches a current partition balancing subtask set, and deletes a repeated partition balancing subtask between the second partition balancing subtask set and the current partition balancing subtask set; and issues remaining partition balancing subtasks after the repeated partition balancing subtask is deleted to the destination node recorded in each partition balancing subtask.
US09286112B2	Determining and dispatching processing agent for transaction processing According to one example of the present invention, there is provided a transaction processing system. The transaction processing system comprises a transaction analyzer for determining characteristics of a received transaction, a processing agent selector for selecting, based on the determined characteristics, a processing agent for processing the received transaction, and a dispatcher for dispatching the received transaction and the selected processing agent to a processing resource to cause the transaction to be processed in accordance with the selected processing agent on at least one of the computing devices.
US09286110B2	Seamless virtual machine recall in a data storage system The data storage system according to certain aspects can manage the archiving of virtual machines to (and restoring of virtual machines from) secondary storage. The system may archive virtual machines (VMs) that are determined to have a low level of utilization. The system may create a virtual machine placeholder for an archived VM, which may be a “light” or minimal version of the VM that acts like the actual VM. By using a VM placeholder, a VM may appear to be active and selectable by the user. When the user selects the VM, the VM placeholder can interact with the user in similar manner as the VM. Accessing the VM placeholder may trigger restore of the archived VM from secondary storage. The restore of the archived VM may be “seamless” to the user since the VM remains available while it is being restored.
US09286105B1	System and method for facilitating joint operation of multiple hypervisors in a computer system In a computer system, joint operation of multiple hypervisors is coordinated. A persistent hypervisor and a non-persistent hypervisor are executed. The non-persistent hypervisor is executed in the supervisor mode according to an operating regime controlled by a scheduler engine, and the persistent hypervisor is executed in the hypervisor mode under the control of a handler engine. The handler engine monitors, and responds, to an attempted mode transition of the processor between the hypervisor and supervisor modes, and coordinates the suspension and resumption, as appropriate, of the persistent hypervisor.
US09286102B1	Desktop image management for hosted hypervisor environments A desktop image management system is described that can be used to efficiently manage desktops and desktop image data in hosted hypervisor environments. The efficiency of backing up data and otherwise managing desktops that are running on virtual machines in a hosted hypervisor environment can be improved by utilizing an image management client installed in the host operating system and individual drivers installed on each virtual machine running on the hosted hypervisor. The image management client may also simplify and improve the process of distributing software updates from the central server to target virtual machines running on the hosted hypervisor environment.
US09286101B2	Free page hinting A processing device executing an operating system such as a guest operating system generates a bitmap wherein bits of the bitmap represent statuses of memory pages that are available to the operating system. The processing device frees a memory page. The processing device then sets a bit in the bitmap to indicate that the memory page is unused after the memory page is freed.
US09286100B2	Virtual machine migration using 3GPP MCIM A method of migrating a virtual machine comprises a first manager, managing a first computing environment (such as a computing cloud), initiates migration of a virtual machine currently executing on a first vM2ME (virtual machine-to-machine equipment) in the first computing environment to a second computing environment (such as another computing cloud). Once the VM has migrated, the first manager disables execution of the first vM2ME.
US09286099B2	Balancing virtual machine loads A method for balancing virtual machine loads is provided. The method comprises: monitoring load information of each of physical hosts and virtual machines operating on said physical hosts; calculating load index of each of said physical hosts and said virtual machines operating on said physical hosts respectively according to said load information; based on load index of each physical hosts, determining a source physical host on which any virtual machine needs to be migrated so as to reduce the load index of the source physical host; determining a target virtual machine to be migrated on the source physical host based on load index of each virtual machines on the source physical host and respective affinity factor indicating a degree of dependency of a virtual machine on a physical host on which it resides; and migrating the target virtual machine into a destination physical host different than the source physical host.
US09286087B2	Storage optimization selection within a virtualization environment Storage optimization selection for virtual disks of a virtualization environment, where the storage optimization can be selected based in part on the disk type of a virtual disk included in a virtual machine. The disk type of the virtual disk can be discovered by the virtualization environment which queries a database within the virtualization environment for metadata associated with the virtual disk. The metadata can be created when a virtual desktop infrastructure creates the virtual disk, and a virtual machine template that includes the at least one virtual disk. The virtual disk can be modified to either include or be associated with the metadata that describes a disk type of the virtual disk. Upon executing the virtual machine that includes the modified virtual disk, a storage subsystem of the virtualization environment can obtain the metadata of the virtual disk to discover the disk type of the virtual disk.
US09286085B2	Correlating class loader objects across execution environments Updating a native class pointer in persisted compiled code for use in an execution environment other than the one in which the native class pointer was created. This is done by using an identifier, stored with the persisted compiled code, of the class first loaded by the class loader that also loaded the class to which the native class pointer refers. A table is maintained in the execution environment mapping class identifiers to class loaders, and the stored identifier is used to consult this table to find a candidate class loader from those in the current execution environment that can provide the correct updated pointer.
US09286081B2	Input device event processing A background thread can be used to process events, e.g., a touch, gesture, pinch, or swipe, that are received on a touch sensitive device, or events, e.g., mouse scroll wheel events that are received on a input device, e.g., a mouse. The background thread can be used to process events when a main thread assigned to the Graphical User Interface (GUI) is interrupted. In such situations, the background thread can continue processing events. In cases where the main thread is interrupted and the event is scroll input, the background thread can draw content on the GUI in response to the scroll, so that the response to the scroll input observed by the user is unaffected by the interrupted main thread. By processing events and drawing content using the background thread while the main thread is blocked, the GUI can be navigated without having the user experience a stall or stutter.
US09286079B1	Cache optimization of a data storage device based on progress of boot commands The present invention relates to optimizing the performance of a data storage device, such as a hard data storage device, during boot operations and normal operations. In particular, during power up, the data storage device monitors the nature and progress of commands issued from a host. During boot operations, the data storage device sets its cache to a boot mode. The boot mode is designed to speed the boot process and aggressively cache data used during boot up of the data storage device and the host. The data storage device detects the transition of the host operations from boot operations to normal operations based on various criteria. The caching mode of the data storage device is then changed for normal operations based on the transition.
US09286078B2	Data processing apparatus having a parallel processing circuit including a plurality of processing modules, and method for controlling the same In an apparatus which includes a plurality of processing modules connected via a ring-shape bus, if a plurality pieces of pipeline processing to be processed in a different order is allocated to a plurality of processing modules, the transfer efficiency may decrease when an amount of data transferred from one of the processing modules to a post-stage module exceeds a processing capacity of the post-stage module. Accordingly, a module positioned on the preceding side in the pipeline processing controls a transmission interval of processed data so that the post-stage module can receive the data processed by the preceding module.
US09286076B2	Intra-instructional transaction abort handling Embodiments relate to intra-instructional transaction abort handling. An aspect includes using an emulation routine to execute an instruction within a transaction. The instruction includes at least one unit of operation. The transaction effectively delays committing stores to memory until the transaction has completed successfully. After receiving an abort indication, emulation of the instruction is terminated prior to completing the execution of the instruction. The instruction is terminated after the emulation routine completes any previously initiated unit of operation of the instruction.
US09286070B2	Control apparatus A control apparatus configured to receive instruction data from a transmission unit and to control a controlled apparatus based on the instruction data includes a determination unit configured to determine an error in reception of the instruction data from the transmission unit, a communication unit configured to receive the instruction data from the transmission unit and to transmit reply data according to a result of determination of the determination unit to the transmission unit, a module configured to control the controlled apparatus based on the instruction data, and a control unit configured to, if a content of current instruction data received by the communication unit matches a content of previous instruction data received by the communication unit, control the module not to control the controlled apparatus based on the current instruction data.
US09286061B2	Generating and managing electronic documentation Some implementations provide a user interface for generating an electronic document. An external component may be launched within the user interface for accessing external data, and context data of the current document may be provided to the external component. The external data that corresponds to the context data for the document may be displayed within the user interface, such as for enabling a user to interact with the data and/or include a portion of the data in the document.
US09286060B2	Lifecycle management system with conditional approvals and corresponding method Certain example embodiments concern a lifecycle management system for at least one computing component. A lifecycle model, including lifecycle states assignable to the at least one computing component, is defined. The lifecycle states include a production state. The lifecycle management system ensures the at least one computing component can be productively used only if it is assigned the production state. A lifecycle transition request assigning a requested target lifecycle state of the lifecycle model to the at least one computing component is received. A conditional lifecycle state, different from the requested target lifecycle state, is assigned to the at least one computing component. At least one condition to be fulfilled for the at least one computing component to be assigned the requested target lifecycle state is assigned. The requested target lifecycle state is automatically assigned to the at least one computing component when the at least one condition is fulfilled.
US09286056B2	Reducing storage facility code load suspend rate by redundancy check Provided are techniques for code load processing. While performing code load processing of a set of modules of a same module type, it is determined that a first module in the set of modules is not in an operational state. It is determined that a second module is a redundant module for the first module. In response to determining that the second module is in an operational state and has already completed code update, the code load processing is continued. In response to determining that the second module is in an operational state and has not already completed code update, it is determined whether there is a third redundant module that is in an operational state. In response to determining that there is a third redundant module that is in an operational state, the code load processing is continued.
US09286055B1	System, method, and computer program for aggregating fragments of data objects from a plurality of devices A system, method, and computer program product are provided for aggregating fragments of data objects from a plurality of devices. In use, a first data fragment associated with a first data object to be migrated from at least one first device associated with a legacy code to a second device associated with a target code is received, the first data fragment including at least a first portion of the first data object. Additionally, it is determined that the first data fragment is one of a plurality of data fragments that comprise the first data object. In response to determining that the first data fragment is one of a plurality of data fragments that comprise the first data object, the first data fragment is stored in a memory. Further, the memory is monitored to determine whether all of the plurality of data fragments that comprise the first data object are present in the memory. In response to determining that all of the plurality of data fragments that comprise the first data object are present in the memory, the first data object is assembled from the plurality of data fragments. Moreover, the first data object is automatically migrated to the second device associated with the target code.
US09286052B1	Upgrading software on a pair of nodes in a clustered environment In one aspect, a method to upgrade software on nodes in a clustered environment, includes terminating processes on a first node before upgrading the software on the first node, upgrading the software to a first version from a second version on the first node, running the processes on the first node after upgrading the software on the first node to the first version, determining whether a second node is about to upgrade to the first version of software, allowing transfer of site control from the second node to the first node, if the second node is about to upgrade to the first version of software and upgrading the software on the second node to the first version of software after the transferring of site control from the second node to the first node.
US09286050B2	Method and system for context-based application management An application is installed on a user device based on context information of another user device. A retail service platform determines that context information of a user device satisfies pre-defined context information, initiates installation of an application on the user device based on the pre-defined context information, and then initiates installation of the application on another user device based on a request from the (first) user device. The retail service platform determines to uninstall the application from the other user device based on a change in the context information of the (first) user device.
US09286049B2	Systems, methods, and computer program products for managing service installation Systems, methods, and computer program products are provided for managing installation of services on a secure element having a secure element profile. A request to install a service on the secure element is received. There is a determination of a preferred version of the service corresponding to the secure element profile of the secure element. There is also a determination of an existing version of the service loaded on the secure element. Using a rules engine, there is a determination of whether to install on the secure element either the existing version of the service or the preferred version of the service. A command is transmitted to either (a) install the existing version of the service or (b) delete the existing version of the service and load and install the preferred version of the service, based on the determination using the rules engine.
US09286044B2	Hybrid parallelization strategies for machine learning programs on top of MapReduce Hybrid parallelization strategies for machine learning programs on top of MapReduce are provided. In one embodiment, a method of and computer program product for parallel execution of machine learning programs are provided. Program code is received. The program code contains at least one parallel for statement having a plurality of iterations. A parallel execution plan is determined for the program code. According to the parallel execution plan, the plurality of iterations is partitioned into a plurality of tasks. Each task comprises at least one iteration. The iterations of each task are independent.
US09286039B2	Operating system support for contracts A front-end compiler compiles source code into intermediate code, that may later be compiled into binary code. The source code defines an execution scope and includes a contract. When a contract is encountered at runtime of an execution scope, further execution of that execution scope is conditioned on whether a predicate associated with the contract is true. The front-end compiler operates so as to preserve the contract so that the contract continues to be semantically structured such that the predicate may be removed from the intermediate language code. The contract may thus continue to be understood by semantic analysis of the contract. Thus, the predicate may be understood by static analysis tools that operate on the intermediate code.
US09286037B2	Platform for distributed applications Embodiments are directed to providing an application model to deploy and manage composite applications and to providing model-driven software coding assistance. In an embodiment, a computer system instantiates an application design interface that is configured to display composite application components and relationships between the components. Each component includes information specifying how communication is to be conducted with the component. The computer system accesses an application manifest that includes the components and component relationships of the application. The computer system displays the composite application's components and component relationships in the instantiated visual application design interface according to the application manifest.
US09286036B2	Computer-readable recording medium storing program for managing scripts, script management device, and script management method A computer executes a process includes: extracting meta commands from commands included in scripts based on number of occurrences of the commands, the plurality of meta commands being commands or sets of a command and argument; extracting specific meta command from the meta commands included in each of the scripts based on information on the number of occurrences of the meta commands included in each of the scripts and information on the scarcity of each of the meta commands in the scripts; and determining resemblance for a pair of scripts that are included in the scripts by calculating a probability that a same combination of meta commands exists in the pair of scripts.
US09286026B2	System and method for recording and monitoring user interactions with a server A system includes multiple KVM switches, multiple user consoles and a recording system connected via a network. Each KVM switch facilitates interactions between user consoles and selected servers connected its server ports. The KVM switch transmits keyboard, mouse and video data exchanged between user consoles and servers, and administrative data, to the recording system. The recording system records the keyboard, mouse, video and administrative data, and detects trigger events based on such data. Trigger events include predefined keywords, mouse operations, video images, user IDs and server IDs, or combinations thereof. When a trigger event is detected, the recording system automatically transmits monitoring information to an administrative console via the network. The monitoring information may include combined video data containing information about keyboard and mouse actions superimposed on desktop images. The administrative console may also request specific recorded data for review. The recording system may employ a master-slave configuration.
US09286024B2	Metal housing with moulded plastic A housing for a handheld computing device can include a metallic outer shell having a substantially flat base and a sidewall connected to a periphery of the base, the metallic outer shell having an inner surface and an outer surface and a polymeric portion nanomolded on the inner surface of the metallic outer shell in a predetermined location to provide rigidity to the metallic outer shell.
US09286021B2	Displaying map layers in order A system and method for displaying map layers in order. First vector data which defines one or more features of a first layer of a map is received from a server. Second vector data which defines one or more features of a second layer of the map is received from the server. A first order for displaying the one or more features of the first layer relative to the one more features of the second layer is received. The first vector data and the second vector data are rendered for display based on the received first order, to display the one or more features defined by the first layer relative to the one or more features defined by the second layer based on the received first order.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10